Cupcakes for a Cause

Hello, lovelies! I have a new cake ball post coming up shortly, and then a super awesome (but currently secret) project to reveal next week.

But in the mean time, I just wanted to share with you yet another awesome baking-relating piece of jewelry. And this time, it's supporting a charity. Oh, yeeeeaaah.

Pink Sugar Bakery is selling these little cupcake gems for about $15 each, and $5 of that goes to the Wildlife Conservation Society. Did you know that tigers are really, super endangered species? They are, but with your help, they don't have to be.

Plus, the necklaces are really, really cute (and you know how I feel about helping others AND cute things, right?!)

I'm sure you've probably seen these before, since they're making their way around the cake/cupcake/food blogs, but just in case, you should consider this worthy investment in your cupcake accessory collection! :)

Cool New Products

If you didn't already know, I'm always on the look out for awesome new baking products, whether it's something cute or useful or just plain new and exciting.

I think the following items fall under all those categories.

First off, we have the M-Cups, which are adorable nesting measuring cups. Go ahead and squeal all girly-like over how cute these are, because that's exactly what I did.

Next up is the Teacupcakes silicone molds. Again, waaaaay too cute. The only problem is that you only get four to a box. :/

Finally, the Cakewich. I love this pan because 1.) the name is clever (I'm a sucker for that kinda thing), and 2.) Sandwiches are awesome, cake is awesome, so it begs to be said that a Cakewich is awesome�.

I found all these products at Bake It Pretty, which also has designer cupcake liners (!!!!) and other products which I'm sure you'll love as much as I do.

And for my final note, it's not really a new product as much as a new concept. Someone recently told me that they tried a mint red velvet cake with chocolate icing. He told me it was really good, but I was just floored that this particular combination of flavors never occurred to me before. So anyone ever make mint red velvet before? Or for that matter, ever make red velvet with a non cream cheese icing?? I clearly need to start thinking outside the box when it comes to cake flavors!

What to pack?

Not too much baking this week. I'm more focused on packing up my things (unfortunately) to take down to Florida.  And since I'm staying in an apartment this year, there's 124085092358904235 times more stuff to pack.

Not only do I need the basic dorm room decor, but there's a whole other aspect to pack for: the kitchen. I plan on doing lots of baking this year, but I would also like to get back into cooking more. Which should be an interesting experience on my limited budget.

So far I've got my favorite baking pans, all my tips, gel pastes, sprinkles, cupcake liners, and fondant tools, some spatulas, my stand mixer, cookbooks, cooling racks, aprons, my rolling pin, a mini whisk, and an old knife set of my parents that probably came from a yard sale, if the mismatched knives are any indication.

I don't have pots, pans, oven mitts, and a number of other important kitchen items. Some of the items my roommates will be getting, and some things we'll buy down there (like plates and forks).

But I'm curious, fellow foodies who've done the whole college thing, what do I need in my new apartment kitchen? And what don't I need (because, seriously, overpacking is a problem for me)? And the final question, since I'm a broke college student (who doesn't want to blow her summer savings on lame practical stuff as opposed to really cool stuff), where can I go to get the cheapest kitchen items, and by cheapest I mean "good quality at a low price that will last at least two years?"

Feel free to ignore my massive run-on sentences and instead take a moment to leave me suggestions in that thar comment section!

XOXO

Recipes and Reviews

From left to right: Cookies & Cream; Mint Chocolate; Cookies & Cream again :)

Just wanted to share the delicious recipes that I made for my birthday cake.

Both recipes came from the blog, How To Eat A Cupcake, which is a pretty adorable blog, who's author (Cassie) is opening a bakery. So her other blog, Flour Child Bakery, is a favorite of mine to read too!

Back to the recipes though. First is the Mint Chocolate Chip. I added waaay more Andes chips (instead of chocolate chips) than Cassie's recipe called for. I used a cup, not 1/2 cup. And I didn't have chocolate milk either, so I used 2%. Whole would've been better, but I was working with what I had. And I only got  16 cupcakes out of the recipe.

I made a mint buttercream icing as well. I sub'd the vanilla & almond extracts in my recipe for peppermint extract. The icing tasted like those buttery after dinner mints, if you know what I'm talking about. Not too minty, but just enough that it was delicious.

For the second recipe, I used this Cookies & Cream, and I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, except that instead of 24 cupcakes, I made 12 cupcakes, and then a 2 layer 6" cake. And instead of reserving some Oreos for the buttercream, I put them all in the batter.

