Stay Calm Cupcake on the News!

Hello Friends,

How are you? Lately, life has been passing at the speed of light. I have been busier than ever and honestly loving every second of it! For those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you know that my cupcake truck is FINALLY finished and that we have been out and about doing events for the past couple of weeks. It’s been a lot of learning, a lot of adjusting, and more baking than I ever imagined. I wouldn’t have it any other way though! My local customers have been amazing and all of your support has really meant so much!

I recently got the opportunity to be on the local news and wanted to share a clip with all of you so you could see the new truck and hear a little bit about the business! Just click the link below 🙂

Food Truck Thursday: Stay Calm Cupcake.

I’ll be posting again this week to update you on some other fun stuff that has been going on, including a recipe for a Banana’s Foster Cupcake Recipes!!

Have a great day – Stay Sweet!

XO, Jill

Cherry Passion Fruit Frosting

Happy Monday! Is everyone surviving so far? Ok good! Today I want to talk frosting! Creamy, sweet, slightly tart, perfectly whipped, frosting!

I’ve been playing around with a lot of new flavors lately and have absolutely fallen in love with the tartness of a fresh cherry complimenting the sweetness of a chocolate cupcake. I decided to add some passion fruit to the mixture, and I am happy to tell you, it is hands down one of the best frostings I have ever made! I used a concentrate from “The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley” and was so happy with how well the passion fruit flavor came through in my frosting. The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley, a company based in California, specializes in all natural fruit and vegetable purees, concentrates, and drink mixes. Through a partnership with CraveLocal, I was able to get some samples from Perfect Puree and was more than pleased with each one of them! I received Blood Orange, Carmelized Pineapple, White Peach, and Passion Fruit. Each delicious concentrate is  just waiting for me to use it in a new recipes! My favorite thing about the concentrate is that I only have to use a small amount, so it doesn’t ruin my frosting consistency at all. I also love knowing that these are all natural ingredients. Nothing better than 100% natural flavor for your cupcakes!

Cherry Passion Fruit Frosting by Stay Calm Cupcake

This Cherry Passion Fruit Frosting is perfect for summer and reminds me why I love to use fresh, seasonal ingredients when I bake. I think you’ll find that it adds just the right about of “pazzaz” to take your next summer dessert to the next level.

Let’s get started!

Cherry Passion Fruit Frosting

• 15-20 fresh cherries. The darker, the better. Do not use frozen!
• ½ cup of cranberry juice
• 1 tbs of water
• 1 tbs of cornstarch
• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 tbs of Passion Fruit concentrate by “The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley”
• 2 sticks of unsalted, room temp butter
• 4 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
• ½ tsp of pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Remove all the seeds from your cherries
2. Dice your cherries into medium sized pieces
3. In a medium sized sauce pan, combine your cherries, cranberry juice, and sugar.
4. Cook your cherry mixture on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. Make sure you are stirring and “mashing” your cherries so the juice comes out.
5. Combine your water and cornstarch until a milky consistency is achieved
6. Add your cornstarch mixture to the sauce pan and mix well
7. Remove from heat and let cool completely
8. While your cherry mixture is cooling, cream your butter in a mixer on medium high-speed for 1-2 minutes.
9. Once your butter is light and fluffy, add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition.
10. Add the Passion Fruit concentrate at the same time as the last ½ cup of powdered sugar
11. Add your vanilla
12. Once your cherry mixture is 100% cooled, add it to your frosting — I suggest using about 3 tbs. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute. (Save the rest or use as a filling for your cupcakes!)

This frosting is delicious on dark chocolate cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes, and believe it or not, coconut cupcakes! Enjoy the recipe and let me know if you have any questions about using The Perfect Puree of Napa Valley.

Have a great week! Stay Sweet!

xoxo,

Jill

Butterscotch Rum Frosting

Hooray For Booze Infused Cupcakes!

Hello Friends!

It’s been too long since I last posted. I have been busy, busy, busy lately so bear with me while I give you some fun updates! First things first, the truck is so close to completion. We are looking for a company to do the graphics now and hope to be running by the 1^st or 2^nd week in June – so exciting! I absolutely cannot wait to share photos with you.  I’ve also been busy making some great connections in the Orlando and Daytona area and have the opportunity to participate in some seriously awesome events!

I’ll be giving away lots of cupcake minis at SheCon 2012 this weekend in the Crave Local booth. She Con is an amazing conference for female bloggers (Yay for girl power!!). This year it is being held at Disney! Exciting, right?! So if you’re a female blogger in the Orlando area, you should look into getting your ticket. It’s going to be an awesome event! Click here and you can even get 50% off your ticket price!! 

I’m also going to have my cupcakes at a CraveAmerica event in Orlando on June 14^th – more details to come!!

And last but not least, let’s have a little Cupcake Wars update – shall we?? Ok, if you insist! I recently got an email from the producers saying that they really like our brand, our video, and our energy! The email stated that we have made it to the final, final, final round of auditions!! I was told I’ll be contacted within the next week or so to hear the official decision and to start discuss filming schedule! Nothing is guaranteed yet, but I’m so proud of myself for even making it this far. Just goes to show that hard work pays off, and I’m not crazy for trying to pursue my dreams of business ownership and success.

I feel really blessed and overly excited about all the opportunities that are coming my way. I’m ready to kick this business up a notch 🙂

Ok! Thanks for humoring me…the updates are over. On to the recipes!!

