This is me kissing TurtleBoy on Maryland Day this past Saturday. I need you to vote for TurtleBoy...here's where you go to vote: Got a Favorite?...Look on the list for "Taste the Tradition," that's his real name. Now, go vote for Turtle Boy!...BTW, We're following him to Phillips Seafood Restaurant in Ocean City, MD, on Wednesday...stay tuned for the Ocean City road trip...no cupcakes this week .... taking a week off before starting up again...but I did make a cranberry orange muffin (lol) I couldn't stay out of the kitchen, know what I mean???
A Vote for TurtleBoy is a Vote for the Cupcake Queen!!
Week 52: Coconut Cupcakes...What Goes Around Comes Around!
Sorry to be so long in posting this. Work has been the week from Hell! Maryland Day is on Saturday and our office is in charge of a lot of the planning and implementation of the event. It's fun but there's so much to do!
Wow! I looked back at my first week recipe and all I put up was the recipe! How boring. I was so scared to f*** up something, it was the best I could do to get the recipe up! I wish you could have seen the kitchen for that one...picture a flour-covered counter, every bowl out of every cupboard, every measuring spoon in the sink...how times have changed in year...and yet not really...just last week I Iost control of the mixer while mixing the orange cupcake batter and I'm still digging batter out the laptop screen on the kitchen counter...it will never be the same! I wonder what Apple would say about that! Anyway, that's why I returned to the first week for this week's cupcake!
This cupcake is so easy and tastes so moist that I believe even if you don't like coconut, you'll like these. And, the creamcheese frosting mixed with the fresh coconut...well, let's just say it's really to die for! Just ask Layla!
The recipe is back on Week 1....HERE.
See ya next week...and then I'll let you know my secret!
CQ
Ladies and Gentlemen...We Have Two (yes, two) Cupcake Contest Winners!!
This has taken me so long because I just couldn't decide on one single comment...they were all so good...so I decided to pick two winners!
Each winner will receive a dozen cupcakes from the Cupcake Queen!
The winners are Chaz X and Finley!!
You two need to email me at 52cupcakes@gmail.com with your addresses and cupcake likes and dislikes!!
Cool Tool: Cup-A-Cake Cupcake Holder Online Demo!
 | This is a Cup-A-Cake Holder...it holds cupcakes...in place...no kidding!. No more smushed frosting, no more crushed cupcakes in your lunch bag...just put your cute little cupcake in like this. |
 | Then you lock the door! |  | Then you can test it out by turning it upside down like I did and shake it! Guess what? That little turtle in there didn't even budge...pretty cool, huh? |
 | Now I know you're going to want at least one of these...I own six...but I keep giving them away...I even mailed one cupcake in one...only these three are left...time to buy more. Cup-A Cake, LLC is a small family business, mostly made up of moms, who all work full time in other areas. They do have a web site with online ordering...go there...how have you lived so long without some of these?? They come in pink, green, blue, yellow and clear. Here is the web site address: http://www.cupacake.com/. |
Week 51: Bols Triple Sec Orange Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream Frosting
This is my first orange cupcake and it turned out pretty well...considering that I changed the recipe...I used one from the "Cake Doctor." Hers is called the Harvey Wallbanger Cupcake. Instead of using Galliano, I used Bols Triple Sec Liqueur in both the cupcakes and the frosting.
I've had turtles on the brain because of TurtleBoy, so when I was in AC Moore yesterday...bad idea cost wise...just wandering around, I "happened" to pass by the chocolate and the candy molds. And what to my wondering eyes did appear, a mold to make chocolate turtles...what else could I do? I had to buy it and the little candy things you melt to pour into the mold. While I was in there...it really had a hold of me...I bought a mini jewelry making kit for a new project I want to start, some Easter decorating stuff, varnish, some cool paper paint to make your own paper...I'm so dangerous...it was like an hour before I escaped from AC Moore...and then I got trapped in Filene's Basement and had to buy some nice spring clothes before they let me out. So, anywayz, that is how the white chocolate turtles came to be on these cupcakes, which I think complements the orange flavor...
I also thought that chocolate would be a great flavor with the orange. I added the Cadbury curls I bought at World Market and they worked just great (not as good as the ones on the new Starbucks cupcakes, but pretty good). So, in the end I got three types of cupcakes out of this recipe...plain orange frosting, white chocolate turtle version and the chocolate curl version! I was amazed. I tried the chocolate curl one and that combo was great!
Don't forget to enter the cupcake contest to win a dozen cupcakes...April 23 is the deadline...
Meet TurtleBoy!
I haven't told you about this..ahem..man in my life....who's known around here affectionately as TurtleBoy...but seriously, this dude has consumed much of my time during the past few weeks...day and night...recently I've even been on the floor with him! Wow! He's something....big hard muscles, a six pack, and a personality to die for! And, he doesn't talk back...what more could you ask for in a guy?
Here's the TurtleBoy story: During the fall of 2005, the University of Maryland invited regional and local artists to offer their ideas about how to transform a cast resin terrapin into a one-of-a-kind Fear the Turtle sculpture that would become a centerpiece of the university's 150th Anniversary celebration. You can see the TurtleBoy story from beginning to end here.
This is my crew! And, that's what TurtleBoy looked like naked. My design...called Taste the Tradition...was one of those chosen. I nicknamed him TurtleBoy...or TB for short. Our deadline for finishing TB is today, April14th...and we made the deadline...hooray...TurtleBoy is a real turtle! TurtleBoy is sponsored by Phillips Seafood Restaurant...anyone who's been to Ocean City knows Phillips...nowadays they also have numerous restaurants in the Baltimore and Washington, DC area.
