Red Velvet Cupcakes

Well bad weather here kept everyone indoors today, at least it was rain this time and no additional snow (although they are calling for more of the white stuff tonight, ugh).
Hungry, and with our cupcake reserves gone, I decided to break open a nifty holiday box mix for some quick Red Velvet Cupcakes. The results were mixed (LOL, and what would one expect from a box mix) but I thought I would share the pictures with everyone anyway.

The batter certainly was R-E-D, bright, blood red in fact. The redness of the stuff kind of scared the kids, and maybe it should have scared me too. I mean the red dye in this mix had to be off the charts!

Once baked, these little cupcakes seemed very firm. Since I have not made many of the Red Velvet variety, I was not sure if that was what I should expect or not. Once iced though, these were moderately moist and the cake itself was very yummy.

The cream cheese icing, included in the box, (ok I was a total lazy cupcake cheater today) was not really bad, nor was it really good. It did look yum in the photos though. The kids helped out by topping these with little chocolate jimmies, and then wolfing them down as fast as they would have any of my homemade creations. That last detail made me feel like maybe I should find some new and better recipes. Hey, don't judge, a mom does what a mom has to do to keep the hungry kiddos in cupcakes!

So here are the pictures to tide readers over until I am back to creating the homemade goodies. I don't know how others are able to do it, but when my entire family is at home, I just don't seem to have the time to create cupcakes (at least not homemade ones).

The cute, sunny, ceramic holder was made by my cute ( but not always as sunny) 2nd grader.

If anyone can suggest a really good Red Velvet Cupcake recipe, as well as the cream cheese icing to top it off, I would be VERY interested in hearing from you.

Till next time,

Deb

Almond Joy Cupcakes

This afternoon I was lucky to have just enough time, to whip up a small test batch of what I call "Almond Joy" cupcakes. Don't they look delicious!? Well believe me they were! These did not last very long at all once the kids were home from school.

I was doing a bit of experimenting with the layered-flavor style cupcake that seems to be so popular right now. I have not had much experience with this, so today was all trial and error. The best part of that is you get to eat all the errors, and they taste great too!

I started with a dark chocolate cupcake base, with coconut, chocolate chips, and an almond baked into the bottom portion. Once these were cooled, I cut a spot in the top to fill the middle with a chocolate ganache. Once filled I replaced the cap of the cupcake and frosted with a sweet coconut buttercream icing. To complete the taste and look of an Almond Joy candy bar, I then topped the filled cupcakes with coconut, chocolate ganache drizzle, a chocolate chip and a roasted almond.

YUM!

I liked the frosting, although perhaps next time I will make it a little less sweet. The almond (roasted, salted) was a good touch. The chocolate ganache filling was a good compliment too. I think next time I will not bake additional coconut and almond into the bottoms of the cake though, instead I might just add them in the middle right before filling with the ganache.

Please take a look and tell me if you have tried a similar recipe and what worked best for you.

Till next time,

Deb

The Classic Cupcake Mixer

One of my friends asked me recently about the mixer, on which I am seen leaning in my first blog video, so I thought I would explain a bit.

The mixer is new to me, inherited from my grandmother, and recently un-earthed from storage in my basement after who knows how long. I cleaned it up and have begun to enjoy it's solid metal base, thick tempered glass bowl, and unique one piece beater for creating my cupcake batters. I am not sure why I left it down there unused for so long, because now I honestly love this classic machine. The mixer is a 1940's Kitchen-Aid Model K3B (circa Hobart) and even with age it is the perfect mixer for blending small batches of cupcakes. The smooth whiring noise the engine makes is as comforting and appealing as the treats it can produce. While I am enjoying this sturdy, classic mixer for the first time, I would love at some point to have a newer, larger model for turning out bigger batches all at once!

Today I am putting the old K3B to work and whipping up test batches of "Almond Joy" and Carrot Cake cupcakes. Now that my three kidos have returned to school, after several snow days, I hope to get back to the business of blogging and cupcake creation! I initially felt bad about missing the Valentine holiday, as well as Mardi Gras cupcaking opportunities, but thats ok, kids get mom's time first.

Till next time,

Deb

*note- The mixer in the photo is not my actual mixer (camera is still on fritz here) but it is exactly like mine, right down to the slight crack at the rim of the glass bowl! Don't worry, it is only a cosmetic flaw.

Snowman Cupcake, Snow Day

Snow!

Today I had planned to make another cupcake video, decorating something a bit more elaborate, but then the snow hit, school canceled, and my three kidos were home all day with me. Any mothers out there understand snow days = not going to get much done days!

I did make a quick little snowman cupcake in honor of all the snow today, hope you enjoy the picture, even though I must apologise because the camera was a bit wonky today and every shot was looking fuzzy. (Note to self-buy new camera as soon as I can get out of the driveway.) My husband shoveled that drive way all day, but the snow kept falling faster than he could shovel and he eventually gave up. Here is hoping we can get out and about tomorrow.

I was online, looking at quite a few cute snowman cupcake ideas. If you are snowed in today like we are, at least it is good to know there are so many interesting decorating ideas out there to help keep you (and the kids) busy.

Till next time,

Deb

Spiderman Cupcakes!

*New video posted today at YouTube, decorating this easy to do Spiderman Cupcake.

This is a cute and simple design that will win over the little boys in your life, Spiderman cupcakes.

You will need the following...

-white fondant

-red icing

-black icing

-cupcakes

-small (size 3) writing tip

-decorating bag

-small icing knife

My video will walk you through the process to put this cute cupcake together quickly.

I picked this design to begin my blog, because it is so simple to do, and part of my goal here is to encourage others to give decorating a try. If you start off with something simple, I think you will be surprised how quickly you become quite good at it!

I began decorating when I was a teenager and I wish that there had been a resource like the internet to help me find ideas, and learn new techniques. Ok, I just really dated myself a bit there didn't I? The point is, I didn't know what I was doing, and eventually I found a job being paid to decorate and do what I enjoyed. Now there are so many wonderful resources for those who want to start decorating! My local community college has Wilton decorating classes your's might too, and it's a great place to begin. There are also so many videos and websites, and blogs, as well as some really awesome books out about decorating. If you find a resource you think I should share here, please let me know. I hope my own videos here will help encourage you to give cupcake decorating a try, and stay tuned because I also plan to review related products, and possibly host some really cool give aways!

Enjoy the Spiderman cupcakes, leave a comment to let me know how yours turn out.

Till next time,

Deb