Cupcake Recipe Box Dividers

My plain wooden recipe box is about to get a cupcake makeover!

P.S.  There is a matching recipe box.

KellysPaperCrafts

via Etsy

Blog Recommendation: Sweet Bakes of Mine

I recently received a comment from another cupcake blogger and wanted to share her blog with you.  We are nurses but also share a love of baking.  You will love her blog! 

Sweet Bakes of Mine

by Yaneri

(Scroll down on the right side and play Sugar Sugar by The Archies while you are enjoying her blog.  I have listened to it five times in a row! This song has a special place in my heart...when I was in the 7th grade my boyfriend and I chose this as "our song")

Take Your Cupcake to Work Day!

If you are new to this blog, I am a cupcake blogger by day and an ER nurse at night.  I took my cupcake (not yet named) to work with me yesterday and we had a little fun with it.  CLEAR! 

My Top 7 Favorite Blogs

Why the top seven blogs?  Why not a top five?  Top ten?  Isn't seven supposed to be a lucky number?  Whatever the reason - here they are (in alphabetical order): 

 

Bakerella

Creator of the cupcake pop and cupcake bite.  PLUS...Bakerella's recipe for cream cheese frosting is the same as mine except she uses 2 more cups of confectioner's sugar.  I am not worthy! 

Cake Wrecks

I love this blog for sheer entertainment...you can't make this stuff up!

Cupcake Project
More than just a project.  Recipes. Photos. Baking tips.  Links to everything cupcake.

Cupcakes Ate My Soul
The name of this blog alone puts it in any "top" list.  An interesting blog from the UK with recipes and creative decorations.

Cupcakes Take the Cake
THE blog of all cupcake blogs.  What Carpe Cupcakes! hopes to be one day. 

Nobody Puts Cupcake in a Corner
The Milwaukee Cupcake Queen.  Home of the Iron Cupcake Challenges.  Recipes. Cupcake art.  Cupcake clothing and accessories.  Contests. 

Utah Loves Cupcakes
Creator of the term "cupcakation" vacation - a cupcake road trip. Cupcake news.  Bakery reviews.  Baking adventures.

Carpe Cupcakes! meets the Julie/Julia Project

What does this post have to do with the cupcake universe?  Not much about cupcakes specifically, but a whole lot about blogging. 

I watched Julie & Julia last night and really liked the movie but was bothered at the end that no explanation was given for why Julia Child did not like Julie's blog.  Carpe Cupcakes! recently received a very negative comment so I can relate to Julie's being crushed that her idol didn't like her blog.  I believe in posting all comments - positive and negative - but it still stings when a reader expresses dislike for what you are doing.  In the spirit of blogging, I decided to try and find out more about Julie Powell, Julia Child, and The Julie/Julia Project. 

The Wikipedia definition of a personal blog is described as  "an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual and is the most common type of blog. Personal bloggers take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life, or works of art."

My career as an ER nurse was beginning its 30th year when I started Carpe Cupcakes!  My goal was to add something to the growing community of those who are passionate about cupcakes.  This blog chronicles my adventures with all things cupcake and my baking and decorating of cupcakes, which I do most often as a hobby and infrequently as a wedding cupcake business.  Julie Powell started her blog project because she felt her life had become boring and she wanted something meaningful to do.  Julia Child started cooking because she had moved to Paris with her husband and wanted something meaningful to do.

What is my point?  Blogs are individual journals filled with personal opinions and comments and may or may not contain facts.  You may or may not like what you read.  When I finished watching Julie & Julia I felt Julia Child's negative response to Julie's blog was unfair.  The movie portrayed Julie and her blog as a sweet attempt to cook through Julia Child's cookbook masterpiece Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  I spent this many hours reading Julie's blog and I now see Julia Child's point.  Julie's blog is filled with language that many would find offensive and she did not exactly follow the recipes.  Julie was probably not as respectful to the passion of learning French cooking as Julia would have wanted.  But...it is Julie's blog and it is her conversation about how she chose to cook her way through the recipes in her idol's cookbook. 

This blog is only six months old and I am still learning a lot about blogging...on the job training of sorts.  It contains my opinions and observations and I do not expect everyone to agree with what I have to say...especially about cream cheese frosting.  But I do thank all of you for joining me on this cupcake journey.

Bon Appetit!

Cupcake Postage Stamps

Love these cupcake stamps!

See many more on Zazzle.com

Autumn Cupcakes

Labor Day has come and gone and fall is just around the corner. Time for some autumn cupcake inspiration....pumpkin, spice, cinnamon, gingerbread, hazelnut, carrot, applesauce.

