Shortcut To Cupcake Success

If you're wondering whether you have even one single creative bone in your body or if you're just looking to save some time without giving up on quality, then you'll love this find.

Etsy, one of my favorite sites, has a store on it owned by SugarRobot and she is selling what she calls cupcake covers. These covers are made from fondant and are completely edible. All you need to do is bake your cupcakes and place just enough frosting on them so that the cupcake covers will stick to the top. Here are some cute ones of owls and farm animals:

I might be a little concerned about how they would hold up during shipping but, now that the hottest weather of the summer is behind us, you'd probably be safe to order some. Fondant keeps for months if stored in a dark and dry place so you could even order ahead of time.

Hmm, if I ever have any free time ever again, I might consider opening my own Etsy shop for fondant and gumpaste items :)

Cotton Candy Cupcakes

My family and I just came home from a Kids Fair where snow cones and cotton candy were being consumed on every corner. That got me thinking, how cute would cotton candy cupcakes be? So I did a quick search and ran across a recipe for pink cotton candy buttercream courtesy of CakeSpy.com. This would be awesome on top of vanilla or strawberry cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted and softened butter

6-8 cups of powdered sugar (sifted)

1/2 cup of milk

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

red or pink food coloring

1 handful of pre-packaged cotton candy broken into small pieces (plus a second handful to use as the topper)

You can buy pre-packaged cotton candy online at SugarStand.com.

Directions:

Place the butter in your mixing bowl along with 4 cups of the powdered sugar, the milk and the vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy (should take about 3-5 minutes). Gradually add the rest of the sugar 1 cup at a time and beat well after each addition. You may not need all 8 cups of sugar so just add enough until your buttercream is the right consistency for spreading or piping on to your cupcakes. Add a touch of red or pink food coloring to make your buttercream pink. Stir in the small pieces of cotton candy (it's ok it it melts into the buttercream a little bit). Decorate your cupcakes with the buttercream and add some small pieces of cotton candy as the toppers.

Now you don't have to wait for the next fun fair or carnival to enjoy cotton candy :)

Little Fondant Ghosts

I thought I would share this quick and easy way to make some fun little fondant ghost cake toppers. I made one this afternoon and took some photos to document the process.


Start by forming some small white balls of fondant and then roll them into a short hot dog shape keeping the top part rounded. Then stand them up on one end.

Then roll out some more white fondant and cut some circles in it using a cookie cutter. I used one with a crinkled edge as I think this gives the finished ghost a fun look.

Next I brushed some water on the top and sides of my hot dog shape and then draped the circle of fondant over it. I used my fingers to smooth the fondant down and around stretching it a little where needed so I didn't end up with lots of folds.

The final step was to take a black edible food writer with a fine point and draw on two oval shaped eye holes.

And there you have it - a little fondant ghost that can be used on top of a Halloween themed cake or even on top of cupcakes. Happy spooking!

Filled Cupcakes - A Yummy Surprise!

If you're looking for a way to make your ordinary cupcakes a little more exciting, how about filling them in the center with a yummy surprise?

Filled cupcakes are becoming more and more popular these days and they go way beyond the Hostess cream-filled cupcakes we all remember from when we were kids. Today, you'll find cupcakes filled with buttercreams, pastry creams, custards, curds, jams, mousses and more!

Here is the easiest way I've found to fill your cupcakes: Prepare a decorating bag with your chosen filling and attach a round decorating tip #230 to the bag. Then simply insert the tip in the top center of your uniced cupcake and squeeze out a small amount of filling (be careful not to overfill - this may take a little practice to get the right amount). When you're done, then you can ice your cupcakes as you usually would.

Here are a few yummy ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• Vanilla cupcakes filled with raspberry jam and iced with white chocolate buttercream


• Chocolate cupcakes filled with whipped peanut butter and iced with chocolate buttercream


• Red velvet cupcakes filled with whipped cream cheese and iced with cream cheese buttercream


• Orange cupcakes filled with milk chocolate ganache and iced with chocolate buttercream


• Lemon cupcakes filled with lemon curd and iced with vanilla buttercream


• Vanilla cupcakes filled with pineapple mousse and iced with coconut buttercream


• Strawberry cupcakes filled with pastry cream and iced with strawberry buttercream

If you'd like to share your own ideas, just leave them in a comment below!

