Week 43 :: Pumpkin Cupcakes

Less than 10 weeks left and I have so much that I still want to do this year!  I suppose this may turn into 52WoS-and-then-some.

I made this cupcake for a sweet friend's birthday. Happy Birthday, Sara! I iced the pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting and a gumpaste rose.  It was more than a fair trade since her husband made her a delicious dark chocolate cake for her birthday and I got to eat that all weekend while house-sitting.  

These pumpkin cupcakes are by far one of my favorites! I love pumpkin, and this is the first of several fall pumpkin recipes.  These cupcakes are rich and full of pumpkin flavor.  If you want, you can easily add a cup of walnuts or pecans to the batter.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Prep time :: 10 minutes

Bake time :: 25 minutes
Yields :: 24-26 cupcakes

::Ingredients::

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 can mashed pumpkin or 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have this on hand, you can use a mixture of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg)

::Directions::

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream together butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs. 
3. Add milk and flour alternating and mix well.  Add pumpkin puree.  Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
4. Pour into prepared muffin cups 1/2 to 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. 
   
   

   

   
   I made a batch of these for a Vanderbilt party and decorated with a fondant embellishment.  Here is a close-up:
   
   

   

   
   Happy baking!
   
   
   
   

Week 40 :: Mr. and Mrs. Parmley

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Parmley!

At this point I have made a lot of cakes, but never wedding cakes.  Oh, the pressure was on!  I feel so honored that a friend of mine trusted in me to make the cakes and cupcakes for her reception!  The party was for about 50-75 people and she wanted two cakes--a beach-themed wedding cake and cupcake tree and a groom's cake.  So here's the first look:

Now, I guess I will start with the groom's cake since I am sure you are thinking--"is that a shoe?"  Yes--it is a shoe.  A Nike-Air-Jordan-UNC-Tournament shoe.  Jason, the groom, likes Nike, Michael Jordan and UNC and I couldn't think of a better idea!  Now, I know you ask, "why would he like UNC?"  That, I cannot answer....why would anyone like UNC?  I almost refused to make any cake resembling UNC; however, Jason and Diana are very sweet people so it's not like I could say no--but I did think about it, seriously.  The groom's cake was strawberry with strawberry icing.  Here's a close-up:

The bride's cupcake tree turned out better than I could have ever imagined.  Several flavors went into this cake.  The top cake was a funfetti (bride's favorite) cake with vanilla buttercream.  Next was banana cupcakes with peanut butter-chocolate frosting. Next was pineapple with coconut buttercream (my favorite--yum!).  And the last two layers were chocolate with peanut butter-chocolate frosting and them Key lime cupcakes with vanilla buttercream.  Phew!  This was a lot of work but I took my time.  I made the cupcakes and cakes a week ahead and froze them (Note:: The BEST way to freeze cupcakes is to get 2.5 gallon zip locks, put cardboard at the bottom, fill with cupcakes and top with parchment paper--SO easy).  Cakes iced in buttercream can stay frozen for months because of the high fat content.  Just wrap in parchment paper and then plastic wrap and freeze.  I also made and bagged the icing and put it in the refrigerator.  The icing will stay fresh in the fridge for at least two weeks.  I also make the white chocolate sea shells a could weeks in advance.  This made for a much easier day-of prep.  Here is the cupcake tower:

And a close-up of the cake on top:

The "sand" accents in the cakes and cupcakes were made out of crushed graham crackers.

I feel so blessed to have been a part of this special celebration.  The party was so much fun and the bride and groom loved the cakes, so it was certainly a good night!  I wish Mr. and Mrs. Parmley a lifetime full of love and happiness (and cake) :o)

Happy baking!

Week 38 :: (Sweet Tea and) Wheat Free!

Little background story:

A couple of weeks ago one of our family friends brought his new sweetheart to the house.  I thought it would be nice to have some special treats ready for them.  Well--no one was touching my mini chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes (seen below):

As I was about to force feed my new guest a cupcake she kindly tells me she is intolerant to gluten.  AH!  How mean is that?!  I put a whole plate of cupcakes in front of someone who can't touch them!  She comically referred to my cupcakes as "food porn" which was the best complement she could give without actually trying them.  Well--I felt pretty bad about this so for her next trip I wanted to have some gluten-free goodies ready.

