Guiness Cupcakes with Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting
March 1st, 2012 § 3 Comments
My favorite holiday is fast approaching and I can’t think of anything better than an Irish Car Bomb in cupcake form. Anyone else over the moon that St. Patrick’s Day is on a Saturday this year? I know I am!
For those of you who don’t know what an Irish Car Bomb is- it’s a horrible St. Patty’s Day drink where you drop a shot of Baileys into a glass of Guinness and try to chug the whole thing in one gulp before the Bailey’s curdles into disgusting chunks. I am not the type to chug my drinks so I always end up with curdled Bailey’s. Sick.
The Guiness bottle tops made the perfect finishing touch. I found the recipe for the cupcakes here - the Bailey’s ganache in the center was delicious but for some reason after being left out for a few hours it turned into the consistency of a truffle so I’d suggest leaving that part out if you do not plan to serve right away.
Butterflies and buttercream
February 27th, 2012 § 1 Comment
Chocolate cupcakes with raspberry buttercream! As pretty as they turned out it was really the frosting that stole the show- but by the time they were being eaten the cupcakes had been plucked of their butterfly and the leaves removed so aesthetics were a wash at that point.
Today was my niece’s first birthday party- my sister asked for butterfly cupcakes so after poking around Etsy for inspiration I stumbled upon edible butterflies. Here are the ones I wanted- unfortunately their shop owner didn’t respond to my rush order question in time so I had to order from a different shop.
The idea was for the cupcakes to look like a rose with a little butterfly perched on top. My buttercream rose making skills aren’t what they should be and according to my mother (who spent two years of her young adult life frosting cakes) the frosting just wasn’t fit for roses so off comes the petal tip on comes the star-ish shaped tip.
The wrappers were designed in photoshop-printed and cut. If I were to make these again I would go with brown baking wrappers instead of silver so the leaves stand out more.
I found the raspberry buttercream recipe here. I loved how simple it was- three ingredients! I will definitely use this recipe to experiment with different jelly flavors (I’m thinking blueberry next.)
One thing I should mention- the icing was SUPER sweet, it overpowered the subtle flavor of the chocolate cake. Next time I plan to pair the frosting with a super dark chocolate cake to balance the flavors out.
Maple Bacon Cake Pops
August 15th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
If you have ever been to Portland, know someone in Portland, or follow any food blog updated in the past year, then you’ve heard of Voodoo Doughnuts and their to-die-for Maple Bacon Bar, which is essentially a super-tasty maple bar with a couple of crispy slices of bacon on top.
Photo from Food in Mouth
So I made Maple Bacon Cake Pops- I tried a few different combinations….
Maple in the cake, maple in the coating, peanut butter coating…
Luckily I have roommates to help out in my “test kitchen”…
… and the winner is maple and bacon on the inside, vanilla candy melts on the outside. Now you can enjoy all the flavors of breakfast in one bite! Recipe below.
Maple Bacon Cake Pops
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow butter cake, prepared and cooled
- 3/4 can vanilla frosting
- 1 package bacon, prepared and coarsely chopped
- 1 tbs maple extract
- 1 package white candy melts
Put it together
- Grind up cake into a large bowl, mix with frosting, bacon (reserving 2 tbs for garnish) and maple extract.
- Roll cake into quarter-sized balls and place onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper
- Place sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes to set
- Heat candy melts in a small, deep glass bowl in the microwave- stirring at 30 second intervals until melted, one to two minutes
- Dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the candy melts and stick into cake balls
- Dip cake balls into candy and dry by sticking vertically into florist’s foam, garnish with reserved bacon bits
Double-Rainbow Cake Pops
March 23rd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
I’ll admit it- I’m kind of obsessed with this You Tube hit of a man’s passionate appreciation of natural beauty. I’m helping out at a bake sale to raise funds for Japan and what better way to spread a message of hope than double-rainbow cake pops?
Rainbow sprinkles on the outside, rainbow funfetti cake on the inside. Basic cake pop tutorial here.
All packed up and ready to go! So intense.
Pot-o-Gold Cake Pops
March 14th, 2011 § 1 Comment
First off I want to dedicate this posting to one of my favorite bloggers out there- Angie Dudley of Bakerella- an amazing writer, baker and a huge source of inspiration. She’s having some health complications and can definitely use some Irish luck right now- so this one’s for her.
After my failed attempt to find a good pot-o-gold treat for my St. Patty’s Day posting, I thought I’d take matters into my own hands and make some pot-o-gold cake pops. To make- you’ll need everything from the basic recipe, plus white candy melts, black oil-based food coloring (water-based will turn the candy melts into paste,) and gold dragées.
The key is to shape the balls into little pots before chilling. I just flattened one end by forming a little divot on one end and pulling outwards. I then indented along the edge to make it look like the lip of the pot.
