The Cupcakery and More...

"Sprinkles" Cupcake Mix

Recently I was in a Williams-Sonoma store (lucky me!) and I found a mix from the renowned "Sprinkles" cupcake company. I decided I would go ahead and buy them to see what the fuss was all about. The total charge for the cupcakes was 14.95 for 12 cupcakes (what was I thinking?). Anyway, My nieces and nephew are here from Tennessee so I decided I would make them as a little snack. So here we go:

   

Inside the cute packaging was the cupcake mix, the cute little dots and directions. You have to add butter, eggs and ,milk.

 

After mixing all the ingredients together, I decided to make them a little more festive and added sprinkles to the mix.

 

 

I always use an ice cream scoop to put the batter in the cups. This always ensures you get the same amount in each cup. I have so many of them that I am not sure which size this one was but I know it was just the right size to fit the mini tins. I purchased some form our local grocery store and some from Pampered Chef.

Ready to go into the oven!

Baked and ready to cool!

 

The final product! Aren't they cute?

 

 

Our own decorations!

The Verdict:

     The kids enjoyed the cupcakes but my daughter told me that she didn't like them as much as mine (that's my girl).I thought the cake was a little eggy tasting, but it could have been something I did. We all agreed that the dots on top were awful and flavorless. But overall the cupcakes weren't too bad. I would love to try one from their bakery in Ca. I am sure they would be a whole lot better!

Gingerbread Man Cookie Pops

These are the first decorated cookies I have made. They turned out really cute! I made them for my sons Kindergarten class. They loved them and kept asking when they would get to eat them. First I made the sugar cookie dough using a recipe from Confetti Cakes cookbook but added a few of my own touches to the recipe. The key to shaped cookies is definitely to freeze them after you cut them out to keep their shape. It also makes them easier to handle. After I cut out the shapes I inserted large popsicle sticks I bought from our local superstore in the craft department. I just pushed them into the bottom making sure not to go out the back of the cookie. After they baked I made the royal icing recipe from the same book as well and added my own flavorings. To tint the icing I used my wilton food colors. When they were completely dry, I wrapped them in a cellophane bag and tied them with a ribbon I purchased from Stampin' Up! I was very happy with the way they turned out. Now I might just be on a cookie making kick! TFl and Merry Christmas!

Cupcake Flavors for Christmas

  These are some cupcake flavors I came up with for teachers gifts, etc. I found new boxes that are 100 % recycled material. So I thought this would be a great way to GO GREEN. You can purchase them from BRP Box Shop .

From Left to right: Red Velvet (holiday favorite), Gingerbread w/ cream cheese icing, Chocolate peppermint with mint cream cheese icing, Carrot.

 

Wrapped and ready to go!

Merry Christmas!

This is a cake I made for  Anne's dinner party. She wanted a cake like the first cake I made and since the original cake was the first decorated cake I had ever done (you can view it here) I figured it would be a great way to redeem myself. The cake is chocolate with chocolate ganache filling and then covered in fondant and the bow and balls are all made from fondant.  TFL

Chocolate Espresso Cookies

These are chocolate Espresso cookies I made from scratch. They are for friends/teachers. The outside is chewy  and the inside is soft and creamy with chocolate chips. The texture is very similar to a brownie but these are super rich. Better get the milk out for these! 

Cow Cake

This cake was for a baby shower. Mom wanted a brown and white cow theme instead of a black and white one. I really hadn't noticed that there were so many brown and white cows in this town, but after making this cake I started noticing the large number of them around me (including in the field next to ours). I absolutely love how my fondant baby turned out. I still can't get enough of his sweet little toes. The tiny cow on his onsie was hard to even see while I was molding it. My fingers kept getting in the way. The cake is Chocolate with almond cream cheese icing. The cupcakes were chocolate bliss and vanilla with vanilla buttercream. TFL YEE! HAW!

Charm's Hannah Montana Cake and Cupcakes

This was for Charm who was having a Hannah Montana Birthday Party. I was suprised that this was the first time I had been asked to make this theme considering how popular it is. The cake is a 6" cake with lemon curd filling and cream cheese icing. I covered it in fondant and then hand molded the guitar and microphone out of fondant as well. The cupcakes were strawberry with cream cheese frosting, vanilla with vanilla buttercream, and raspberry with cream cheese icing. Yummy!