Well I did have some treats ready and it was so nice to have them over again for round two.  Come to find out, Celeste is a bit of a foodie and has her own wonderful gluten-free blog, Sweet Tea and Wheat Free. What a great resource for those in the search of gluten-free!

The chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing are all gluten-free.  And in case it save you a phone call--all Betty Crocker sprinkles and decorations are gluten-free!  The tea-cup cupcake holders are one of my favorites and are available here.  Here is another shot:

The other recipe I made was a chocolate pound cake with peanut butter cream cheese frosting (yummy)!  I had to serach but you some really yummy organic ingredients:

This recipe might you off at first--BUT, it was tasty and pretty good for you with a base of black beans and apple sauce!  Definitely a runner food.  The original chef has an online store, Gesine, when she sells her gluten-free baked goods.  Certianly worth checking out.

This is what the loaves looked like before frosting:

Happy Gluten-Free Baking!

Week 33 :: Happy Birthday Jill!

Happy Birthday Jill!

A friend of mine had a big birthday this year and this was the cake (and matching cupcakes).

The cake is chocolate with a peanut butter buttercream (yum! yum! yum!).  Here is the recipe I came up with:

Peanut Butter Buttercream
::Ingredients::

• 2 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 stick Crisco
• 2 lbs. powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup +/- milk or cream

::Directions::

1. Mix together butter and Crisco until creamy, add peanut butter and mix well.
2. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, alternating with milk until you reach desired consistency.

Note ::  If you have a kitchenaid, you can dump the sugar in all at once and let mix on medium speed for a couple minutes, add milk gradually.

Happy Baking!



Week 31 :: Cupcakes, cupcakes and more cupcakes!

So over the past couple of weeks I have made several sets of cakes and cupcakes.  I just love cupcakes--they are quick, pretty, and easy to eat.  Cakes--not easy to cut once you've spent 78865 hours decorating it.  I have never felt like they do on Cake Boss--I don't make a cake and then as soon as I get there say "who wants some cake!!"  No, in fact, it is often painful to cut a cake.  So, I began making matching cupcakes.  The first set was for a sweet friend--her father's retirement party.  The pictures below make more sense when I tell you he owned a garage door business.

Close-up of the car bumper and plate:

Matching cupcakes!

Wanna know a super easy way to fill all 24 cupcake lines is <1 minute.  Here it is: the no-drip-super-awesome-cupcake-filler (thanks, Mom, once again for an awesome find!).  Such a breeze.  I don't even think I can remember how I filled cupcakes before.  Seriously.  This tool has certainly made my top-10 tools for bakers.  Get it.

On to more cupcakes I have made this week--red velvet with cream cheese frosting, chocolate-chocolate, and birthday cake with buttercream.  This buttercream recipes makes the perfect amount for 24-generously-iced cupcakes.

 
Happy baking!

Week 26 :: Cupcake-cake!

It's Week 26 and I'm halfway there!  I'm starting to think that 52 Weeks of Sweets might last longer than 52 weeks...No problem though--I. Absolutely. Love. Baking. And this week was no exception.

I was asked to make a cake for a 5-year-old's cupcake themed birthday party.  I got a lot of direction from the mom and the cake turned out great--one of my favorites.  It's a white cake with plain buttercream icing, the birthday cake combo--one of my favorites.  To make the top cupcake tier I used Casabella Jumbo Silicone baking cups.  There is no need for a pan, just place on a baking sheet and go!  They bake evenly, cool quickly, and pop out easily without greasing the cups.  A great find I think.

When I delivered the cake I saw the adorable set-up the mom had created for the party, including personalized aprons(which you can see in the mirror in the picture below) for the little guests.  You can (and should) check her out here.  I think 52 Weeks of Sweets aprons may be in the near future!

I just adore the whole get-up for the party!  I am certain the birthday girl had a blast!

Another week down!  Happy Baking!

