Super Cupcakes for a Super Birthday

I was asked a very big favor a month ago and was very excited. I was asked to make cupcakes for a five-year-old's birthday and not just any kind of cupcakes (why be boring?), super hero cupcakes.

I found out he likes chocolate so I obviously had to make a chocolate cake but I didn't stop there. I added cream cheese and Nutella in the center. It definitely broke up the chocolate without losing too much of the chocolate flavor. Different textures usually help. 

My original intention was to put a hot chocolate mousse in the middle, but that didn't go so well.

Now onto the decorating. I made a normal buttercream frosting and divvied it up to make different colors per super hero. Spiderman obviously got red, Superman was red, blue and yellow (I bought the appropriate cupcake paper too) and Batman was blue. I found some toothpicks with the characters and decided to add M&M's on top, for another different texture. 

Needless it say it was a success and I'm really excited for more themed cupcakes. Shoot me an email if you're looking for something sweet for your next event! In the meantime, I can't wait for October...

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Why don't you build me up, buttercup baby...

Now that the Foundations are in my head...

Here's a take on a couple of the best candies around; peanut butter cups and Reese's Pieces. I've always made chocolate chip cookies with Reese cups in the middle but now I've turned it into a cupcake. And I couldn't just put any old frosting on top, had to add some crunch and compliment it with it's hard shelled crunchy counterpart. 

I put them in a ziplock and crumpled them up a bit, not too much so they'd still be crunchy and added them to my normal butter, powdered sugar and vanilla frosting and it's pretty epic. But before all of that, we can't forget about the hidden treasure that is the peanut butter cup in the center of the cupcake. 

Too much? No such thing. Right out of the oven they were good and still gooey but even better after a night in the refrigerator. I've always put chocolate in the refrigerator - taking after my father who does the same - and the fridge helps hold everything together. 

And there you have it, death by peanut butter. The Reese's Pieces on top balance out the rich chocolate in the center while still keeping it in the same candy family and it's perfect for a late night sweet tooth.

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I haven't had anything yet, so how could I have some more?

This cupcake pays hommage to a baseball classic. 

S'mores are the best part of a bonfire but when you don't have the resources for a bonfire, what better way to recreate the tasty treat as a cupcake that you can bring anywhere? And how about an upgrade? Instead of Hershey chocolate bars, try Nutella. 

Just use your favorite cake recipe and in the center of each cupcake put a couple mini marshmallows and a spoonful of Nutella before baking.

As for the graham crackers? Crumble up a bunch and toss them into the frosting as it's mixing and it provides the perfect sweet cinnamon crunch. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top and voila! Portable, anywhere s'mores. 

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Two Pretzels were walking down the street, one was assaulted

I thought I hit a jackpot with these babies but making the impossible possible, I struck even more gold with caramel pretzel cupcakes. Not only that, I got to use my favorite gadget in the world to make the frosting.

I give you, the Kitchen Aid Mixer.

Yes, I've fallen in love with an appliance. If you bake, you understand. Not only that, the frosting could not have been easier to make. All it is is butter, powdered sugar and chopped up pretzels. The pretzel frosting pretty much makes the cupcake. Not only that, but I put a Werther's caramel chew in the middle of each one. 

I didn't get the gooey-consistency center like I expected but it turned out even better. It created a caramel coating on the bottom of the cupcake that had just enough candy crunch but not enough to where you feel like your teeth are going to fall out. 

And for the grand finale...

They went over pretty well, to say the least and I will be making them again. Perfect combo of sweet and salty and I'm kind of proud of myself for whipping this up on just a hunch and a trip to Aldi. 

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Beach Bums

Well, it's been awhile since I've pulled out the oven mitts but now that life has settled down a little, I'm back in business. It also helps that I've basically turned my boyfriend's kitchen into a bakery. I may have taken over three or four cabinets but I don't think he and his roommate mind getting cupcakes for cabinet space.

