Saturday, November 21, 2009

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Hey y'all! It's been a while since I've posted, hasn't it? Well, we had another potluck at work so I now have new cupcakes to share!

Our potluck was for Thanksgiving since we're closed on the 26th, so of course I had to bring something in keeping with the theme. What did I bring? Apple pie cupcakes!!!!


Golden butter cupcakes with apple pie filling mixed in the batter, topped with Dutch apple jam and cinnamon vanilla bean buttercream.

I originally got the idea to do so when my baker friend Joyce sent me an awesome recipe for them. However, I only found out about the potluck the day before, so I tried to find a quicker recipe. The new recipe involved cake mix and canned apple pie filling, but turned out delicious nonetheless. The buttercream is the same as my staple buttercream, with the substitution of a real vanilla bean for the vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. 

Everyone at work loved them, and I'm pretty sure it's most due to the fancy piping job. Don't get me wrong, they were scrumptious, but we basically had a table full of desserts and they wouldn't have stood out otherwise. All I did for the frosting was pipe a lattice pattern on the top with a small basket tip (Wilton #46) and then piped the wavy crust edge with a medium round tip (Wilton #7). Not too difficult, just time-consuming. 

Alright, I have a few more pictures that I know you're waiting for. 








I'll be making more of these for Thanksgiving dinner with David's family next week, but I'll only be uploading those pictures to facebook and flickr so I don't have basically a double post. 


Next should be something Christmasey! We'll see!




Apple Pie Cupcakes (easy version)

  • 1 box Golden Butter recipe cake mix
  • 1 can apple pie filling (you may want to run a knife through it a few times since the apple slices are pretty large for cupcakes)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 c. water
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into lined muffin tin. Bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on what size tin you use. Makes 12-18 cupcakes.





Saturday, October 10, 2009

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes!

We had a potluck at my new job to celebrate the end of training, and since I was in a pumpkiney mood, I decided to make pumpkin spice cupcakes for it! These were seriously the easiest cupcakes I've ever made.

I got started on Wednesday evening by making mini marzipan pumpkins as toppers. I've never worked with marzipan before, but this definitely won't be my last time. It was so easy to work with and smelled so good!



I baked the cupcakes Thursday evening. I love how they crackled on the tops, so pretty. They made the whole house smell heavenly, too. 



I filled the cupcakes with a squirt each of pumpkin butter on Thursday evening as well. I have a filling tip from Wilton that makes filling soooo easy. 




 
I frosted them all early Friday morning before work with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. I found the liners at Michael's, and they're by Martha Stewart. She has some awesome Halloween stuff. The "poison" liners have a skull image on the bottom of the cup, and the "beware" ones have spiders.



At the potluck. I displayed them on my Wilton cupcake stand with a big black charger plate underneath to hold the rest, since there were 24. 


These cupcakes were a huge hit and made me tons of new friends, haha. They were positively scrumptious as well! It was torture having to wait to eat them, since I was sitting near them and could smell them all day. I've already been asked by David's aunt to bring some to Thanksgiving dinner, though!

Easy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
  • 2 (18.25 oz) packages spice cake mix
  • 1 (30 oz) can pumpkin pie filling
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp butter flavoring 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl for 2 minutes. Contents will be very thick. Line muffin tin with paper cups. Fill 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 24 minutes (or, if you're only doing one 12-cup tin at a time, about 10 minutes). Makes about two dozen, usually a little more. TIP: If you have extra batter but not enough to fill all the cups of the muffin tin, fill the remaining empty cups halfway with water. It helps the cupcakes to bake more evenly.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a bowl until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and cinnamon; beat until fluffy.



Robot Cupcakes

Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to post! I've been super busy starting a new job!

Anyways, Benjamin's robot cupcakes turned out fantastically. They were apparently a huge hit at his awesome robot party! I had a ton of fun making them, and I'm glad they turned out as well as they did.

Here they are, in the plastic cases I got at the All In One Bake Shop and with my new tags attached! They smelled sooooo good!



And here they are displayed at the party! Aren't the signs Kristi made just adorable? She's so creative.



And here is one super happy birthday boy!

