Showing posts with label cupcake queen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cupcake queen. Show all posts
New CPCK CO Design: Wear Your Cupcake Love!!
OMG! The I Love Cupcake Shoes!
I must have them! CQ
Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes Accompanied by Duff Goldman's--the Ace of Cakes--Cupcake Tattoos!
Another cool edible cupcake tattoo design from Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes! This one's called Animal Skins...I bought them at Michaels
Layla takes a walk on the wild side...settle down, lil doggie!!
Wonder what she's really thinking....
Layla and I are looking forward to the third in a series of four Duff cupcake tattoo cupcakes...tune in next week for #3!
Have a great week, CQ and Layla
Skull and Crossbone Cupcake Tattoos Win CQ Over!
I found a fantastic new product at Michael's last week: The Duff (Ace of Cakes) Goldman Collection that features more than 70 products, including fun decorating supplies like fondant, frosting, baking pans...and wait for it...cake tattoos!!! 
That's what the skull and crossbones is from...edible tattoos...you can see that Layla was intrigued!
You can find all of the great "Duff" products at your local Michaels store. Go there. The online version doesn't do it justice!
The tattoos were very easy to work with...you can use them on cakes and cupcakes and templates are provided.
Layla says go there now!!
See you soon!
CQ and Layla
p.s. CQ Meets Ace of Cakes...when he visited the University of Maryland.
Champagne Cupcakes with Kir Royale Frosting
Layla is watching this cupcake very closely! The recipe for this cupcake is from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella.
When I made the frosting I added some Creme de Cassis to the champagne to make it more like a Kir Royale...my fav drink!
Here's the recipe:
Champagne Cupcakes (I got 20 cupcakes out of this recipe)
Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup champagne (the sweeter the better – even strawberry would be great!!)
6 egg whites
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until very light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then blend into creamed mixture alternately with champagne.
In another large clean bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into batter to lighten it, then fold in remaining egg whites. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Champagne Buttercream Icing
Ingredients:
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1-1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons champagne (I did two tablespoons champagne and 1 tablespoon Creme de Cassis)
4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Directors:
In a large bowl beat the shortening and butter until combined. Add the champagne. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. If necessary, add additional champagne to achieve desired consistency.
Hope you have a great week...and so does Layla!
CQ
You Can Be Queen of Everything...Even Cupcake Boxes!
I just love these "Queen of the Kitchen" cupcake boxes from The Mary Engelbreit Store!
They hold four standard cupcakes!
There are four different boxes that you can buy:
3. Cupcake Box-Chair of Bowlies, and
Layla and I hope you have a great week....CQ
Cupcake Queen is in DC's First Cupcake Contest!
The Cupcake Queen is entering three cupcakes tomorrow night in the "Pro" group of bakers at the Washington Club (15 Dupont Circle in DC) tomorrow night...Sept. 25th! All of the other pros are bakeries! Baked and Wired, Nostalgia Cupcakes, The Baltimore Cupcake Company, Sweet N Sassy Cupcakes from Newark, Delaware and more! We all make yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and the third one if the "wild card" cupcake...one of your own choosing.
I'll let you know what happens on Friday!
DelleiciousDC
Week 2 of the Washington Post Cupcake Wars!
Okay! This week the Washington Post has pitted "Buzz" (in Alexandria, VA) against "Pasteries by Randolph" in Arlington, VA. They really like the Buzz vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting...pictured above. They rated it 5.5 out of 10, whereas the Pastries by Randolph red velvet was only give a 3.5 out of 10. Yikes...these people are rough!
These pictures are making me hungry! Tonight I'm making a special cupcake I've never tried before.
Oh, did I tell you that I won the family football pool this past weekend...mostly because picked Maryland and nobody else did!
CQ
Peep Family Overrun by Family Favorite Rum Cupcakes with Rum Glaze!
Take a "peep" at the Peep Family breakfast...seemingly unconcerned that their house has been over run with Rum Cupcakes...as they all...mom, dad, brother and baby...enjoy reading their Washington Post...even the dog and cat!
Cupcakes based on "Hugh Pearson's Rum Cake"...much rum!
More Peep Family Fotos here
Have a great week!
CQ
Painting the Amy Sedaris Tattletail's Vanilla Cupcakes!
Somehow those little guys got out of the box last night and I found them this morning adding another color to the Amy Sedaris "Tattletail's Vanilla Cupcakes" I'd made earlier in the day. They are from her book I Like You....it's so funny. I also made her "Tattletail's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting" to go along with them and frosted some white and some lilac. When I woke up I found the painters at work adding a spot of green...hmmmmm...the must have had some left over paint from their last job!
I don't know if you have her book or not, but it is really hysterical...I received it for Christmas from my good friend, Meg, who loves to try out new things and is into knitting beautiful scraves. I have never read a recipe written the way Amy wrote hers. It's a bit of a guessing game, but as she says "I like to take chances." Me, too!
The cupcakes were a huge success! They are a little bit crunchy around the top edges and the rest of the cupcake is moist and dense, as opposed to some others I've made that are very light. These cupcakes have authority! They practically scream VANILLA! VANILLA! Next time I'm going to try them with her Dusty's Chocolate Buttercream Frosting....maybe I won't be able to wait until next week to do it!
I found these little pots at Ikea yesterday and thought they would make cute cupcakes...I sprayed the inside with PAM w/ flour before I put the batter in and they fell right out when it was time to pop one in....your mouth...that is! The frosting was, again, a pretty funny recipe. Pour everything in a whip it up. It tastes divine!
I can see why Amy's cupcakes were voted second in New York City by New York Magazine...they are delish! More photos are on my flickr place: photos by the cupcakequeen.
