Actually, it’s just another reason for me to bake. Haha. My hubby and I don’t usually celebrate Valentine’s Day because he’s either been in the field training or deployed to war. This year, he’s home…. but we’re still not celebrating.

Instead, I’ll be making cookies and cupcakes in the weeks leading up to this mushy, pink, lovey dovey holiday!

But seriously, is anyone really going to complain about that? Probably not!

My first cookie is a spin on all the holiday blossom cookies I made during December. Hershey’s has a raspberry filled white and pink hug KISS this season which I thought would go perfectly on top of a blossom cookie! So these cookies are made with my favorite raspberry jam and a super dark chocolate rolled in hot pink sugar crystals and topped with a Hershey’s Raspberry Kiss! nom nom nom nom

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Hugs Blossom Cookies
Makes 3+ dozen cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup raspberry jam (I used Smuckers because it’s my favorite!)
2 cups flour
2 tbsp milk
3.5 oz chopped 70% dark chocolate, chopped

1 cup hot pink sanding sugar
Hershey’s Raspberry Hug Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, butter, salt and vanilla.   About 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the raspberry jam, scrape the sides of the bowl, and mix until well combined.
4. Add the flour and mix on medium speed until combined.  Add the milk just before flour is completely combined.   This will help the flour incorporate into the dough.
5. Add the chopped chocolate and fold in using a spatula.
6. Chill for 20 minutes in refrigerator.
7. Scoop 1 inch balls of dough and roll in hot pink sugar crystals.   Place on a baking sheet at least 1-2 inches apart.  (Note: Don’t roll dough balls any larger than 1 inch or they will spread too much on your cookie sheet!)
8. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
9. Immediately press a Raspberry Hug into the middle of each cookie.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Eat and enjoy!

I’ve been dreaming of doing a special post for New Year’s… but wasn’t sure if I’d make it in time.  Today… well, with nothing really on the agenda today, I decided to spend a few hours in the kitchen and make some cupcakes!

And… what better way to celebrate the New Year than with a big bottle of BUBBLY!  These cupcakes have a very strong champagne flavor but paired with the homemade raspberry filling they sure are a sweet treat!

Of course, these little cupcakes had to be all dressed up to celebrate 2012!  I melted white chocolate and created the cutest toppers for these cupcakes… perfect to ring in the New Year!

Since this will be my final post of 2011… I want to take this time to wish you all a very Happy 2012!  I hope all your dreams and wishes come true in this year year!

Love you all!

Raspberry Champagne Cupcakes
Makes 18-20 cupcakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup of your favorite champagne – I used Cook’s Extra Dry for this recipe

pink food gel coloring

Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pan with liners.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and eggs until fluffy and smooth… at least 4-5 minutes.
2. Mix in the vanilla and sour cream.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Add the flour and champagne, alternating, as well as beginning and ending with the flour.   Mix only until combined.
5. At this point you can either add the pink food gel coloring or you can leave them white.  I did half white and half pink.  Mix the food gel only until combined… you don’t want to overwork the batter.
6. Scoop into liners 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool in pan for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
8. Once cool, using an apple corer, remove the center of each cupcake and fill with raspberry filling.

Raspberry Filling
Makes enough to fill 2+ dozen cupcakes

1 bag of frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
3-4 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp corn starch

1. In a large pan on the stove, melt the butter.
2. Add the raspberries, sugar and vanilla and cook for about 5 minutes on med-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
3. Once the sugar melts and the raspberries begin to bubble, in a 1 cup measuring cup, mix together with a fork 4-5 tbsp of the raspberry mixture and the corn starch.  Add this mixture back to the pan with the remaining raspberries and stir until combined.
4. Bring mixture to a bubble/gentle boil then remove from the heat.  Stir every few minutes as it cools.
5. Cool completely before filling cupcakes.
6. To fill cupcakes:  place raspberry mixture into a piping bag and squeeze just enough filling into each cupcake.

Champagne Buttercream
Makes enough to frost 18 cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup butter flavored shortening (you could use all butter if you wanted too)
1 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 cup Champagne (I used the same as what I put in the cupcakes)

1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and shortening.
2. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar and mix on high until smooth.
3. Add the vanilla and salt and mix until combined.
4. Add 1/4 cup of champagne and mix on high until smooth.  Add remaining champagne until you get the consistency you desire.
5. Mix frosting on high for 1-2 minutes until fluffy and the color brightens.
6. Pipe frosting onto your cupcakes and decorate!

And here they are all dressed up for a client to enjoy!  Happy 2012!

