Archive for June, 2010

Creme Brulee Cupcakes

Posted by on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Remember Easter when we shared with you Nested Easter Egg Cupcakes by Bakers Royal?  Well Bakers Royale has impressed me once again with her Creme Brulee cupcakes.  Having found most creme brulee cupcake recipes to call for filling the cupcake hole with swiss or butter cream frosting she instead wanted real creme brulee.  I think she has captured the true dessert in cupcake format with her recipe below.

Crème Brulee Cupcakes

Heat oven to 300 degrees and prepare water bath. Place kitchen towel on bottom of a roasting pan or cake pan.  Place one ramekin in the pan to determine the water level. The water needs to be two thirds the height of the ramekin. Bring determined water amount to boil while assembling the custard.

Custard
1  teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
½ cups sugar
5 large egg yolk (room temperature)
8-10 teaspoons Demera sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine and bring vanilla paste, 1 cup of the cream, granulated sugar, and salt to a boil over medium heat. Stir every now and then to prevent the cream from forming a skin.  Once boiled, remove the pan from heat and let steep for 15 minutess.
2. After the mixture has steeped, stir in the remaining cup cream to cool down the mixture.
3. Whisk the egg yolks together in a large bowl until uniform. While whisking eggs with one hand use your other hand to slowly pour in the cream mixture. Make sure your cream has cooled enough so that your eggs will not curdle. Push final mixture through a fine mesh strainer, discarding any solids. Pour into the ramekins.
4. Place custard filled ramekins into pan.
5. Pour boiling water into pan, being careful not to splash water into ramekins.
6. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until custard either reads 170 degrees and/or until custards gives a gentle wiggle when moved.
7. Transfer baked ramekins to cooling rack. Cool to room temperature for approximately 2 hours.
8. To store, place plastic wrap directly on custard surface to prevent skinning.

Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 2 dozens

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 12 cup muffin pans.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (*see  note)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5–10 minutes.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5.Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before filling with custard.

Assembly
1. Using a paring knife cut a shallow cone from the top of the cupcake.

2. Fill hole with custard.
3  Generously sprinkle  Demera sugar on top of custard.
4. Keep torch six inches from sugar to brulee.

A Cupcake Personality

Posted by on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Recently I discovered Donica, an amazing woman and artist who is exploring art therapy and is enrolled in a Transpersonal Psychology program.  Simply put, transpersonal psychology is a form of psychology that studies the spiritual aspects of the human experience.  During this study she was introduced to Jung’s Archetypes, which effectively are differing but repeating patterns of thought and action that reappear time and again across people, countries and continents.

Effectively Jung indicated that we are all made up of basic archetypes, these represent a way of feeling and acting, for example ‘the mother’ – feeding, nurturing, soothing, or ‘the maiden’ – purity, desire, etc.  Jung’s Archetypes, are fascinating to read about.  Donica, has used her study to self-identify 12 archetypes which guide her.  Creatively she then matched each of these archetypes to 12 cupcake flavors, and then developed a menu of her cupcake archetypes and crocheted each.    Her cupcake archetypes are:

Warrior –  Red Chili Mango
Artist –  Starry Blueberry Night
Lover –  Strawberry Cheesecake Delight
Prostitute – Mint White Chocolate
Magical Inner Child – Funfetti Birthday Cake
Saboteur – Wild Berry
Victim – Uh-oh upside Down Pineapple
Femme Fatale – Titillating Tiramisu
Secretary – Pumpkin Danish
Messenger – Golden Angel Food Cake
Hedonist – Pink Lemondae Pleasure
Storyteller – Spicy Vanilla Chai Latte

Pink Glittered Cupcake Burlap Banner and Gift Bags

Posted by on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Etsy seller Funkyshique has created a burlap cupcake banner and gift bags.  The banner, for only $18, would make a nice and simple decoration for any birthday party. The gift bags, which cost $12 for a set of four, would make wonderful goodie bags since they are reusable unlike the plastic bags we got when I was growing up.

Cupcake Beach Towel

Posted by on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Yesterday we shared with you a cute Betsy Johnson Cupcake Bikini.  Why not get this cute pink cupcake beach towel to keep you dry? For only $25 it’s available from Jeanie B: Gifts and Homewares.

Toronto Girls’ Cupcake Bike Ride

Posted by on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Here’s a cupcake idea that’s been getting a lot of buzz this week and certainly one that I hope catches on in my hometown: city-wide cupcakery bicycle tours.  Hyedie Hashimoto recently founded the Toronto Girls’ Cupcake Bike Ride. Ever since the Toronto Star did a story on it last week, she and her new ride have been all over the cupcake blogs.

