Cupcake Furniture by Jellio

Jellio has fun cupcake furniture...and more!

this giant cupcake can be a seat or ottoman

$900

cupcake tables with glass tops come in lots of colors

$750

Let it Snow (more)...Let it Snow (more)...Let it Snow (more)!

It is snowing like crazy this week at Lake Tahoe (10-12 feet by the weekend) so I could not resist more snowflake cupcakes!

Madness Rivera via Flickr

erica_knits via Flickr

Sugadeaux Cupcakes via Flickr

evbjone via Flickr

megyn.ohara via Flickr

If you don't want to create your snowflake toppers with frosting, bake snowflake cookies!

Snowflake cookies from Wilton

Snowflake cookies from Rolling Pin Productions

Glorious Treats via Flickr

iheartcuppycakes1 via Flickr

Crab (Cup)cakes

My friends Kristi & Cliff invited me to share a meal with them in the midst of a Tahoe blizzard today and we had delicious crabcakes and clam chowder.  Thanks for the good food & friendship!

clevercupcakes via Flickr

jasonmbosch via Flickr

sweet_tease_blog via Flickr

Disco Cupcakes

My costume for Mardi Gras is disco-themed.  Cupcaketastic from Melbourne, Australia made this tower of cupcakes under a disco ball cake! 

Recipe of the Week - Snowballs (coconut cupcakes)

Week 27

Lake Tahoe is preparing for a major winter storm that should arrive sometime tonight.  In honor of the expected snowfall  (10+ feet predicted by Thursday of next week), this week's recipe is for Snowballs...a.k.a  coconut cupcakes. 

This is Ina Garten's recipe (the Barefoot Contessa) and her cream cheese frosting recipe is very close to mine.  If you prefer working with a mix, the Barefoot Contessa Coconut Cupcake Mix is available at specialty kitchen stores or can be ordered online. 

Snowballs  (Coconut Cupcakes)

3 sticks unsalted butter - room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs - room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prepare cupcake pan with liners.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in half the coconut.

Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.


Frosting

16 oz. cream cheese - room temperature
3 sticks unsalted butter - room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 pounds (6 cups) confectioners' sugar - sifted

Cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.  Sprinkle the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining coconut.

Sunflower Cupcakes

I was recently contacted about making sunflower cupcakes for an outdoor BBQ.  I did some research and have begun to narrow down the design.  Which of these would you choose?

oreo sunflowers with red M & M ladybugs

la dolce lola  via  Flickr

semicharmedpiper via Flickr

two parts sugar via Flickr

croopcakes via Flickr

ang_williams  via  Flickr

Cupcake Haiku

Haiku is a type of Japanese poetry that combines form, content, and language about nature, feelings or experiences. The most common form for Haiku is three short lines:  the first line contains five syllables, the second line seven syllables, the third line has five syllables. Haiku doesn't rhyme and must paint a mental image in the reader's mind.

Biting into it

Moist cake and creamy frosting

Sprinkles on my tongue
 

If you have a cupcake haiku to share...please email
it to carpecupcakes@gmail.com  

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

My flight is booked...my hotel is reserved...my taste buds are primed for some gumbo and boiled shrimp...just counting down the days til Fat Tuesday!  I grew up in a small southern Mississippi town about an hour away from New Orleans so the city is very special to me.  Last year's Mardi Gras was my first one since Hurricane Katrina and I think it was the best one so far. Can't wait for Mardi Gras 2010! 

I have planned to visit several cupcake bakeries in New Orleans and there may be some surprises along the way.  Stay tuned as the Mardi Gras season really gets started and Mardi Gras cupcakes begin to appear!

Mardi Gras cupcake decorations

and photo from Sugarcraft.com

January 13, 1969 - The Beatles Release "Yellow Submarine" Album

Have a cupcake to celebrate the release of The Beatles' album Yellow Submarine on January 13, 1969.

rabbitrabbit002 via Flickr

Puffed-Up Flower Cupcakes

This video shows how to make cupcake decorations that look like puffed-up flowers.  Very easy to make!  You need to make the petals at least 24 hours in advance so they will have time to dry.