Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Sponge Cupcakes

	Wow....this recipe seemed crazy at first...in all my cupcake adventures, this is the FIRST time I've made cupcakes using bread crumbs instead of flour!
	I made these for my sister, Robin's 50th...that's the BIG 50!...birthday. Her BIG DAY was actually Jan. 25th, but she wanted a slumber party at our Mom's house so we did it last night. Three of our relatives came down from New York, and two of her Suitland High School buddies came, too.
	The recipe for the these is in the book called Tempt...Cupcakes to Excite by Betty Saw, who is a chef in Malaysia. The recipe was so easy...literally eggs, castor sugar, grated lemon rind and white fine breadcrumbs!
	This is my Mom's dog, Arby...he is investigating the cupcake! Arby is an 8 year old cocker spaniel and a real lover!
These are people at the slumber party: Marie, Noelle, and Maddie from New York::and our Mom!
Laura and Catherine made all the wonderful appetizers! Robin and Jean having a nice hug!
	And, this is today, Sunday....breakfast at Bob Evans...we love the Bob Evans...what a great ending to a great party!
Here's the recipe: Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Sponge Cupcake "This is a soft spngy cupcake made usng ony fresh white breadcrumbs without flour soaked in a tangy spice-flavoured syrup." Large paper cases--makes 10 cupcakes Ingredients (sponge batter) Eggs (2 large separated) Castor sugar (80 grams, divided into 2 portions Grated lemon rind (1 tsp) Fresh white breadcrumbs (75 g) Apple Cider Vinegar Honey Syrup Apple Cider Vinegar + Honey (100 ml) Caster sugar (40 g) Orange or apple juice (2 Tbsp) Cinnamon stick (1 cm piece) Clove (1 whole) Cointreau (1 Tbsp, optional Topping: Fresh grated white coconut for sprinkling ------------------------- Method: Line muffin pans with paper cases. Place egg yolks with 40 g sugar in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a balloon whisk. Whisk until pale, thick and light. Beat in lemon rind. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy. Add remaining 40 g sugar of sugar gradually and continue to beat until stiff. Fold a third of the egg white mixture followed by the breadcrumbs into the egge yolk mixture. Carefully fold in remaining egg white mixture in tow batches. Spoon mixture evenly to fill paper cases and level surfaces with a teaspoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 C (350 F) for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool cakes in pan before tkaingout. Meanwhile, prepare Apple Cider Vinegar + Honey syrup. Place all ingredients except Cointreau in a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Stir in Countreau if using. Remove and leave spices in the syrup to infuse for 15 minutes. Note: This recipe is a good way of using leftover white bread. Simply slice off the crusts and tear them into a food processor. Process until they become fine crumbs. Measure out amount required and use immediately or store in covered containers in the freezer. They will keep for 1-2 months. *The Apple Cider + Vinegar is from Wescobee, an Australian produce. Cointreau can be replaced with either fresh apple or orange juice. *I did not have this product to I did equal amount of honey and Apple Cider Vinegar together. I have no idea if this was right or not, but it tasted great!
Rock On! CQ

Chocolate Starbucks Espresso Cupcakes with Cappuccino Frosting

These cupcakes were such an adventure...I saw the recipe in Family Circle and I really liked the way they looked. But, I wanted to make a chocolate cupcake using a shot of Starbucks espresso so...of course...I HAD to go to Starbucks. I was going to meet my friend...Mr. Vinnie...there, but on the way I thought it would be cool for us to have breakfast at the Silver Diner...which BTW was awesome! But, I still HAD to go to Starbucks...which really is never a chore for me...I love the Starbucks!

I brought home the espresso shot and began to make the cupcakes...which turned out great. A while later I was ready to make the frosting and realized that I needed to head back to Starbucks for a Cappuccino...poor me (smile)...Back home poured the cap into the frosting and it made the nicest creamy coffee colored frosting. Topped it with a chocolate covered espresso bean...from Starbucks...of course!

Layla hung out with me in the kitchen during the entire cupcake process...she's such a champ! Then she patiently poses for me in front of the cupcakes...this time her tongue tried to come out just a bit...I just had to give her a taste of the frosting...I know, I know...I'm bad to the bone!

This photo will officially introduce everyone to Nigel...our baby French Bulldog...he doesn't really know what the heck a cupcake is yet but he sat still long enough me for to get this photo...I"m sure you'll be seeing more of Nigel...aka Devil Dog...

Rock On! CQ

Layla's Birthday PupCake Party!

Layla is five years old today! And, this was my opportunity to make something really special for her and her friends from a new doggie cookbook that I got for Christmas: The Dog Ate It: Cooking for Yourself and Your Four-Legged Friends by Linda West Eckhardt, Barbara Bradley, Judy Kern. The recipe is Pup Cakes!




