Cupcakes and SassyCakes

A great giveaway from "Sweetest Kitchen" !!

2010-03-02T22:46:00.003-07:00

Ok so here I am posting another great giveaway but I really truly cant not let you know about this one. Its for a $50.00 gift certificate to "Bake it Pretty" a great shop for all kinds of things for your baking needs. Even if you dont feel up to entering for the giveaway (which is crazy) at least go check out the shop. Anyways here's a link to the giveaway! Go check it out!

Apron Giveaway at Grosgrain!!

2009-09-24T01:04:00.000-06:00

Here is a great opportunity to do some baking in style :) I know I love a good giveaway and thought I would share this one with my fellow bakers. Go check out Grosgrain they always have great giveaways going on so make sure you stop by every once in awhile.

CocoaDreams Aprons Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Purple and Silver Ribbon Cake

2009-06-08T01:28:00.003-06:00

This is the wedding cake I made this weekend. A simple in design cake with ribbon for decoration. The bottom tier was chocolate and the top two tiers were vanilla the entire cake was covered and filled with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream. The was also a slab cake of one layer chocolate and one layer vanilla also covered and filled with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.

Blue Bow Wedding Cake

2009-05-23T21:55:00.006-06:00

This is the cake I made last night for a wedding gift today :) As for the design of the cake all I was told was they wanted a medium blue and silver for accents. So having free reign of the design of the cake was at first great. But then I realized without direction I went on to changing the design of the cake at least 6 times before I settled on this. Its really funny how at first I was excited to be able to do whatever I wanted but then my imagination took over and I couldn't decide which design I would like best. I went with the bow design since I had loved a lot of these cakes I had been coming across lately. Also because it was up to me I wanted to obviously do something I hadn't done before. The bow on top and ribbons were made out of the medium blue fondant but brushed with some silver luster dust to give it a shimmer and tie it into the silver ribbon around each tier. In the end I thought it was super cute and had a great time making it!

Yikes, Clearly I'm behind on the blog posts!

2009-05-21T23:49:00.008-06:00

Shame on me.. Not sure whats been keeping me so busy but clearly I have been slacking on the blog posts for the last couple weeks. My bad :( Well here are a few of the cakes I did the last two weekends. Two weekends ago I made a Chocolate cake with Chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream filled with cherry filling and a Carrot cake with Cream Cheese frosting for a wonderful twitter friend. Her husband had just come home from being away for a long time (Army) and she was having a small gathering of some close friends to welcome him back :)

Then last weekend I had a Wedding out in Devon I made a cake for. This cake completely stacked was probably over 60 pounds. Outrageous how heaving a cake becomes once you make a wooden cake base and the entire cake is covered in fondant. Fondant is soo heavy! Anyways, here is a couple pictures of it as well. Hope you all had a great 2 weeks and can account for your time better than I can :) LOL

The cake table setup

Chocolate Cake with Cherry filling covered in Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Carrot Cake covered and filled with Cream Cheese Icing

Wine Bottle Birthday Cakes

2009-05-02T13:17:00.006-06:00

When I received the order for these cakes I wasn't super excited about making them. The client did not like fondant so they had to be covered in buttercream with only fondant accents so I wasn't sure I could make them as nice as I would have liked for them to be. Well I am actually very happy with how they turned out. I also ended up having a lot of fun making them and didn't realize it until I was almost finished and it was 3:00am. The only thing I had left to finish this morning was the grapes and vines. Both of the cakes were Chocolate with Raspberry filling and then covered in Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream. I love that my time management is four times better than what it was three months ago. Especially with wedding season right around the corner.

Burgandy labeled bottle

Green labeled bottle

Closeup of the grapes

2009-04-26T13:30:00.005-06:00

Here is the second cake I made for this weekend. A pink Chanel purse cake. I LOVED making this cake! Perhaps because I myself have somewhat of a purse obsession? I was up until 4:00am working on this for its pickup this morning. But I enjoyed every second of it :)

Closeup of the tag

Navy Cake

2009-04-26T13:20:00.003-06:00

This is one of the two cakes I made for this weekend. Although this was the first artificial cake I have made. I like how the cake turned out although that could be partially due to the fact that its not pink which seems to be all I am using for colors lately. It was a nice break. It was also interesting using hot glue on a cake, something I have obviously never done before :)

Butterfly Cake

2009-04-18T16:10:00.005-06:00

Here is some pictures of the order I had for pickup today. It was for Madison's 1st birthday! It seems like all Ive been doing lately is pink cakes :) Not that I'm complaining since it is one of my favorite colors but all of them have had something bad happen in the process of putting them together. I was labeling all pink cakes cursed in my mind. Well this one finally broke the cycle and nothing bad or drastic happened while making it. Thankfully :) The cake was Chocolate and it was covered and filled with Vanilla Swiss Meringe Buttercream.

