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Cornflake Hydrangeas

I simply love chocolate covered cornflakes. Those delicious clusters of tender chocolate with a crunchy middle. Yummmm. So I thought to myself....self, how can I add these beauties to cupcakes. And this is what I came out with.

Ingredients:

Your favorite cupcakes

Your favorite buttercream (I would suggest vanilla or salted caramel)

Cornflakes

1-2 cups white merckens chocolate melts (or regular white chocolate chips)

Food coloring of your choice (I used blue) + green

Silver sugar dragees

Small ceramic flower pots

Piping bag and leaf tip

Directions:

1. Place your cupcakes securely in the flower pots

2. Pour white chocolate merckens into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 20-30 seconds or until completely melted. If you are using chocolate chips, heat in microwave in 15 second intervals until completely melted.

3. Once melted, add your dye and stir until combined

4. Sort through your cornflakes and find the best ones. Toss, or eat, the broken ones or small ones. You will need at least 8-12 flakes per cupcake.

5. Dip each cornflake into the chocolate and place on either a cooling rack or wax paper to harden.

6. Lightly frost your cupcakes with the buttercream

7. Place cornflakes, now your petals, on the cupcakes in such a way that you create 4 petal flowers.

8. Cover as much of the cupcakes with the cornflakes.

9. Add the silver dragees to the centers of every 4-petal flower

10. Dye 1 cup of buttercream green.

11. Using a piping bag and leaf tip, pipe some leaves to cover the space in between the 4-petal flowers.

Biting into these is euphoric. The combination of crunch, chocolate, buttercream and cake is mind blowing. If you have had a rotten day...have one of these.

They will certainly cheer you up!

Quicky Purse

I made these in a spilt sec. How? Follow these simple instructions:

Take a cupcake and remove the baking cup (wrapper).

Cut the trunk off. Then cut the trunk in half so you have 2 half moons.

Brush some jam on all flat sides of the two half moon cakes.

Roll out some fondant or molding chocolate, about 1/4 inch thick or thinner.

Cover the half moons with the fondant

Decorate...and voila.

The next time I make them, I promise I will photograph each step.

Un Mojito Por Favor

Although I am not one to celebrate Cinco de Mayo....I needed an excuse to make this cupcake.

I have been wanting to experiment with ice cream cupcakes. Image an ice cream cake...but a cupcake! Of course I had to pick a sensational flavor...so I thought Cinco de Mayo...ice cream cupcake....hmmmmm. Why not a Mojito Ice Cream Cupcake!

The result was fabuloso!

Here's the recipe:

Cupcake:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 eggs

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

2 Sticks of unsalted butter (room temp)

Zest of 2 limes

1/2 mango (fresh and cut into pieces)

Filling:

Mojito ice cream. (Now, if you have no clue where to find this, you can try to order it from http://dolcezzagelato.com/ if not, you can mix a lime sorbet with crushed mint leaves)

Topping:

4 cups Lime Buttercream (use your favorite buttercream and mix in the zest of 3-5 limes and 1/4 cup of lime juice)

Directions:

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy and pale. Add one egg at a time until smooth and fluffy. Add the cream and mix until combined. Add flour and baking powder and mix until completely smooth. Lastly, add your zest, mango and mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop 1 tablespoon of your batter into 12 baking cups (should not be more than 1/4 full). Bake for 10-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remaining batter: pour into a loaf pan or cake pan that has been greased.

Place all pans in the oven. Only bake the loaf or cake pan cake for 10 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean). Remove it from heat and let it cool.

Bake cupcakes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Now for the fun part:

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of your mojito ice cream in each cupcake and spread so the entire cake is covered. Please make sure to leave 1/8 th on an inch on top for the cake top.

Using a round cookie cutter, a knife or a round cutter, cut rounds from your loaf and place each on top of your ice cream cupcakes. Place all cupcakes in the freezer for 10 minutes. In the meantime, get your buttercream ready for piping.

Once frozen, pipe each cupcake with your lime buttercream.

