Category Archives: Cupcake

Man’s Best (earthly) Friend

Posted in Chocolate, chocolate buttercream, clay extruder, Cupcake, custard, designer cupcake, dog, filled cupcake, gluten free, goldendoodle, modeling chocolate, white chocolate by

We know, as believers, that Jesus Christ is man’s best friend. But in earthly sayings, man’s best friend is our pooch. Our dog loves us all the time, greets us when we get home and is happy as long as he can be with us.  I know that my dog Jericho would rather wait in the car while I am shopping, then be at home by himself. Please pray for him as he has hip problems and he is only 5 yrs old. But on a happier note, the reason for this post is that I made my first ever modeling chocolate creations. I took a Craftsy course and it was very insightful on how you can use modeling chocolate instead of fondant for almost everything. I know that many people hate the taste of fondant, so modeling chocolate is a great solution. It tastes just like a solid chocolate Easter bunny.

One of my husband’s co-workers was having a party at work, so my husband found out that she had a goldendoodle. After much prayer, and help from the Lord, here is my goodlendoodle modeling chocolate creation.

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He is 100% gluten free and 100% modeling chocolate. Modeling chocolate is made out of corn syrup and chocolate. He is sitting on some modeling chocolate grass. There is chocolate buttercream underneath the “grass”. The cupcake is a, from scratch, Rich Golden Cake from my grandma’s 1950’s Betty Crocker cookbook, filled with a homemade almond custard.

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These cupcakes are pretty labor intensive. It took me a little over two days to do 12 dogs. They are all a little different, just like real goldendoodles.


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If you have any questions, please post below. Or if you would like to order your favorite dog, go to the Order page for more information.

Happy Baking!

That was fun! Let’s do it again! Part II

Posted in Chocolate, Cupcake, filled cupcake, gluten free, peanut butter, strawberry, two tone rose by

There was just so much to pack into one posts, that I had to break it into two.

So how about a little chocolate and strawberry?

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I used a Betty Crocker gluten free cupcake mix, substituting the water for almond milk. Items to have on hand include: one Betty Crocker chocolate cake mix, cupcake liners, 1 carton of strawberries, almond milk, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup butter, red gel icing,  my buttercream recipe ingredients and two piping bags. You will also need a Wilton 1M tip.

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Bake the cupcakes as directed on the box and cool completely. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before use. If you have forgotten to get them out of the refrigerator in advance, submerge eggs in warm water until the eggs become warm.

Make up a batch my buttercream recipe and split between two containers. One batch will become the filling and one will become the rose.

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Wash and remove the stems from the strawberries. Add the strawberries to your mixer and use the paddle attachment to mash the strawberries. If you do not have a stand mixer, rough chop and mash the strawberries in a small bowl.

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Add the strawberries to one container of buttercream. Blend and add additional powdered sugar if it is still watery. Pipe into (fill) the cooled cupcakes using the 1M Wilton tip. This tip is really not for filling cupcakes, but because of the strawberry chunks the 230 Wilton tip, used for filling, is not large enough. You may have to push the 1M tip into the cupcake, lift it up and remove cake from the tip, and then pipe.

Finally pipe your buttercream rose following the rose tutorial.

 

Next up, the Peanut Butter and “Jelly” (strawberry preserves) Cupcake with Peanut Butter Buttercream. Sorry for the not taking a picture of just the cupcakes. But here it is all packaged if your order some:).

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This recipe is adapted from my grandmother’s old Betty Crocker recipe book. Items that you will need: gluten free creamy peanut butter, your favorite jam or preserve, my buttercream recipe, cupcake liners, 1M Wilton tip, 2 1/4 cup gluten free flour (I would recommend Pamela’s), 1 1/2 cups sugar (Stevia), 3 tsp. baking powder, 1tsp. salt, 1/3 cup shortening, 1 cup almond milk, 2 eggs.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and add shortening, almond milk, eggs, and 1/3 cup peanut butter. Pour into cupcake liners and bake. Once cooled fill with the preserve or jam of your choice using your 1M tip.

To make the peanut butter buttercream, that’s a mouthful, make my buttercream recipe and add 1/2 cup peanut butter. If it gets too sticky, add a little milk (1 Tbsp. at a time). If you would like it a little more peanut buttery, add 1/4 cup more peanut butter. Just experiment to your liking. Use the 1M tip to create the rose. Pipe from the middle and work your way outward.