Closeup of the Cupcakes

Cupcakes all packed up and ready to go!

Group shot! Order ready to go :)

GOODIES!!

2009-04-12T12:59:00.006-06:00

My mother in law stopped by last week. Apparently she had been seeing things every once in awhile that reminded her of me or she thought I might like and had ben starting up a little bag for me. She came by last week and dropped it off for me and these were a few of the goodies inside!

Closeup of the Cupcake Ribbons :)

Closeup of the Cupcake Stamps :)

Pink Wedding Cake

2009-04-10T10:23:00.003-06:00

I am starting to get the feeling that pink cakes are cursed for me. I had a huge filling disaster last night. It was a product of too runny filling. I knew that if I didn't take the entire cake apart clean off all of the filling and start over that it would have turned into one of those bleeding cakes you seen horrific pictures of. Those used to be pretty cakes sitting on a table at the reception that have red filling oozing out from under the fondant icing.. by the end of the reception the entire table is red surrounding the cake... Ya I really didn't want to ever associate myself to making one of those so start from scratch I did. At least the end result looked good. My blood pressure cant handle many more pink cakes.

Scuba Diver Cake

2009-04-04T13:56:00.006-06:00

Here is the second cake I had for pick up this morning. This cake had hours and hours of work. The diver took hours because of the putting a bit together and then waiting for it to dry or harden up a bit and then adding some more. A lot of back and forth. The cake had to be large enough for 50 guests. It was a 6", 8" and a small 9"x13" slab. The entire cake was Red Velvet and was drizzled with Royal Chambord, filled with Raspberry filling and iced with Cream Cheese. I had wished that I had made a 4" cake for myself :( Such a good flavor combo. Anyways here is some pictures of the cake and a closeup on the sign that I tried to look like wood(first time attempting this).

The entire cake

The wood sign

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

2009-04-04T13:09:00.002-06:00

One of the cakes I made for pick up this morning. This cake was Strawberries 'n' Cream cake with Marshmallow filling. Outside was covered in Vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and Fondant decorations. Alexia's 4th birthday! Her mom was putting a strawberry shortcake cake topper on top so I had to leave room for that.

Almond Cake

2009-03-31T22:23:00.004-06:00

Had a client tasting for a Almond wedding cake with Chocolate buttercream. Below is the little 4" cake I made for the tasting and this cupcake was one a few leftovers. I have been super busy with client meetings and last minute shoppers for wedding cakes. I booked 2 wedding cakes for April and another one for May in the last week. I can't imagine waiting until that close till the wedding to start looking for a baker! I have a Scuba diver cake and a strawberry shortcake cake due for Saturday. Should be fun :) Hope you all had a great March!

Almond Cake with Chocolate Buttercream - Client tasting

Spring Cupcakes

2009-03-25T10:39:00.007-06:00

Made a dozen spring looking cupcakes for my mother's neighbors last weekend. She had been mentioning to me about placing an order to thank them for all the help they had been this winter when my father passed away. So I figured since they have two little girls I would whip up somthing bright and colorful.

Easter Cupcakes

2009-03-18T21:35:00.006-06:00

Today I decided to try out a couple new recipes. A chocolate butter cake recipe, which is now my new favorite chocolate cake recipe and a whipped chocolate ganache recipe. The cake recipe was amazing! Its moist and yet fluffy with a delicate crumb basically in a nut shell it's perfect. I have been searching long and hard for a chocolate cake recipe that was perfect and finally I have one :)

For the whipped ganache, although it tastes delicious, the consistency was not that great so I will have to look further. Although I definitely will be using it again as a cupcake or cake filling as it tasted like a truffle filling, not to sweet. Very yummy :) Anyways here is some Easter cupcakes to get you into a spring baking mood! Enjoy :)

Chocolate Butter Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache with Royal icing flower

Chocolate Butter Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache with Fondant Rose Bud

Pixie Cake

2009-03-13T11:21:00.006-06:00

Making kid's cakes are becoming my new favorite. I had a blast making this cake. Especially the little frog :) I gave the little girl having either the pixie sitting on a lily pad or a flower. She picked lily pad and so this was what I came up with for the design for the rest of the cake. I learned a lot of useful things while making this cake. Most importantly:

Always attach the head to the body before adding the hair.

