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.
A Recipe From The Best Cupcake Boutique in Seattle- Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting
August 31st, 2009 § Leave a Comment
Trophy Cupcakes! The owner, Jennifer Shea, was featured on (gasp!) the Martha Stewart Show when Martha got wind of Trophy’s Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting.
If you are in Seattle you simply HAVE to make a stop to one of the locations in Wallingford/U-Village- I’ve been dying to try the new Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcake. 
Lucky for us Jennifer shared her recipe for the S’mores-like cupcakes with Martha and is featured on the website here. Recipe below.
For the Cupcakes (makes 2 dozen):
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 squares)
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
- Sift 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix ingredients together on low speed.
- In a large bowl, mix together eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add to flour mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and stir to combine; set cake batter aside.
- Place graham cracker crumbs, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl; stir until well combined.
- Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Reserve remaining graham cracker mixture for topping.
- Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in each muffin cup. Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter. Sprinkle each with remaining chocolate and graham cracker mixture. Return to oven and bake, rotating pans halfway through baking, until tops are firm and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer muffin tins to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.
- Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a large plain round or French tip (such as Ateco #867 or Ateco #809). Pipe frosting in a spiral motion on each cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet. Using a kitchen torch, lightly brown the frosting, taking care not to burn the cupcake liners. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container, up to 2 days.
For the Toasted Marshmallow Frosting:
Ingredients
- 8 large egg whites
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.
- Lightly toast the frosting with a kitchen torch.
Oh Bakerella! Rope ‘em in with Cowgirl Cookies!
August 28th, 2009 § 1 Comment
I had to post about these Cowgirl Cookiesbecause ever since I saw the posting I can’t get them off of my mind! 
I need to come up with an excuse to make these adorable gifts… any ideas? This post comes from my favorite cooking blog-Bakerella. Visit the post to see more pictures and get the recipe!
