Ina, You She-Devil You!

Been wanting to try Ina Garten's cupcake mixes for awhile not, but they are expensive (around $12.00 for a kit that makes 12 dozen), plus you supply the butter copious amounts (I might add) and I just had a hard time believing that would be that good. However, secretly I wanted to believe. "Never trust a skinny chef" that's the old adage right? Well, bless her heart, I always said I would trust Ina. Nothing against Ina, you know I am eating mine too!
Anyway, the other night I won a kit at an auction and couldn't wait to try it, again I was suspicious. Well, a dozen less cupcakes later (Steve and the kids got one, I think?? Maybe they had to share the one??) Who can remember??? All I can say is HEAVENLY!!! a really delicious, quality kit. Steve and I ate the chocolate alone from the kit and it was to die for! Don't know if I will be running out to purchase her 12 dollar kits any time soon, but at $3.00 a pop for cupcakes these days, maybe Ina's are a bargain?? Doesn't hurt that my neighborhood farm stand has them in stock only blocks from my house too?? Oh, this could be bad...

I'd Like "Samoa" Please

This recipe sounded too good NOT to try. It is not exactly the cookie (what could be?) but all of the flavor profiles are definitely there. It is rich; I'm not going to lie.

 As my dad would say, "It's so damn rich you need a whole glass of milk to wash it down."

Yep, I’m sure Dad meant it was a criticism, to me,  that was always a resounding affirmation that it was my cup o' tea! Bring on the richness and pour me a tall one won’t you?

Original recipe from Betsylife.com I just adapted it to a cupcake form & added a shot of ganche in the center just because I had a glass of milk, why not?! 

Somewhere Over

They're back! I will never tire of these sweeties! Yes, a little time comsuming, but there is something magical about watching my kids eating a rainbow that brings out the kid in me!

To Make: 

• Simply mix your vanilla batter ( I use Hello Cupcake's vanilla) w/ my own twist, of course. Good ol' box mix can be used as well & it's really the color of these that's the punch here especially if you're making them for kiddies.

       I say, save time and use a mix!

• Divide the batter out into individual bowls

• Add food coloring and mix. Gel pastes work best & give the best color, I think.

      However I really love McCormick's Neons liquid colors that you can get in most grocery stores.
      (I used McCormick's for the purple).

• Place each color in a Ziplock bag and snip corner.

• Layer each color into cupcake liners, one at a time. This time I added a small round of purple on the bottom (about the size of a quarter), then continued to add color on top of that till I filled the liners 3/4 of the way full. Although, you can experiment with how you fill to get fun effects!

• Bake as usual, let cool, & frost with your favorite butter cream.

                       I love that even the trash is beautiful with these!

All packaged up for a special young gentleman to our family who requested that I make these again this year.

       Like I said, something about watching them eat these makes me happy!

                                                 
                                 Makes me happy when I eat them too!



Las Flores Bonitas

A friend asked me to make cupcakes for her sister's engagement party. It is being held at a Mexican restaurant, so it seemed fitting to do Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes (Chocolate with cinnamon, melted caramel and a hint of chipotle for kick) and make them look like bright Mexican flowers. I hope the happy couple likes them and has a wonderful time at their party!

Peppermint Santa Hats and Swirled Eggnog & Frosty

Made these for a cookie exchange, wait let me 'splain...

There was also a craft exchange and since baking is a craft, I fudged a little (hee hee) and took these yummies...

 Chocoate Cupcakes with peppermint and vanilla buttercream
My recipe *look inspired by Luxefinds article

 Yellow Butter Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream *(All me)

Ok, did not make this guy. Found him on the faculty room table, but thought he was so cute!

Gobble Gobble

So I was inspired by the technique I used for Lucy's b-day cupcakes and decided the painted bag would make cute turkey tails. I used a leaf tip to make the feathers. not too shabby and oh so yummy!

Lovelies for Lucy

The inspiration...sweet Lucy turned one and to celebrate her parents had a rainbow inspired party. They hid these cuties all around the park and had the kids hunt for them. They gave me the great honor of making the cupcakes for the festivities.  We decided it would be fun to try and create something similar to the suckers.

 Here they are...

Chocolate cupcakes with dulce de leche buttercream frosting.

How to:

Cook cupcakes as usual, with a sharp knife, cut a small slit through the cupcake liner (cupcakes can be frozen to make this easier), then insert popsicle stick. I chose multicolored ones with colorful ribbons to match the theme, then frost!

The secret to the swirls:  paint lines inside the piping bag using a small paintbrush with gel icing colors before adding frosting.

Had to add Lucy's pinata...can't get much cuter than a cupcake!

Fall Felicity

Think I have a new addiction, I know it's hard to believe there is room in my repertoire but this little piece of heaven needs a place of its own. And who would have guessed Cracker Barrel? Let me 'splain.

Creamy pumpkin custard (nope, me either not a custard fan...this made me change my mind!), topped with a huge swirl of caramel mousse (I could write a whole page on this alone, creamy, yet light and airy, but rich with a deep caramel flavor...ah) all topped off with homemade gingersnap crumble and a gingersnap cookie-all of the flavors of fall in one scrumptious bowl. Too bad (probably good for me) there is not a Cracker Barrel anywhere close to me. I only hope they still have it in November when we go back! I will definitely be making a stop.

Fall Flavors

Recently visited family in Utah and of course, had to stop by one of my favorite spots to get my sugar fix, The Sweet Tooth Fairy. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip with cream cheese frosting, and Salted Caramel. These scrumptious delights did not disappoint!