The trick to adding the gold was to dip the pops, then wait just a few seconds for the melts to become tacky before adding the dragées with a tiny spoon- otherwise they sunk into the melts. A little bit went a long way.
Voila!
… but something still isn’t right. Is it me or do those cake pops look suspiciously… I don’t know…. not black? On one hand I am a little annoyed that the black dye I bought turned out to actually be mislabeled purple dye. I figured this out after dumping half the bottle into my candy melts- therefore ruining the cake pops because dye tastes pretty heinous.
On the other hand the Washington Huskies, which happens to be my alma mater, won the PAC-10 championship in basketball the next day. Their colors are purple and gold. Coincidence? I think not. Maybe these cake pops are good luck!
St. Patty’s Day Cupcakes
March 8th, 2011 § 3 Comments
I love St. Patrick’s Day- every year my mom hosts a party for the family to celebrate the half of my dad’s side that is Irish with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and lots of Green River and O’Maley’s Irish Cream (never Bailey’s.) At some point as the night goes along she coerces me into doing what little Irish dancing I learned when I was 10.
Since this year for Lent I am (gasp) giving up alcohol (Yes. It’s true ) I thought I’d post some amazing St. Patty’s Day treats I’ve seen that I want to try and make this year.
Lucky Vanilla Cupcakes by Sprinkle Bakes. The green dusting is actually pistachios and how freakin’ cute are those chocolate horseshoes?
You can’t have St. Patrick’s Day without these two staples. Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats.
Leprechaun-sized “Green” velvet cake balls from Bakerella
…speaking of leprechaun’s I found these adorable rainbow cupcakes here.
And what goes at the end of the rainbow? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I looked all over the web to find the perfect gold or pot-o-gold cupcakes and found nada. Guess I have my work cut out for me!
Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes
November 23rd, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Chocolate Holiday! Just made them tonight and couldn’t wait to post- the applesauce in the cupcakes keeps them from being too rich but ALSO makes them easier to keep eating! The fudgy chocolate frosting was the perfect complement. Make sure to frost all of the cupcakes at once before the icing sets and develops a crust.
The cinnamon and nutmeg are perfect for a festive winter night …and may I add they taste great with a glass of red wine!
Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup baking cocoa
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
For the frosting:
- 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1-1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, applesauce and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until combined. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting, melt butter over a low heat. Gradually beat in cocoa, sugar, milk and vanilla, mix well. Allow to cool slightly, then immediately frost all of the cupcakes.
Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting
April 21st, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Trust me these taste way better than they look- my friend had already arrived before I had a chance to frost them and I didn’t want to make her watch while I loaded the frosting gun.
Yes I am THAT girl who makes a fresh batch of cupcakes for a Monday movie night. Here’s the recipe- I cut it in half and there was just enough for generous helpings on a dozen mini-cupcakes. And like I’ve mentioned before- it has to be made with an electric mixer or else after 15 minutes of whisking all you’ll have to show for it is lumpy goop and a very tired arm.
Ingredients
Makes about 4 cups
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into tablespoons
Directions
- In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, sugar, and salt. Cook, whisking constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm to the touch.
- Transfer to the clean bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy and cooled, about 15 minutes.
- Raise speed to high; beat until stiff peaks form. Reduce speed to medium-low; add butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, until fully incorporated.
Recipe from Martha
If only I’d had some pineapple on hand I could have made Pineapple Upside-Down cupcakes like my favorite place Trophy Cupcakes makes.St. Patty’s Day Cupcake Outfits
March 15th, 2010 § 1 Comment
After seeing blogger Jeanne Benedict’s adorable St. Patty’s Day Cupcakes I had to try some myself. The great thing about it is now I have this handy little pattern to make cupcake wrappers for every occasion! To make the pattern all I did was cut the shape below and trimmed to fit the cupcake. Because of the tapered sides you don’t even need to attach a bottom.
I am so sorry for the horrid picture quality- I took the pics with my Android. When inspiration hits I don’t always have my camera with me!
Leprechaun-style: I used green felt, a small length of black velvet trim, and shiny gold paper to make the buckle
I made the pot-o-gold wrapper out of this really cool black paper I found at Michael’s which had a rough texture that made it look like cast-iron. I next added gold sprinkles and a paper rainbow. If I had it my way I would have sprayed the frosting with edible gold spraypaint and made the rainbow out of a sugar cookie.
The cupcakes had to fit the theme so I found this great recipe for Bailey’s Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting. They were not as sweet as I would have liked but my family sure loved them!
Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting (with directions on how to make a sugar-free version)
October 6th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
Fall is my favorite cooking season!! Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Cinnamon, don’t get me started. My grandmother has diabetes so I substituted sugar in both the cookie and frosting recipe with baking Splenda. They were good but had that saccharine sweet taste you only get from sugar-free food so I can’t wait to make them again with the real stuff. Oh and Grandma approved 
ingredients
for the cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the frosting
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies.
- For frosting, in a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar.