Pixie Closeup

Mushroom Closeup

Frog Closeup

Pink Cake

2009-03-07T22:47:00.003-07:00

Well as cute as this cake turned out it was a huge pain trying to make. I hope I never get an order for a pink buttercream cake! If you just nick this cake you end up with pink on you which inevitably ends up on something white. I ended up going through two ribbons around the base of the cake plate because the first one managed to get pink on it somehow, never mind trying to roll out white fondant without tinting it pink! Lots of frustration with this one but I think the end result was worth it in the end. Very Cute :)

Lightroom

2009-03-05T23:55:00.006-07:00

I discovered Lightroom today. It has been so much fun that I have been distracted all day and now behind in my work for this weekend. Good thing it's a cake for my family :) This program is great for doing really neat things with your exsiting photos. I wanted to make my cake photos into "glamour shots" for a album I plan on putting together one of these days. There is soo many different ways or changing your photos for the feel you may be going for. Anyway's, I love this program so much I had to share it with the rest of you! Here is some shots I worked on today of cakes and cupcakes I have done.

Deer Head Cake

2009-03-04T23:59:00.003-07:00

Made this cake earlier today for a extra special client of mine. I'm starting to think she caught a cake bug. This is the second cake she has ordered from me in 3 weeks and when she emailed me to order this one she also asked me about one for next week as well. I was starting to think I should make a "cake stamp card" for her. Sort of like Slab's ice cream card, buy so many and you get a free cone, or cupcakes.. in this case :) Anyways, I wanted to share a photo. Yummy chocolate rifles.. lol...

Dinosaur Cake

2009-03-01T15:11:00.005-07:00

Here is a couple shots of a birthday cake I made today. I had alot of fun making this cake and may have to use the dino again in a birthday cake for my son :) While I was out shopping yesterday I came across some letter cut outs in a shop I wouldn't have expected to find them in and was happy I put them to use already! The cake was White Velvet filled with raspberries and cream filling, covered in vanilla buttercream. I hope Kingston had a great 1st birthday!

Full view Dinosaur cake

Cupcakes!

2009-03-01T15:01:00.005-07:00

Here is a couple cupcakes I made this weekend. I love the leaf ones. I wish you see the shimmer on the leaves. They were a gold and coppery orange color. Just beautiful. Then a cute coconut cupcake :)

I also made a super cute Dinosaur cake which I will add in another post!

Coconut Cupcake with sugar heart

White Velvet cupcake with Vanilla buttercream

Castle Cake

2009-02-21T12:59:00.003-07:00

Had a request for a princess castle birthday cake. Decided to go with something a little different from the typical Wilton cake castle kits you see everywhere. Had fun making this cake super cute super girly :) The kind of cakes I miss out on because I have a son.. haha.. Either way thought I would post a picture!

Castle Cake

Valentines Day Cake

2009-02-15T22:33:00.004-07:00

This is a Valentines Day cake I made for a client on Friday. She wanted the cake fairly small in size and with a doll either on or inside the bed. Because of the small selection of doll torso's here, the size of the torso in comparason to the bed was quite a bit off. If I had put her kneeling on the bed she probably would have looked like the 40 foot women :) Making fondant lingerie was fun :)

Full view including rug

2009-02-13T11:38:00.006-07:00

I have been pretty busy lately so here is a little photo bunch of a few of the things live made in the last couple weeks. Im working on a Valentines Day cake today so I will try to post some pictures of that as well this weekend. As I am sure some of you know, yesterday was Twestival. I was not able to go to the one here in Edmonton as the location was not child friendly :) but made a few door prizes for the event.