Last weekend my daughter and I attended a “Ugly Christmas Sweater Party” where I dressed up, well… more cure than ugly.

(PS… isn’t this photo great! You can’t even tell I’m 7 months pregnant! hehe)

And then this week, I created some of the most festive cupcakes I’ve ever made for Christmas! With the holiday spirit in mind… here is a round up of some of my favorite holiday recipes from my blog! Enjoy!

4 Holiday Cupcakes - Coconut cake w/ Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Grinch Cookies

White Chocolate Candy Cane Blossoms

Holiday Chex Mix

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

White Chocolate Gingerbread Blossoms

Mandarin Orange & Cranberry Cookies

Chocolate Cherry Blossoms

Chocolate Crinkles

Gingerbread Men

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Candy Cane Cupcakes

Cinnamon Eggnog & Bourbon Cupcakes

Hot Cross Buns

From my family to yours… I’d like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

All they way from Germany, I’m totally feeling the holiday season!  I’ve been dreaming up all kinds of fantastic ideas for super special Christmas cupcakes… so many actually that I couldn’t choose just one!

I wanted a very white cupcake to use as a base for these cupcakes, so I went with a coconut cupcake and topped it with a coconut cream cheese frosting.  (NOTE: If I were to make these again, I would probably not use cream cheese in my frosting and stick with a straight buttercream recipe.  Cream cheese frosting tends to get really soft and the trees and snowmen will hold up better with a stiffer frosting.)

Make sure to check out the photo slideshow at the bottom with ALL the pictures of these fabulous cupcakes!

Coconut Cupcakes
Makes 18 cupcakes

Supplies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp coconut extract

3/4 cup AP flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 TBSP baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut milk

1/8 cup hot water
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line cupcake pans with liners.  (I tried to use a variety of liners to match the themes of the cupcakes I was making.)
2. Cream together the butter and sugar.
3. Add the egg whites and extract and mix on high for 4-5 minutes.  The batter will look like it’s turning into whipped cream, really light and fluffy.
4. Whisk together the cake flour, AP flour, salt and baking powder.
5. Add half the flour mixture to the butter/sugar and mix on low until just combined,  about 10 seconds.
6. Add all the coconut milk and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds.
7. Add the remaining flour and mix on low until just combined, about 10 seconds.  Note: You don’t want to over mix the flour into the batter.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix the last bit of flour by hand.
8. Add the coconut and hot water and fold in by hand until combined.  Remember, do not over mix!
9. Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full of batter.
10. Bake 17-19 minutes or until cupcakes begin to turn golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Let cool in pan for 2-3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
(This makes enough frosting to decorate all the cupcakes I made today… it’s typically enough to normally frost 2-3 dozen cupcakes)

Supplies:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 1/2 lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp coconut extract
1/4 cup (or less) coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
2. Add 1/3 of the powdered sugar and beat on high until smooth.
3. Add the extract and mix until combined.
4. Add 1/3 of the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
5. A few tbsp at a time, add the coconut milk… do not add it all here.
6. Add the remaining 1/3 of the sugar and salt and beat in until combined.
7. Add more coconut milk until you get your desired consistency.  Remember, this is cream cheese frosting and it gets very SOFT so you won’t need a lot of milk.
8. Mix on high for 1 minute or until smooth.

The North Pole

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Coconut flakes
Candy cane stick
Red hot candies
North pole flags (I made these and taped them to a toothpick)
Offset small spatula/spreader

Directions:

1. Using your offset spatula, spread a mound of white frosting on top of your cupcake.
2. Using the palm of your hand, pat the frosting with coconut flakes, shaping it into a ball.
3. Place a small dollop of frosting on the tip of a candy cane stick and place a red hot on top.
4. Press candy cane stick 1/3 way into the cupcake.
5. Place North Pole flag next to the candy cane stick.

Christmas Tree

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Shredded coconut
Green frosting
White chocolate & yellow sprinkles
Various sprinkles (to decorate tree)
Wilton 1M piping tip
2 piping/pastry bags
Offset spatula/spreader

Directions:

1. For the star on top, I melted white chocolate, put it in a piping bag, and piped the shape of a star onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  I then immediately covered it in yellow sprinkles.  I put the stars in the freezer for 20 minutes to set up before place them on top of the piped tree.  Make a few extra in case they break and for variety. You could also do this to create ornament shapes (dots with colored sprinkles).
2. Using your offset spatula, spread a small amount of white frosting on top of the cupcake, completely covering it.
3. Using the palm of your hand, pat the frosting with coconut flakes, making a flat surface.
4. Using the green frosting in a piping bag with the Wilton 1M tip, pipe green frosting in the shape of a tree onto the cupcake.  I used this VIDEO TUTORIAL I found on YouTube to help guide me in this.
5. Use any kind of sprinkles to decorate your tree.  I found that the larger round dots made better ornament shapes.  Really, just use your imagination… the decorating is the fun part!

