Carpe Cupcakes! (the second anniversary)

Two years ago I started this blog to explore the cupcake universe.  It has been a lot of fun and I learn something new every day.  As the third year begins....thanks to all who are regular readers and to those who discover the cupcake universe on the way to somewhere else.  Thank you!

the first wedding cupcake I made

(and still my favorite)

Cakes...not cupcakes

I delivered five cakes today for a birthday celebration.  No cupcakes this weekend, but next weekend I will be doing July 4th birthday cupcakes!

My new Carpe Cupcakes! apron....ordered from Zazzle

Chocolate Cupcake Toppings

My favorite flavor is chocolate...and I love to decorate cupcakes with chocolate toppings.
 

A perfect chocolate curl...

kellbakes via Flickr

Chocolate scribbles?

Whipped Bakeshop

Giant cupcake with chocolate shavings

CakEngineer

My signature chocolate swirl...

Carpe Cucpakes!

Iron Cupcake: San Francisco

I went to San Francisco yesterday to enter the Iron Cupcake Challenge and I won! It was so much fun! Everyone involved was great and I tasted some dee-lish cupcakes. The most interesting icing was a curry/cardamon buttercream topped with a raisin garnish. Chelsea from Kingdom Cake in San Francisco organizes the event once a month and I highly recommend participating if there is an Iron Cupcake Challenge near you.

A huge thanks to Will at Leland Tea Company who hosted the event. He has an amazing selection of teas and does custom blends and packaging. I can't wait to go back!

The winning cupcake...pumpkin spice with

cinnamon cream cheese frosting

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.

Recipe of the Week - Lemon Cupcakes

Week 7

Lemon cupcakes are one of my favorites and the more intense the lemon flavor the better. I know I have already posted a lemon cupcake recipe, but I discovered a new recipe and we all know you can't have too many lemon cupcake recipes...this one will not dissapoint!

Lemon Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

1 cup sugar (or Splenda Blend for baking)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter - room temperature

3 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Combine flour, sugar (or Splenda), baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a fork until crumbly.

Stir together eggs, milk, lemon juice & lemon zest in a small mixing bowl. Add 1/3 of the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Beat for 30 seconds at low speed with an electric mixer. Repeat this procedure 2 more times. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake liners.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.

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!

Cupcake Cars

Lake Tahoe (and most of northern Nevada) is preparing for Burning Man, the annual festival of art, music, community and personal journey held in the Black Rock Desert. The dates for this year are August 31 - September 7.

The Cupcake Cars are very popular at Burning Man. I want one! The theme for 2009 is "Evolution" and I look forward to seeing how the cupcake cars will incorporate this theme.

Cupcake Wrappers

This is a follow-up to a post made Day 4 of this blog. I have a client that is currently shopping for wrappers for her wedding cupcakes, so I wanted to share this video.

Cupcake wrappers can add that extra "something" to the presentation of your cupcakes, especially for weddings or special celebrations. You can make your own or purchase them.

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

Caring for your Cupcakes

Carpe Cupcakes! Seize the Cupcakes!

In a perfect world, cupcakes should be consumed within 24 hours of coming out of the oven. The quality of a cupcake decreases as each hour passes and most cupcakes will be dry and lifeless by the second or third day. Store cupcakes at room temperature in an airtight container and serve them as soon as possible.

Refrigerating a cupcake will extend its life somewhat, but allow it to come to room temperature before eating it. The ideal room temperature is between 68 and 72 degrees. I have tried to microwave a cupcake to speed up this process, but beware. This is tricky business, especially if icing is involved. And remember that icings may be changed by refrigeration – they may not look or taste the same coming out as they did going in.

A note about freezing cupcakes…if you must freeze them, use them within a week. Wrap them in double or triple layers of plastic wrap and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Defrost them for 6-8 hours before applying frosting.

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.

Recipe of the Week - Lemon Filled Cupcakes

Week 5

While searching for a lemon bar recipe, I came across this lemon cupcake recipe from Baking Bites. Filling cupcakes is easy and makes a more elegant presentation. Martha Stewart's lemon curd recipe is delicious with these cupcakes.

Lemon Cupcakes Filled with Lemon Curd

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter (room temperature)

1 2/3 cup sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest (or 1 tsp lemon extract)

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

approx 1 1/2 cups lemon curd

Preheat oven to 350F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Adding the lemon zest early helps release more of its flavor. Blend in eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. Stir in 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk. Add another 1/3 of the flour and the remaining milk, then stir in the remaining flour, mixing only until no streaks of flour remain.

Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each approx 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To fill, use a melon baller to scoop a small hole in the top of each muffin. Alternatively, you can use star tip and pipe the curd into the cupcake. Fill with 2 tsp. lemon curd. Serve shortly after filling. Unfilled cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container until ready to fill and serve.

Frost cupcakes with your favorite buttercream or cream cheese icing.

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.

Cupcake Dance

I found this cupcake dance video on You Tube.
Best 77 seconds of my week!

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