Keep Baking!

That was fun! Let’s do it again!

Posted in Cupcake, filled cupcake, flower, gluten free, marshmallow, pineapple upside down cake, pops, white chocolate by

Do what again? Selling sweets at our local market. It was my very first opportunity to sell, and as exciting as that was, that wasn’t the best part. The best part was to meet some really great people, to chit-chat, and to share Christ.  I was so excited and nervous about my first sales opportunity, that my first thought wasn’t to preach Christ, as it should have been. But praise God, even with my shortcomings people asked about my faith due to the Bible verses that are printed on my business cards. It was cold, it was windy, but I would do it every day of the week, it was just so much fun!

So what did I make? Peanut butter cupcakes filled with strawberry preserves and topped with peanut butter buttercream, chocolate cupcakes with fresh strawberry frosting and a two-tone buttercream rose, and finally a pineapple upside-down cupcake with fresh pineapple frosting and a two-tone buttercream rose. And additionally, I made chocolate covered marshmallow flowers. You can go to my Order page to see prices if you are interested in purchasing.

The thing that you would think would be the easiest to make, the flower pops, are very time consuming and a little tricky to make. I’m sorry that I do not post more step-by-step pictures, but I was literally up for 32 hrs. straight without any sleep getting ready to sell and didn’t remember to do so.

This is the finished product. I got the idea from a Pinterest post and thought, “I could do that, only gluten-free”.
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The first step is to purchase lollipop sticks, marshmallows, ribbon, sprinkles, and chocolate coatings. Make sure to have a glue gun and a Styrofoam block as well.

Place your fingers on  top of the marshmallow and push the stick all the way through until you can feel the top of the stick hit your hand, but don’t let it go through the top of the marshmallow.

After you have microwaved your chocolate coatings to a liquid consistency, dunk your marshmallow (that you have already attached to the stick) into the chocolate and cover well. Using the back of a spoon, smooth the excess chocolate back into the bowl, otherwise you will get a drippy mess once you turn it over.

It is good to note that you should use your lollipop sticks to have already created deep holes in your Styrofoam block so that when you are ready to put your chocolate covered marshmallows into the freezer, it will not drip everywhere.  Also, make sure that there is room in your freezer prior to starting and enough height to clear the lollipops. The less height the farther down in the block you will have to push the sticks.  I found that keeping the plastic covering on the block (as it has when you purchase it) is best. You can find cheap blocks in the craft aisle at your local dollar store.

Once our marshmallow is covered with chocolate and the excess has been removed, have your sprinkles ready in a shallow bowl nearby and dunk, just the very top of the flower, into the sprinkles, coating liberally.

Briskly, turn marshmallow flower right side up and place in your Styrofoam block, and pop it into the freezer.

Once the chocolate is set, not tacky, starting at the top of the stick, put a small dot of glue. Cut the end of the ribbon at an angle and attach to the stick. Spiral down, wrapping the stick with the ribbon, leaving a little white space between each strip.Cut the end of the ribbon at an angle and glue at the bottom of the stick. Cut a four inch piece of ribbon and cut the ends of the ribbon at an angle to resemble leaves. Tie to the top of the stick and inch or two under the marshmallow flower. And Vola! Soon you will have a entire bouquet!

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Since it takes a while, make yourself comfortable and watch your favorite TV series or listen to your favorite music while working. My series of choice: I Love Lucy.

Onward to the Pineapple Upside-Down Cupcake Recipe.

Items to have on hand: pineapple tidbits (a larger can, you will want the extra juice), your favorite all purpose gluten free flour (I used King Arthur, but it was a little dense so you may want to use Pamela’s), brown sugar (I used the Great Value brown sugar/Splenda mix), 2 sticks of butter, Stevia or regular sugar, almond milk, 1 egg, and baking powder. Also you will need the ingredients for my buttercream recipe plus an extra 2lb bag of powdered sugar (just in case you need to thicken the recipe). If you would like to do the two tone roses, make sure to have yellow icing gel, a piping bag and a 104 Wilton tip. Also, you will need a Wilton 230 tip for filling.

I love collecting old cookbooks. The original recipe for the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake and the American Applesauce Cake (in part II)  is adapted from an old Woman’s Day cookbook.

DSC_1650Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  With a soften butter stick, grease a muffin/cupcake tin liberally (I greased the sides with shortening), leaving extra butter in the bottom of each compartment. Sprinkle brown sugar over the butter enough to cover the bottom completely. Press your pineapple tidbits into the brown sugar, in the pattern you desired. I did a cross.