Image by Happy D Designs

Why a cupcake ride? Because cupcakes are awesome (hello!) and because Toronto has the right density of cupcake places for a good city-wide bike tour. Why ladies’ only? “I heard last year about a report that said less women were riding bikes than men,” says Hashimoto, “I wanted to do something to help promote girls on bikes.”

Flowerpot Cupcakes by Bernard Shondell

Posted by on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

These are so cool!  Oh my gosh, I just have to try this!  I don’t have much of a green thumb, but these “plants,” I can handle!

 KansasCity.com featured a post recently on these delightful flowerpot cupcakes!

We have Bernard Shondell of Roeland Park to thank for these tasty works of art.  If you’d like to try to create your own, here are his words of advice:

•Place paper cupcake liners in the bottom of clean, preferably new, flowerpots to cover the hole.

•Line pots with parchment paper or foil.

•Fill about 2/3 full with your favorite cake batter.

•Place the pots in an empty cake pan for stability, and bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

•Once cooled, tint your favorite icing and spread on top of the cake to form a smooth dome. With a star or rose tip, pipe “petals” on top.

•An alternative to piping the top is to flatten gum drops with a rolling pin (use granulated sugar so they won’t stick); then arrange the flattened candy as “petals” on the top.

•Add green icing leaves or a green bow to complete the look.

•Garnish with an edible wafer paper butterfly, available at Fancy Flours!

Nerdcake of the Week: Animal Biology Cupcakes

Posted by on Monday, June 7th, 2010

These veterinary-themed cupcakes come to us courtesy of a  grad party and Clever Cupcakes in Montreal. And to quote Clever Cupcakes flickr feed, “Yes, in case you are wondering that is a dissected fondant frog :)”

I feel like I really should just change this to “Clever Cupcakes Most Awesome Cupcake of the Week” since the Montreal-based cupcakery gets featured here so often.  But what can I say – they make great nerd-themed cupcakes.  Perhaps this will be a challenge to our readers and cupcake bakers the world over to make more nerdy cupcakes. And to send us the pictures :)

Lily Evans Unbirthday Cake soap

Posted by on Monday, June 7th, 2010

Lily Evans Unbirthday Cake soap

Not your birthday? Well a very merry unbirthday to you!
It doesn’t need to be your birthday, but it can still feel like it. This smells like a slice of vanilla and butter cream special day cake, with sprinkles!

Creamy lather, creamy scent, happy you.

Listing is for one 4oz slice of soap.

Gift wrapped?! YEAH! It wouldn’t be unbirthday cake without it!

Available at Lily Evans’.

Drumroll Please…

Posted by on Monday, June 7th, 2010

 

And the winner is…

Linda Ann Brown
June 5th, 2010 at 7:28 am

I have to say I like the silly swirl hearts! I actually love all the swirl variations. Not to mention this site is going on my list for stocking stuffers! lol

Congratulations! Please send your mailing address to [email protected]. Thanks to all who entered and commented on the crayons. Special thanks to GaddyNipperCrayons for sponsoring this awesome giveaway!

Betsy Johnson Hello Cupcake Bathing Suit

Posted by on Monday, June 7th, 2010

It’s summer which means it’s time to hit the pool or the beach and why not look cute-as-a-cupcake in Betsy Johnson’s Hello Cupcake Embroidered Halter Top bikini.  You can find this whimsical bathing suit featuring cats, birds, flowers, and of course cupcakes, on Betsy Johnson’s website or Bloomingdale’s and remember since this is a designer piece of swimwear it is more expensive.  The top and bottom are perchased separately with the halter top costing $98.00 and the tie bottoms are $78.  An additional bonus of you order from Bloomingdale’s is you recieve a free towel with every $100 swimwear purchase.

Cupcakes for your pooch!

Posted by on Monday, June 7th, 2010

From a small town in Brisbane, Australia, Westside News brings us the story of Emma Lulham who is baking up a storm!

However there is a difference about her treats, they are not for us two legged humans, but for our four legged friends.  Her company ‘Sweet Chops‘ is a small outfit dedicated to creating gourmet treats especially for spoiled dogs. And it is not limited to cupcakes! Emma also stocks a range of dog ‘lollipups’ and personalized birthday cakes.

All of her treats use natural ingredients, no sugar or preservatives and the treat decorations are made with carob or yoghurt, instead of chocolate.  Healthy and delicious! – for dogs!

Emma’s latest addition are paw shaped carob treats called ‘Box O’ Choco Licks’!  I am sure Noogie, her labrador and gourmet taste tester, is quite the envy of all his doggy neighbours!