Week 25 :: Margarita Cupcakes with Tequila-Lime Buttercream Icing

You can make this recipe from scratch or use a "cheater" recipe.  Either is great, but the "cheater" version is super fast and super easy.  Here it is:

Margarita Cake

::Prep Time:: 5 minutes

::Bake Time:: 21 minutes
::Yields:: 24 cupcakes

::Ingredients::

• 1 box white cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbs. oil
• 1 Tbs. Tequila
• 5 drops lime flavoring or a lime juice
  
• 1 1/4 cup water

::Directions::

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all the ingredients together and beat on medium speed with a hand mixer for 2 minutes.
3. Pour into prepared cupcakes pans with liners about half way full.
4. Bake for 21-23 minutes
5. Voila!

Tequila-Lime Frosting

::Prep Time:: 5 minutes

::Ingredients::

• 1 1/2 cups Crisco
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 lbs. powdered sugar
• 10 drops lime flavoring or lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. Tequila
• 1/4 cup water as needed

::Directions::

1. Mix butter, Crisco, Tequila, and lime flavoring until well blended.
2. Mix in sugar slowly and add water until desired texture is reached.

Happy Baking!

Week 24 :: Golf, baseball, beer, the beach and country music....

Phew!  What a combination.  I had a request in the office to make a cake for a colleague that has somehow yet to try my cake.  I really enjoy tailoring my cakes to fit the personality of the person they are going to, so I asked what he liked.  Well....he likes golf, not working, vacationing, and hockey.....and the beach.....and beer.....and the Yankees.  Ummm.....well I'm glad this guys likes so much--I mean that's great!  But how I am supposed to make a cake that reflects all of that?!?!  After thinking about it for hours I came up with the idea to make three small cakes, each with their own theme--and here are the finished products!

Close-up of the Yankees cake:

Close-up of "Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand..."

Close-up of buzzed golfer cake:

Happy Baking--and be creative!

Week 21 :: Let Them Eat Cake!

This week I had three cakes requests--whew!!  I had so much fun making them but I am worn out.  There are a few tricks to share with each cake in case you want to try making them on your own, but as always, if you have any questions feel free to ask....

Happy Baking!

Cake 1 ::  Life's a Beach!

This cake is a small two tiered cake that serves about 20 people.  The figures are made out of fondant and the sand is made out of mashed up graham crackers and buttercream icing (I am particularly proud of thinking of this on the fly).  For the eyes I used a Gourmet Writer which is a food coloring pen.  I used these pens again on the other cakes I made this week.  You can also use them on dried royal icing and many other edible surfaces.  The figures dried for about 36 hours before I attached them to the cake--careful with the octopus legs, they break easily.

Cake 2 :: Vegas Baby!

This cake is a larger two tiered cake that serves about 40 people.  It's pretty straight forward, but there are a few details that are a challenge.  First, to make the blue support for the sign on top I stuck two skewers into a thick ball of fondant.  I then rolled the fondant out with the skewers in it.  I then cut out around the skewers to get the shape I needed.  I did this instead of poking the skewers in later because they can push around the fondant and mess up the shape you were going for.  I also used the Gourmet Writers to write on the sign.  Everything gets glued together with piping gel--an edible super glue of sorts.  The coins I painted in antique gold luster dust and let them dry for about 24 hours.

Cake 3 ::  Drum Machine!

Let's be honest--I had NO idea what I was doing here.  I don't even know what one of these things does.    But a sweet friend asked for this cake for her boyfriend so I did my best dang-it and this is what came out.  The Gourmet Writers came in REALLY handy for all the detail of this cake.  All the buttons, etc. were made out of fondant.  By the end this cake weighed about 30 pounds....

Week 18 :: Carrot Cake for Mom!

Happy Mother's Day!!

This week I made a carrot cake as it is one of my mother's favorites!  I used what I had to make a new cream cheese frosting and it turned out awesome (and super easy!).  Some people suggest mixing the pecans in to the frosting but I chose to decorate with them, either way is fine.  I certainly recommend trying this spring-time recipe while it is still in season.  Happy Baking!