Favor Boxes With Personality

Since I'm so big on personalization, it should come as no surprise that I love these new "create-a-favor" boxes from SHinDigZ. You can pick your background, pattern, graphics, layout, font and text for both the front and back of the favor box. And some of them even allow you to add your own photo to the front - how cool is that?

These favor boxes really are a wonderful way to make your child's birthday party unique and special. And at just $1.99 each, they won't break your budget either. Fill them with candy, little toys, bubbles, pencils, play jewelry, etc. Let your imagination be your guide!

White Chocolate Ribbons And Bow Cake

This morning I spent a few hours in San Francisco taking my second professional cake decorating class at Baking Arts. This class was all about modeling chocolate. I learned how to roll the chocolate, make the bow, ribbons and flowers and then also learned how to wrap the entire cake like a gift. The resulting cake is pictured above (yes, it really is mine). I can't wait to experiment with this at home using different colors. The modeling chocolate is definitely a little harder to work with than fondant. It doesn't stretch like fondant and is less forgiving. And if it gets too warm then you can end up with a big chocolate mess. So the key is to handle it as little as possible.

Anyway, I had a ton of fun and the family will dive into the cake tonight - just to make sure it tastes as good as it looks :)

Kitchen Tools That Are In The Pink!

As someone who loves pink (bet you couldn't tell that from my blog), I was so excited to find things for my kitchen in my favorite color. Cooking.com has everything from utensils to a top of the line KitchenAid stand mixer - all in pink. I'll probably start small with something like the spatula but when the time comes for me to get a new mixer, I'm definitely going pink :)

If you haven't yet invested in a stand mixer for baking then I highly recommend them. They make the beating of cake batters, buttercreams and royal icings soooo easy with no "elbow grease" required. I couldn't live without mine. Now I just need to find a pink fondant/pasta rolling machine!

Sweet Storage Space

Okay everyone, how absolutely adorable are these cupcake storage bins from KangaRoom. There is storage space in both the chocolate part as well as the frosting part which is a drawstring bag that has the cutest little cherry button on top. At $24.99 for the set of two, they're not horribly expensive and would look so sweet in a little girl's bedroom or a kids' playroom.

I love when I find something that is out of the ordinary, especially when it relates to cakes of any sort :)

Strawberries And Cream Mousse Filling

It's recipe time again and here's one that is so easy that I had to share it. This is a strawberries and cream mousse recipe that is perfect for filling cakes or cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1 large package of vanilla instant jello pudding powder

1 pint of heavy whipping cream

2-3 tablespoons of strawberry jello gelatin powder

Directions:

Mix the heavy whipping cream on medium high speed until stiff peaks form. Then add in the vanilla pudding and strawberry jello powders and continue mixing until all the powder is dissolved. The consistency should be a thick mousse. Make sure to refrigerate before use.

You can either use this to fill the layers of your full size cake or inject it into the middle of cupcakes for a strawberries and cream filled cupcake. Either way it's yummy!

Race For The Cure

I'm taking a quick time-out from cakes here to help support a cause that I think is so important. I just underwent my yearly mammogram last weekend and so when I saw what SHinDigZ (one of my favorite party stores) is doing to support the fight against breast cancer I decided to jump on board. They are asking us to purchase a breast cancer banner for just $1 and that $1 will be sent on directly to the Susan G. Komen race for the cure.

If you'd like to help simply click on the pink banner above and purchase the breast cancer awareness banner for $1 - use code MBNBCA at checkout. Thanks for your support!

Making Gumpaste Flowers Look Real

This past weekend I was practicing my gumpaste rose technique and made the one pictured above. When I first made the rose it was stark white and I'm often asked how I add the color and depth to it so it really looks real.

Well the big secret is ... petal dust! You can buy it from most professional cake stores as well as online and it comes in a myriad of different colors. You use it dry and simply brush it on with a small soft paint brush. The effect can be truly dramatic. I used a mango colored petal dust on this particular rose but white roses also look great with touches of pink or yellow. You can add a plum color to a red rose and a dark pink color to a pale pink rose. Just brush the edges of the petals and it often helps to use a little more color on the inside of the rose and then use less as you reach the outer layer of petals.

