Rum and Cherry Coke Cupcakes

Hi all,

I know it’s been a really long time.  I was busy finishing up my physical education degree, finding a new apartment, wedding planning, and working.  I want to try and get back into the swing of things on here now that things have calmed down a bit.

Since I often cook from recipes that I find online, I am changing the way I post on here.  I will give you links to the recipes I used and tell you about any changes that I made instead of posting the whole recipe.

What a better way to get back into things than with cupcakes!  I love cupcakes!! They are amazing and have so many variations.  This cupcake was inspired by the delicious rum and coke drink.  I like to use cherry coke in my rum and coke. Thus I decided to make the drink into a cupcake.  Yummy!

 

The cake recipe comes from Tasty Sweet: The Chronicles of a Cupcake Artist

Her post: Girl’s Weekend Rum and Cherry Coke Cupcakes

The frosting recipe was inspired by Raspberri Cupcakes: A Sydney Baking Blog

Her post: Lemon Cake Squares with Cherry Meringue Icing

My Changes:

1. I added about 1 teaspoon of maraschino cherry syrup to the cake batter.  I wanted just a bit more cherry flavor in the cake.

2.  I used a sour cherry spread in my frosting.

3. I decorated with white sugar pearls to represent the carbonation in the Cherry Coke!

 

Keep on baking!

Jess

Wilton Course Three Completed!

During the month of April I took the third Wilton cake decorating course.  This course is all about gum paste and fondant.  Well mostly gum paste. I learned a lot.  I like to watch those cooking shows like Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss and I always wanted to know how they made their flowers.  They looked so real!  Well now I know how to make some of them and have the knowledge to learn how to make others.  This class was really exciting for me.

I have only used fondant a couple of times and had never used gum paste.  Usually I just ice the cake and do some piping.  After this course I feel that I can expand my cake decorating!  Here are some of the techniques and flowers I learned.

 

Let me just say, buying the course three kit was such a good investment for me.  I already had most of the tools, but there were a couple I didn’t have.  Like the ribbon cutter.  Now I have one, along with some hard to find shape/cookie cutters!

My favorite of these roses is the most right rose.  I like how open it is.  I think it is the most real looking flower of the bunch.  The only problem I had with using gum paste is that you can’t eat it.  I know a lot of people who like to eat the decorations on their cake.  It’s a bit awkward I think to tell someone they can’t eat the flowers on the cake, when most commercial cakes you can eat the flowers (usually they are icing).

I really liked how my carnations came out.  They were so pretty!  Too bad I didn’t have something to put them on.  The lily came out pretty well too, but I need to practice pulling the edges.  I think I made the edges a little to thin and they didn’t really ripple like I had hoped.

So I learned how to make Mums.  What the heck are Mums?  I don’t think I have ever seen them in real life.  I struggled a bit with these flowers because I kept snapping the stick (spaghetti can be so fragile).  I did like how they came out, but I am not sure I will ever actually use this flower on a cake.

I loved the daisies!  I really got the hang of pulling the gum paste to make the edges curl up and to indent the petals making them look more real.  Plus these flowers were the most simple to complete out of all the flowers we learned.  I just feel in love with these daisies!  That is why I used them on my final cake! ;P

Here is my Wilton course three master piece!  I love how it turned out.  Especially since I came up with a rough plan right before class.  Google can be your best friend.  I looked up other daisy cakes and found inspiration for this cake.  I really liked how it was all Spring feeling, just as the weather was turning nice here.  I also think that this cake would make a great mother’s day cake, which you know is on May 12th.  It’s just around the corner!  I’m glad I took this course and know to make time for the fourth course: advanced gum paste flowers!  I can’t wait to learn more!

 

 

 

 

 

Oreo Birthday Cupcakes

I’m not usually a big Oreo fan, but a friend’s birthday is coming up soon.  He personally requested these cupcakes.  I can’t say “no” to someone who wants me to bake for them.  😀

He gave me this website: Death By Oreo Cupcakes

I had also found this website: Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

They are almost the exact same recipe, but with a few differences.  So I picked the parts of each that I personally liked and made some Oreo Birthday Cupcakes!

First, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.  Take one cookie part off the Oreo.  Add the rest of the Oreo to the cupcake liner.

Second, mix a chocolate cake mix according to package directions.  Crush at least 6 whole Oreos into medium to small pieces.  Add the Oreo pieces to the cake mix.

Third, add cake mix to the cupcake liner.  Only fill liner 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake for 15-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out crumb free (clean).

Fourth, crush the cookie tops into  super-small to tiny chunks. Take pre-made cream cheese frosting and put into a bowl.  Stir in the crushed cookies.

Finally, decorate the completely cooled cupcakes and garnish with a cookies and cream candy bar piece!

Oreo Birthday Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 Box of Devil’s Chocolate Food Cake Mix

• Plus ingredients that the box requires

1 Package of 30 Oreos

2 Cans of Cream Cheese Frosting

1 King Size Cookies and Cream Bar or 24 Mini Oreos (optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Fill a cupcake pan with liners.  In each liner put in an Oreo with one cookie side taken off.  Put that missing cookie piece in a bag and set aside.

2. Make box cake according to package directions.  Crush up six whole Oreos into medium to small pieces.  Mix the crushed Oreos into the cake mix.

3. Scoop cake mix into cupcake liners.  Only fill 1/2 to 2/3 full.

4. Bake cupcakes for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out basically crumb free.

5. Put the pre-made cream cheese frosting into a bowl.  Crush the cookie pieces from earlier into super small to tiny pieces.  Mix into the frosting.

6. Decorate the cupcakes once they have completely cooled.  Add optional decorations if desired!

Expresso Cupcakes, Caramel Ganache, and Irish Cream Frosting!

Today is my good friend, Josh’s birthday.  He had taken some really great pictures of my creations for the blog.  To celebrate his birthday I made him some cupcakes!

The cake recipe came from: Confessions of A Faux Gourmet

• I used at chocolate fudge cake mix
• I used 3/4 cup espresso and then a little under 1/4 cup water

The filling recipe came from: The Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts on Pg. 23

The frosting recipe came from: Brown Eyed Baker

• I have made her Irish Car Bomb cupcakes before, and knew the frosting was exactly what I wanted for these cupcakes.

St. Patrick’s Day – Fun Foods

St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow!  I love this holiday for all the fun foods!  I have been browsing pinterest and food blogs for fun green food ideas as well as other festive ideas.  Here are some of my favorites; click the picture to go to the recipe!

1. Crab Stuffed Baked Avocado – Domestic Fits

2.Cucumber Cups Stuffed with Spicy Crab – Domestic Fits

3. Lucky Leprechaun Hats – Betty Crocker

4. Ligurian Pesto with Spaghetti – Bon Appétit

5. Cheddar Biscuits – Kraft Foods

6. Irish Cheesecake – Kraft Foods

7. Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes – Brown Eyed Baker

8. Grilled Corned Beef and Fontina Sandwiches – Bon Appétit

9.Green Eggs and Ham – Martha Stewart

10.Vegetarian Split Pea Soup – The Curvy Carrot

11. Monster Veggie Burger – Shape Magazine: Healthy Eating

12. No Bake Mini Grasshopper Pies – A Pretty Life In The Suburbs

13. Mrs. O’Callaghan’s Soda Bread – Bon Appétit

Hope these pictures and recipes gave you some ideas for your St. Patrick’s Day food festivities!