Baby Shower cupcakes!

I won't lie to you, these toppers are totally inspired by/copied from a pin on my Pinterest board. Done by Lynlee's Petite Cakes, check out her work because she is a master at teeny tiny toppers!

I hope my toppers are somewhat comparable in cuteness levels.

Cupcakes and Books

'Cause yeah that's why!

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes!

Some cupcakes I made for a family get together this weekend! Perfect for a late summer dessert. I found this recipe on the Java Cupcakes blog long ago and I've wanted to try it forever! I wasn't able to find regular limeade, so instead used some frozen lime margarita mix. ;) Click the blog title for the full recipe!

Urban Craft Show review

Well my first time at the Urban Craft Show went really well! I sold all but 2 lemon curds and one broken cookie (which I've been advised to give as samples next time).

Chocolate cupcake went REALLY fast. As did my bikini cookies. There were tons of kids there too which I didn't expect for some reason, lol. I learned a lot and met a lot of nice people. Good times!

I've actually decided to keep my cake making as a fun hobby for the time being. I've recently had a ton of day job freelance work come flooding in, and realized there are some goals I'd still like to accomplish art wise. Baking takes A LOT of time and patience, is hard to do alone, and there are so many things I want to improve on, so we'll see what happens.

Lots to do! :D

Using my baking powers for good!

Every year there is a campaign in Ottawa to raise 3000 cupcakes for the Ottawa Mission's annual Christmas dinner! So this year I participated! Read more about the Cupcakes 4 Christmas campaign here. Anyone can donate, and it's nice to be able to use my powers for something good! They are always especially in need of vegan or gluten free cupcakes (which I did ^_^).

You can also donate used clothing and household stuff at any time! Tell 'em Fancymolasses sent ya ;)

Halloweeny!

So I got like 4 different cake orders this weekend, making it my busiest weekend so far! Yay!
Here's a sample of a cupcake order for Dance With Alana studios! Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing and Oreo "dirt" crumbs, topped with a gummy worm!

Happy Halloween!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Angel food cupcakes with strawberry buttercream and lemon curd filling! A perfect end-of-summer dessert!

Sexy Vegan Low Fat Vanilla Cupcakes

So I've been on a diet of sorts lately. Getting married in September and just being sick of looking like I have a permanent pregnant belly has gotten me back at the gym 3x a week and cutting out a lot of stuff (mostly sugar) from my diet. But every once in a while, I just need a little... something, ya know?

So I've been meaning to try some of the recipes in this book: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World! Which, by the way, you should totally buy because it's awesome.

I tried the low fat vanilla cupcake recipe. There is also a gluten free option, which I would like to try as well, but for now I started with the basic recipe. They turned out pretty amazing, and according to my trusty calorie counter, are only 143 calories each! Score!!

Cinnamon and Spice...

For a Christmas party. Baileys caramel filled cinnamon spice cupcakes, topped with chocolate ganache, and drizzled with more caramel.

These were fun to make. The cupcakes aren't too sweet, so the caramel makes a nice contrast.  Aaaaand foil wrappers rule. XD

I would take a picture of the filling for you, but I made exactly 12 of these, and I didn't have the heart to sacrifice one just to prove there is filling inside, so for now you're just gonna hafta trust me ;)

If you would like to see more photos, please check out the flickr dump!

The Cupcake Lounge, Ottawa

This weekend I enjoyed a red velvet cake from The Cupcake Lounge in Ottawa. Such a cute little cake bar!  I was able to take my cupcake home on the bus and it survived the trip!  My cupcake was sooooo good and went perfect with my coffee crisp hot chocolate :D  Recommended to anyone wandering in the Byward Market!

Yumz!

For my own reference...

An interview with Peggy Porschen!

"Find your niche and make that your strong point. Don’t spread yourself too thin and don’t compromise on quality or price. Also, make it look appealing and taste appealing. It’s all about knowing the right balance between taste and presentation."

The Wedding Cake Shoppe - Toronto

So I guess this would qualify as my first review but I'm mostly writing about it because I loved the place, and I was sooo excited to be there that I was running around like a chicken with no head :P

I don't get around to outside cupcake shops a whole lot (because you know, I could just make my own), but when I travel I love to go on cupcake crawls and such. Anyways, a bunch of friends and I went to Toronto and found The Wedding Cake Shoppe. Considered one of the best cupcakes in Toronto. So of course like squealing children we had to go in.

Look at that store front! Let's move in closer still shall we?

Aww yeah, now that's what I'm talking about! This was the chocolate truffle cupcake. It was sooo delish! That bag of loot in the bag was a bunch of cupcake making goodies I bought, which they also sell. The only other place where I feel like buying everything, is bookstores.

The ladies there were also kind enough to let me take pictures! They were soooo nice! Awesome place. You must go there!

The Wedding Cake Shoppe is located on College Street, in Toronto, Canada.

The Great Canadian Cupcake Shipping Project aka The Epic Cupcake Fail

So about a week ago someone I know from Alberta saw some of the previous cupcakes I made online and said, "I want some of those". So I decided to perform an experiment, something I've been wanting to try for a long time: shipping cupcakes cross-country.

This is how it started.  Victoria sponge cakes filled with vanilla buttercream.  I did half with peanut butter icing and the other half with more vanilla buttercream.  

