Your Cup of Cake: Andes Mint Cupcakes New photo from my cookbook “Your Cup of Cake” I was introduced to Andes Mints at a very young age. Though, my strongest memory was not of eating them, it was of being attacked by them. My family commonly went to a little Mexican restaurant in town, and when we finished eating we would get these mints with the check. My two older brothers would make a sort of blow dart from the wrapper, and choose their target. Me. Ingredients Chocolate Cakes: 1 cup sour cream ½ cup oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs ¼ cup water ½ cup buttermilk Devil’s Food Cake Mix Chocolate Mint Filling: 1/3 cup chocolate chips 2 tablespoons heavy cream 1 teaspoon peppermint extract ¼ cup powdered sugar Mint Buttercream: 8 oz cream cheese 6 tablespoons butter 3-4 cups powdered sugar 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk green food coloring Directions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Copyright © YourCupofCake I used the Ateco #855 piping tip
How to Make Marshmallow Fondant This time I decided to make it with those mini fruit flavored marshmallows. I had to sort them by colour first. I figured they would add a little bit of flavor to the fondant so I wouldn't have to add much flavoring oil. I use gel colours to dye my fondant but regular food colouring will work too. I also had lemon oil and coconut flavoring on hand.. oh la la the value brand (which still works fine). Step One: Take a couple of handfuls of marshmallows and put them in a microwave safe bowl. I like to make smaller batches because its easier to add the colour to the melted marshmallow than it is to work the colour into the fondant later. Step Two: Stick the marshmallows in the microwave for ten seconds at a time until the are puffed up and easily stir into a goo with a wooden spoon. Step Three: Add food colouring to the melted marshmallows until you get the colour you want. Step Four: Start folding icing sugar into the marshmallow goo until it becomes a soft and fluffy dough. Finished fondant! 1.
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting and Michelle Branch My family is kind of crazy. Our life is essentially one giant musical, we are constantly singing. Any word or phrase can set us off. You say close your eyes? We start singing The Bangles “Close your eyes...give me your hand, darling!” Another one in rotation is Michelle Branch’s Breathe. Yesterday night I noticed that I was gaining a lot of followers on twitter, and lots of hits on my blog. Although it’s great to hear a famous person likes my blog, I have to say I appreciate every comment, tweet, and email I receive from you guys, famous or not. In celebration of life’s unexpected joys I bring you Pumpkin Cupcakes. Pumpkin Cupcakes With Maple–Cream Cheese Frosting Adapted from David Leite via Smitten KitchenYield: 17 to 18 cupcakes Frosting Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup pure maple syrup Make the cupcakes: 1. 2. 3.
Coca-Cola Cupcakes I don’t drink coca-cola. But I do eat it. Weird. Yeah, I dunno. It’s way better eaten. There’s some dark and white sugar cooked with dark dutch processed cocoa powder…and a can of coke! There’s some the ol’ that pouring into this and this pouring into that. There’s some mixing. Take a little PAM and spray the liners–this is a sticky cupcake batter. UPDATED TIP ALERT: A few of you tried this recipe and sprayed them and the cupcake still stuck. These cupcakes are chocolately, decadent, rich and kind of amaze. This frosting isn’t frosting–it’s just whipped cream. And guess what? Next, cherries on top! P.S. Coca-Cola Cupcakes Recipe adapted from Baked: The New Frontier Yields 15 cupcakes Print this recipe! Cupcakes: 2 cups Coca-cola (do not use diet!) Whipped Cream Frosting: 1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract Maraschino cherries (for topping) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Vertical Layer Cake Tutorial I really need to preface this tutorial with... I am sorry. I am SURE there are easier ways to do a Vertical Layer Cake. But I was being a brat for my birthday. I wanted real cake, and not sponge cake. I wanted two different flavors. I wanted massive amounts of frosting. Hence, I bucked every traditional mold I had seen for a vertical layer cake and made my own. Sorry. The second time making the cake I was surprised by how quickly everything went. Huh. Anywho... Here is an important step... I then placed the cut parts together. The reason I do this is: 1. 2. 3. If you have a 5in deep cake pan and can successfully bake a 5in cake then just do that! Now! We will begin to cut out our layers! I simply used a cardboard cake round as my guide. I am now going to cut off the outside circle. Place the template back on the cake. Follow the template as close as you can. You are going to do this with BOTH cakes. Now I cut off another circle and started the process again. Do this to both cakes. 1. 2. 3.
Snickers Cupcakes While walking through the candy aisle at the grocery store the other day, I got an idea to make Snickers cupcakes. I picked up some mini candy bars as well as caramels and caramel sauce. I knew I wanted to do a chocolate cupcake base with a caramel filling but wasn't sure if I wanted to use a caramel candy or caramel sauce for the filling. For frosting, I went with a caramel buttercream and then topped the cupcakes with chopped Snickers pieces for garnish. For the cake, I used my go-to chocolate cake recipe - the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake recipe. On to plan B, the caramel sauce. Snickers Cupcakes Cake: 2 cups sugar 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 3/4 cup cocoa powder 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup boiling water Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners. When cool, use a paring knife to cut a small cone shape out of the top of each cupcake.