The cupcakes themselves were just french vanilla and devil's food, both made from a mix (terrible, I know, but they're soooo much easier!). The frosting was a shortening-based buttercream that I've lost the recipe to. It had to be shortening-based so that they wouldn't need to be refrigerated. The cookies are just plain sugar cookies with royal icing!

More news! These cupcakes will actually be the last order I'll be doing for a while. I want to focus more on developing my skills and testing new flavors and ideas before I make more to order. I think it'll be a nice little break to just make a dozen or so whenever the mood strikes me rather than having to make so many and plan so much. It'll be a nice little experimental period for me. =]


Monday, September 14, 2009

Cog Sugar Cookies!

 
These are the toppers for my upcoming robot cupcakes! They're cog-shaped sugar cookies that are iced with royal icing (made with meringue powder because raw egg whites scare me). 

 
First, of course, I rolled out the sugar cookie dough on a mat since my table is tiled.
My first batch, I had cut the cog shapes out and put them on the cookie sheet. I pulled them out of the oven and they looked like flowers. So, I had to end up cutting the cog shapes out of the cookies once they were baked. Therefore, every batch after the first was just circle cookies. 
Cutting the circle shape out of the baked cookies. 
Cutting the centers out of the cookies with a petit four cutter (it was the only circle cutter I could find that was small enough).
Cutting the teeth out of the sides with the petit four cutter. 
Pile of sugar cookie scraps. Mmmmm, good snacking. =]
Finished cog cookies, un-iced. 
  
I used the dip method to ice the cookies with royal icing, since it seemed easiest as I was only using one color for the whole cookie. I dipped the fronts of the cookies in the icing, then pulled them out and set them on a rack to dry. 
Now all I've got left to do is make, frost, and assemble the cupcakes!

Royal Icing
  • 2 tbsp. meringue powder (I could only find the Wilton brand, and only at Walmart in the cake decorating aisle)
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp. water
Mix all together until smooth. This version is best for using the dip method to ice cookies. There are thicker versions that are better for piping. 


Thursday, September 10, 2009

Lots of News!

So, in case you haven't noticed, my blog has had a complete makeover! It was designed by my Aunt Kristi of Kristi's Blog Design and More! In exchange, I'm making 4 dozen cupcakes for her son Benjamin's fifth birthday next week! 
They're not just any cupcakes, however, they're....



 
And they're gonna be soooooo awesome. Here are some concept images of what they'll look like. 
 
 
And here's the supplies I got today! I was shopping all morning at Michael's (I find they have a better variety of cupcake supplies than Hobby Lobby), Wal-Mart (it was on the way home haha), and my faaaaaaaaaaaavorite shop, the All In One Bake Shop!
Rolling pin, non-slip mats (since our table is tiled), red jimmies, blue and green gel food coloring, silver foil liners, 2 different-sized circle cookie cutters (for making the cog cookies), piping bags, 26-piece deluxe piping tip set from Wilton, and 4 plastic 12-cavity cupcake containers (since the robot cupcakes will be transported from Round Rock to Belton).
I can't wait to get started on them! They will definitely be my next update here!

I also got some supplies to make my own tags that will go on every order out from now on! 


 
  
  
They're made by punching over the holes on tags with a Martha Stewart craft punch to get a cupcake-shaped hole. Then, I stamp the "Homemade By" or "Homemade With Love by" and fill in my name with a scrapbooking pen. Then, I color in the stamp using prismacolors that somewhat correspond with my blog. They'll be attached with this awesome cupcake ribbon I got at Michael's. I think I like the "With Love" tags better, but we'll see as time goes on. 
That's about it for now, but stay tuned for Benjamin's Awesome Robot Cupcakes!


Friday, August 7, 2009

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcakes


These were made for David's coworker Danielle's birthday party today! They're strawberry cupcakes made from a mix with whipped cream cream cheese frosting and sliced strawberries on top. From what I heard and tasted, they were scrumptious.

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting

  •      1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
  •      1 cup white sugar
  •      1/8 teaspoon salt
  •      1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  •      1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
   In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.


Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Choco-nanner Cupcakes

These were made just to use up the ripe bananas I had laying around.