So many flavors, so little time!

A platter of mini pumpkin spice cupcakes

Carrot cupcakes with gum paste leaf cut-outs

Applesauce cupcakes with autumn sprinkles

Recipe of the Week - Italian Cream Cupcakes

Week 9

My brother's wedding cake was an Italian Cream Cake, a southern tradition that is usually served on holidays or special occasions. Why must this be? Make the recipe into cupcakes and you can enjoy them any time of the year!


Italian Cream Cupcakes





1 stick butter
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1/2 cup shortening
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans


Cream butter and shortening then add sugar. Add egg yolks and beat well. Combine soda and flour - add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla. Add coconut and nuts. Fold in egg whites. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.


Cream Cheese Icing

1 package softened cream cheese (8 oz)
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 stick softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat cream cheese until smooth and stir in sugar. Add vanilla and beat until smooth.

Cupcake Sprinkles

MillSprinkles just might be the most classic of all the cupcake decorations. It brings back memories of your mother making cupcakes for your first grade class. Back then, there weren't too many choices for cupcake decorations but now the possibilities are endless!

Mill Creek Country Store has a nice assortment of sprinkles. They come in plastic bottles with shaker tops (that I refill and reuse) and they ship really fast too. I like the Autumn Mix and the Noel Mix for the holidays. Try them sometime!

My brother is a high school football coach at the same high school we graduated from almost 30 years ago. The school colors are black and red. For homecoming last year, my nieces wanted cupcakes decorated with school color sprinkles. I ordered black & red sprinkles from Mill Creek Country Store and the cupcakes were a huge hit.

Cupcake T-Shirts

While surfing all-things-cupcake, I came across several very cute cupcake t-shirts. Cafe Press and Zazzle have almost all the cupcake clothing you will ever need - plus aprons and other cupcake merchandise! I have provided links to the designers and where the t-shirts can be found.

The Little Cupcake

Deeksdigs

Red Bubble

My Silly Rabbit

The Dog Ate My Cupcake

A few weeks ago I was making cupcakes for a wedding. My dog Summit passed through the kitchen and shortly after, I noticed that a few cupcakes were missing.

Summit - the cupcake thief

This picture was posted by Rachel on Cupcakes Take the Cake and it reminded me of Summit stealing the cupcakes from the counter. Guard your cupcakes!

Cups and Cakes Bakery - San Francisco

I came across a new cupcake bakery web site a few days ago and I just have to share it! They are opening their store in September at 415 9th St. in San Francisco and I will be making the 180 mile trip from Lake Tahoe as soon as they open. Save me a sampler pack!

I have a doctorate in online learning environments and part of my degree involves web site critique. Their web designer deserves free cupcakes for life! The Cups and Cakes Bakery web site is excellent. The site is colorful & informative and the goal of the site is simple...cupcakes. The graphics support the site's purpose and complement the information presented. The navigation is easy, and I especially like the "flavors" page. The site is not too large to get lost in, and everything you need to order cupcakes is there: phone number, email and links to access them via Twitter, Yelp, Facebook & Flickr.

Cups and Cakes Bakery has the best slogan ever!

If cupcakes are wrong, we don't wanna be right...

Cupcake Flavors - It's All in the Name

Cupcake flavors can be boring or exotic, but you have to admit that the more exotic flavor names are the ones that grab your attention. Some are way over the top with too many ingredients and I probably wouldn't even try them...but the names always make me smile.

My favorite blog (Cupcakes Take the Cake) has an extensive list of cupcake bakeries from around the United States and all over the world. I have been surfing through them and have found some very interesting flavor names. Stay tuned...still making my way through the list!

Mocha-Choco-Frappa-Latte
24 Carrot
Bailey's Comet
Berry Me in the Sand
You Look Marble-ous
Strawberry Fields Forever
Death by Oreos
Oreo Speedwagon
Gimme 'smore
Velvet Elvis
Dolce & Banana
You Had Me at Nutella
Manolo Blondenik

Cupcakes Bakery - Fresno, CA

I was recently in the Fresno area and decided to drop by the Cupcakes Bakery. I read about the opening of this bakery in an article posted by Cupcakes Take the Cake and since I am always in the mood for cupcakes, I wanted to give it a try.

I bought six regular-sized cupcakes (did not try the minis), choosing coconut, lemon, chocolate, carrot, raspberry & red velvet. I liked the cake part of all of these, but I like a sweet icing and the buttercream was not very sweet. The cream cheese icing could use more cream cheese. Many of the icings had colored sugar sprinkled on top and I did not care for the "crunch" this added. I am a creamy icing fan.