Halloween Sweet Treats

 Witch Cake Pops.

Follow Cakepop recipe ( I use Bakerella's). Cover with Wilton Candy Melts in "Spooky Green" (I purchased mine at Walmart) 

Easy!
Directions for witch hats:

at Half Baked the cake blog
Place hats on while Candy Melts are not quite set & hats will stay on better.



Yummy, quick and easy Halloween treat/snacks. Salty and sweet together, what could be better?

Recipe:

Taken from Cakeinfo

I line my cookie sheet pan with pretzels (I use Snyder's of Hanover squares)

Unwrap enough Hershey Kisses Hugs to place one one each pretzel

Place in a 350 degree oven for 1-2 minutes

Take out of oven and while still warm, gently place a candy corn on top of each Hug.

Let cool.

Can be placed in the refridgerator to expedite cooling process.

Voila! Easy and Yummy.



Deluxe version of Monkey Cupcakes for B-day Boy

Decided to give the monkeys a make-over for the b-day boy's actual birthday.

I like the fuzz.

Cupcakes for Monkey Boy's B-Day

September is the time of year we turn to all things monkey...what am I saying, we are always about the monkey. But especially for Estevan's bday. Made these sweeties up for his class tomorrow. I think they'll enjoy.

I used Nilla Wafers for the nose (original size) and minis for the ears (snip the ends off with kitchen shears so they fit flush). Markings on nose made with edible markers. Eyes are mini marshmallows snipped in half with a chocolate chip poked in tip first. Couldn't be easier.

An Oldie but a Goodie!

These are great when you need a quick, easy cookie. Four ingredients!

Here they are:

Cake mix (any flavor)

1 egg

1/4 c oil (I use canola)

1/4 c water

That's it! 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

I used a cherry chip mix for this batch and added M&M's to the top just for fun.

I use my small icecream scoop and get about two and a half dozen out of the batch.

Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is in the air...can you smell it? Time to break out the pumpkin! Be forewarned however, at this time of the year, it is difficult to find in stock at most stores. Stores usually don't start carrying regularly until the end of September, beginning of October. So if you are lucky enough to find some, stock up! And then bring me a can, won't ya? ;) 

This muffin was kind of a fluke, but a yummy discovery. I had heard of mixing a spiced cake mix with a can of pumpkin to make muffins and wanted to try it, but all I had was a box of Pillsbury Sugar Free Yellow cake mix that I had purchased to try.

I am a skeptic when it comes to taking the sugar out of my sweets and claiming that they still taste great, but since it was all I had I tried. To replace the spice, I also added a few tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice. Ok, I added three of four, but my spice was cheap and not very flavorful. The end result...heaven! So yummy, moist and pumpkiney, is that a word? If not, it should be! I added a few chocolate chips just to the top to add some sweet, but not enough to damage the "sugar free" of the cake mix. I had eaten a couple (yea right) when I remembered that they were semi-sugar-free and they still tasted great! Who knew?

So to recap...here is the recipe:

Cake mix, 15 oz. can 100% pumpkin (not pie filling), Pumpkin pie spice (to taste),

plus a few semi-sweet chocolate chips to sprinkle on top before baking.

350 degrees for 17 minutes.

Latest Teddy bear Cake pan Escapades

This August a friend of mine had a b-day party for several family members, since all of them were “Leo’s”, we decided a lion was the way to go.  Since one of the b-days boys was turning one and not to tolerant to dairy, we decided to keep his cake frosting and mostly decoration free, so the small teddy bear cake pan was actually used as a teddy bear, (I think the first time ever!) A few easily removed fondant pieces and the b-day boy could smash in style without any nasty repercussions.

Loved the Leo cake, easily one of my favorites, before his main he was a pretty smashing cougar too, think I may have to make a cake one of these days for my own alma mater.  With dark fudge cake and peanut butter and chocolate frosting, he tasted pretty good too!

He's Baaack! More Tales of the Teddybear Cake Pan

 

Continuing our chat on the Teddy bear cake pan…

(http://himynameisvickiandiamaddictedtosugar.blogspot.com/2011/06/tales-of-little-teddy-bear-cake-pan

The teddy bear cake pan has been working overtime at my friend Katherine's house and I wanted to show you all of the lovelies that she has created with it. Each work of art represents a rival football team to her beloved USC, Katherine and her fellow Trojans then take great joy in impaling the cute cake with their traditional sword at each home-game tailgate party. Great fun, good football, but more importantly awesome cakes! 

And how darling are these b-day cakes???

 

Lost in Cyberspace

4th of July cake pops, just found this photo. These were so good! Did my normal cake pop thing, but added Rum (just flavoring my friends) although you could add the real too. ;) and voila...

instant rum ball on a stick. So yummy! I added blended maraschino cherries in the next batch for an even more traditional rum ball taste. (Yes, there was a next batch) The kiddoes loved them and thought they were delightful “bubblegum” flavored. If that’s what they want to believe great, bring on the bubblegum!

Em's Flowers

Em wanted to take a treat to church tomorrow, Mommy is substitute teaching her class for the next few weeks, so of course there must be treats. Sugar = Spirit, right? (Not actual doctrine folks...well maybe mine). She requested chocolate flowers with pink icing inside. Here is my interpretation...

I used this recipe along with my buttercream.

Had to make little ones for tasting! Yummo!