Snowman

Cupcake
White frosting
Pink/Red Frosting (Or any color you want for the scarf and hat)
White & Dark chocolate
Orange sprinkles
Coupler & 4 piping/pastry bags
Offset spatula

Wreath Cupcakes

Supplies:
Cupcake
White frosting
Green frosting
Red frosting (or any color you want for the bow)
Sprinkles
Frosting/piping/pastry bag
Leaf tip

Directions:
I used the tutorial Jennifer Shea of Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle put together for the Williams-Sonoma blog.  Instead of re-writing it all, you can find that tutorial HERE to create your own Holiday Wreath cupcakes!

I was paired up with two other fabulous military wives and bloggers here in Europe to send a dozen of my homemade cookies to!

Carrie Fields of Fields of Cake and Other Good Stuff

Jessica Sutherland of Jessica Lynn Writes

These fabulous ladies received one of my most favorite recipes for holiday cookies, but with a twist!  I took my tried and true recipe for sugar cookies and added a little mint, dark chocolate chips, and green food coloring turning them into “Grinch Cookies”!  Green and black mint chocolate chip cookies!  Seriously so YUM!

(Sorry, the only picture I snapped before I packaged them up was this pic with my camera phone!)

Grinch (aka Mint Chocolate Chip) Cookies
Makes 3 dozen cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp peppermint or mint extract
4-5 drops green food coloring
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp milk
1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used Nestle brand)

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together.
2. Add the eggs and beat on high for 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.
3. Add the peppermint extract and food coloring and mix until all the color has been combined.  Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure all the color is incorporated.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
5. In three parts, add the flour.  Between each addition add a tablespoon of milk.  Mix flour only until combined.
6. Fold in the dark chocolate chips.
7. Cover dough and place in freezer for 20-30 minutes or chill in refrigerator for at least an hour.
8. While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 400 F degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
9. After the dough has chilled, scoop 1-1 1/2 inch balls onto the cookie sheet 2in apart.  Press each ball gently until flat (unless you want little round ball cookies, then leave them round).  The rounder the edges of your cookies, the rounder they will bake.  If you like imperfection like I do… just leave them with jagged, rough edges.  I pressed a couple extra dark chocolate chips into the top of a few of the cookies, just cause it’s pretty!
10. Bake 7-8 minutes.  Do not over bake!  You want the bottoms to just begin to get golden, brown but not dark!
11. Leave cookies on pan for 30 seconds before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut butter blossom cookies are traditionally made with a peanut butter cookie and a Hershey Kiss… but I thought, what about a white chocolate cookie and a Candy Cane Kiss?  PERFECT!

Now, I know that white chocolate liqueur might not be easy to find… so you could make these with vanilla extract and some milk instead of the liqueur.  But, if you can find the white chocolate… use it.  It’s subtle but SO YUMMO.

White Chocolate Candy Cane Blossoms
Makes 2 dozen (and a few extra) cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3 tbsp white chocolate liqueur
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Green and red sugar crystals
1 bag of Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Cream together, with an electric mixer, the butter and sugar.
4. Add the egg and beat on high for 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.  Scrape the sides and beat again for 1 minute.
5. Mix in the white chocolate liqueur.
6. Add the flour and mix on medium speed just until combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all the flour is incorporated.  Do not over mix.
7. Roll 12 1-inch balls of dough in the red sugar crystals and place on cookie sheet.
8. Roll 12 1-inch balls of dough in the green sugar crystals and place a cookie sheet.
9. Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes.
10. Cool on pan for 1 minute then place an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss in the center of each cookie.
11. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

23 dozen cucpakes

4 handmade cupcake stands

25 packages of handmade cupcake wrappers

It was a hot mess of baking and crafting supplies in my house.  But… I did it!  I set off yesterday morning for the venue and set up my table with my handmade awesomeness and delicious cupcakes.

The fair began at 10am and we started selling quick!  By 11am we had sold at least  1/3 of our cupcakes and sales continued steadily until 2:15pm when we sold out!  The fair wasn’t over until 4pm, so we were out of there early!

I heard later that people came after we left looking for cupcakes… I’m sorry we sold out!! Next year, we’ll make MORE!