Chocolate cupcakes from a mix with mashed over-ripe bananas thrown in. Topped with a Nutella/Coconut Pecan ganache made from what I had left of Nutella, some Coconut Pecan frosting, and confectioner's sugar. I believe there was some cocoa thrown in there as well. On top of that is a royal icing flower since it was the only yellow topper I had.

These may not be the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made, but they were certainly the tastiest. =]

And with that, I'm caught up! Stay tuned for some Strawberry Cream Cheese cupcakes!

Pirate Cupcakes












Pirate cupcakes for my friend Mandie's son Dylan's first birthday! They're white cupcakes made from a mix with black chocolate buttercream, candy-coated rainbow chips, gold luster dust, and various pirate toys on top! They both loved them.



Double Chocolate Cupcakes



Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, topped with cherry sours and rolled in white nonpareils. Made for David's stepmother's birthday. Both cupcakes and frosting are made from the Hershey's "Perfect Chocolate" recipes:

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake (from the Hershey's website)

  •      2 c. sugar
  •      1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
  •      3/4 c. Hershey's Cocoa     
  •      1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  •      1 1/2 tps. baking soda
  •      1 tsp. salt
  •      2 eggs
  •      1 c. milk
  •      1/2 c. vegetable oil
  •      2 tsp. vanilla
  •      1 c. boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


Hershey's "Perfect Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting (from the Hershey's website)

  •      1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine
  •      2/3 c. Hershey's cocoa (any cocoa will do of course)
  •      3 c. powdered sugar
  •      1/3 c. milk
  •      1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Yields about 2 cups frosting.

Memorial Day Cupcakes


I made these cupcakes for my coworkers at Home Depot for Memorial Day. They were all gone by the end of the day, and everyone had a blue tongue. =]
The cupcakes are funfetti, made from a mix I had lying around. The frosting is my standard buttercream tinted bright blue. I rolled and dipped the cupcake tops into a bowl of red and white sugar crystals.

Meatloaf "Cupcakes"


Behold the glory that is the meatloaf "cupcake".
Yes, it's really meatloaf. And it is SCRUMPTIOUS.
Meatloaf Cupcakes:
  • 2 lbs lean ground beef
  • 1 can condensed vegetable soup
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin. Mix ground beef, soup, onion powder, bread crumbs, eggs, salt, and pepper. Scoop mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups. Place on top of cookie sheet to catch any grease that comes out of the muffin tin. Bake 1 hour in oven or until done. "Frost" with mashed potatoes, "sprinkle" with corn kernels.

Chocolate Lemon Cupcakes

These were made for a picnic David's coworkers were having at an old boss's house.

I candied some lemon zests as a topping while I was waiting for the cupcakes to bake.



They are lemon cupcakes with chocolate frosting, topped with candied lemon zests and a square of Lindt 70% Intense Dark chocolate. They were soooooooo good.
The cupcakes were made from a mix, and the frosting was the Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Frosting.


Hershey's "Perfect Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting (from the Hershey's website)

  •      1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine
  •      2/3 c. Hershey's cocoa (any cocoa will do of course)
  •      3 c. powdered sugar
  •      1/3 c. milk
  •      1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Yields about 2 cups frosting.

I candied the lemon zests according to this recipe:


Candied Lemon Zest Recipe
     

  •         2 lemons
  •         1/3 cup water
  •         1/3 cup sugar
  •         sugar to coat zest strips
    * Wash lemons thoroughly. Trim zest from lemons using a vegetable peeler. Cut wide strips, being careful not to cut into the white pith layer below.  Cut zest strips lengthwise to create thin julienne strips.
    * Place julienne strips in a small sauce pan and cover with cold water. Cook over medium heat until the water comes to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 6 minutes.
    * Remove from heat, drain strips and then return them to the sauce pan.  Add water and sugar to the lemon strips in the sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Continue to cook over low heat until the lemon strips turn translucent. The water and sugar should be starting to thicken. Cooking time will be approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
    * When done cooking, remove strips from the pan and spread out on a sheet of wax paper. Separate the strips on the wax paper so they are not in clumps.
    * Once they have cooled slightly, roll in sugar until they are well coated.
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