Teacher Appreciation

For my day job, I decided to make cupcakes for a Teacher Appreciation Reception that we were hosting.  I wanted to stick with a tried-and-true recipe, but wanted to mix up the frosting a little bit.  So I stuck with the Devil's Food cupcake, and tried a new whipped buttercream frosting recipe. 

First, you have to mix hot water and cocoa.  I always use the special dark cocoa because I think it brings forward the most flavor.

Then, I mixed the dry ingredients.

Then some melted butter!!!  Always tasty. . .

The eggs, vanilla and secret ingredient that adds oh-so-much moisture!

What a beautiful mix:

I'm still hating those Wilton liners (but using them up):

For the decor, I purchased some pre-colored fondant.  It actually ended up being a HUGE hit - folks actually liked the taste of it!  (It's from the Ace of Cakes guy at Michaels.  I had a coupon. Wow am I glad!)

By the time I made the frosting, it turned out terribly.  Oh well.  It tasted okay but I hated the texture. 

A good friend told me to take photos of food without a flash.  Hmmmmm. . .

Here they are, all decorated and pretty!

Speaking of Ace-of-Cakes, someone saw these, asked me if I made them, and when I responded, her eyes got very big and she told me, "Wow - they look just like Ace of Cake!"

I don't even watch that show, but I am flattered.

:)

Chocolate Covered Cherry (cake pops)

Well, those darned cake pops everyone is talking about are so cute!  I had to try some of my own.  I opened up the book on a sick day home Friday, and discovered that Bakerella herself suggests using box cake mixes.  How easy!  I actually had a cake mix and can of frosting waiting for me in the cupboard.  It is "cherry chip" my favorite flavor from my childhood.  But now that I'm all about creating my own recipes, I haven't had the heart to make something from a box.  I couldn't have been more thrilled to discover a way to use up the mix.

Next, I had to mix 2/3 of the frosting with the crumbled cake. 

 The next step was to roll this stuff into cute balls.

I have to admit, the next step is to refrigerate them for several hours or freeze for 15 minutes.  I decided to just stick them in the fridge, make lunch, and clean the house.  By the time the chocolate and dipping process came I was so tired and cranky (this is DEFINITELY the hard part) I had no more patience for pictures.  But here is the set-up:

I had some major problems with the chocolate and the dipping. I am glad this was a low-key first try.  They taste pretty good, but aren't that pretty.

"The Mulligan"

So I had a weekend at the beach coming up, with an added Friday off, so I knew I'd use my extra time to make a batch of cupcakes.  I am trying to build my professional portfolio, so I wanted to be able to try a new recipe and also take some more professional pictures.

My friend Dawn would be celebrating her birthday that weekend, so I decided to ask her if there was anything special I could make for her.  She mentioned the flavor that I had made for her bridal shower, so I decided to scrap the plan of a "new" flavor and stick with the plan of taking professional pictures of a cupcake that I was too busy to photograph last time.

Since we'd be staying at a family friend's beach house, I wasn't going to have all of the tools I needed, but I did pack a few essentials.

I mixed the dry ingredients, melted the fattening ingredients, and then mixed them all together - all with only my Pampered Chef Spatula!

This cake recipe is very runny - but it makes the cake so, so good!  I could just pour the batter into the pans.  (Right now I am working on getting rid of these horrible Wilton cupcake liners:)

See how they fold in?  I HATE them!

Now for the frosting: 

Have two things ever looked as yummy?  I think not.




The double boiler came in handy, but of course the frosting was too runny.  Oh well, it all worked out in the end!

The week leading up to the trip I saw something fantastic in a blog and I decided to try it in some of my cupcakes:

I then crushed up the rest of the Reese's Cups and sprinkled them on top.  They were enjoyed by all, and were GONE by the end of the weekend!

"The Steve"

So I saw a post by ginger bagel bake (a fantastic blogger) that was her take on a "Fluffer Nutter" cupcake.  I knew right away that I was going to have to make these for Steve, my husband whose favorite thing in the whole world is a Fluffer Nutter.  The recipe was easy to follow - vanilla cupcakes with a marshmallow cream filling and peanut butter frosting. 


I have to say - these are simply the best cupcakes I have ever, ever made.  YUM!

Valentine's Day 2011

The next batch of cupcakes that I tried (I always make Christmas Cookies - I'll take pictures next year) were for Valentine's Day, and they were from a Martha Stewart Living 2010.  I think they turned out great - the frosting was more like a meringue, and it started to curdle but I saved it!  At the last minute I decided to add pink coloring instead of red coloring, and therefore the frosting turned out peach instead of a nice pink, but I still think they are pretty.  I also did the chocolate hearts myself.  Another learning adventure!

Baby Shower

In December 2010, we threw a baby shower for one of the colleagues at my new place of employment.  My new work friends had all heard me talk about my cupcakes, and I brought a batch of leftover chocolate chip/chocolate chip in November for my friend Marlo's birthday (no pictures) so they knew they were good.  I again called in the troops (Ashley and Marlo) to help with the fondant.  These didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but how do you learn if you don't make mistakes, anyway?