This is Layla in her birthday outfit...she loved the shades and kept the hat on for a while. She was too interested in her cupcakes to notice her accoutrement! She had her friend, Harry, and her boy friend, Chuck...along with Nigel...her new French Bulldog brother!




And, here Layla is sniffing out the table scene...where the humans ate the birthday dinner!



This is Layla's beau, Chuck! He is smiling...














And, this is Layla's new birthday collar....Perfect for the Cupcake Queen...and Layla because she loves cupcakes so much...we picked it up at this cool store in Bethesda, MD...it's called The Posh Pooch. It has the cutest doggie stuff. If you live in the DC area, it's a must visit!

Don't Miss This Snow Ball!

This really started out as a joke...Mainly because it was about 65 degrees today in Washington, DC! But I really wish we had some snow and the only way I could get it was to make Snow Balls! Underneath all this snow is a coconut cupcake. The frosting is made with cream cheese!

Here is what they look like BIG! This little person project is so cool. I love doing them. I've found several sets of little people for the next weeks!
I thought these ballroom dancers were adorable and they fit right in with my snowball (get it?? Snow Ball.....hmmmmm) idea. Oh well...this cupcake is the very first cupcake I made when beginning my personal cupcake journey nearly 2 years ago! If you'd like to try the recipe: Click Here.
Did I tell you all that we got a new puppy...is there such a thing as an old puppy??...his name is Nigel and he is a French bulldog...Layla actually seems to like him and protects him from the other dogs who visit us. I'll post a photo of Nigel soon. Nigel looks a lot like Harry and so sometimes we call him Harry...but we're trying to get over that!
Visit my flickr site and see more of the Snow Ball Cupcakes ....FLICKR

Rock On!

CQ

Exclusive: How to Interview a Cupcake

Starring Lemon Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
You may have noticed that my new theme is...and will continue for the next few month's to be..."little people" and cupcakes! I'm having way too much fun with this idea. This particular yellow cupcake is vanilla stuffed with lemon curd (I bought the lemon curd in a jar!).
The cupcake recipe is from A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes: Deliciously Decorated Crowd Pleasers for Parties and Holidays by Dede Wilson...it's her basic yellow cupake recipe.
For the frosting, I used Wilton's Buttercream Icing: Here's the recipe: 1/2 c. butter 1/2 c. solid shortening 1 tsp. vanilla 4 c. (approx. 1 lb.) sifted confectioners' sugar 2 tbsp. milk In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and shortening with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all the sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at high speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to decorate. Refrigerate when not in use. Keeps for up to 2 weeks in an air tight container. Re-whip before using. Makes 3 cups.
This mini-cake is for my friend Autumn's birthday...she's 29 today! Her initials are AR...I call her aray...we surpised her today...with the mini-cake...she has never been able to eat any of my cupcakes because she can't eat salt...she has a heart problem...this was my first baking attempt with no salt! It turned out very nicely. I got the recipe out of the Small Batch Baking cookbook by Debby Maugans Nakos. She bakes mini cakes in cans

You can see more of these photos on my flickr account at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cupcakequeen/

Rock On!

CQ

Happy Moo Year!

Yes...it's a Happy Moo Year so far, isn't it? We are looking forward to a great year! More cupcakes and more frosting! Over the holiday, our family had really fantastic news. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer early in November. She had the lump removed but one of her lymph nodes was malignant. We anxiously waited for the results of her PET scan and just before Christmas, the doctor said it looked like everything was clear now. She's beginning radiation tomorrow, but everything is looking brighter, and she's doing fantastic! What a great Christmas present that was!


These cupcakes are devils food (cake mix). I added a 1/4 cup of mayonaise and a cup of mini chocolate chips to the batter, but other wise I followed the box recipe.

The frosting is is from Clare Crespo's Hey There, Cupcake! book. It is her vanilla buttercream frosting. I split the frosting into two bowls...one for the green frosting and one for the men&work cupcake (see below). I wanted to make it a mocha (moo-cha) flavor, so first I added some of Starbucks Cream Liqueur...that flavor was right but the color was still too white for the men@work cupcakes...so then I added Starbucks Coffee Liqueur...the taste was still great but the color didn't change. So my last resort was the mix up a tiny amount of espresso instant coffee with a little hot water. That was the ticket....I got a nice almost maple color and excellent mocha taste! The cow frosting was easy...I just made it green!

The decorating was just plain cow fun! Have you herd the one about....I've been reading cow jokes all day...

Here is a shot of the other cupcake I was working on...men@work makin' cupcakes! You can see more of my photos on my flickr account by clicking HERE.

n e waz...the Cupcake Queen hopes that you all enjoy a prosperous New Year 2007! Look for more "little" decorations this year. It's my next project!

Oh yeah...I forgot to tell you...hi ARAY...come by my office and see how Cupcake Queen SCORED the Tickle Me Elmo Boy from my very sweet sister, Robin...also known as Little Rotten Robin! Elmo is soooo funny!