The Pastry Affair - Home - Cauldron Cakes This is part II of my mini-series on Harry Potter snacks from the books brought to life (part I is on Honeydukes treats, part III features every wizard's favorite drink—butterbeer!— and part IV showcases decadent butterbeer cupcakes). When I was young, I wanted to grow up to be a writer. I also wanted to be a teacher, deep sea diver, and a cashier at McDonald's, but that's a different story. In early elementary school years, I would furiously write about anything and everything that came to mind. It would seem I had a bright future in writing, but all of this was cut short as soon as I entered fourth grade. For years, scarcely a sentence flowed from my pencil. Then Harry Potter entered my life. When I was fifteen years old, I became obsessed with the series. And the words began to flow from my pencil once more. Harry Potter inspired me to continue writing again. Since then, I've worked to keep writing a part of my life. These Cauldron Cakes are the ultimate Harry Potter eye candy.
Pop Stars & bakerella.com I’ve just added a bunch of cake pop photos to the Pop Stars section to the site. Yay! It’s something productive I can do on the site while I’m still recovering. (I added an update to the previous post. But, in case you didn’t see it, my mom and I are doing great.) You probably already know about this section if you’re a cake pop fan, but if you didn’t, let me tell you about it. To navigate the Pop Stars section, there’s an index with links. Here are a few pops I picked out to give you an idea of what people are doing. Pop Star Jackie in California makes Justin Bieber pops. This is such a great use of baking cups from Pop Star Veronika in Australia. Cupcake pops in pink and blue are another great way to celebrate a baby shower. Pop Star Natalie in California made these Brides of Frankenstein. Pop Star Karla in Mexico made Bert and Ernie pops. How about some Halloween pops? Pop Star Stephanie and friends in Canada celebrate her bridal shower. Pop Star Nadia in Toronto made snowglobe pops.
S'mores Cupcakes Graham cracker "crust", Hershey's chocolate, chocolate marshmallow cake, toasted marshmallow frosting... these cupcakes are the cake version of everyone's favorite campfire treat. They are fun to make and although it sounds like a lot of steps, each step is fairly simple. The "toasted" marshmallow can be achieved with a kitchen torch which is always fun to use and makes for an impressive presentation. S'mores CupcakesRecipe adapted from Annie's Eats Crust:1 1/2 cups graham crackers (approx. 1 pkg out of the Honeymaid box)1/4 cup sugar5 T unsalted butter, melted2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small piecesMarshmallows (you'll need about 100 mini marshmallows) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cake:2 cups plus 2 T sugar1 3/4 cups all purpose flour3/4 cup cocoa powder1 1/2 tsp baking powder1 1/2 tsp baking soda1 tsp salt2 large eggs1 cup whole milk1/2 cup canola oil2 tsp vanilla extract1 cup boiling water Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 of the way full.
Celebrate With Kate {Baby Landers Gender Reveal Party} | Layla Grayce... Make Way For Our Little Duckling Kate Landers here again, this time to share with you a personal event–the baby gender reveal party my husband and I hosted for our first little one arriving this fall! I find gender reveal parties to be an excellent creative outlet for all those mamas-to-be who want to design and plan an event to celebrate their very special upcoming arrival. Whether you choose to keep it intimate with just immediate family or large with everyone you know, it is a wonderful time to share your joy with others. We had a most memorable celebration, revealing to our families that we will be welcoming a little BOY into our lives! Despite a no-show photographer and our pup Henry eating the custom cake less than 2 hours before the party started, we managed to take what came our way and made the best of it–and looking back, I couldn’t imagine it any more perfect. Here are some hints for planning your own baby gender-reveal party:
Easter Cupcakes Baked in Real Egg Shells I watched my Grandmother’s face when she realized that I hadn’t handed her a hard boiled egg but rather a cake baked inside a real egg shell. Her eyes were filled with wonder and I could envision what she must have looked like as a tyke the very first time she saw a red balloon float across the sky or the the trunk of a giant elephant spewing a stream of water. “Crack it on the table,” I told her. Eggs were cracked, cupcakes were eaten, and I was perceived as a cupcake Houdini. Update 3/19/2012: For the basic instructions on these Easter cupcakes, keep reading. I modeled my cupcakes in egg shells after Nicky’s egg shell cupcakes from Delicious Days. Yield: 10 large egg cupcakes What you’ll need: 9 large eggs (Only one will get used in the cake. To prepare the eggs: Carefully poke a small hole in the top of each egg. Once you have poked a tiny hole, peel back the edges of the hole to expand it a bit. Turn the egg upside-down and dump out the contents. Bake the eggs at 350 F for 23 minutes.