And for the review part, I just want to say that Duff's fondant (or should I say Fondarific?) is amazing. Yeah, it's really expensive, but it smells great, it rolls out nicely, it doesn't tear, and it covers cake beautifully. Oh, and it tastes good too. :) So my only complaint is the price. Go out and buy some.

I got a bunch of awesome baking stuff as gifts, including Duff texture tiles & cake graffiti. I'm sooo looking forward to using them. Reviews of that coming later, but I can already tell they're products I'll love!

In Which I Buy Stuff at Bliss for my Birthday

My birthday is on Monday, and I gotta make a cake. Or do I? What if I made cupcakes?

What if I made both?

I'm going to use this handy-dandy cupcake display (sorry for the terrible quality picture. My webcam really let me down this time. Tsk, tsk) in order to display cupcakes. And a 6" cake on the top. 

And I'm going to use these handy-dandy supplies to do it (among other things which I already own, like white sprinkles, fondant, and pink buttercream. Er, I don't own the pink buttercream. Yet.).

I got a sunflower/daisy cutter set--which I LOVE--and pink luster dust (for the aforementioned daisies), and black sprinkles.

Still need ribbon to go around the cupcake stand (that was Shelley's idea--brilliant!) and cupcake liners. I'm thinking silver, unless I can find 4 dozen of these liners.

I'm not sure which flavors to do yet. Definitely chocolate, but I wanted one or two other flavors. Something like, one flavor for each cupcake design, and then a third flavor for the cake on top.

So leave your flavor suggestions in the comment box below or on my Facebook page!

EZ Cracker

It's not that hard to crack an egg!

Just saw an infomercial for EZ Cracker, and I gotta rant for a bit. Maybe I have mad egg cracking skills and it's just everyone else thinks that you need some crazy plastic contraption to do a common kitchen task, but seriously, this just seems like an unnecessary unitasker to me.

But that bonus Bacon Wave has caught my eye... and it's freeeee...

Duff Love

Bakerella, I love you.

Why? First of all, because you make adorable cake pops. Secondly, because you live in my favorite city (the ATL) and we shop at the same cake store, and third, because of this post.

Turns out Cake Boss is hosting a cake decorating competition. Yeah, I'm toying with the idea of entering. It would mess with my school schedule though, so that's the one draw back. But seriously, how freaking cool would that be?! I know I've got some skills, I'm told that I'm talented, and I've won competitions before... maybe not baking ones, but how 'bout that second place certificate for winning the Medical Terminology Spelling Bee in 11th grade, eh?

I know that doesn't count. But I still make cool cakes, right?

Anyway, I'm equally, if not more, excited about Duff's new line of products. And I say more excited because a) they're avaliable at Michael's, and b) I don't have to compete with anyone to buy them. (Instant gratification ftw!) Hopefully. Who knows how high the demand will be?

He makes his own fondant. I bet it's expensive. I also bet that it tastes better than the other fondant that Michael's sells.

Ohmygoodness. When is this avaliable in stores? I know I'm babysitting today, but I'm gonna have to drag my brothers out to the shopping center with me. Good thing I haven't spent all my hard-earned pay checks yet!

I'm Addicted to Adorableness

Just found this cupcake apron give-away on Katherine's Corner.

First of all, I'd like to say, this is an adorable apron! It's got the cupcakes, and the bows... and you remember how I feel about cupcakes and bows and aprons, right?!

And b.) I can't believe I found this crafty little blog by googling "cupcake apron." Google, you did not disappoint.

Anyway, I'm just blogging away to let you know about this contest (and also to get myself a couple of entries, wink, wink). So head on over to Katherine's Corner for your chance to win, and wish me luck!

Etsy Love

Short post today...

I realize that blogging about Etsy is not a new idea. I've read plenty of blogs where the author gushes about her love of cute, handmade treasures. So I'm just going to right ahead and jump on that bandwagon, because while I was looking for birthday gifts (for myself), I found two particularly adorable baking-related items (along with a sweet HP necklace, t-shirt, and macbook accessories).

For starters, this necklace:

SOOOO cute

Also, I have a thing for girly aprons:

Look at the bow! The cupcakes! The pastels!

So there you have it, my friends. Jewelry and aprons. I'm such a girly girl.

Gorgeous Cupcake Liners

Now we all know that with that advent of trendy cupcakes, comes trendy cupcake liners. And most of the cupcake liners I've seen are either of the paper variety, or the wrapper variety. I think the wrappers are really cute and creative (I've worked with them at Bliss before), but they are an extra step in the process.

