Cake Pops!

I FINALLY got some inspiration (and assistance) to create some delicious and presentable cake pops. I took a short evening class to get some tips from an expert who makes cake pops on a regular basis. First, I got some great ideas for flavoring the cake (from various extracts to several different flavored liquors). I also had some help determining the perfect texture and consistency of the cake after it is smashed and mixed with frosting. The biggest tip I got involved using a circular motion to drip of excess chocolate and create a smooth and finished look.

I combined raspberry extract, white cake, vanilla frosting, and pink food coloring to create my first set of cake pops. Then, they were coated in pink melted chocolate and adorned with Eastery sprinkles.

My second set were made with chocolate cake and were coated in purple chocolate. I turned some of these (and some pink ones) into cake truffles (or call them cake balls, if you like). Then, I used a Ziploc bag to pipe some white chocolate stripes on top. Here's the perfect serving container for making some cake shooters:



And, we had enough left-over cake to make more at home. So, I made an Easter cake pop dessert tray:

Sunny Spring

Well, technically it's not spring yet, but it sure feels like spring outside. We've had some beautiful weather lately, and I was inspired to make sunflower cupcakes in honor of my mom's birthday last week. She loves lemon desserts, so I made lemon cupcakes and topped them with lemon cream cheese frosting. I made use of some really great decorating tools that were given to me by a good friend last year at a bridal shower. Three layers of petals made for a realistic look and the center of the sunflower was created with half an Oreo. Bright, happy, and delicious!

Konnichiwa Kitty

I made these cupcakes for a friend's recent birthday party. A group of friends gathered at a local Japanese sushi/karaoke bar for a surprise celebration. The birthday girl's fiance asked me to create some "Hello Kitty" cupcakes for the event, and I was afraid my frustration level would be high if I tried to make the actual cupcake look like the famous pink bowed kitty. So, I opted to use cupcake aprons with a beautiful printed version of the character. I find it difficult to decorate with trademarked characters, because I expect the design to look exactly like the actual image. I can do a generic penguin or a generic dog cupcake, but I was very happy with the aprons that were wrapped around these carrot cake with cream-cheese icing treats. I admit that I ordered them from Etsy.com, but after seeing they were just printed on vellum paper, I figure I could try designing some of my own cupcake aprons in the near future.

Times Square Ball Drop Cupcakes

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....Happy New Year! It's 2012 and time to start blogging again. My family celebrated New Year's in Florida again this year. Two years ago I made some shark cupcakes for New Year's in Florida, which inspired this entire blog. Even though I didn't have all my baking supplies with me in Florida, I "made do" with an old fashioned muffin tin, spoon, and knife for spreading frosting. After a quick trip to the party store, they were ready to decorate.

I am sad to see that it's been 8 months since I've blogged, but I do have some pretty darn good excuses for my hiatus. Let's just do a quick review of last year's MAJOR events in my life:

January/February: survived a blizzard, continued ELL certification classes at Mizzou every Saturday from 9am-3pm (and did LOTS of homework), wedding planning was in full gear

March/April: spring break in Georgia, met with wedding vendors, finished up more ELL coursework

May/June (here's where it gets really CRAZY): nephew's graduation, bridal shower with coworkers, bachelorette party in Florida, bridal shower in Cape, bachelorette party in Columbia, wedding dance lessons, began 2 online summer classes, and SOLD my condo (therefore became homeless), packed up everything and put it in storage, moved in with a friend, shopped for a house, got our marriage license (on the same day our offer on the house was accepted)

July: rehearsal dinner, wedding, honeymoon in Hawaii, flew back into KC and went to a friend's wedding, returned to Columbia to close on our house, unpacked wedding gifts and storage items

August: continued unpacking and decorating, started a new year of teaching 3rd grade, began my last ELL certification course, and at the very end of August....found out I was PREGGO!

September: went to Vegas for my 30th birthday with the girls (no cocktails for me), Chicago for a wedding, and was sick, sick, sick for most of the month

October: sick

November: sick

December: started feeling better, Christmas with both families, and New Year's in Florida

Whew! As you can see, things really started to slow down by the end of the year. Being sick was the pits, but of course we were still so thankful for and ecstatic about our growing family. It also forced me to stop overbooking myself and allow time for resting. During those months, the thought of sweets (a.k.a. cupcakes) was nauseating. Hard to believe, but I just didn't want to come near my new Kitchen-aid mixer. It was sad, because I have LOTS of new cupcake tools from the wedding/showers. I knew that I'd start feeling better eventually, and I'm already back in the kitchen in 2012. So, I raise a glass to the New Year (filled with sparkling grape juice, of course) with many hopes of using all my new cupcake items to bake, create, and blog. After all, I'll have kid birthday parties to bake for now. And, with my new obsession of Pinterest, the ideas are endless!

The Clawwwwwwwww!

My little nephew turns three this month, and I made him his birthday cupcakes over this past weekend when I got to see him. He's a huge Toy Story fan, and he requires that his stuffed Buzz and Woody be tucked into bed next to him every night. The Toy Story movies are some of my all time favorites, and I just love the aliens. Here's a quote to take you back to the original Toy Story movie...

Buzz:This is an intergalactic emergency. I need to commandeer your vessel to Sector 12. Who's in charge here?
All Aliens: [pointing up] The clawwwwwwwww!
Alien #1: The claw is our master.
Alien #2: The claw chooses who will go and who will stay.
Woody: This is ludicrous.

How can you not love the aliens?

Peepshi = PEEP Sushi

Happy Easter! Today I enjoyed a day with family, and I completed a project with my fiance's niece. I know it's not cupcakes, but I had to post this creation. This project was centered around one of my favorite springtime candies, PEEPS. After surveying many people, I've found that you either love them or hate them. I, of course, love them. My favorite are the yellow chicks (not bunnies). I know the different colors aren't supposed to have different flavors, but to me, yellow tops the rest. Maybe you aren't a fan of sushi, but how could you not love peepshi? It's created with Rice Krispie Treats, Fruit By the Foot, and PEEPS. Add a little wasabi (marshmallow pistachio fluff), and you have a meal. It's the perfect combination of sugar, sugar, and more sugar!

Peace, Love, & Cupcakes!

I'm on a roll with blogging tonight, so I figured I would post some cupcakes I created in back in January. I didn't have a chance to blog them at the time, but now I have to share. These were designed for twin girls turning nine years old. One loves peace signs, and the other loves butterflies. I used colored melted chocolate to form the peace signs and the wings. Bold icing colors and neon sprinkles gave them that groovy 60's look. The girls love brownies, so the cupcakes are actually baked from brownie mix. Just stir up brownie mix according to the box recipe, and drop spoonfuls into a muffin tin. A great treat for kids and adults alike. Of course I had to make a batch to taste test before sending them off to the girls' birthday party. From what I hear, they were a hit!