Dinosaur Grrday Cupcakes

Posted by on Sunday, June 6th, 2010

A Baked Creation has some of the best decorated cupcakes I have seen.  I always envy those who are skilled with fondant, mostly because I am so inexperienced when it comes to using the ingredient.  A Baked Creation recently made Grrday cupcakes which are cute little dinosaur topped cupcakes that were used to celebrate someone’s birthday (get it birthday, grrday).

A Baked Creation has made dinosaur cupcakes before which included an assortment of dinosaur types. This time around one addition was made, Nessy, the Lock Ness Monster who lives on a cupcake.


An added bonus for all of us needing help with fondant is the How: T-Rex Cupcake Topper post which includes both written and visual directions on how to create the cute little dinosaurs.

I think these dinosaur topped cupcakes would make any grrday memorable! Be sure to checkout their website for tons of other fun and impressive cupcakes!

Love in the Time of Cupcakes

Posted by on Sunday, June 6th, 2010

I love to read blogs, but they don’t usually make me cry.  Then enter Love in the Time of Cupcakes!  Darn her, she pulled on my cupcake strings!

Mary T. Wagner is the author of two books, Running with Stilettos and Heck on Heels.  She’s a mother of four and an attorney, and yet she somehow still manages to write the touching and tear-jerking blog, Running with Stilettos.

 

In her essay Love in the Time of Cupcakes, Mary shares how, even though she was a busy career mom, she always made time to celebrate her children’s lives, and to be involved through cupcakes.  She made two dozen “ghost cupcakes” for each of her three children in grammar school to help celebrate Halloween.  Each tennis season, she made “tennis ball cupcakes” for her son’s and daughter’s teams.  (She bemoans the fact that the girls would scream with delight at the cupcakes’ cuteness, but the boys would just inhale them!)  This essay celebrates mothering and cupcaking at the same time, and was so beautiful that, even this early in the morning, I’m thinking of going to wake up my daughter.  She won’t mind when I tell her we’re going to make some cupcakes!

Sex and the City Cupcake Purse

Posted by on Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Any of you out there Sex and the City fans? If you are or if you have even seen the movie than you have seen this lovely gem of a purse I am about to show you.

For the past year this purse has been out of stock but it is now back in stock at the Judith Leiber boutique!

They also have 2 mini cupcake key chains as well.

Singer Katy Perry has also been seen adorning one of these purses.

Enter This Week’s Giveaway

Posted by on Saturday, June 5th, 2010

  

Half a Dozen Creamy Cupcake Crayons-- Packaged and Ready for Gift Giving

Good morning sweet cupcake fans!  This is just a reminder that Sunday is the last day to enter our cupcake crayons giveaway sponsored by Etsy seller GaddyNipperCrayons. Please click here to enter.

 

Flavor 150 – Is it yours?

Posted by on Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Carolina Cupcakery wants to test your foodie skills in helping them create their record-breaking 150th cupcake flavor!

Carolina Cupcakery currently has 144 flavors and counting.  I couldn’t really contemplate 150 flavors of cupcake, until I visited their full menu.  It was a mouth-watering experience.  Each cupcake is sorted under a heading of chocolate, coconut, coffee, fruit/veggie, misc, nut, spice, vanilla/butter and special needs.  I have a special need for a cupcake now!

This isn’t the first time Carolina Cupcake has called on the public to be part of their cupcake design team.  Jaina’s ‘Raspberry’ cupcake was the winner of cupcake flavor 100, – a chocolate cake stuffed with raspberry mousse, drizzled with dark chocolate ganache. The photo below shows Jaina tucking into her creation and holding aloft her icing filled trophy.

Contest entries should be emailed to [email protected] and must be received before 9pm on June 9, 2010.  The contest winner will be announced on June 10, 2010, at the store’s second anniversary celebration. Click here for more information.

Hmm, I have a real craving now for the Apple Martini cupcake, it sounds divine!  Rather fitting huh?

Texas Cupcake Event!

Posted by on Friday, June 4th, 2010

Now this is a cupcaking event! They do things big in Texas, especially at Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop in Austin.

Jess Pryles, of Sugadeaux Cupcakes in Melbourne, Australia, will be visiting the Lone Star State this month! Sugadeaux’s motto is, if you’re going to indulge, you should do it properly.

Debating whether to make the trip across town, or across Texas?  Check out Sugar Mama’s ratings on Yelp!  There are a lot of Sugar Mama fanatics out there!  One happy customer wrote, “Sugar Mama’s is a cupcake lover’s dream come true.”  Oh, how sweet.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Posted by on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

What could be better than root beer and ice cream? Well root beer and ice cream in cupcake form of course! I found this great recipe at smittenkitchen.com

Root Beer Float Cupcakes

These are made with real root beer and real vanilla ice cream. Can we say YUMMMM?!?!What a better way to start the summer.

