Christmas II

So Christmas cupcakes abound!!  This week it was 50 Christmas themed cupcakes for the staff at my local school.



There were buttercream topped cupcakes like Christmas Trees, which I love & then some simple Christmas themed toppers, with little red hearts - they looked v. cute!



More Christmas cupcakes in the oven now... I'll keep you posted!



Lairy x

... fairy wishes & delicious kisses to you! xx

Christmas III

Today was Christmas cupcakes galore!  Every single one was Chriss-cringle fun!  I loved making them!  It's coming to the end of term at school, so many of the orders this week and next are as 'thank you's' for teachers.  I do hope they like them and consider them a worthy thank you and treat.



They are vanilla cupcakes (made with real vanilla and vanilla sugar) topped with fluffy butter cream frosting and then a sugar paste disc with the Christmas themed toppers, hand made on top!



Then ... sprinkled with a little fairy glitter dust, just to add that Christmas sparkle.



So, here they are...



For Gems, with love x

... fairy wishes & delicious kisses to you! xx

Christmas Cake

Chocolate cake with chocolate christmas tree decoration.

Strawberry Cheese Cupcake With Mint On Top

Cheesecake cupcake with graham cracker (or gluten-free ginger snap) crust and fresh strawberries and mint on top.

Halloween Costume Cupcake Toppers From The Cake Fairy

The Cake Fairy created an assortment of costume toppers for kids to “dress up” their cupcakes with at this year’s party! Check out the step-by-step instructions on CakeJournal.com

Cupcake Royale on Grey's Anatomy

As I was watching the weeks episode of Grey's Anatomy... I couldn't help but notice the Cupcake Royale sticker on the locker in the women's locker room!

Cupcake Royale is a local Seattle cupcake shop owned by Jody Hall! I'be been there a bunch of times and would recognize that sticker anywhere!

Here's a screenshot of the sticker! How sweet!

Cupcake Battle at Kansas City Renaissance Festival

3 Girls Cupcakes let us know via Twitter that the upcoming Kansas City Renaissance Festival October 5th and 6th is hosting a cupcake battle. Want to join? That link has more information and click here to apply in the amateur or professional categories. And while I'm posting about them, I couldn't resist the monster cookie dough cupcakes from 3 Girls Cupcakes, via their Facebook page. "It's a vanilla cupcake with peanut butter chips and an eggless monster cookie dough frosting."

Cupcake art window at Cupcake, Charleston, South Carolina

Cupcake art window at Cupcake, Charleston, South Carolina, a photo by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake on Flickr.

Cinnamon buns

Making cinnamon "knots" is not my thing. Just sayin.
I struggled quite a bit with making these look somewhat pretty but I think they ended up looking ok at least. They tasted amazing though, and that's what counts, right? And I know that practice makes perfect. I need to make them more often. The last time I blogged about cinnamon buns was in November 2009 (!!!). Back then I wrote "I prefer mine without cardamom". What?? I texted my brother the other day asking him if he likes cardamom. He said it was probably his favorite "spice". I agreed. Things sure have changed around here since 2009.

Tomorrow is the official "Kanelbullens dag" or cinnamon bun-day in Sweden. I must say that these buns are amongst my favorite things in the world, with a glass of milk or cup of coffee (make that coffee for me please!).
I of course also make them with a little bit of extra filling. 
Mmmmm... butter. I need butter.
Ok, just go make them! They are that good.

On another note, the text on my blog is really picking a fight with me. Let me know if it looks weird on your screen.






Recipe after the jump!




Cinnamon buns
Makes about 30 buns
 
150 g soft butter
100 ml granulated sugar (90 g)
½ tsp salt 
2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
500 ml milk
50 g fresh yeast
1400 ml all purpose flour (840 g)

Filling
175 g soft butter
100 ml granulated sugar (90 g)
2 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom, freshly ground
1/4 tsp vanilla powder

Egg wash
1 egg, lightly beaten
Pearl sugar, chopped almonds or granulated sugar

Method 
1. Mix butter, sugar, salt and cardamom until smooth in a large bowl. 
2. Heat milk in a saucepan until approximately 37°C (98.5F), remove from heat and add sprinkled yeast. Stir until dissolved. When yeast is completely dissolved, add milk to butter mixture. 
3. Gradually add flour, then work until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover bowl with a cloth and leave to rise until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the filling and set aside.
5. When dough is ready, divide it into two pieces. Start by rolling out the first piece of dough into a large rectangle, about 40x50 cm. Spread half of the filling on top. 
6. To make the shape pictured here, fold the dough two times (so you have three layers of dough, kind of like a business letter!).

7. Cut out long strips of dough (about 2 cm wide) which you then cut in half lengthwise, leaving the top part uncut (imagine holding up a pair of pants in front of you, that's what it should look like but with super long legs!)

8. Twist together into a knot and put on parchment paper.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 with remaining piece of dough.

10. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes. 

11.  Heat oven to 250°C (480F). Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle pearl sugar on top if desired. Bake for about 8-11 minutes, depending on the size of the buns.

Book Trailer For Robicelli's: A Love Story, with Cupcakes

Robicelli's cookbook is coming out in two weeks. You can pre-order it today. Below is the cookbook trailer.

Boo! Spider Cupcakes By Victorious Cupcakes

It's the Hallloween season. Check out these spider cupcakes made by Victorious Cupcakes, and there's a special party planner iPad app just for Halloween. It's a UK app, but I think it will work on US iPads.