Twesival door prizes -
White Velvet Cupcakes with French Vanilla or Lemon Buttercream

Tiramisu Cupcake

Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese frosting

Peggy Porschen's Romantic Cakes

2009-01-30T11:48:00.006-07:00

I always meet my potential cake clients in various coffee shops around the city. Well the nice thing about Starbucks is there's a bunch in Chapters book stores. Which means after the meeting I can celebrate with a new cake book!! Well three weeks ago I bought a book called 'Romantic Cakes' by Peggy Porschen. I love this book! Soo many great cake ideas, beautiful cakes and I look forward to making most of them. It has alot of useful information on basic cake decoration as well. Some of her techniques simplified things from what I am used to as well so I really look forward to trying them. Well I opened this marvelous book and looked through it and suddenly realized it was missing the "templates" referred to in alot of the patterns for the cake designs. Because I loved the cake designs I was really upset. I thought I would google my problem to see if I could see anyone else with the same issue. Nothing. So I looked to see if she had a website that I could contact her about this problem. Also thinking that maybe the glitch hadn't been caught yet. Well I found her website and used the contact link emailed them and within a couple days received an email of apology and that the templates had been mailed out to me! I was really impressed that they responded so quickly and shipped them out as well. Needless to say any and all books that she comes out with I will definitely be adding to my collection!

Hey! What's this??

Yay!! My templates are here!!

Stupid mail, bent my templates...

Yup, It really is my templates :)

Pretty templates in a really pretty folder.

Super Cute Recipe Box's

2009-01-29T10:37:00.005-07:00

So last weekend I went to Michael's excited with coupon in hand to go get somthing new for a great price. Well I notice they had this new isle with various bins filled with little nick nacks and what not. To my surprise I came across this little beauty! I have looking for a recipe box on and off for awhile now. I currently use a recipe binder but wanted a box to start placing my favorite most comonly used recipes. This box was $3.00!! and super cute :) Then they have matching recipe cards for $1.50 a pack! I seriously was blown away by the cheap cuteness of this. They had another adorable one that was white with pink, teal, and brown measuring cups, beaters and other baking things on it. It was actually a really tough choice. Especially since my kitchen is cream and pinky/purple. I thought I would share this great deal with you all in case you are like me in need of a cute recipe box for a great price. I also figured if I took a picture of a cupcake beside it, it would still fit in with the theme of the blog :)

My new recipe box!

Here it is flipped open :)

The matching cards I got.

Hockey Cupcakes

2009-01-26T14:01:00.005-07:00

Here are pictures of some Hockey themed birthday cupcakes I made for an order this weekend. I went with hockey pucks and hockey sticks for decorations. I made these out of fondant. Super easy and quick to do. I actually like the pucks so much that I might just start putting little fondant circles on my cupcakes from now on.

Group shot

Hockey stick cupcake

Hockey puck cupcake

Twilight

2009-01-13T12:34:00.002-07:00

You probably don't know these but, I am a huge Twilight geek. Yes I am in love with all things that sparkle :) So when I came across this which combined two things that I absolutely adore I couldn't resist posting it here. Check out Gary Cruz's other photography here.

Peony Cake & Cherry Blossom Cake

2009-01-10T22:17:00.006-07:00

Well I put together a couple cakes this weekend and thought I would share a few pictures with you. Let me know what you think! I needed to test out some recipes and at the same time add to my portfolio as well. Now I think I'm going to go take a bite out of the one I made for our house :)

This was covered in Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

This was covered in fondant, its hard to tell but there was a small bow in the middle.

Pavlova.. YUM

2009-01-06T19:42:00.008-07:00

I found this recipe a couple days ago and was really excited to make it so I thought tonight for dessert I would. Let me tell you YUM! Move over strawberry shortcake, this is my new berry whip cream dessert cake. Sooo good. Although I think I might take the sugar down either a quarter cup or make the whip cream less sweet them I typically do. Although a smaller slice probably would work too. But it's soooo good :) Here's the recipe if you like me have yet to try Pavlova. Enjoy!

Here it is just put in the oven.

Here it is out of the oven.

All dressed up and ready to eat!

Wedding Cake

2009-01-03T19:08:00.011-07:00

I had a Wedding Cake I was working on all day Friday and most of today for a client. As some of you know I was on a mission searching high and low for a 14" pan and wasn't able to find one. So I ended up renting a 16" and then cutting down the sides. I hate doing that, its such a waste but I was hooped. Also I had a incident with 2, 16" cakes, so I actually ended up wasting alot more then just sides. Here are some photos of what the last two days have looked like for me :)

Here is the ridiculously huge 16" pan

Here it is baked. Let's just say I ended up making 4 of these instead of 2....