Sweet Marmalade!

Ever tasted a Pimm's cookie? That tangy orange jelly is to die for. I wanted to create this experience of biting into a cupcake to find a delicious marmalade surprise inside.

Although the following recipe was a huge success, I took a shortcut which I probably would not do in the future. Instead of a topping the cupcake with a decadent chocolate ganache, I opted to top it with a vanilla buttercream. It's still yummy....but the chocolate I'm sure would make it simply divine. So, here you go:

Recipe:

Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

4 eggs

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

2 Sticks of unsalted butter (room temp)

Zest of 3 oranges

Zest of 1 grapefruit

Filling:

1 cup of the finest marmalade you can find

1/2 cup of buttercream (you can also use whipped cream)

3 tablespoons Grand Marnier (optional)

Topping:

Your favorite buttercream

Directions:

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy and pale. Add one egg at a time until smooth and fluffy. Add the cream and mix until combined. Add flour and baking powder and mix until completely smooth. Lastly, add your zest and mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop your batter into baking cups (about 3/4 full). Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Once cooled, either cut a cone shaped well or use a round long cutter to make each cupcake hollow. Make sure to keep the very top to cover the filling once filled:

In a small bowl, mix your filling ingredients until fully incorporated. Scoop about a tablespoon of the filling into each cupcake. If you want to be sassy you can drizzle some Grand Marnier into the cupcakes before adding the filling. Obviously I wouldn't recommend this for children...but go for it if it's a girl's night. :)

Top all your cupcakes with the tops you hopefully kept. If you forgot or accidentally ate them, no biggy, just make sure to cover them with buttercream. Frost cupcakes with you buttercream and voila!

Here is the dissected view of your masterpiece.

Food Allergies? Here Are Some Great Recipes

I recently posted a bit on my situation. My baby developed an allergy to my tatas’ milk. I had to eliminate EVERYTHING. After the doctor tested his blood, it turns out he isn’t allergic to anything he suspected. And now, he’s fine. But he’s on formula. Disappointing, I know. I was really looking forward to breast feeding for a while but it just wasn’t working for him.

ANYWAY, one of my readers named Bobbi sent me a lovely email as a result of my elimination post. Turns out her little niece suffers from food allergies. The poor thing is allergic to sugar, gluten, egg and dairy! And yet Bobbi put her thinking cap on and developed the following cupcake recipes.

I tried them and wow, they are delicious. I thought I would share them as I know there are so many children and adults with food allergies. And everyone should be able to indulge with a yummy cupcake every once and a while!

Chocolate Gluten Freedom Cupcakes

1 cup soy milk (or rice milk)

1/3 cup canola oil

¾ cup sugar (or 3/4 cup honey)

2 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp almond extract

¼ cup tapioca flour

2 tbsp ground flax seed

1/3 cup cocoa powder

½ cup white rice flour

½ cup quinoa flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

1. Combine soy milk, oil, sugar and extracts. Mix to combine. Add

tapioca and flax until dissolved.

2. Add rest, mix on med-high until well combined – 2 minutes.

3. Fill liners, bake 20-23 mins at 350 degrees.

Vanilla Gluten Freedom Cupcakes

1 cup soy milk (3/4 cup soy milk)

1/3 cup canola oil

¾ cup sugar (3/4 cup honey)

2 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp almond extract

¼ cup tapioca flour

2 tbsp ground flax seed

1/3 cup corn flour OR almond flour

½ cup white rice flour

½ cup quinoa flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda (3/4 tsp baking soda)

¼ tsp salt

1. Combine soy milk, oil, sugar and extracts. Mix just to combine.

Add tapioca and flax and mix until dissolved and emulsified.-

2. Add rest, mix at med-high 2 minutes until well combined.

3. Fill liners, bake at 350 for 20-23 mins.

(Makes 36 mini cupcakes)

Brown Rice Caramel Glaze

½ cup soy milk

¼ cup soy milk powder

1 tbsp arrowroot

½ cup brown rice syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In saucepan, whisk together soy milk, powder and arrowroot. Stir

constantly over med heat until arrowroot is cooked and mixture starts

to thicken, about 4 minutes. Stir in syrup, turn up heat to medium

high and bring to gentle boil, then reduce to simmer, all while

stirring. Cook until thick and slightly reduced – 10 minutes. Will

have consistency like cake batter. Whisk in vanilla and remove from

heat.