I cupcakes I had on hand were:

Orange Candy Corn
Sweet Strawberry
White Chocolate Peppermint (topped with Hershey Kiss, Andes Mint, candy cane or a snowman Peep)
Cookies n’ Creme
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Pumpkin Latte

Click on the pictures below to see all the fabulous cupcakes from the day!

I seriously had a ton of fun at the fair.  I was able to meet so many of the other crafters in the community as well as meet some new people and make some great connections!  It was a great opportunity to get my name and brand out there!

I need to send a very special thank you to my husband and daughter who helped me so much getting ready for this big event!  They both stepped up and did dishes, loaded the car, helped set up and were just amazing!  I truly appreciate everything they did for me and how much they helped make this a huge success!

And THANK YOU to everyone who bought cupcakes.  I can not thank you enough for your support!  So many of you have already helped spread the word about my cupcakes and have increased my sales so much!  THANK YOU!

Like I said, next year… we bring 300+ cupcakes!

I decided to make an Oreo cupcake and decorate it like a graveyard as well as an orange flavored candy corn cupcake! I know that candy corn typically isn’t orange in flavor, but my friend Sarah sent me a package of blood orange candy corns… so this works out perfectly!

For the Graveyard cupcakes I made this oreo cupcake… it’s a favorite recipe of mine that works out perfectly every time I make it!   Instead of a cream cheese frosting like the recipe calls for… I used a standard buttercream and added oreos.  I made 1.5x the amount I’d normally make for a dozen cupcakes, just to make sure I had enough frosting.  Here’s that recipe:

Oreo Buttercream
12 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
10 Oreos, chopped
1/4 tsp salt

1. Beat the butter until smooth.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar, alternating with a small amount of cream at a time, and beat until smooth and creamy.
3. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Add the chopped Oreos and mix on high for 2 minutes or until all the big chunks of Oreo are gone.
5. Add more cream until you get your desired consistency.  You may not need all the cream.
6. Mix in the salt until well combined.

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes w/ decorating tutorial

Cupcakes

• Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
• Tree Hugger Apple Cupcakes
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes w/ decorating tutorial
• Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Frosting
• Mini Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes
• Black Velvet Pumpkin Cupcakes
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes - #2
• Spiced Mocha Cupcakes
• How to make Fall trees to top your cupcakes
• Pumpkin Cake Balls/Pop
• Caramel Creme Latte Cupcakes
• Appledoodle Cupcakes

Black Velvet Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ Tutorial

• Pumpkin Donut Holes
• Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread
• Emme’s Banana Bread
• Pumpkin Spice Bread
• Honey Cornbread Muffins

Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

Syrup

• Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Cookies/Bars

• Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

Makes 12 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Maple Frosting (recipe follows)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped Heath bars, for serving (2 1.4-ounce bars)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush or spray the top of 10 muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with 10 paper liners.

2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.

3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins (I use a level 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

4. Spread the cupcakes with the Maple Frosting and sprinkle with the chopped toffee bits.

Maple Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Natural Maple Flavor (I used Mc Cormick)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (I just used a wooden spoon and mixed it well), cream the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

ENJOY!

They were super simple to decorate. I had most of the things on hand already and luckily, I had recently won a kit from Cupcake Crafts specifically for the 4th of July!

This weekend, I’ll be out of town, so I want to wish all of you a very safe and fun Independence Day!!

Happy 4th of July!

I used Sutton Gourmet Paper liners in black and white and used a light pink cream and white pearls, and red, pink, white nonparrells.  If you haven’t tried Sutton Gourmet Paper liners for your chocolate cupcakes yet, you MUST!  They hold their color, shape, texture with a dark cake unlike any grocery store liner ever will!!  Don’t these look amazing?

The cupcakes are a chocolate cake, filled with cream topped with a dark chocolate ganache.  I used a slightly different cake recipe than before, but both are great recipes.

After the Love cupcakes were ready for the order, I wanted to mix things up a bit and decorate the rest a little different for Emily’s class.  So, I printed some toppers, cut them and pasted onto sticks and made some buttercream (a new recipe – I’ll post it at the bottom of this post!).

I love the idea of black and white with red/pink and I really love how these turned out!  They’ve got a shiney layer of ganache topped with buttercream.  Oh YUM!

Vanilla Buttercream
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
2 lbs sifted (1 bag) powered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
Scant 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
dash of salt

1. Cream together butter and shortening.
2. A cup or so at a time, mix in the sifted sugar.  Scrape down the sides after each addition.  After the first addition, add the vanilla.  Add the cream after each next addition.  IMPORTANT:  You may not need all the cream, so add it SLOWLY.
3. Add the salt then beat on high for 3-4 minutes.

