notes on a cupcake

A Very Grownup Cupcake

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Don’t count the cupcake out just yet.

Just when you think cupcakes have gone stale and you’ve seen them all....comes coffee, liquer, fresh whipped cream, chocolate. Sounds a lot like tiramisu? That’s just what it is and this weekend I put it all together in the form of a decadent cupcake for a very special someone’s birthday. First I started with vanilla cupcakes, doused them with a blend of coffee, espresso, Kahlua and melted chocolate, topped them off with a big dollop of fresh sweet whipped cream and mascarpone cheese, sprinkled them with cocoa powder and semi sweet chocolate shavings, and let’s not forget the real icing on the cake, a chocolate covered espresso bean. Indulgent? Absolutely! Worth it? Without a doubt!

Viva la cupcake!

Kids Muffin Tin Monday Meals

Mon, 4 May 2009 22:54:34 -0400

Here’s an idea of what to do with your cupcake/muffin tins while they’re not being used for baking cupcakes --which in my humble opinion shouldn’t be very often.

Now it’s true, this is most definitely not your traditional cupcake blog post today. But what this is, is a rainy, blah Monday (well ok now it’s Tuesday officially but still rainy & blah) and we could all use a small dose of fun and creativity. This will surely bring a smile to the face of any little one but is bound to bring out the kid in us all.

I came across this site/blog HerCupOverfloweth.com (wow, do I feel that way many days, as I’m sure you can all agree) where this fun “phenomenon” Muffin Tin Mondays is sweeping blogs and families across the internet. As a mother, I know how boring meals can sometimes get for the little ones and how hard we have to try to get them to eat at all, no less try something new. Well in comes Muffin Tin Mondays where every Monday a new theme is set (see the above photos, Fairies & Under the Sea) and families across the country come up with their own creative ways to make a meal in that week’s theme and eat it straight from their muffin tins! Kids absolutely adore it because, well, it’s just plain fun and sure takes the boring out of their usual meal. And since kids are more apt to eat what they make, this is also a great way to add something new to their repertoire.

The two creative muffin tin meals above are from the lovely mom’s blog,
bobbicamacho.blogspot.com. The Fairies Tea Party meal included unicorn calzones, woodland mushrooms (cupcake), magic fruit wands & sparkling star gems. The Under the Sea/Ocean meal included a hot dog octopus, pasta shells with breadcrumb sand, goldfish, swedish blue fish, and ramen noodle “seaweed” (although I have no idea how they got them to turn green but you can always use lettuce or pepper strips in it’s place). The variations are endless but fun & creativity are the key.

Today is Cinco de Mayo (and yes I know it’s not Monday) but it’s a great theme to start with! Ole!

New Twist on an Old Childhood Favorite- PB&J Cupcake

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:05:14 -0400

Take a peek into lunchboxes at any school across the country and you’ll be sure to find a peanut butter & jelly sandwich in way more than one. A classic lunch staple since the 1940’s, pb& j sandwiches have even inspired a restaurant in NYC wholly dedicated to it’s genius, Peanut Butter & Co. Since cupcakes already have a retro vibe (think way back and I’m sure you can recall a time, if not many, when your mom baked up a batch for your birthday), it makes perfectly delicious sense to combine these two childhood favorites to create an amazingly new “old school” experience.

Vanilla cake injected with real grape jelly topped with creamy peanut butter vanilla frosting--it just doesn’t get much better than this for me. This is my absolute new favorite cupcake flavor and super easy to make. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

12 of your favorite vanilla cupcakes
peanut butter- 1/2 cup (or more depending on how peanut buttery you like it)
butter-1 stick unsalted, soft
vanilla-1 tsp.
confectioners sugar- 2 1/2 cups
light cream -1/4 cup
your favorite grape jelly (or any other flavor you prefer)- 1/2 cup or so--enough to fill a dozen cupcakes

Place butter & peanut butter in a mixing bowl, add 1 1/2 cups sugar, then light cream and then the vanilla. Mix on medium until smooth & creamy. Gradually add remaining sugar and if needed a touch more light cream. Then add more peanut butter to taste if you like.

Put grape jelly in a pastry bag with injecting tip and inject grape jelly into middle of cupcakes (this was the fun part!). Then frost cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, eat & enjoy (this was the most fun part!).

Oh and If you don’t feel up to doing any of this, you can always order them from StaceyCakes!

Cupcake Onesies -Gift Idea for Baby Shower

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

I thought I should get a little bit creative for my friend’s baby shower this past weekend because we were shipping her main gift to her L.A. home so she didn’t have to lug it on the plane. I didn’t want to just simply hand her over some onesies & socks so what could I possibly do? My mind works in a strange way (even I must admit), always thinking of food, sweets and in particular cupcakes of course! So what’s a girl to do? Roll them up and make them look like cupcakes of course, what else!? The idea came to me when I picked up the pack of pretty pastel onesies she registered for. I thought, hmm, these look like lovely frosting colors. That’s when I got rolling. And I mean rolling, literally. I purchased some jumbo cupcake wrappers, rolled those cuties up and stuck them inside a pretty colored bakery box. Almost good enough to eat.

I didn’t necessarily think they passed the test but on the way to the shower, my neighbor peering down my shoulder asked “mmm, did you bake those yourself!?” That’s when I knew I was on to something. Then at the shower, my dear mama- to- be friend kept pushing the “cupcake” box aside, when she was opening her gifts. Asking her why she kept pushing my box to the back when it was the next in line, said she she just wanted to save them to eat for the plane ride home to California! Although she oohed & ahhed and loved the idea of them when she finally realized they weren’t cupcakes of the eating variety, I’m still pretty sure she wished they were. Luckily, there were a few real ones left over from the shower!

Vintage Tea Cup(cake) Wrappers

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

These lovely little wrappers give new meaning to the words ‘sweet tea.’ I came across them while looking for fresh cupcake ideas for a good friend’s baby shower/tea party and fell head over heels. Mine just arrived today in record time from theblushingbakeshop.com, similar to the beauties above but custom made in pink tones (my friend is having a baby girl), and the service couldn’t be friendlier, more efficient and pretty light on the wallet.

Truly unique and steeped in charm, they would add a touch of whimsy to any tea party, or for that matter, any special occasion where cupcakes would be welcome (and let’s be honest, where wouldn’t they be)? The best part is, they’re so cute all on their own, so no need to do much decorating. Just pipe on some frosting, add a real or iced flower on top and voila, a deliciously brewed batch of sweet tea cakes ready for sipping, or um, licking.