The problem with paper wrappers is that sometimes (especially with a dark cake, like chocolate) you can't see the pattern very well...

Problem solved!

My friend Melanie also made cupcakes for Vannida's party on Saturday. She made some amazing red velvet in the cutest cupcake liners (see above picture). They're lined with foil so that they "stay vibrant when baked" (I'm quoting Reynolds here). Even though I had never even heard of Reynolds StayBrite fashion-inspired cupcake liners before Melanie used them, I now think they are the coolest thing ever.

So thank you, Melanie, for opening my eyes to a cool and fashionable cupcake accessory! :)

Oh, and you can buy them here if you can't find them at the local supermarket.

Shopping + Baking = Love

I had the fantastic opportunity today to go shopping, not once, not even twice, but three times.

I confess:  I am a shopaholic.

And, surprisingly enough, all three shopping trips were to different locations, with different people, and for different reasons.  So, what do they all have in common?  Baking, of course!

The day got started when my best friend and I went to the mall together.  We looked at prom dresses, and found our favorite lotions in Bath & Body Works, and all of that typical teenage girl/shopping stuff.  While we were at Borders, though, (because, being the nerdy teenage girls that we are, we just had to stop in the bookstore! Not that there's anything wrong with that), I did see a copy of Confetti Cakes by Elisa Strauss. She is absolutely amazing!  I didn't buy the book, though, but I do own a copy of Confetti Cake for Kids (more on that later on).

Do I even need to mention how Publix and baking are connected?  That's where Mom and I went to pick up some ingredients for dinner, and also lots and lots of eggs.  Lots.

Finally, when my dad came home from work today, he announced that if I finished that scholarship application that I've been putting off all week, he would take me to Michael's. (Yay!)

And, so, for my final baking-related shopping trip of the day, Dad and I went to Michael's, where I bought:

Ta-Da! A Wilton Gumpaste/Fondant tool set that I've really wanted for the longest time.  I did have a coupon, so I snatched it up!  I also got a couple more #2 tips for cookie decorating, which is what I've been doing tonight ever since I got home.

I can't talk about shopping without at least mentioned all the really cool stuff that I wish I could buy, i.e. "The Wishlist."  So here's mine:

• Cupcake Courier
• Jessie Steele Apron
• Sil-Pin Rolling Pin
• Vegan Cupcakes

That's it for tonight.  I've got some Easter cookies that are drying right now, ready to be decorated tomorrow.  And I also (yikes!) need to make Katie's birthday cake...which is almost a month late. :(  But better late than never, I suppose.

From Kak Min....

WOW...i'm soooooo happy... got this "thing" yesterday.... what's inside?????????

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Big crimper... I was one of the lucky winner who leave the comment on Kak Min's website... TQVM kak min... next time buat lagi ya.... nak buku lak.. hehehe..demanding sungguh...

Some Changes and Updates...

First and foremost (it is the most obvious) is this new adorable layout from Gisele Jaquenod.  Her layouts and designs are so cute, aren't they?  (She made the CakeJournal design.  Oh, and CakeJournal is a snazzy place to visit, too.  Louise is quite talented!)  If you like her work enough, you could try entering her contest (like me! :-P).  The "tea and cookies" mug is my favorite... I'm not a big coffee drinker, but I love tea AND cookies.  It's fate. =D

So let's move on to some cake-related sugary goodness.  I bought some new cake pans with my birthday money.  The good stuff.  The my-cakes-might-actually-turn-out-nice kind of pans.  :) Yay!  (I bought some round 10" cake boards, too.)  But the cake pans.  I am soooo looking forward to puttin' some batter in those babies!

Unfortunately, I don't have an excuse to use my pretty new pans until my dad's birthday in October! (Hillary and Adam both want rectangular cakes, and I have no idea what my mom wants.)  That's a long time to wait... I'll have to come up with a cake idea before then.

(Actually, I thought up a Jonas Brothers cake, but I really don't have a good enough excuse to make it... yet.)

I got a lot of awesome gifts for my birthday involving food/baking/kitchenware.  My grandparents gave me cookie cutters, a digital kitchen scale (I can't even tell you how long I've been asking to have our ancient (antique) scale replaced), and a rectangular cake container (yes, the one with the cupcake tray!)  I also recieved, from LeAnne's family, an oven mitt that said "A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen, and this kitchen is delirious."  =D  (I try, I really do, but, you know...)