Here they are stacked.

At this point I think I had made 6 batches of Swiss meringue.

Just about done!

Finished!! Yay!

Happy New Year!!!!

2009-01-01T00:32:00.003-07:00

Just thought I would welcome your new ideas and creativity in the next year by inspiring you with super cute cupcake! Have a great new year & be safe!!

Christmas cups

2008-12-28T16:10:00.001-07:00

I got a call from my mom on Friday asking me to make some cupcakes to bring for dessert on Saturday. Sooo... seeing all the super cute Christmas cups and cakes I had seen out there lately I thought I would whip up some too. I love the little holly ones although I would have preferred to have a holly leaf cutter next time so it doesn't take forever to make one leaf. I had made red and burgundy flower ones as well. I made French Vanilla and Red Velvet mini cupcakes. I probably made around 150 cups. Here's some pictures of the finished products!

Little Holly Cakes

Group shot

Cupcake Ornaments!

2008-12-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

I though seeing as how it is the day before Christmas I would look for some cake related ornaments. I will say thank god for Etsy because if you try to find cupcake ornaments you will come across a bunch of weird and ugly looking things. Some of which barely resemble a cupcake. I actually gave up and went to Etsy knowing it wouldn't let me down, and I was right :) Here is a few I came across baring in mind every ones different tastes. The first and last ones are my personal favorite. I hope you enjoy looking and it puts you slightly more in the Christmas mood. Enjoy!

This first one is so pretty and can be found at Etsy made by madeinlowell.

This one looks almost realistic and can be found on Etsy made by FrostedFakes.

This one I found on a website called Pence Christmas Tree Farm and Ornament Shop.

These cute little tree clips I found on a store called Christmases Past.

This glass hand painted ornament was found on Etsy made by purplesmurple.

This sparkly little number found on Etsy made by melaniescrafts.

These mini realistic cupcakes were found on Etsy made by midoridesigns.

This super cute felted cupcake found on Etsy made by posieandme. She has a bunch of cute felted ornaments on there, check them out!

Last and certainly not least, this super cute robot ornament that bakes cupcakes in his tummy! Ok maybe I'm a little biased because I love robots too :) This was also found on Etsy made by paperandstring.

I hope you all have a great Christmas!

Lemon Drop's

2008-12-23T11:08:00.001-07:00

Had a christmas cupcake order this past weekend. This is a picture of the Lemon Drop Cupcakes and then I also made Caramel Cup's as well. I personally would much rather sit around on the holidays having cupcakes over cookies any day :)

I have been so far behind this year. Before last night I had only purchased one gift so far. We headed out last night and bought a few more. I still have to bake some cookies (for my preggo sister in law :)) and then start making a bunch of various different chocolates. I will have my hands sooo full for the next couple days. We havent even picked out a present for our 1 year old yet! Yikes. I forced my hubby to bring up the christmas tree this morning even though he doesnt want to put it up this year thinking our son will try climbing it. But since Aiden was so little last year and keeping us so busy we never had the chance to put it up and I can imagine going 2 years without the tree going up soo, thats my goal to do today :) What are your plans for the holidays?

Cake Mania

2008-12-10T15:01:00.001-07:00

So if your sitting around on your computer and are running out of things to do looking for something to pass the time I have a game for you. Its a cute game where you bake cakes for customers according to their orders and run around trying to get everything done fast in the correct order. Definatly a great time waster! Check it out :)

Vanilla Extract Recipe

2008-12-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

I came across this about a month ago on this great website. Thought its was a great idea and will definitely be trying it out!

Lime Meltaways

2008-12-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

I thought that with Christmas around the corner I would do up a recipe for something green. Even though you normally associate lime with summer, their still a cute green color which is probably the closest my mind has come to the season :) Without much snow around here it isn't feeling super festive. Not that I'm complaining about the warmer weather. If you love anything involving citrus or know someone that loves citrus, these will be sure to please. Not your typical sweet tooth cookie. Anyways, here it is!

Ingredients:

¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
⅓ cup confectioners sugar, Plus 3 Tbsp
2 Limes zest
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1¾ cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
¼ teasp coarse salt

Directions:

Put butter and confectioners sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy.

Add lime zest and juice and vanilla, and mix until fluffy. If you would like to add some green food coloring, now would be the time to add it.

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.