For your cake batter mix together 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 c milk and 1/2 cup pineapple juice.  Add more pineapple juice if you think that your batter can hold in. More is better. Just be sure to reserve 1/2 of the can of juice for your filling.  When the batter is smooth, pour over the pineapple and brown sugar and bake until golden brown.

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When they are done, go around each cake with a knife to loosen, then flip the pan over onto a cookie sheet that has been covered with foil, parchment paper or wax paper. Tap on the pan firmly and, with a little coaxing, all of the cakes should pop out beautifully. Let these cool and work on your frosting

On my cupcakes, I put the pineapple buttercream on the cupcake, but because of the fresh fruit it wanted to slide off. So I would recommend using a 230 Wilton tip and use it as a filling.

For 12 cupcakes, make my buttercream recipe, and then separate it into two containers. To one, add 1/2 cup pureed pineapple and 1/2 cup pineapple juice. If it becomes too runny, mix in a little more powdered sugar. This will be your filling. Fill your cupcakes when cooled.

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The second batch of butter cream you will use for the two tone rose. Follow the rose tutorial for more instruction, using yellow icing coloring. Place the cupcake into a bright yellow cupcake holder to finish it off.

I have been typing away all morning, so I am going to go outside and enjoy some of the day before the rain starts up again. I will come back with part II of this post, Lord willing, later today. 

 

There’s No Place Like Home, There’s No Place Like Home

Posted in Cupcake, designer cupcake, gluten free, Uncategorized by

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a pair of ruby red slippers, just like Dorothy. These past few weeks my home has felt like the Wizard of Oz. I just want to tap my red slippers together and get back to some normalcy. I am just thankful that God knows best, and no matter what, He is always with me. And in all honesty we, as believers, we know that our real home is not our earthly home, but our home in heaven with Jesus Christ.

So one of my friends, Mrs. Henton had asked for me to make red velvet cupcakes. And it just so happens that my cousin asked me to make red velvet cupcakes for her wedding. But I couldn’t just make any old cupcake (Boring!), I wanted to do something fun with it. So I made shoe cupcakes. Now they might not be magical, but they are sure to give you a magical sugar buzz (gluten free buzz, of course). The design for shoe came from this great cupcake book, Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My! and the recipe was adapted from Cupcakes Sensational Sweet Treats for Any Occasion.

To start, bake your cupcakes according to the Red Velvet Recipe.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, carve out a semi-circle with a cup or a cookie cutter.

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Frost with my butter cream frosting recipe. (Note: replace the shortening with the entire bar of cream cheese. Mix and add 1 Tbsp of shortening to the frosting at a time, until you get the desired consistency.  You will want the frosting to be a little softer than normal otherwise it will not adhere to the cupcake). Frost red on the toe. (do not frost the cut inside) Dip the toe of the shoe in red sprinkles. Coat liberally. Frost the inside of the shoe, white. Refrigerate.

Now, sorry but I didn’t take pictures of doing the graham cracker. I know I goofed.

Take your graham crackers and cut the corners and sides diagonally to create the sole of the shoe. Be very carful. It is better to use a sawing motion rather than to cut otherwise you will break the cracker.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate wafers in a microwave safe dish in 30 second increments. Stir well to a liquid consistency. Dip the crackers in the chocolate and coat completely. Put on the tray and refrigerate until hard.

Melt the chocolate wafers in a microwave safe dish in 30 second increments. Stir well to a liquid consistency. Dip the crackers in the chocolate and coat completely. Put on the tray and refrigerate until hard.
While your cupcake pieces are in the refrigerator cut your Choco sticks in half. This is a very tricky thing, so have patience . . . and extras. Cut the top at an angle to adhere to the sole. Push the wide end of the coated graham cracker into the cupcake. Place against a bowl or a cup to steady the sole as you work on the heel. Take your Choco Dream stick and attach to the sole with the chocolate. If it has hardened just reheat for 30 seconds. Hold until it sets up. Pipe red frosting around the sole and wherever you want to add embellishments. Add Sixlet decorations right away, before the frosting dries. Put your own spin on your shoe, and just have fun!

Cupcake Shoes

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Are the Pebbles Fruity or Just Me?