I really want to make some cupcakes, too, so that I can carry them around in my snazzy container.  Well, bake sales are coming up soon in school (I think there is one next Tuesday...) so I'll have to make some then.  Cupcakes are also a good excuse to use up any extra icing.  (Which I plan on doing, since I have about a cup or two of that purple icing, plus some green icing in the freezer.)

Although I've got no baking in my immediate future, I am looking forward for that moment when I can take advantage of a cake-making situation and get some bakin' and decoratin' done! :)

Another Update:  Cakes by Kelsie now has a Facebook page.  Just thought I'd let y'all know that I just figured out how to make one of those! =D

The Importance of Being Flat

A flat cake is a good cake.  A cake that doesn't fall apart on you.  A cake that doesn't make you cry.  A cake that is easier to decorate.  A cake in which all of the dowels that you make can be cut to the exact same size.

That being said, here are some pointers that I've picked up along the way to ensure flatness:

• Bake the cake at a lower temperature [like 325 F].  But make sure that you actually cook the cake longer, so that it's actually done.  And doesn't fall apart on you and make you cry.
• Make sure your oven is flat.  Ha, I wish.
• Don't grease the sides of the pan.  I don't know why this works, but it does.  Just run a knife around the side(s) of the pan before you pop it out.
• I grease and flour the bottoms of my pans.  Some people use Wilton Cake-Release.  Some people make their own.  There are various "recipes" that involve flour, shortening, and vegetable oil.
• Some people also use bake-even strips, which I've heard are very useful, although I've never used them myself.  I went to Michael's today-- why didn't I buy some?!
  
• Use a Wilton flower nail (all greased up, please!) in the center of your cake to prevent humps.
• Before you put the cake pan in the oven, tap in against the counter (don't get little cake splatters everywhere though!) to get rid of the bubbles.
• Don't overbeat the batter.  You don't need to get rid of every tiny little lump in the batter.  As the great chef Alton Brown once (or twice) said "Walk away.  Just walk away."
• Get a nice pan.  One that's got nice 90" angles between the side and the bottom of the pan.  (This Wilton pan is much better than this Wilton pan that I owe.)
  

So, I wish you the best of luck with your flat cakes!  And I wish myself the best luck as well.  Because I don't have nice pans and a flat oven. :-(  But I'll work with what I have and I'll do my best.  For now, that's all I can ask for.  (But I've got a long shopping list, too...)

 (So I've never actually read The Importance of Being Ernest, but I thought that this would make a good blog post title, and plus, the book is on my reading list for my English IV class so I'll eventually read it.)

The Lemon Equivilant of A To-Die-For Dessert! ;-)

Lemon Crumb Bars

1 (18.25 ounce) box lemon or yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg plus 3 egg yolks
2 cups finely crushed saltine crackers (1/4 pound)
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup ReaLemon Lemon Juice from concentrate

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. In large bowl, beat cake mix, margarine and 1 egg with mixer until crumbly. Stir in saltine crumbs. Reserving 2 cups crumb mixture, press remaining crumbs on bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake 20 minutes. With mixer or wire whisk, beat 3 egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice. Spread over prepared crust. Top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Cool. Cut into bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

Once again, recipe from recipegoldmine.com.

My mom is not a huge dessert fan, but she loved these treats! (I know they are techniquely "bars" but I prefer the term "cookies." That's just how I roll.) And the part that took the longest was probably crushing up all of those saltine crackers. It was worth it, though.

My advice to you is to use one of those pastry cutters to mix up the cake mix/egg/butter mixture. It's easier than using a spatula or fork, in my opinion. I was so happy when I got one of those from my grandparents. I actually think it was a birthday or Christmas gift!

Enjoy baking these delicious bars or cookies... call them what you want, just not unpalatable!

Thanks, Michele!

I honestly never knew this! Knew what? Well, just take a look at this e-mail from Michele G. that showed up in my inbox. It's amazing!!

Well, who knew this? I never even looked before! Most of you probably know this already but it was a completely new thing to me!

I've been using aluminum foil for more years than I care to remember. Great stuff, but sometimes it can be a pain. You know, like when you are in the middle of doing something and you try to pull some foil out and the roll comes out of the box. Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over. The darn roll always comes out at the wrong time.

Well, I would like to share this with you. Yesterday I went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I turned it and looked at the end of the box. And written on the end it said, Press here to lock end. Right there on the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place. How long has this little locking tab been there? I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too. I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I can't count the number of times the Saran wrap roll has jumped out when I was trying to cover something up.