I've had this idea for awhile, thanks to some help from Pillsbury and finally made it happen. It's super simple but super cute. Pick your favorite cupcake recipe and grab some Teddy Grahams.

Make the cupcakes like normal and your favorite frosting (I chose vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting) and smash up some graham crackers or some Teddy Grahams to use as 'sand'. This is where the fun stuff comes in. Find some drink umbrellas at the grocery store, plant a Teddy Graham belly-up and give him some shade. 

Be warned: I tried using some red icing to draw a beach towel underneath the Teddy Graham. Sounded like a cute idea until the icing ran off the cupcake and it looked like a Teddy Graham murder scene and less like a beach scene. 

Not only are they cute but the cinnamon Teddy Grahams added an extra kick to the vanilla cupcake, just enough cinnamon crunch to make it more than just a normal cupcake. 

Super simple, super cute and just in time to finally get some nice weather out here. 

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Hallmark Holidays are good excuses to bake and Valentine's Day is no exception when it comes to themed sweets. I admit, I fall victim to the cliches but what can I say, they're tasty.

First what every cupcake tends to be in the month of February: Red Velvet.

I added chocolate chips to the batter for a surprise but the frosting is what I'm most proud of... I took the leftover red chocolate chips and chopped them up with some white chocolate chips to mix into the frosting.

And it's pretty epic... The white chocolate balances out the dark and the dark chocolate balances out the sweetness of the cream cheese in the frosting. And that combo balances out the richness of the cake. 

I'm not finished yet! I'm on a constant quest to jazz up sugar cookies and the Valentine's theme was easy to go with. Found some red food coloring, made some white icing with heart sprinkles and voila!

Whether you're a fan of Valentine's Day or not, it's always a good excuse for a cookie or a cupcake ;). I should also apologize to my neighbors if I freaked them out by leaving cupcakes and cookies outside their doors.. I had too many! 

And now I leave you with this.. 

Happy Valentine's Day!


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Long time no bake!

Can't believe it's been so long since I pulled out the oven mits and got to work, but I'm back and it's been a very productive day.

First let's look back at the mini lemon loaves I made for Christmas. I knew I couldn't completely imitate the Starbucks ones but I did my best and they came out pretty darn good. Amazing what some pound cake, lemon juice and icing can do.

Instead of going with all white icing, I also made a lemon glaze. Didn't want the cake to be pure sugar so I just crosshatched some white icing so it wasn't overpoweringly sweet.

Now today, I may have broken my rule a little but it's worth it when it comes to Cinnamon Toast Crunch Muffins..

Yup, just like the cereal, only in amazing muffin form. They're not square but I got to use my killer new Wilton baking gear thanks to my wonderful boyfriend. The least I can do is make the guy some normal looking muffins, which could have been his plan all along but I'll take it!

Now, the kicker is a version of salted carmel cupcakes.

Pretty simple really, starting with just a normal pound cake recipe. While they're still warm, poke holes in them and drizzle carmel on top. Either home made or store bought carmel sauce works.

Now I wanted to make salted carmel somehow but I normally don't have sea salt on hand in the apartment and you can't pour normal salt on a cupcake. Well, you could, but that'd be kinda gross.

So I decided to chop up some pretzels and add them to the frosting.

Crazy how simple it is. It's really just butter, carmel, powdered sugar, pretzels and boom. Awesome frosting. Something I'm still pretty proud of considering I almost ditched the salted carmel idea because I didn't have sea salt. You never know what you'll find in your kitchen to turn into a cupcake.

But wait.. can't leave you hanging without a coffee suggestion. Casi Cielo is back. A medium-roast coffee from Guatemala that actually translates as "almost heaven," is the perfect sweet and smooth roast to go with salty sweet carmel.

Oh and guess what?! It's available for Keurig now too! This roast is the most elegant in the Starbucks family being paired well with gourmet desserts and better served straight. It's smooth body, dark cocoa notes was originally created exclusively for gourmet restaurants. Sounds strange but now, with cupcake in hand, bring gourmet into your kitchen!

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