Friday Cupcakes

Every other Friday or so I make cupcakes to bring into work. My co-workers are like my guniea pigs and so far they have liked every cupcakes I've brought in (unless they've been lying to me ;-) I brought a few different kinds into work this week.

First I made chocolate cupcakes with strawberry swiss meringue frosting and a nutella center. So yummmmmmy! I'm really liking the swiss meringue frosting lately and so does the BF :) I kinda got the idea because I love strawberry and nutella crepes! Next time I gotta put banana in there somewhere too.
My second creation is something I have been wanting to make for awhile now. Meat cupcakes! A co-worker of mine doesn't like sweets so I thought it would be perfect. I first heard about a meat cake on one of those wedding shows and it was for a grooms cake. I scaled it down a bit and made them cupcake size.Simply take your favorite meat loaf recipe and portion it into a cupcake pan. Top it with mash potatoes (I piped the potatoes on to make them look more like "frosting"). Then I used bacon, cheese, and chives for the "sprinkles". OH and I can't forget, I did a little ketchup in the center! I gotta have ketchup with my meatloaf. You could do gravy if you want. I put the meat cupcakes in the liner after they had cooled and I dabbed off the grease.

You can also go all out and do a bacon liner if you want!

Grad school has started up for the fall so I'm gonna be crazy busy between that and work. I'll squeeze some bake time in there somewhere :) Big order for next weekend! Have a good one ~Cara Lee

100th post: Black Bottom Cupcakes!

Wow! So I just realized this is my 100th post!! Time really flies when you're blogging I guess ;-) Well good thing I have a fun post today for my 100th.

One of my managers will be leaving us this week to go on to bigger things. I won't be there on the last day since I will be away, so I made them today instead. For flavors she said chocolate and raspberry... I came up with a Raspberry Black Bottom Cupcake. I took my favorite chocolate cake recipe and found a cream cheese filling recipe. I modified the cream cheese recipe by adding frozen raspberries that I thawed out and drained though a sieve. I took that left over syrup and added it to the cream cheese mixture. I also portioned off some of the cream cheese mixture to make regular black bottom cupcakes with tiny chocolate chips.

I don't like naked cupcakes, so I thought a light smooth swiss meringue buttercream would compliment the cupcake quite nicely. This is my first time successfully making a swiss meringue and it turned out so beautiful and yummy.

For decor, I was inspired by my manager's pregnancy. Sounds weird I know, but she always talks about how she misses sushi. So I made some fondant sushi toppers: california roll, sashimi, ginger, wasabi, and a good luck fortune cookie :)

Semi-Homemade Gluten Free Cupcakes

One of my co-workers is possibly leaving us :( I won't see her on her last day, so I decided to make her a batch of my cupcakes today. I've been promising so I figured better late then never - especially if she's leaving soon!

(pic source)

She is a celiac and I've been wanting to make GF cupcakes for awhile now. I pulled a "semi-homemade" move and bought the new Better Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix. I bought the vanilla mix but kicked it up a notch. Flavors: orange zest cupcakes with grand mariner frosting topped with mini chocolate chips and then the other half key lime coconut.

Result: everyone loved them! Even people who aren't gluten free :) But most importantly my co-worker loved them. Baking GF can get pricey and buying this mix is not only cost effective, but really good. I'm impressed - Go Betty!!

Sunday FUNday

I had a break from cakes/cupcakes this weekend. I did throw together some Chocolate Stout cupcakes for a BBQ though :) As for the rest of the weekend Saturday me and a few friends took a sushi making class at CulinAerie. Pretty informative and I have since perfected my sushi rolling! Sunday my BF and I set out to find new food we have never tried before. We stumbled upon an Ethiopian restaurant and decided to try it out. I've been wanting it for awhile, but I've always been kind of intimidated because I have NO idea what to order. So tonight we just went in and let the waitress tell us what to get :) It was very tasty and a fun experience (you eat with your hands!)
For dessert I was not planning on getting cupcakes, but we were walking around Georgetown and stumbled upon Baked & Wired, which I have been wanting to try for awhile. I figured I didn't know when the next time I would be in G-town anytime soon, so I went ahead and just got some cupcakes (you can never do too much research right?!). My BF got the German chocolate - he loves coconut and I convinced him to try something different but has coconut too. I picked out the Lemon Blueberry - I felt like something lighter and refreshing :)I have to say... I think I found a new favorite cupcake place! (Sorry Gtown cupcakes!) I love the vibe when you walk in tp B&W and the cupcakes and coffee were delish! I will try their other baked goods next time I'm down there :)

Tutorial: How to make a Phanatic

This is my first tutorial... thought I would make it a fun one :) So here goes! *Warning: Picture heavy post ahead*

The Phanatic is the Philadelphia Phillie's team mascot. Now you can make him in cupcake form!

Materials:

• Gumpaste/fondant blend in green, red, purple
• Royal icing in green
• Your favorite frosting in green and a little big of blue
• Toothpicks
• Your favorite flavor cupcakes, cooled and ready to frost
• Wilton small flower cutter, tips 21 "star" and 233 "Grass tip"
  
• Royal icing eyes (I bought these at a cake supply store for .75 cents, but you can always make them yourself)
  

A Phanatic 30th Birthday

I celebrated two birthday's this weekend - my friend an her husband. Though we celebrated both, it was mainly for her husband who turned 30th this week. They're originally from the Philly area, so I went with a Philly sports theme - specifically baseball (GO PHILLIES!). We actually became friends with our love of Philly sports so it was perfect. I looked around for ideas and decided on making the Phillies' team mascot: The Phanatic.


Isn't he cute?! I haven't seen anyone make him in cupcake form before so I came up with the design on my own. How did I do?? lol.... I complimented them with baseballs, hot dogs, and pretzels :)

And here is the finished results:

It was another fun cupcake weekend. I'll be posting a Phanatic tutorial this week!

Happy Birthday Ken!!! & Ashley too :)