DIY Mushroom Cupcake Topper

Handmade Charlotte shows how to make these colorful toadstool mushroom cupcake toppers.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

 

I'm going to go ahead and admit it: I've never been big a pumpkin fan. I think they're a fun way to decorate for Halloween or autumn in general, but I'm not very big on the flavor. I know I'm weird, but I think it's been growing on me lately. There's always pumpkin madness this time of year, and how can you not get caught up in all of it!? But I do love these Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting by Damn Delicious. They're so adorable I could eat Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting by the spoonful! I love the giant pile of frosting topped with a little candy corn pumpkin. So cute! Chung-Ah describes them as "THE BEST pumpkin cupcakes I have ever had, hands down. The batter comes together so easily, and the base is so incredibly light and moist, just the way a cupcake base should be." Grab the recipe for these Pumpkin Cupcakes here!

Aussiemite Cupcakes For Super Fun Night

In honor of Australian actress/comedian Rebel Wilson's "Super Fun Night" premiering tonight, here's an Aussiemite and Belgian chocolate cupcake made by Candy Cake. So Aussiemite is a savory yeast-based spread popular in Australia.

Chocolate covered and candy corn mini cupcakes from Baked by Melissa!

Chocolate covered and candy corn mini cupcakes from Baked by Melissa!, a photo by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake on Flickr.

Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes now selling at JFK airport

Baked by Melissa mini cupcakes now selling at JFK airport, a photo by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake on Flickr.

Full report soon. And they're chocolate covered mini cupcakes, previously only sold as a box set, are now $2 each.

ROAR! Leopard Print Cupcakes and Matching Makeup!

YouTuber My Cupcake Addiction did a collabo with Eyedolize Makeup. Learn how to make the leopard cupcakes, and then check out Eyedolize Makeup for the awesome matching makeup tutorial!




Tools & Equipment:
Fondant rolling pin
Knife
Circle cookie cutter (I used a 4.5" but choose one approx 2 sizes larger than the top of your cupcake)
Cornflour (starch)

Ingredients:
A cupcake
Pale brown fondant or modelling chocolate (link to our modelling chocolate recipe below)
Buttercream frosting (our recipe link below)
Red fondant bow (see link below for our tutorial on how to make the bow)
Melted black candy melts
Melted pale brown chocolate or candy melts
** You can substitute the candy melts for food colouring if you like, but make sure you add a few drops of clear alcohol to each colour. You can use cake decorators rose spirit or vodka - this will evaporate (so you wont get any taste) but it will help the food colouring to dry a lot faster.

Plum Crazy Cupcakes

Where did the expression, "plum crazy", get its origin? I have eaten plums and they have not been particularly crazy. Anyway, Bootlegger Cupcakes made these plum cupcakes with Tallgrass Wild Plum Farmhouse Ale, filled with plum jam, finished off with an almond, honey and plum buttercream and topped with a sugar plum candy.

Cookbook Giveaway: Win Butter Baked Goods By Rosie Daykin

It's the baking season! We have a cookbook giveaway for our readers! enter to win a copy of Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes from A Neighborhood Bakery by Rosie Daykin. This cookbook is from a Vancouver bakery so entrants can include both US and Canadian residents. Enter by October 8th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Three Ingredient Cupcakes: Pumpkin Spice M&M Chocolate Cupcakes

Easy as 1, 2, 3. What?! Blogger A Mom Creative has developed a fun seasonal recipe using ONLY three ingredients-one box chocolate cake mix, one bag of Pumpkin Spice M&Ms and one can of pumpkin. Read how to make them on The Mom Creative.

Make Adorable Panda Cupcakes With Oreo Cookies

Yes to all of this! At the Zoo Atlanta, twin pandas were recently born. You can see them on the Panda Cam. A delicious way to celebrate is make these cute panda cupcakes. Blogger Sparked Ideas show you how.

Caramel Latte Cupcakes

 

I'm all for caramel lattes in the morning, but how about these cupcakes!? I would love one of these with my coffee. A Mommy Too flavored these cupcakes with instant coffee and they're topped with white chocolate buttercream frosting and a fudgy, caramel drizzle. If you're a Starbucks fan or a caramel-latte-kind-of-person, these cupcakes are definitely for you! Get the recipe here!

A Cake Pop Tutorial From Cake Journal

Cake pops are like the little sister to cupcakes. They are the Jan to cupcake's Marcia; they are a little high maintenance. Want to learn how to make them easily? Check out the tutorial by Cake Journal.

The cookie baked inside the cookies and cream cupcake from Grace & Shelly's Cupcakes

Sometimes, even when I'm not looking for them, cupcakes find me. That's what happened yesterday when I went to see a movie as part of the Milwaukee Film Festival and literally looked up and there was Grace & Shelly's Cupcakes, who are based in Florida and also have a Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin location. I'll post more about my visit, but I will say that ice cream and cupcakes are a win/win, and this is the cookies and cream cupcake I tried. I loved the cookie baked into the bottom! Find out more at their Facebook page and at graceandshellyscupcakes.com.

Mallorca

I realized I never posted the rest of my photos from Mallorca. Honesty I didn't take very many (I was on vacation, right!?) and I definitely didn't eat enough dessert. I did eat croissants for breakfast though. Every day. That's what I call a vacation.

By the way. Some of these photos are taken with my phone. I'll definitely be using it a lot more for travel photography.