Carrot Cake

Prep time :: 10-15 minutes

Bake time :: 40-55 minutes

::Ingredients::

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1/2-1 cup pecans 

::Directions::

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour (2) 8-9-inch round cake pans, (3) 6-inch, or (1) 9x13-inch pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together.  Mix well.
3. In a medium bowl beat eggs, add oil, vanilla extract, and sugar and mix well.  Add to dry ingredients.  Fold in carrots and pecans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep time :: 5 minutes

::Ingredients::

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1 cup pecan pieces (optional)

::Directions::

1. Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract together until smooth.  Slowly mix in powdered sugar.
2. Fill and ice cake as desired, decorate with pecans if desired.

Week 11 :: Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting (and Irish whiskey ganache)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This week I made a handful of treats for St. Patty's day.  I didn't just make the "Irish Car Bomb" Cupcakes, but I used those same recipes to make the cake below and I also made the iced sugar cookies from last week.  I clearly love holiday baking!  All of these recipes were a hit so I hope you give them a try!  Happy Baking!

These "Irish Car Bomb" Cupcakes originated in the Smitten Kitchen.  What a great website and source for some incredible recipes that will amaze you but are fairly easy to make!  I'd like to think I am a talented baker, but I have nowhere near the amazing creativity and skill this chef has at creating unique recipes. Other recipes from the Smitten Kitchen site I hope to try in future weeks are the Apple Cider Donuts and Gateau des Crepes.  

"Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes"
Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Frosting
Prep Time :: 30 minutes
Bake Time :: 17-19 minutes
::Ingredients::
For the Cupcakes

• 1 cup Guinness
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

For the Ganache Filling 

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

For the Baileys Frosting

• 3 to 4 cups confections sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 3 to 4 tablespoons Bailey's

 ::Directions::

1. Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. If you have a pattered cupcake liner you want to use, double up in each cup. 
2. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
3. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. 
4. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.
5. Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl, add butter. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can microwave in 1- second increments until melted.) Add whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.
6. Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes so it doesn't harden). Meanwhile, using a 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer or knife, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes (about 1 inch around and 1 inch deep, once cut these can be scooped out easily with a spoon).  Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.
7. Make the frosting: Whip the butter for several minutes with an electric mixer. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.  Once you have a creamy consistency, add the Bailey's and mix until smooth.

Week 10 :: Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing

Gavin's Lightning McQueen Cookies!

I made these by special request for my sweet nephew Gavin!  Hopefully I will be able to add a pic of him with the cookies when he gets them!  These are great for shipping as the icing dries hard overnight and holds up pretty well.


I got the design idea from Sugar Mama Cookies who has so many cute ideas!  I am just amazed at the many baking blogs out there that have such great ideas.  I am continuously inspired by them and the wonderful thing is, when I botch something up I can send them a message and they'll let me know how to fix it!

Both the cookies and icing are super easy to make...the decorating is certainly the hardest part to these cookies, and I still need some practice but I think they turned out well!  The dough and icing are both very simple and the recipes are below.  The dough can be made in advance and saved in the fridge for a week or so and the recipe below makes a LOT of dough.  Happy Baking!! 

Rolled Sugar Cookies
All recipes

Prep Time :: 15 minutes

Chill Time :: 1 hour +

Bake Time :: 6 to 8 minutes

::Ingredients::

• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt

::Directions::

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until smooth.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.  Add extract.
4. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt and mix just until consistent.
5. Chill dough for at least one hour or overnight.
6. Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick and cut into desired shapes.
7. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart.
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes.  Cool completely on wire rack.

Royal Icing
All recipes

Prep Time :: 5 minutes

::Ingredients::

• 4 egg whites
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon extract (almond, vanilla, lemon)

::Directions::

1. Beat eggs whites in large bowl at high speed until foamy.  Gradually add sugar and extract.  Beat on high speed until thickened.

::Note::  I used Meringue powder in place of eggs whites for these cookies since they are going to my little nephew and I didn't want to use raw eggs.  You can find Meringue powder at any craft or baking store (maybe even some grocery stores).

::Note::  Add more sugar to thicken for piping icing.


Here are some other pictures of the same recipes I made this week for Kristen's birthday, including some St. Patrick's cookies!