I buy my petal dust online at Into the Oven. Questions? Just leave a comment here and I'll respond as best I can!

Dainty Flower Cupcakes

So I decided to get some flower practice in over the Labor Day weekend. We were headed to my Mom and Dad's house on Monday for a BBQ and swim so I made some little flower cupcakes to take with us.

I started by tinting some white fondant the palest pink to make the flowers. I rolled out the fondant using a little cornstarch to avoid any sticking and then used a flower shaped fondant cutter to cut out my flowers.

I then placed each flower on my foam pad and used a round ball gumpaste tool to cup the inner part of the flower. You simply move the ball tool in a small circular motion and the edges of the flower will start to curl up.

Once finished, I placed the flowers aside to let them harden just a little bit.

Next I took another small amount of fondant tinted a pale yellow and rolled tiny little balls that I could use as the centers of the flowers. I used a small paintbrush to put the smallest dab of water in the center of each flower and then attached the yellow ball to the center. Use just a little gentle pressure to push down the centers so they stick.

I made some strawberry cupcakes and frosted them with a vanilla and almond flavored buttercream that I also tinted pale yellow. I used a large round decorating tip #1A to pipe the buttercream in swirls. Then I put one little flower on the top of each cupcake as the final decoration.

These flower cupcakes would be great fun for a little girl's birthday or tea party!

Finding A Cake Decorating Class

Whether you're just starting out and wondering how you'll ever learn to frost a cake smoothly or are interested in taking your cake decorating skills to the next level, there's a perfect cake decorating class for you!

I've tried to list here some of the ones I know about or have found while hunting around the web. Of course, do make sure to always look into what you're getting for the money before you sign up!

Wilton - Wilton offers a variety of different classes starting at the beginner level and progressing through to more advanced classes in fondant and gumpaste. You can often find local Wilton classes being taught at craft stores such as Michaels and JoAnns. If you live near Darien, Illinois then you may be interested in Wilton's own cake decorating school which offers an extensive array of courses.

Here are some other local options for cake decorating classes:

BakingArts - Located in San Francisco, CA, this is a small school with small classes. They offer everything from fondant and gumpaste to cupcakes and cookies. (This is where I've taken my classes and I love it!)

SpunSugar - Located in Berkeley, CA, this school teaches courses in basic cake decorating as well as the more complex gumpaste flowers and figures.

Pink Cake Box - Pink Cake Box is in Denville, NJ and now offers private and group classes in cake, cupcake and/or cookie decorating. They even allow you to tailor your class to your own particular interests.

Marivi's Sugarcraft Boutique - Marivi's is located in Ocala, FL and offers classes in both cake decorating and sugar work.

Cakewalk Chicago - Cakewalk Chicago is located where else but Chicago! They offer classes in buttercream, fondant and gelatin.

Bonnie Gordon School - Not to forget those of you north of the border, Bonnie's school is located in Toronto, Canada. The school currently offers a wide range of classes for hobbyists, aspiring cake designers as well as professionals who wish to upgrade their design and technical skills.

Another great idea to find classes is to search the services area of Craigslist in your local area. A quick search in my area immediately uncovered some Wilton classes nearby.

If you know of other great places to take classes leave a comment here and happy baking to everyone!

Send Hope With A Free Greeting Card

Yesterday marked the beginning of the Week of Hope and I celebrated by sending a FREE Hope greeting card via Cardstore.com to my wonderful hubby. Just a quick note to let him know how much I love him because with all the craziness of work and life with three little ones, that message sometimes gets a little lost. So I thought I'd send him a little hope...hope for our children, hope for our future!

Russ Haan, the organizer of Hope Is In The Cards, started the grassroots effort to lift the nation’s spirit in a concrete and compassionate way: by sending 300 million greeting cards by mail during the Week of Hope which runs from September 1-7, 2009. And Cardstore.com jumped on board to provide people the opportunity to send a FREE greeting card (including the stamp) to anyone, anywhere in the world! So visit their Hope Collection this week and send your free card and a little Hope to that special someone.