2. Allow to cool 10 minutes before spreading on cupcakes.

Thick Chocolate Fudgy Frosting

½ cup margarine, at room temp

½ cup agave nectar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup cocoa

½ cup soy milk powder

Whip up margarine (you can also use coconut butter, it gives the buttercream a very warm and tropical taste). Add nectar, vanilla, cocoa and soy milk (or rice milk, almond milk or potato milk)

Enjoy!

Inspiring Others To Create Masterpieces

I recently got a call from a lovely lady on the West Coast named Tamara. She wanted to find out how she could make a cupcake bouquet for one of her clients. I was thrilled to help and provided her with step by step instructions along with links to websites to buy materials and see additional examples.

A week later I received a lovely email from her along with this picture. Obviously, her bouquet was a huge success. So much so that her client thought the bouquet was made from flowers until she got up and close. Tamara admitted she was not a baker and had never really frosted anything. But with my instructions she was able to make these look amazing!! Great job!

So this is proof that a little determination and creativity can result in a masterpiece. Even if you are not a baker.

Tamara is a very determined and resourceful young lady and recently started her own business. If she can create this amazing cupcake bouquet with simple instructions, she can do anything!

Here is her info for any of you that live near her and would like to use her services. You can check out her Facebook page and learn more about her business as well.

Golden State Concierge

(559) 433-8586 Office

(559) 289-2342 Cell

All The Golden Love Of Maple Syrup

The vision of golden maple syrup trickling down a swirl of buttery frosting propelled me to create this masterpiece. Honestly, this recipe is a knockout. I gave myself two pats on the back...okay more like 3. I deserved it.

This recipe initially came from a true backing talent, the original Domestic Goddess, Nigella Lawson. However I tinkered with it to make it a bit more cupcake friendly. Using cake recipes doesn’t always translate well into cupcakes.

Okay, so here’s one big detail...you cannot use Aunt Jemima’s Maple Syrup. Because, shocker here, it’s not the real deal. Please use only pure 100% Maple Syrup. Whole Foods sells Canadian Maple Syrup in a huge container. Get it.

The buttercream for this cupcake is a mix of a traditional cream cheese frosting with a Swiss Meringue. However, you can use any buttercream you like just substitute half of the sugar you use with maple syrup.

Okay, here you go:

Ingredients:

3 1/3 cups self-rising flour

1 1/2 cups Pure 100% Maple Syrup

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups boiling water

3 large or extra large eggs

Preheat over at 350 degrees (or 325 degrees if you are using a convection oven)

In a bowl (using a hand held electric beater) whip butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time ( no cheating, if not, the mixture will curdle). Add the maple syrup and lick the container (kidding, well...I did). Once the maple syrup has been added, toss in 1/4 cup of the flour in and whip. Then add 1/2 cup of the boiling water...whip again. Repeat this until both the flour and the water have been incorporated. The batter you get is stunning, smooth and velvety.

Spoon in about 1/2 cup into cupcake baking cups and bake for 24 minutes. Insert a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. If not, bake until it does.

Buttercream:

2 sticks butter (softened...room temperature)

1 8oz pack of cream cheese (also at room temperature)

1 cup confectioner sugar

1 cup Pure Maple Sugar (plus a bit more to drizzle on top)

1/2 cup pecan halves

Using a standing mixer, whip up butter and cream cheese. Once smooth, add sugar and mix again until smooth. Add the maple syrup and whip for 10 seconds.

Pipe cupcakes, drizzle some delicious maple syrup and top with a pecan half.

Enjoy with a latte, a gossip magazine and your favorite slippers on your feet.

Perfection.