I just hope I'm not the only person who didn't know about this.

Well whoever wrote this was not the only person who didn't know!

I just checked mine and low and behold, they all have the tabs to fold in! Look!!

Learn something new everyday, eh? : )

And I too just looked at my foil and seran wrap, and lo and behold! This is going to be *soooo* convenient in the future, you don't even know. Well, I guess you do know now! ;-P

Next blog: the amazing cake decorating books brought to you by your local library!

Sparkle!

Wilton has some new products that I like (as well as some old ones that I still like). I think you will sense a common theme here...

I don't have any of this... but my uncle does, and it looks very nice on the chocolate cake he made for his son's 9th birthday (so sparkly!)

I have some of this. I've not used it much, but I should. It's pretty.

I've used this on cakes and what-have-you, including this cupcakes!

These just look tasty!

I've used these a lot: for the pirate cake, the wedding cake, I was planning to use them for my sweet 16 cake... I'd like to try the bright and the primary sugars too.

There you have it: some Wilton products that caught my eye!

This lady is amazing!

This lady has skill! And she has a nice Scottish accent too. =) I looked at her website, which only reaffirmed what I think about her skill level. When she makes a gum paste rose, she makes it look easy. As I watched the video, I though: I could do that! It looks much simpler than a buttercream or royal icing rose, which, although pretty, still look a bit sad when I make them.

(Ew, fuzzy picture, sorry!!)

I would love to get the gumpaste kit that Wilton makes. Michael's sells them for $20, but I have a 50% off coupon, dropping the price down to $10. If only I could get a ride out to the shopping center where Michael's is located, I'd be in business. Did I mention that my grandparents gave me gumpaste as part of my Christmas gifts? Probably not since I haven't posted since before Christmas. All I need now are the tools (and the practice!) and I can be a gumpaste flower queen! ...Or at least try to be one!

Yay! Craft Store!

I finally got to go to Michael's! Not sure how I convinced Mom to take me shopping the day after Christmas, but as I needed things that she deemed appropriate to be needed, she agreed to drive me out to the big, humongous shopping center that really should be closer to home. Wow. Long sentence.

Back to the topic at hand: I got to go to Michael's! And I got to spend $10 of my own money. Figures. I bought a 4 set of couplers (I needed those; I'm always loosing them when I need them most), burgundy icing paste (yay!), and 350 mini cupcake liners. When we got to Target, I found out the Christmas liners were on clearance and were cheaper. Oh, well; you win some, you lose some.

I did not get any cake pans (I got two 9" pans from my grandparents for Christmas), nor did I buy the gumpaste kit or the castle set from Wilton. I'll save that for when I have a coupon or something.

I'm quite proud of my shopping experience. Sure, there were items that I wanted to buy and weren't there (lily flower nail), or I forgot (meringue powder), or were too expensive (gumpaste kit, castle set), but I feel like I really accomplished something. And I was able to satisfy my shopping addiction.

That being said, Happy Boxing Day and/or St. Stephen's Day everyone!

I regret to inform you...

I'm afraid that our oven my have finally stopped working.

For months now, Oven has randomly displayed an -F2- warning, and he shuts off and beeps like crazy. We've just turned everything back on and kept baking.

Then Mom discovered the manuel for the oven, which advises oven owners who experience an -F2- warning to shut off the oven, allow it to cool, an call customer service. Mom finally decided what the "F" in -F2- stands for. (Failure, right?)

Today, -F2- was absolutely insane. With about 10 minutes left to go on the cake, the over displayed this evil message of doom. So I turned the over back on and walked back to the computer to study some more for my Biology final. Guess what? -F2- reappears. So I leave the oven off, and crack open the door to allow some heat to escape. Maybe Over is just having hot flashes? Alas! -F2- appears AGAIN! And the oven is off!

After a few more dealings with -F2-, I gave the oven a good whack with my foot, said "I hate you," and walked off. It's been about 10 minutes, so I'm going to try to finish baking this cake. Wish me luck. I hope Oven hasn't died for good this time...

Update!
So after letting Oven cool for a few minutes, I turned him back on and put the cake back in for another 7 minutes. 7 minutes later... the oven beeped. But! This was the good your-cake-is-ready-to-take-out-of-the-oven-now kind of beep. Success!

Now all I have to do is bake the other half of the cake. (Yes, unfortunately, I only have 1 square cake pan, so for a two layer cake, I have to bake them one layer at a time.)

So far so good. But I won't count all of my chickens before they hatch...