Divide dough in half. Place each half on an 8-by-12-inch sheet of parchment paper. Roll in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove parchment from logs; cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 6 to 8 minutes.

While still warm, sprinkle cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag.

Rolled in parchment

Chilled and then sliced into cookies

Finished Cookies!

Banana Bread

2008-12-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well I have been making Banana bread for pretty much everyone this past week and thought I would share my recipe with you. So let me know how it turns out for you!

Ingredients:

½ cup (1 Stick) butter, at room temp.
1 cup granulated sugar
2 lrg eggs
1½ cups unbleached flour
1 teasp baking soda
1 teasp salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
½ cup sour cream
1 teasp vanilla
½ cup chopped walnuts, chocolate chips or pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Yay!

2008-11-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

My Website and twitter account (@SassyCakes) was mentioned yesterday on onlyhereforthefood.ca !! Thanks @mastermaq and @sharonyeo!

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

2008-11-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

I decided to try a recipe I found awhile ago but hadn't got around to making. I can say after making these that I have found a new caramel butter cream that I plan on using over and over again in the future. The cupcake itself was pretty good too, although it couldn't stand alone without some sort of topping or fruit filling. As for the salt, I liked it at first which doesn't say much as I love salt but after a couple bites it started weirding me out that there was no sweet after taste that you typically have when eating sweet things. If you do try it with the salt I suggest trying it on a single cupcake first so you know if you like it that way or prefer the sweet caramel taste. Let me know what your preference was :) Well here is the recipe, Enjoy!

Ingredients: Makes 12 Cupcakes

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teasp baking powder
¼ teasp salt
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp.
2 lrg eggs, at room temp.
1 teasp vanilla extract
½ cup whole milk

Cupcakes: Preheat to 350°F.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the sugars and butter together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating on low speed until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Here they are cooling :)

Ingredients:

Caramel:
1½ cups sugar
1¼ cups heavy cream
1 pinch salt
Buttercream:
3 lrg egg whites, at room temp.
¾ cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temp.

For the frosting:

In a heavy-bottomed, high-sided saucepan, cook the sugar over medium-high heat until it begins to melt around the edges, about 5 minutes. Stirring with a clean wooden spoon, continue to cook until the sugar is melted and has turned golden amber, about 3 minutes longer.

Carefully pour the cream down the side of the pan in a slow, steady stream (it will bubble and spatter), stirring constantly until completely smooth. Stir in the salt. Pour the caramel into a small heatproof bowl and let cool completely before using. (The caramel can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before using.)

In a large, clean heatproof bowl, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over (but not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and heat the mixture, whisking constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is very warm to the touch (about 160°F on an instant-read thermometer), about 2 minutes (It always takes about 5 minutes for me). Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the egg white mixture until it is fluffy, cooled to room temperature, and holds stiff peaks (the mixture should not look dry), about 6 minutes.

With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the salt and the butter, a few pieces at a time, beating well after each addition. If the frosting appears to separate or is very liquid after all the butter is added, continue to beat on high speed until it is smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes more. Add the caramel drizzle (I only added about 1/2 cup) and beat until combined (or almost combined for a swirling effect), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, and serve. (The frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before finishing.)

All finished and sprinkled with salt.

Cupcake kids

2008-11-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sure everyone by now knows about Etsy.com but if you are still out of the loop make sure you check it out. Its a site where crafty inclined people can sell there items. Basically a marketplace where you can find alot of handmade items. Today I decided to take a look on there and find some great kids items. Here they are!

These are felt tea party desserts made by gingerblossoms. I would have loved to play with these when I was little.

This super cute knitted hat is made by NinisHandmades.

This is a cute ruffle onesie made by PregnancyJournals.

Adorable felted booties made by prettylittle.

This is jumper dress made by vanessaandcompany.

Beautiful barrette made by gmjj4.

Another cute onesie, this one is made by smallthreads.

Welcome!!

2008-11-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start a blog sharing recipes and ideas with others with the same interests as me. I have always loved baking even at a very young age. I enjoy cooking as well but baking is so satisfying. Its a single item that takes very little time to make and its a sweet treat that everyone enjoys. I love looking at other baking blogs getting ideas and thought it was time I contributed to something that has given me so much. I am a mother to a 1 year old boy, a wife and have started my at home business making Cakes and Cupcakes while working a couple days a week as well at my "day job" :) I look forward to getting feedback from you all!