FREE Cupcakes!

Happy Wednesday!!

Alright loyal blog followers. I have some very exciting news!! With the holidays right around the corner, it is time to start thinking about holiday parties, work parties, family get-togethers, and of course…BAKING!!

In the spirit of the approaching holiday season, I have decided to do another giveway. Two lucky readers will receive a custom Stay Calm, Cupcake Kit as a little preview to the holiday flavors I will be creating and blogging about later this month. Each cupcake kit comes with 6 cupcakes, a bag full of frosting, and a container of sprinkles. You choose the flavors!! When the box arrives just cut the tip of the frosting bag and pipe the frosting directly on to the cupcakes. Add sprinkles, and enjoy!!

Yummy Chocolate Variety!

The Rules, you ask??

1. Simply post something on your own blog about this give-away and why you would enjoy this cupcake kit.
2. Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite holiday flavor is along with a link to your blog post.
3. Voila, you are entered to win!

The winners will be announced on Monday, November 8th 2010. Good luck!!

There is more good news though, if you hop on over to my Etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/StayCalmCupcake you will see a special listing for all my blog subscribers. You get 5$ off any order!! Just my way of saying “Thanks”. Make sure you mention the code SCCS10.

Til next time, Stay Sweet! XOXO

Strawberry White Chocolate Cupcakes

Hello Readers!

I am so sorry for being absent for over a week. I have been busy traveling for work, baking for birthday parties, and celebrating my boyfriends 25th! No worries, though, I am back…and with a fabulous recipe to share!

Strawberry White Chocolate Cupcakes - Yum!

I made these cupcakes for my cousins birthday this month. These decadent white chocolate cupcakes are topped with a yummy strawberry vanilla swirl frosting and can add the perfect touch of “girly” to any party.

Enjoy the recipe! xoxo

White Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Sift together the 2 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In small saucepan, melt 6 ounces white chocolate and hot water over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature. You can also melt the chocolate in your microwave for 1 min (in incriments of 30 seconds)
4. In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 1 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition.
5. Stir in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Mix in melted white chocolate and 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
6. Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake for 18-22 minutes. The tops will be slighlty browned.

Strawberry Vanilla Frosting

Vanilla

• 2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Beat 2/3 cup of butter in a bowl until smooth and glossy. Beat in the vanilla, followed by the confectioners’ sugar. Add the cream and  whip on high speed until light and fluffy.

Strawberry Frosting (From MarthaStewart.com)

• 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners’ sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

For the two-tone frosting effect, I used the same technique from my “Paintball Cupcakes” (http://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/paintball-cupcakes/)

Til next time, Stay Sweet!!

Marshmallow Whip and Mingle Monday

Fluffy and Yummy!

Happy Columbus day readers! Today’s post is special for two reasons:

1) I found an incredible marshmallow frosting recipe that will be perfect for halloween ghost cupcakes!

2) It’s monday, which means it’s Mingle Monday over at Life of Meg (http://megnificentlife.blogspot.com/). I have come to look forward to Monday’s simply for Migle Monday.

Life of Meg is a blog about well…the life of a girl named Meg. Her blog is creative, flirty, and fun! As far as cupcakes go, I get a lot of inspiration from the colors and pictures she often posts. She write about anything and everything – from date nights and breast cancer awareness, to Glee and travel tips. Overall, it’s a really fun and easy read!

My favorite part of her blog however, is Mingle Monday. Here’s how it works:

1. Wait for Monday to arrive
2. Go to http://megnificentlife.blogspot.com/
3. Add your blog name to the list of Mingle Monday Participants
4. Find 2 new blogs from the list of other bloggers that are participating in Mingle Minday
5. Read their blogs and leave comments mentioning you found them on Mingle Monday
6. Report back to Life of Meg by leaving a comment saying what you liked most about the new blogs you found!
7. Ta-Da, you just Mingled!

 It’s a great way to get your blog some exposure while finding some really cool new blogs to read. So here’s a shout out to Meg, your blog rocks! Thanks for giving all of us a venue to find new blogs and to get some exposure for our own blogs.

Join me at Mingle Monday!

Alright, so now for the fabulous Marshmallow Whip frosting that I have officially fallen inlove with!

Marshmallow Whip – From the book “Baking: From my home to yours”

1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large)
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water
1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract – 1/2 tablespoon of Marhmallow flavoring

1. Put the egg whites in your mixer bowl or in another large bowl – Make sure the bowl you use is 100% dry.
2. Put the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, cover the pan and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Uncover your saucepan and allow the syrup to boil until it reaches 242 degrees F on the candy thermometer. While the syrup is cooking, start beating the egg whites on medium-low speed.
4. Remove mixture from heat – let cool until temperature reaches 235 degrees.
5. When the syrup is at about 235 degrees F, begin beating the egg whites on medium speed with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer. If the whites form firm, shiny peaks before the syrup reaches temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and keep mixing the whites until the syrup catches up. With the mixer at medium speed, and standing back slightly, carefully pour in the hot syrup, pouring it between the beater(s) and the side of the bowl. 
6.  Add the vanilla and marshmallow flavoring and keep beating the whites at medium speed until they reach room temperature, about 5 minutes.