Debbie-Lee’s Birthday Cupcakes

Posted by on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

We received these photos and this email from ATC Reader Debbie-Lee…

Hiya

My name is Debbie-lee Osborne (aged 32)
I had a cupcake party for my last birthday & made the giant cupcake as well as the cupcake stand & all the cupcakes on it
I love you website & would love to show off my 1st attempts!!

Thanx heaps

Debbielee (cupcake-a-holic)

Thank you so much for sharing! Happy Belated Birthday! They look great! :)

What’s New, Cupcake?

Posted by on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

From the authors of the famously popular Hello, Cupcake! comes What’s New Cupcake?   I just received this newest recipe book last week and it is amazing!  

Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack: Download CoverWhat's New, Cupcake? by Karen Tack: Book Cover

Here’s what Amazon.com had to say about this yummy book:

The endlessly imaginative duo who turned cupcaking into a national pastime is back, with utterly new, eye-popping creations anyone can make. Create a race-car cupcake, a robot cupcake, or ravishing jewelry cupcakes for a birthday party. Surprise the family with Chinese takeout dinner cupcakes on April Fool’s or serve up a goofy chocolate moose. Captivate Mom with a bouquet of long-stemmed rose cupcakes and build sand castle cupcakes with the kids. All you need are candies from the corner store and cake mix and canned frosting.

Be on the lookout for my What’s New Cupcake? review and recipe book giveaway here on ATC at the end of this month.  You might be the winner of one of these books! 

Heads, shoulders, knees and toes

Posted by on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Where would you place your tattoo??

We have received some really cool images this week of cupcake tattoos.  It got me thinking where I would put my cupcake tattoo if I wasn’t such a wimp when it comes to burning needles!  Also I have a huge tendency to change my mind, so anything that cannot be altered or modified five minutes later, is just no good.  But if I was to have one, where would it go?  I do like the ankle area, or perhaps on my tummy just along my pant line. Hmm, today it would definitely be chocolate with triple choc chip.

So where would you place yours – hypothetically of course!  I haven’t seen any head cupcake tattoos yet, but Jessica wins the shoulder one (well it is in the vicinity of her shoulder) with this gorgeous cupcake nestled under her arm.  I love the little red bow.

And no one has a knee one yet – if you do send it in.  However one of our readers did send in this little cherry dotted one on her foot.  A big hello to the Skull & Rose Gallery in Clintonville, Ohio, where these were done!

Tori Spelling loves cupcakes too!

Posted by on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Tori Spelling seems to be of those celebrities who loves cupcakes just as much as we do.

Owner of FulfilledSusumu Tsuchihashi with Tori Spelling

Posing with one of Mrs. Beasley’s Cupcakes

Enjoying a Crumbs Bake Shop cupcake

Here are a few other links to Tori and cupcakes…

Stori Telling by Tori Spelling cupcake

Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood | Oxygen

Sneak peek 504-1: Cupcake Time

Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood
Tori plans to surprise Dean with cupcakes when he arrives at his hotel.
Check out Tori’s hit reality series on Oxygen
Next Episode: Monday 10/9c

I Am Baker Flower Cupcakes

Posted by on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

I Am Baker is extremely talented when it comes to decorating all things sweet.  I came across these flower cupcakes and loved them.  They are frosted to look like flowers then topped with a royal icing flower which includes initials in the leaf.  Her website includes tons of other unique cupcake and impressive dessert displays.

I think one of my favorite dessert displays is this table and it's actually not the cupcakes that I like!

It's the inside that I really love, frosting flowers!

The Best Industries for Starting a Business Right Now

Posted by on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Inc. Magazine just published a slideshow featuring the 16 best industries for starting a business right now. And among home health care and green technologies, there sits our good friend the cupcake! According to Inc., bakeries and pastry shops are growing at a rate of 5% per year! It seems that people are looking for affordable indulgences these days, and of course, cupcakes satisfy this craving for simple luxury! Cupcakes, and other small treats, are also easy to make locally, from local ingredients, by local people. Consumers are looking to support just this sort of business! Is today the day to open up your own cupcake shop?

Keli’s Cupcake Tattoo

Posted by on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

ATC reader Keli sent us this photo and email…

As a fan of cupcakes and epidermal artistry I have finally decided to combine my love of the two!  It took a few months of scouting ideas (a lot from your site) and a few weeks of finding the perfect color combos, but it was all worth it.  I decided to proudly display on my forearm for all the world to see.  Thanks for all you do to promote the utter awesomeness of the oh so humble cupcake!

Thank you so much for sharing! It’s adorable! ;)