These cupcakes could be made with any flavor combination, colors, sprinkles, liners!  The possibilities are enedless!

These are my “Love Cupcakes“.  I used a chocolate cupcake, filled it with a pink creme and dipped the top in chocolate ganache.  I then used the same pink filling to pipe words and decor on the cupcakes.  Of course, the pink, white, red non parrells to garnish. Any combination of words, symbols or colors could be used for these cupcakes.  ”Be Mine” “Valentine” Anything works!

I made these cupcakes the first year I started baking cupcakes seriously.  The one on the right is a White Butter Cupcake filled with Strawberry and topped with a strawberry buttercream.  The rest are chocolate topped with buttercream, but decorated super cute with sprinkles lined on the sides.  Love this look!

These white chocolate cupcakes are filled with strawberry and topped with a strawberry buttercream.  They are decorated in a pink Valentine’s Day liner and topped with white sugar balls, red sugar crystals and two heart candies.  All of these were found at the craft store and the grocery store.

I find the best time to get decorations for holidays or seasons is the months and weeks before.  I used a star tip in a piping bag to frost these.  You could really use any flavor for this kind of cupcake too and still decorate the same way.

These next cupcakes are a Pink Velvet Cupcake topped with a Vanilla bean Buttercream.  I love these because of how simple they are.  I sometimes like to go overboard with the decorations, but then I realize that sometimes, a simple design is so classy… and that’s just what this cupcake is.

It’s lined in transparent liner with pink and red hearts so you can really see the pink cupcake.

I used a large round tip and a piping back to pipe the frosting.  To get this look with the frosting, you place the tip in the center of the cupcake and squeeze until a large dollop comes big enough to cover the cupcake, only lifting the tip slightly.  As soon as it’s your desired size, life the tip and squeeze a small second dollop.  Stop squeezing and pull quickly straight up to create the cute little swirl on top.

I topped this cupcake with pink cake sparkles by Wilton and one pink heart.  The pink heart came from the craft store’s seasonal cupcake section.

Chocolate mint cupcake filled with mint and chocolate chips topped with mint buttercream, mint chocolate and an Andes mint.  The chocolate mint lovers dream.  Now, these aren’t your typical Valentine’s Day cupcakes… they aren’t covered in hearts and pink and are all mushy lovey dovey… which to be honest, are PERFECT for the man in your life!  He will appreciate the lack of mush in these cupcakes when he takes a bite into them.

These are made with a white liner so that you can see the chocolate cake.  I used a large round tip for piping the frosting and then drizzled melted chocolate across the top.

To drizzle the chocolate, I melted the chips in the microwave (30 seconds, then in 10 additional second increments until melted, stirring) then poured it into a sandwich ziploc bag.  I cut the corner of the bag and then squeezed the chocolate out over the cupcakes.

Topping these was an easy choice because everyone likes Andes mints!

I even made a mini version of these cupcakes, topping only with a sliver of an Andes mint.  Perfect for little fingers!

And for some extra fun… here are a few cupcakes I found browsing online that I thought were decorated so perfectly for Valentine’s Day! Enjoy!

1. Royal Icing hearts by Sweetopia.
2. Valentine’s LOVE cupcakes by Sweetopia.
3. Strawberry Cupcake w/ Vanilla Buttercream & Milk Chocolate Squiggle by nakedcupcakes.
4. Strawberry Cupcakes w/ swirled vanilla buttercream by nakedcupcakes.
5. Piped icing designs for Valentine’s Day by Marie’s Creative Cakes.
6. Vanilla cupcake with chocolate ganache by Love, Peace and Cupcakes.
7. Valentine’s Day Cupcakes by weennee.
8. Marshmallow and vanilla cupcake by Cooke’s Cakes.

]]> http://javacupcake.com/2011/02/tips-tricks-valentines-day-cupcake-decorating-ideas/feed/ 1 http://javacupcake.com/2010/11/guest-blogger-ryan-makes-gingerbread-cupcakes/ http://javacupcake.com/2010/11/guest-blogger-ryan-makes-gingerbread-cupcakes/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 14:20:10 +0000 JavaCupcake http://javacupcake.com/?p=3584 JavaCupcake Note: This is a guest blog post from Ryan of Ryan’s Baking Blog. I recently came across Ryan’s blog and have to admit… I’m an instant fan.  Any man who can hold his own with a spatula and whisk… I’m a fan of.  Check out Ryan’s blog, find him on Facebook or Tweet with him!