Perfect for chocolate cupcakes, lemon cupcakes, strawberry cupcakes, or my favorite..coconut cupcakes! Enjoy xo

Creamy Dreamy Peanut Butter Frosting

Smooth and Creamy

Peanut Butter Perfection!

Martha Stewart’s peanut butter frosting is good, but with some of my own additions, it is irresistable!! Sorry Martha Peanut Butter is a great fall flavor that is easy to incorporate into any chocolate dessert.

I used this frosting on a devils food cake cupcake (say that 3 times fast!). In all honesty though, this frosting would compliment a huge variety of cupcakes including, dark chocolate, vanilla, chocolate fudge, white cake, french vanilla, and banna nut.

Peanut Butter Frosting (Adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipe)

Makes about 3 cups

•  1 1/2 cups of cream cheese
• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup of  Cool Whip
• 1 tsp of honey

Beat cream cheese, honey, and confectioners’ sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add salt,  peanut butter, then vanilla. Mix well

Add the Cool Whip and lightly incorprate.

In a seperate bowl, Whisk cream until soft peaks form.

On low speed, whisk the cream into the peanut mixture until well combined. 

For the original recipe, go to Marthastewart.com: Peanut Butter Frosting – Martha Stewart Recipes

Til next time, stay sweet!

And the winner is….

Katie, from Spirals and Spatulas (http://spiralsandspatulas.blogspot.com/)! Katie has won a box full of cupcake baking goodies from BakeItPretty.com

Thank you all for enetering and subscribing. Check back for my next give-away, a Halloween inspired treat! I will post more details next week.

Congrats to Katie! Make sure you check out her cute blog about life as a newlywed, a law student, and a baker. It’s a fun read!

Halloween Inspiration

Fall is finally here! The weather in Florida is starting to cool down and I am begining to actually enjoy being outside again.

Today’s post is a collection of some Halloween inspirations. This week I will post some great Halloween and Fall inspired cupcake recipes, so make sure you check back! And don’t forget that tomorrow the winner of my Bake It Pretty give-away will be announced. You still have time to enter though – follow the link for the rules (http://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/bake-it-pretty/)

For now, enjoy some baking inspiration!

Adorable Candy Corn Cupcakes

Orange Velvet Cupcakes!

Halloween Candy Dots

Spider-Web Cupcake Wrappers

Candy Corn Cupcake Wrappers

Halloween Frosting with Spiderweb wrappers

Candy Corn Cake with Buttercream Frosting!

For recipes and more pictures of the above cupcakes, follow these links (They are in the same order as the pictures.) Enjoy!

1. http://thecurvycarrot.com/2010/09/20/candy-corn-cupcakes/
2. http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2010/09/orange-velvet-cupcakes-for-halloween.html
3. http://www.bakeitpretty.com/category_116/Halloween-Shop.htm
4. http://www.fancyflours.com/cupcake-wrapper-spider-web.html
5. http://www.bakeitpretty.com/item_1342/Tilt-a-Whirl-Baking-Cups-in-Orange.htm
6. http://www.wasabimon.com/archive/ghoulishly-gluten-free-halloween-cupcakes/
7. http://iheartcuppycakes.com/2008/10/15/candy-corn-cupcakes/

From Simple to Sweet!

Hello readers,

Classic Vanilla

Today I want to share with  you a little secret. The secret to fabulous cupcakes  is decorating! Making a good cupcake isn’t that difficult, but its the decorating that gives each of your cupcakes that extra something special.

From Simple to "Sweet"!

These simple vanilla cupcakes are topped with my signature cream-cheese frosting and topped with edible sugar decorations that say “sweet”. I found these on sale at Joann’s Fabrics – they were only $2 for a pack of 12!!

Another great place to find decroation inspiration is at your local Marshalls or TJMaxx – their home goods sections always have the most adorable sprinkles at crazy affordable prices.

Yummy Chocolate Variety!

I recently made a batch of chocolate fudge cupcakes. My dilema was how to create a “variety box” with only one flavor cake. I decided to use 3 different icings, and 3 different types of decorations. One simple cupcake, turned into 3 great variations! I used cream cheese frosting and left it white, vanilla frosting and dyed it a beautiful blue, and topped the rest with my irresitable chocolate mousse. YUM! The best part about this, is you are bound to please everyone with a variety of cupcakes, and they didn’t even take long! It’s amazing what a couple of sprinkles will do for your cupcake!

Overall, be creative with your cupcakes. My golden rule is to use sprinkles sparingly (too many sprinkles can look a little tacky) and always decorate for the event. Don’t be afraid to try new things! If worst comes to worst, you don’t like it and you try again. It’s just icing Nothing is permanent. Have fun and send me some pictures of your cupcake decorating skills!!

 

Til next time, stay sweet. xoxo