Posted in Cupcake, gluten free by

As I sit here in the sunroom, watching the Michigan/Tennessee game with my husband (boy, it’s nice to be able to sit in the sunroom without the heater on) I reminisce over the day . . .

Did you know that I sat in my dogs water bowl today? Yep.  I was on the floor, cleaning off all the mud that my Siberian Husky, Jericho, had on his paws (he prefers walking through my garden rather than on the grass) when I backed up and sat in his water bowl. I can only imagine what he was thinking as I was sitting in his water dish. I’m so thankful he loves his fruity mommy.

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So let’s move on from the fruity person to the Fruity Pebbles Cupcakes Recipe.

1. Mix cake mix, Crystal Light Fruit Punch powder and butter. Add eggs and water.

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2. Crisco cupcake pan.  I found that if I use liners with gluten free mixes,  the mixes stick to the cupcakes and you lose half of the cupcake when you go to eat it.

3. Add Fruity Pebbles to the cupcake mix and slowly stir.

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4. Pour batter directly into the grease cupcake tin cups. Fill close to the top (these will not rise very much).

5. Bake on 325 for 25 min.

6. Make the buttercream frosting using the above recipe. Mix in 2 packets of lemonade Crystal Light mix to make lemonade buttercream. Yum!

 

7. Carefully remove the cupcakes from the tin and put on a separate plate to cool.

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8. Once cooled, place in a cupcake liner.

9.  In a freezer bag (such as ZipLock), cut the desired pattern for the desired design. Please see the tutorial for further explanation.

10. To make two tone colors, paint a stripe of your desired colors (I used pink and yellow icing gel) on opposite sides of the freezer bag and then fill with your buttercream and pipe.

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Final Result . . . . .

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After that sugar rush, Jericho is sleepy. Aawwwee.

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It’s Spring, It’s Spring!!!

So there is two ways to look at this:

a) Spring cleaning, yay!! No, not really. or b) Warm sunshine = crisp breezes = bulbs and blooms = gardening = spring bloom cupcakes!!!

I’m going with b. Yes, definitely b. I love spring. New beginning, new hope, new birth . . . and new cupcakes!

Forgive the blurry cell phone pic. Do you like my blue daffodils? Smurfie daffodils.

Forgive the blurry cell phone pic. Do you like my blue daffodils? Smurfie daffodils.

Can you see this one a little better?

Pink and white buttercream rose.

Pink and white buttercream rose.

For the life of me I could not get the wrapper to release from the cupcake. I baked three boxes of devil’s food Betty Crocker boxed cake cupcakes and most of the cupcake stuck to the wrapper. So I googled the issue and I found that I shouldn’t use cupcake liners. Instead, I greased the cupcake pans with Crisco and put the batter directly into the pan and cooked the cupcakes on 325 degrees. They turned out perfectly!. Just don’t fill them over half way, otherwise you will get some elephant man looking cupcakes. Then put your cupcake in the liner after you have removed it from the pan.

For the cupcake filling I melted a box of Andy’s mints with one-half cup of milk. Add powdered sugar until the chocolate mixture is pudding consistency. Pour the chocolate mixture into a piping bag and using a Wilton 230 tip, fill each cupcake. Stop filling when you can see the cupcake expanding.

See the Buttercream Recipe that I use. It keeps its shape wonderfully!

Use a 104 Wilton tip for the roses, orchids, zinnias and daffodils and a 1M tip for the hydrangea. For some great tutorials, view the following:

How to Make Buttercream . . .

Orchids:

Roses:

Daffodils:

Zinnias:

Very vibrant hydrangea

Very vibrant hydrangea

To make the two tone hydrangea, you will want to make the buttercream color that you want to be on the outside petals of the flowers, so for mine, blue. Put two to three large spoon fulls of the outside color into the piping bag. Rub the piping bag sides together so that the outside petal color smears to the insides of the bag. Take your second buttercream color for the inside of the petals, in my case yellow, and fill the middle of the same bag. It will be kind of messy, but don’t worry about getting it perfect. Just push the middle color down with your spoon in the middle of the first color. Close the piping bag and push all the colors down to the 1M tip. Push the squeeze the frosting against the cupcake, push the tip down (but do not touch the cupcake with the tip) stop squeezing the frosting and pull the tip up.

See these two tutorial videos to get a better idea. I don’t know about you, but I am a visual learner.

How to Make a Buttercream Hydrangea:

How to Make Two Tone Frosting:

Happy Piping!