The holidays are coming, it’s December, and you need to get in the kitchen RIGHT NOW.

Seriously, pick up your computer (I don’t care if it’s a desktop) and get in the kitchen.

Take out some molasses, brown sugar, butter, and your mixer and let’s get started, the holidays are going to be here before you know it and you will want to be prepared with this gingerbread cupcakes with brown butter frosting.

Yum, brown sugar.

Did you know you can make your own?

This is the part where the spices combine and your kitchen starts to smell really, really good.

And this is the part where you eat raw eggs because you can’t resist eating this delicious smelling cake batter.

And now we brown some butter.

It’s a lot easier than people make it seem, just keep an eye on it.

You’ll melt the butter down over medium-high heat, I use a cast-iron skillet, some people use saucepans. Don’t take your eye off of it, even for a second.

It’ll start to bubble violently and you’ll want to duck for cover but DON’T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF IT.

Once it stops bubbling it’ll start to brown and it’ll brown fast. Keep stirring occasionally and watching. It’ll turn darker by the second. When you feel like it’s a suitable dark brown (I usually go for a nutty, dark amber color) then remove it from the heat. You can take it off a little sooner if you are really scared of burning it, but as long as you watch it you shouldn’t burn it.

Combine it with milk, sugar, and vanilla and you get this absolutely amazing frosting.

Brown butter is probably my favorite flavor and it’s great for the holidays, especially mixed with gingerbread. Once you get the hang of browning butter, you can make browned butter dutch baby pancakes for breakfast (my favorite) or browned butter and vanilla bean cupcakes.

Whoever decided to almost burn butter is a genius.

Gingerbread Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes 21-24 cupcakes

1 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup unsulphered molasses
2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350°F and line two standard cupcake tins with paper liners.

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a small bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside.

In a large bowl, sift and whisk together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder, set aside.

In another bowl or in an stand mixer, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs. Be careful not to overbeat.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean.

Let cupcakes cool in pan for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Brown Butter Icing
Adapted from Martha Stewart

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk, plus more if necessary

Sift confectioners’ sugar into a large bowl, set aside.

Melt butter in a saucepan on medium-high heat until it turns a nut-brown color. It should bubble first and then settle down and turn brown. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and pour into strainer over top of the confectioners’ sugar.

Add vanilla and 1/4 cup milk and blend together before using a mixer (so it doesn’t splash everywhere). If necessary for consistency, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time, up to an additional 4 tablespoons. Let everything cool before spreading onto cupcakes.

Two days ago I made the first batch of the season for Thanksgiving.  Last night, I had to make another batch because my husband, daughter and I devoured more than half of that first batch of Chex Mix.  It’s THAT good.  I like my Chex Mix with a little more kick, so I don’t follow the directions on the Chex box exactly.

JavaCupcake’s Holiday Chex Mix

3 1/2 cups Rice Chex
3 1/2 cups Wheat Chex
3 1/2 cups Corn Chex
1 1/2 cups Cheerios
1 1/2 cups Pretzel sticks
1 1/2 cups dry roasted Peanuts

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons, heaping, seasoning salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder

Large aluminum roasting pan

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
2. In the roasting pan, combine all dry ingredients.  With a large spoon, toss together.
3. In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Remove from heat.
4. Add Worcestershire sauce and seasonings.  Whisk until incorporated.
5. Pour butter mixture over dry mixture.  With the large spoon, toss to coat.
6. Cook Chex Mix in the oven for 1 hour.  Stirring every 15 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let set over night.  It’s best the next day after all the flavors have had time to cool set up in the Chex.
8. Enjoy!

For more info about Hello, Cupcake, visit their website or you can find them on Facebook!

And these were found at the Wallingford Trophy Cupcakes!

And these spooky treats were at The Bravern location of Trophy Cupcakes!

Not gonna lie though… they are super cute and have already given me ideas for decorating my holiday cupcakes this season!

What do you think?  Is it too early for Christmas cupcakes?

JavaCupcake’s Black Velvet Cupcakes
Recipe from Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Makes approx 12-14 cupcakes

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tablespoons black food coloring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Turn mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl mix together cocoa, vanilla and black food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter, mixing thoroughly until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar. Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.

Spoon batter into a paper lined cupcake baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.

Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then place them of a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

2 1/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, cold
scant 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract (not in the recipe, but I added it)

Beat the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-slow speed until it comes together and is well mixed.

Add the cream cheese all at once and beat on medium to medium-high until incorporated.

Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes, or until the frosting becomes light and fluffy.

Do not over-beat as the frosting can quickly become runny.

How to make a pumpkin out of frosting

Supplies
Large round tip + piping bag
Pretzel sticks
Green decorating icing (small tube you can get in the baking isle at the grocery store)
Orange frosting (I used cream cheese frosting above and tinted it orange with food coloring)

Technique

1. Attach the large round tip to your pastry bag and fill with orange frosting.
2. Pipe a tall/wide mound of frosting onto your cupcake.
3. Break a pretzel stick in half and place in the top of the frosting until about 2/3 cm is showing.
4. With the green decorators icing, pipe on the vine in a curly q pattern.
5. Enjoy!

by: Blue Cupcake

by: Vanilla & Lace

by: Woman’s Day

by: betzi on the craftster.org

by: Aspiring Artist

by: Delectable by Su

by: Annie’s Eats

by: MissKerouac on Craftster.org

by: Jacki’s Bento Blog

by: The Bleeding Heart Bakery

by: Classy Cupcakes

by: Swirlz Cupcakes

by: Madness Rivera

by: Brit Cochran

by: Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique

by: Cookies and Cups

by: Stillatulsagirl with caps by Cupcake Caps

by: Nicole Marie Campre

by: Stepford Kitchen

by: eyllom

by: Love Me Twice Today

2009 Earth Day Cupcake Collage by *kimmie*

1. Earth Day cupcake from Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique, 2. Fun with royal icing, 3. Vanilla Birthday Cupcakes, 4. Turtle fondant cupcake topper, 5. Tropical, 6. Blue Ducky Cupcakes b, 7. Earth Cupcakes!, 8. Oh! Island in the sun…, 9. Blue butterflies.., 10. Seeing Green Cupcake Cuppy, 11. My first cupcake experiment, 12. Green and Blue Heart Cupcakes, 13. Blue…., 14. Blue Butterfly Cupcakes, 15. green butterfly, 16. 17.365 #2

2010 Earth Day Collage by *kimmie*

1. earth day cupcakes, 2. Earth Day Cupcakes, 3. IMG_6974, 4. world cake 3, 5. Day 98/365: She’s got the whole world in her hands, 6. Blue Bubblegum Cupcake, 7. Earth Day Cupcakes, 8. Earth Day, 9. Earth Day cupcake, 10. Earth Day cupcakes, 11. Inch Worm Cupcake, 12. 73, 13. Space cupcakes!, 14. Individually Boxed Earth Cupcakes, 15. My World Cupcake plz, 16. world peace cake

For starters, I ordered these super cute pastel tulip cupcake liners… perfect for spring!

To decorate these cupcakes, I used:

• Shredded coconut
• Green food coloring
• Sour Punch Green Apple Straws
• Jelly Beans
• Baby chicks
• Sprinkles

The recipe and instructions comes from Betty Crocker… and let me tell you, this bunny is SO EASY to make!

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® carrot cake mix

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

Tray or cardboard, covered with foil

1 container Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white frosting

1 cup shredded coconut

Construction paper

Jelly beans or small gumdrops

1 cup shredded coconut

Green food color

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cake as directed on box for two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans.

2. Reserve 1 layer for another use or to make a second bunny. Cut 1 layer in half as shown in diagram. Put halves together with frosting to form body. Place cake upright on cut edge on tray.

3. Cut out a notch about one-third of the way up one end of body to form head (small end) as shown in diagram. Attach half of cutout piece from tail with toothpicks. Frost with remaining frosting, rounding body on sides. Sprinkle with 1 cup coconut. Cut ears from construction paper; press into notch on top. Use jelly beans for eyes and nose.

4. Shake 1 cup coconut and 3 drops food color in tightly covered jar until evenly tinted. Surround bunny with tinted coconut. Add additional jelly beans if desired. Store loosely covered.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Follow High Altitude directions on cake mix box for two 8- or 9-inch round pans.

I made two bunnies… TWINS!

Butter Cut-Out Cookies by Evil Shenanigans

Shamrock shaped butter cookies decorated for the holiday!

Luck of the Irish cupcakes by Hoosier Homemade

Five shades of green cupcakes! Such a smart idea!

Shamrock Cocoa Mint Cupcakes by I heart Cuppycakes

Cocoa mint cupcakes with cream cheese frosting… and those adorable clover cut outs on the cupcakes are genius!

Chocolate Mint Thumbprint Cookies by Megan’s Munchies

Mini brownie bites made into cookies with a cool mint center! Yummm-O!