Here are the recipes for both the vanilla cupcakes and vanilla buttercream frosting as quoted from her book:
Tattletail's Vanilla Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. You will need: Unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, salt, flour, milk.
Put 1-1/2 sticks of butter in mixer and beat at medium speed until somewhat smooth. Pour in 1-1/2 cups of sugar and beat well. Add 2 eggs. I like to crack the eggs on the side of the bowl while it is moving, which can be really stupid. I like to take chances. Yes, I have had to throw away my batter because I lost eggshells in the mix. Yes, it was a waste of food and yes, I know how expensive butter is, but what can I say? I'm a daredevil. Mix well. Add: 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla, 2-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 21/2 cups of flour, and 1-1/4 cups of milk. Beat until it looks like it is supposed to and pour into individual baking cups, until they are about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Should produce 24 cupcakes; I get 18 because I'm doing something wrong, although my cupcakes were voted second best in the city by New York magazine.
Tattletail's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
In a bowl, combine 1 box (1 pound) of confectioners' sugar, 1 stick of unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of milk or light cream and beat for a while. Really whip it, don't be afraid to get in there. I occasionally add food coloring and sometimes substitute pure almond extract for vanilla.
If you do choose to add pure almond extract instead of vanilla, you're on your own. I don't know the measurement for it, but I do know it's less than the amount of vanilla you would add.
Hope you enjoy them!
CQ
Martha Stewart's Moist Devil's Food (Cup)Cakes Taken Over by a Bunch of Clowns!
Earlier this month I began the four week Wilton Cake Decorating class at Michaels. Last week we learned how to make clowns! It's been a lot of fun and I'm sorry that this week is the last one for this class. I'm actually learning how to use all those decorating tips I have...as well as how to frost a cake...hint: there is an easy way...Our class is very small and relaxed...In fact, a couple of weeks ago we had a lot of snow and Catherine and I were the only ones that made it. We had like a private lesson! It was kind of eerie because the entire store was pretty empty because of the snow.
I love the way the clowns began to take on a little personality. I just sort of pushed them right or left or backward and they began to look...well, I hate to say it...but, human. What do cupcake clowns talk about anyway? However, I did all these while trying to avoid lisening to the Terps play UNC...I'm always very nervous that we will lose, so I have to stay what we call...focused! And, then I was standing in front of the tv with my frosting bag in one hand and a cupcake in the other to watch the very ending of that game. Oh Man! Right down to the buzzer it could have gone either way! Sorry, Davy (he's at UNC)...not really, you big baby! And then, the TERPS won!
Okay, I'm more sane now. Deep breath...I may take the second class, but I'm just not sure yet. The next one has to do with making candy flowers. I mean you actually learn how to make all those tiny little things that cost so much money. Well, maybe I'll do it. I just can't decide yet!
These cupcakes are very moist and yummy. I love chocolate on top of chocolate and this frosting is very bold chocolate. I used the cake receipe below and just made cupcakes with it.
More clown cupcake photos up at my flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cupcakequeen/
Here is the recipe:
Martha Stewart's Moist Devil's Food Cake
Makes 1 eight-inch-round layer cake
"Great swoops of glossy frosting make this a wonderfully exuberant cake with a dark backdrop for birthday candles. But this cake is just as suitable for afternoon snacks or a Sunday supper. It keeps well for several days stored on the counter: Cover with plastic wrap or a glass dome to keep the cake from drying out."
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pans
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pans
1/2 cup boiling water
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups sifted cake flour(not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1. Heat oven to 350°; arrange two racks in center of oven. Butter three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment. Dust bottoms and sides of pans with cocoa powder; tap out any excess. Sift cocoa into a medium bowl, and whisk in 1/2 cup boiling water. Set aside to cool.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on low speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides twice. Beat in vanilla. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating between each addition until the batter is no longer slick, scraping down the sides twice.
3. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk milk into reserved cocoa mixture. With mixer on low speed, alternately add flour and cocoa mixtures to the batter, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with flour mixture.
4. Divide batter evenly among the three prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of each layer comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans for even baking. Transfer layers to wire racks; let cool, 15 minutes. Turn out cakes, and return to racks, tops up, until completely cool.
5. Remove parchment from bottoms of cakes. Reserve the prettiest layer for the top. Place one cake layer on a serving platter; spread 1 1/2 cups chocolate frosting over the top. Add the second cake layer, and spread with another 1 1/2 cups frosting. Top with third cake layer. Cover outside of cake with the remaining 3 cups frosting. Serve.
Mrs. Milman's Chocolate Frosting
Makes 6 cups
While this frosting is cooling, you'll need to stir it as instructed; otherwise, the frosting around the edge of the bowl will harden and the frosting at the center will remain liquid. The finished frosting should have a consistent texture. Lois Milman, the creator of the frosting, always uses Nestlé morsels and makes only one batch at a time. Spread the icing on Moist Devil's Food Cake as soon as it is sufficiently chilled; it holds its shape well on the cake.
24 ounces Nestlé semisweet chocolate morsels
4 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1. Place chocolate morsels and cream in a heavy saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until combined and thickened, between 20 and 25 minutes. Increase the heat to medium low; cook, stirring, 3 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.
2. Stir in corn syrup. Transfer frosting to a large metal bowl. Chill until cool enough to spread, about 2 hours, checking and stirring every 15 to 20 minutes. Use immediately.
Rock On:
CQ
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
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| Starring Lemon Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting | |
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| 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!). | |
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| 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. | |
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| 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. | |
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| 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!
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