So, this is what TurtleBoy looks like now...the finished product. We have a big celebration on campus on April 29th called Maryland Day where he will have his first showing. After that he will travel to OC (which he's very excited about) to welcome folks coming the Phillips Seafood Restaurant. This project has been so much fun...I just can't tell you. When I first saw the sculpture naked I was like...okay...we can do this. But, when I was putting on the first coat of paint (Ralph Lauren, of course) I began to get attached to him...I really got to know him, you know...like intimately...that's when he got his nickname...TurtleBoy.
It's going to be hard to say goodbye...but I know that I can go see him again in Ocean City on the boardwalk...my TurtleBoy...all grown up and ready to rock!
Week 50: Midnight Maddness Cupcakes!
These Midnight Maddness Cupcakes are another recipe from the new book Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. It's a three part cupcake....batter, filling and frosting. You make the filling...put it aside and then make the batter. This photo shows what the batter and filling look like...
Here's what the cupcakes look like when they come out of the oven! The cupcake is chocolate and the filling is cream cheese, chocolate chips, vanilla, vegetable oil, and sugar.
I made some mini cupcakes and decorated them with pink sanding sugar....
I found these cute cupcake liners on the web...they actually wrap around the real cupcake liner...they don't go in the oven...but here's the kicker about these fun cupcakes: the frosting is BLACK...hence the midnight maddness...Pretty cool looking, too. However, if you make these cupcakes with black frosting, beware...you and your cupcake eaters will get a black tongue from the frosting!Also, don't forget to submit your comment to my "Win a Dozen Cupcakes from the Cupcake Queen" contest...the deadline is 9:00 p.m. (EST), April 23, 2006.
52 Cupcakes Mentioned in Wall Street Journal Article!
Check out the other sites mentioned ...if you aren't already a fan!
Blog Watch
By KATHERINE MEYER
April 3, 2006; Page R9
Renowned chocolate chef David Lebovitz's blog is a mix of everyday musings sprinkled with fascinating food trivia, recipes and mouth-watering photos of decadent desserts. As anyone knows who has read his cookbooks, chocolate is a favorite ingredient in Mr. Lebovitz's recipes; many are included on the site. (Check out the "chocolate-almond butter crunch toffee" and "pumpkin chocolate chip ring.")
Mr. Lebovitz lives in Paris and updates his blog about every other day.
• CUPCAKE BAKESHOPChockylit.blogspot.com
Cupcake devotees can feast their eyes on this virtual shrine to the diminutive desserts. Cupcake Bakeshop, kept by San Francisco software-quality engineer Cheryl Porro, sticks closely to the topic of cupcakes, making a recipe complete with photos and detailed instructions the focus of each posting.
Though Ms. Porro doesn't post too frequently -- new items appear about two to three times a month -- entries usually include elaborate recipes that readers can take time to savor between posts. (Check out the "peanut butter filled chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache.")
Other sites for cupcake fans are All Cupcakes, All the Time
(CupcakesTakeTheCake.blogspot.com) and 52 Cupcakes (52Cupcakes.blogspot.com).
• DESSERT COMES FIRST DessertComesFirst.blogspot.com
Some of the best food blogs are those that read like a journal, rather than just a list of recipes. Maintained by Lori Baltazar, a food writer based in Manila, the Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a mixture of personal reflections, close-up cake shots and a rundown of Ms. Baltazar's own experiences with a particular treat. (Read her account of a French meringue-and-nut dessert called sans rival.)
Though Ms. Baltazar has her priorities right -- a dessert is featured in each posting -- weaving in her own thoughts and family photos gives this blog a more personal flavor.
--Ms. Meyer is an editor for The Wall Street Journal Online in New York.
Write to Katherine Meyer at katherine.meyer@wsj.com
MARYLAND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WINS FIRST NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
OMG! THEY ABSOLUTELY DID IT! BEAT DUKE In OT, 78-75!
so awesome...now Layla and I can go to bed happy....I must tell you...this is so cool! picture me smiling...
I Can't Stand the Suspense!!! Cheer the Turtle Tonight!
The Maryland Women's Basketball team is playing in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP game tonight against Duke (anybody but Duke although we did beat them in the ACC tournament)....at 8:30 p.m. I can't stand waiting for the game to start!!! I'm so nervous that I can't even make cupcakes.
We've been doing web stuff about it since last week at Maryland. It's all over the DC news tonight. Our team is awesome! And now we're here...Keep your fingers crossed and Cheer the Turtle!
Week 49: Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Marshmallow Fluff Strawberry Frosting
I've been trying to find a good strawberry cupcake recipe and I think I found it in the new cupcake book called Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman! Layla could not keep her eyes (or her tongue) off the frosting! It's the first time in 49 weeks that she broke her stay...well, actually she said she did stay...the cupcakes moved!
The cupcakes turned out moist and on the dense side, rather than light and fluffy. One funny thing about the recipe was that it says it makes 12 cupcakes but calls for 2-1/2 cups of all purpose flour. Most of the recipes I use call for 1-1/3 cups for 12 cupcakes. I ended up being able to make 23 cupcakes out of one batch. 
I made up my own Marshmallow Fluff frosting using butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and a ton of fresh strawberries almost pureed in the food processor.
Don't forget to enter my contest for a dozen of my cupcakes...click here to read about it and enter...the deadline is 9:00 p.m. (EST), April 23, 2006. Winner announced 7:00 a.m., April 24th!
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