St. Patrick’s Day Brownies by My Baking Addiction

Delicious chocolatey fudge brownies decorated green for the holiday!

St. Patrick’s Day Chocolate Cupcake filled with Mint Creme Cheese freatured on Party Cupcake Ideas

Chocolate cupcakes with creme cheese inside… never thought of that before!!! (No recipe with this one, sorry!)

Dark Chocolate Mint Brownies by Bakerella

A combo of green mint chips and dark chocolate chips make these brownies irresistible!

Shelly’s Top o’ the Morning Protein Shake by The World According to Eggface

High protein shake perfect for this green holiday!

Irish Cake Bombs by Bakers Royale

Irish Car Bombs reanimated into a sweet three layer cakeball affair. How many ways can you say—YUM?!

St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes by A Cup full of Cake on Flickr

These are my favorite cupcakes this year!! I love love love the beer stein!!

I used my Moist Chocolate cupcake recipe for the base… mmm it’s soooo good.

The creme filling was so smooth and yummmmmy!

Here’s a finished dozen, ready for delivery!

Click on recipe to enlarge and save to your computer!

]]> http://javacupcake.com/2010/02/love-cupcakes/feed/ 6 http://javacupcake.com/2010/02/his-hers/ http://javacupcake.com/2010/02/his-hers/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:23:33 +0000 JavaCupcake http://javacupcake.com/?p=996 Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle, WA always comes up with some super creative cupcakes. They posted these cupcakes on their Facebook page this morning and I couldn’t pass up sharing them with you.

His & Hers Valentine’s Day cupcakes.  Hale’s Chocolate Stout with Stout caramel buttercream for him and Pink Champagne for her.  Too perfectly cute to pass up!

(Photo: Trophy Cupcakes)

1. TAKE BETTER PICTURES
I have plans to get a really nice camera this year and I’d like to learn how to photograph my cupcakes better. I’ve seen some really awesome shots of cupcakes that are as beautiful as they are artistic… and I’m jealous. So, this goal is to learn to take better pictures of my cupcakes!

(Photo: Trophy Cupcakes)

2. FOCUS MY BLOG ON MORE THAN JUST MY CUPCAKES
I have learned this year that it’s not realistic for me to think I can bake a new cupcake every week or even every month. Sometimes, I just don’t have a reason to make them or I’m just not feeling baking, so I’d like to give myself permission to write about more than just my recipes. I’ve been doing that a little more lately, but I’d like to incorporate other peoples recipes, guest bloggers, posts about cupcake merchandise, etc etc. I known there are a lot of other blogs out there that do this, so I’ll keep my main focus on my cupcakes as much as possible.

(Photo: JavaCupcake)

3. PERFECT MY FROSTING SKILLS
I make a pretty damn good buttercream.  I mean really, it’s amazing.  But, I haven’t perfected the art of using the pastry bag and those little tips that make cute shapes.  I want to explore the art of frosting and come up with a signature frost for my cupcakes.  My goal is to practice, practice, practice until I can come up with a dozen perfectly frosted with a tip cupcakes.

(Photo: Two Parts Sugar)

4. MASTER THE BASIC CUPCAKE FLAVORS
I’ve made almost 20 cupcake flavors this past year that I’ve never made before.  None of them I’ve completly perfected.  I’ve found two recipes which I consider to be EXCELLENT in their flavor, but I have yet to make them the ultimate cupcake.  My goal for 2010 is to perfect my Super Moist Chocolate cupcake and my Vanilla cupcake and to have the perfect “Go-To Recipe” that I know will always be a hit!

(Photo: JavaCupcake)

5.SLOW DOWN
Cupcake baking is not a race! Sometimes I just get so excited to be baking that I hurry up and the end result isn’t the perfection that I want it to be.  I need to do a better job at slowing down, breathing, taking my time and enjoying every step of the cupcake baking process.

(Photo: JavaCupcake)

New Year’s Eve Cupcake Collar – 2010
Originally uploaded by Chica and Jo

Happy New Year 2010
Originally uploaded by cathy_somos

Happy New Year 2010 cupcake
Originally uploaded by cathy_somos

TrophyNYECharlieB
Originally uploaded by Trophy Cupcakes and Party

TrophyPinkNYE
Originally uploaded by Trophy Cupcakes and Party

TrophyCupcakesNewYearsCupcakes02
Originally uploaded by Trophy Cupcakes and Party

WM-6-13
Originally uploaded by Life Abundant

Happy New Year
Originally uploaded by Anita Jamal

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Go get yours!!!