Here's the setup. I wasn't sure how I was going to solve the eternal problem of cupcakes possibly flipping over while in transit. Looking around the internet there are a few possibilities. Cupcakes in jars are lovely, but they'd be heavy and cost more. And do people really want all those jars? What if someone wanted a dozen cupcakes, that's like, 12 jars!! Anyways...

Then there's the whole sticking a candy stick right down the middle of the cupcake method. But it means sacrificing the look of the cupcake, which I don't want either. I just want to be able to send someone a cupcake, the way it's supposed to look, without gimmicks. Is it possible? Probably not.

So the idea I had was to somehow re-inforce the bottom of the cake to the box. I did this using royal icing at the bottom of the box, and sticking toothpicks in the sides so that it stays trapped in the little partitions.  You can see the toothpick sticking out above.  For this try I used 4 in each.

So here are the cakes trapped into the box, and the partitions taped down with packing tape.

After this I wrapped them in layers of plastic wrap and foil and put them in the freezer before shipping overnight with UPS, in a box stuffed with bubble wrap and "this end up" marked all over the box.

Once the recipient sends pics of the results, I will post them here!

UPDATE:
Just got the pics in! Unfortunately things didn't quite work out. When John and I opened the photos we did a collective "Ohhhh!".

Though at least they're not in complete crumbles like some examples I've seen.

It reminds me of The Simpsons where Bart is whipping cupcakes at the wall. Oh well, lessons learned. For now mwahahaha XD

For your long weekend...

I recently got my hands on a Wilton #230, and I couldn't wait to try it! I've been a lover of filled cupcakes since going to Crumbs in NYC. If you haven't gone, go there. It's cupcake paradise. These are Victoria sponge cakes filled with vanilla buttercream, topped with peanut butter icing and Skor pieces. I was a little afraid that I'd fill them with too much icing and the cake would just explode, but I eventually got the hang of it.

Cupcake Valentines

A friend of mine visited this weekend, so as a gift I made her some red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing.
I still haven't found the perfect cream cheese icing yet. But I'll keep trying!

Strawberry Social 2: A Gaggle of Red Hats

These red-hat cupcakes were made for my mother-in-law-in-my-heart Paulette's birthday. The same strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream recipe, with fondant red hats added on top.

Strawberry social...

I love when the local market is open in the summer! It's right down the road from us so I can walk there whenever I want and get fresh fruit and vegetables! The other day I went, and everyone had big baskets full of strawberries for only $5. So I froze some and then used them to make strawberry mini cupcakes, with strawberry buttercream!

I got the recipe from the Fake Ginger blog, which was (as usual) passed on from another blog before it. It calls for using cake flour, but since I didn't have any on hand, I used a bit less all-purpose flour and put in a tablespoon of corn starch. Turned out wonderuflly!

Irish Up Your Cupcake?

I wanted to do a cupcake inspired by a St. Patrick's Day game my hubby worked on. He made these cool looking 3D animated coins for it, so I decided to re-create those. Plus, it's St. Patrick's Day so it's gotta have booze right?

Then I found this awesome recipe from this blog!  It seems like it's been passed on and on and on, but the original name seems a little offensive, so I'm not sure what to name them. Irish Kiss cupcakes? Irish Up Your Cupcake Cupcakes? Ah well, they taste amazing!

The only thing I did a little differently was adding green tea powder to make the icing green. It's a more subtle color instead of that crazy tons-o-food coloring green. The coins are made with fondant and shined up with lustre dust.

Here's the recipe!

For the Guinness chocolate cupcakes:
1 cup stout beer/ Guinness
2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

For the Bailey's ganache filling:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream (or whipping cream)
2 tbsn. butter, room temperature
2 tsp. Irish whiskey OR Bailey's Irish cream

For the Bailey's buttercream frosting:
8 tbsn. unsalted butter, room temperature
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 - 8 tbsn. Bailey's Irish cream (use 8, trust me)
(added 1 tsp of green tea powder to make it green, or use green food coloring)

1. To make the cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake tin with liners and set aside.
2. Combine stout and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cocoa and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the eggs and sour cream to blend.
5. Add stout mixture and beat to combine. Mix in dry ingredients on low until incorporated.
6. Divide batter among cupcake liner about 2/3 full and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.
7. To make the ganache, place chocolate in heatproof bowl.
8. Heat cream in saucepan until simmering, then pour over chocolate, let sit for 1 minute, then stir until smooth.
9. Add butter and Bailey's and stir until combined. Set aside until cool and thick enough to be piped (you can use the refrigerator to speed the process but stir every 10 minutes to ensure even cooling). Meanwhile, cut a portion from the center of the cupcake using the cone method and once the ganache is of the right consistency, pipe the ganache into the centers.
10. To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium high until light and fluffy.
11. Gradually add powdered sugar until incorporated. Mix in Bailey's until smooth. Add more if necessary until frosting has reached a good consistency for piping or spreading (if adding green tea powder, or food coloring, add it here). Frost the cupcakes as desired and enjoy!

** (optional) Decorate with excess chocolate ganache

Production Photos can be seen on my Flickr Page!

Domo Cakes!

Today I got my square cupcake pan in the mail, and I had to try it right away!!!