The pricing was $1.95 for regular-size and $0.75 for minis. The decorations complemented the cupcakes and were simple and attractive - as decorations should be. The flavors were labeled and the cupcakes were nicely displayed. I liked that each cupcake was packaged in its own Chinese-takeout type container.

This bakery is just getting started and is in a good location. I will definitely give it another try when I am in town. Overall, I think they will do well in Fresno.

CupcakeRecipes.com

Want to bake up a batch of cupcakes but need some inspiration? CupcakeRecipes.com has what you need - basic recipes, holiday recipes, wedding recipes. And frostings too! The wedding cupcake section of the site offers tips for arranging your display, flavor choices and how to determine which size of cupcake you need. The Christmas section lists recipes and decorating ideas. The site is easy to navigate and worth a look.

Cupcakes Pulling Away From Liners

Don't you hate it when a cupcake pulls away from the liner? No matter how beautifully it is decorated the cupcake look shabby when the liner pulls away from the cake. And to further frustrate you...it only happens to a few out of the batch!

Why does this happen? After several days of research, I have compiled a list of the most common reasons this happens:

• the cake is too moist


• underbaking - increase baking temperature slightly (375 degrees)


• too much oil or butter in the recipe (oil-based recipes tend to do this less than butter) - can also use sour cream or plain yogurt


• liner issues - waxy or foil?


• overfilling liners & the batter gets stuck on the muffin pan


• cooling in the pan - take them out right away


• too much moisture in the storage container - cool cupcakes thoroughly

Giant Cupcake Tips

I like Wilton's giant cupcake pan, but not everybody feels that way. The main complaint is that the pan does not come with any instructions. I live at 7000 feet at Lake Tahoe and have not had any altitude baking issues with this pan; however, I have only used cake mixes.

After reading hundreds of reviews and baking blogs, here are some tips that can help with the giant cupcake pan issues:

• Not every scratch recipe will give you good results. Cake mixes seem to work best.
• You need to experiment with how full each side of the pan needs to be. Using the pan for a special event without a trial run may lead to disaster.
• Spray each side with cooking spray even though the pan is non-stick. I can personally vouch for this. I didn't spray and had to dig the cake out of the pan.
• Decrease the oven temperature and bake longer.
• The "top" of the cupcake bakes faster than the "bottom" side.
• Use less batter on the bottom side of the pan.
• Bake the bottom side for 10 minutes and then add the top batter.
• You can expect to have to level the top of the bottom and the flat part of the top.
• Bake each side separately and fill the emtpy side with water.
• Use a baking core on the bottom half.
• Use more icing between the layers than you normally do.
  

Suggestion for Wilton: please split the pan into two pieces so we can bake the tops and bottoms separately

BatterFinger

For those of us who like to lick the bowl (and intentionally leave some batter behind), the BatterFinger is a great tool. It is a silicone spatula that is 23 cm. long with a wooden handle. One giant finger does the work of several of your own!

The Batterfinger is more than a tool for getting the last drop of batter out of the bowl. It can be used for

• hailing a taxi
• bidding at auctions
• pointing (not polite to use your own finger)
• letting everyone know you are "Number 1" at a ball game
• getting the last bit of mayo out of the jar

Cupcake Caps

I got a tweet from a company in Dallas, TX called Cupcake Caps. They make cupcake toppers (not fondant) that are applied to cupcakes after they are frosted. Their web site provides easy-to-follow instructions and many products to choose from.

Cupcake Caps is featured in the July/August issue of Bride's magazine. Check them out!

Recipe of the Week - Decorator's Buttercream

Week 4

This week's recipe is one that I use every time I make a batch of cupcakes. It tastes great and because it does not contain any dairy products, it does not require refrigeration and withstands very warm temperatures well. It forms a light "crust" so you can also use it to pipe decorations.



Decorator's Buttercream

2 cups Crisco shortening
8 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla (use clear vanilla for pure white icing)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. salt
1 envelope Dream Whip

Cream the shortening in a heavy-duty mixer until it is smooth. Add the vanilla. Whisk the water, salt & Dream Whip. Add the sugar and liquid mixture - alternate until combined. Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes.

Cream cheese buttercream: delete dream whip & water and add two 8-oz. blocks of cream cheese (due to the addition of cream cheese you will need to refrigerate this icing)

White chocolate buttercream: Add one 12-oz. bag of white chocolate chips - melt chips in the microwave and mix thoroughly.

Chocolate buttercream: Add 1/2 cup cocoa and mix thoroughly.