Today I am going to share a delicious recipe for Butterscotch Rum frosting! This the frosting to use if you really want to WOW party guests!

Butterscotch Rum Frosting

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of unsalted, room temp, butter
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• ½ cup of flour – just trust me on this!
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups of Butterscotch chips (I get mine in the baking isle at Publix)
• 4 tbs of dark rum

Directions:

1. Melt the butterscotch chips in the microwave (or you can use stove top method) Let cool completely before using in frosting
2. In a stand mixer, cream the butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes. You want it to be smooth
3. Slowly add in 2 cups powdered sugar and mix on low speed until well combined
4. Add in the 4 tbs of rum and the remaining cup of powdered sugar. Add them at the same time.
5. Mix on medium speed for a minute
6. Add in the cooled butterscotch and mix until well combined
7. At this point your frosting will be too thin – add in the flour and the salt.
8. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute
9. Frost your cupcakes and enjoy!

Extra Tips:

If you want a stronger rum flavor, I suggest brushing the top of the cupcake with rum. If you put more rum into the frosting, it doesn’t hold up too well. Just my experience.

Always remember to add your liquids, especially liquor, in with your powdered sugar. This prevents the butter from curdling.

I like this frosting on a dark chocolate cupcake filled with butterscotch pudding. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Stay Sweet.

Jill

Bake Sale Success!

This past weekend, I participated in the Food Blogger Bake Sale, supporting Share our Strenth, an organization fighting childhood hunger. It was such an inspiring event to be a part of! Not only did I meet some of Orlando’s finest food bloggers, I was able to take part in raising over $1,400 for a charity that is helping feed so many hungry children.

For the bake sale, I made Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, Cookies and Cream Cupcakes, and Toasted Coconut Cupcakes! I was thrilled that my cupcakes were a hit with the customers!
Here’s some photos from the event! Enjoy

(I hope Ricky, Chris, and Julius don't mind my fun little additions to the picture!)

The photo above shows the whole group of bloggers who participated in the bake sale. Please go check out their blogs – they all have incredible photography, recipe, and restaurant reviews.

Back row: Julius from Droolius, Angie from Eclectic Recipes, Wanda from My Sweet Zepol, Robin from Simply Southern Baking, Katie from Katie’s Cucina, Julie from The Little Kitchen, Chris from Eat Local Orlando, Ricky from Tasty Chomps.

Front row: ME!! , Marilyn from Forkful, Pearleen from Mega Yummo and Jacqueline from BeyondNFinity.

At the bakesale, getting ready for customers!

 

 

 

 

 Hope everyone is having a fabulous week. Stay tuned for more recipes and some updates from my advetures in Cupcake Wars casting for Season 7!

Stay Sweet!

xo, Jill

2012 Food Blogger Bake Sale

Sometimes it’s nice to know that you have people looking out for you! This morning I got an email from a friend who runs a great local blog, Central Florida Top 5. He asked me if I was participating in a local event for the 2012 Food Blogger Bake Sale. I had no idea there was even a local event going on. But now I am signed up, so excited and ready to tell you about it!

The Food Blogger Bake Sale is a National Effort to support Share Our Strength – an organization fighting to end childhood hunger. Did you know that nearly 1 in 5 kids in America are struggling with hunger? It’s statistics like that which make events like the 2012 Food Blogger Bake Sale so important.
Last year $25,000 was raised through 26 Food Blogger Bake Sales across the U.S. This year’s goal is to raise $50,000 – and I can’t wait to contribute!
I will be at the Food Blogger Bake Sale in Winter Park, Florida on April 28th from 10 am – 1 pm. All of my proceeds will go towards “Share Our Strength”.
What can you do to show your support?
• If you are local to the Central Florida area,  attend the event on April 28th – buy some cupcakes and donate to a great cause!
• Donate on the Share Our Strength website
• Spread the word by tweeting, blogging, and facebooking about this great cause! Use hash tag #fbbakesale

I know many of you are not local to the Orlando, Florida area, so here is a link to a great list of bake sales that will be happening all across the U.S.  on April 28th ! The contact info for each event is listed.

Thanks in advance for your support! Stay Sweet!

Xo, Jill

Cupcake Ornaments!

With Christmas right around the corner, I have been feeling some serious pressure to get started on my holiday shopping list. This year I decided I was going to do as much local and small business shopping that I could. I, of course, went straight to Etsy to find some unique handmade items for friends and family. I came across Jessica’s shop – “The One Stop Button Shop” and thought her ideas for customizable ornaments, buttons, purse mirrors and more were absolutely adorable! I sent Jessica a picture of my logo and voila…my logo was made into an ornament!! I received my customized Stay Calm Cupcake ornament within a few days. I absolutely love it and can’t wait to put it on my tree!!

What do you think? Pretty adorable, right?

It even came in a pink gift bag!

Jessica started The One Stop Button Shop in August of 2011 selling Christmas ornaments, pinback buttons, magnets, and mirrors. Her shop is relatively new, but it is constantly growing! At the moment, she offers her products in one size – 3 inches in diameter. She plans to add a variety of sizes and products after the New Year. Along with The One Stop Button Shop, Jessica and her husband also own a fine art print shop called Faville Photo.

So if you’re looking for a really fun and affordable Christmas present for parents, grandparents, or friends, check out her shop! I think using a Christmas photo on these button ornaments would be such a cute gift – and a nice new twist to the tradition Christmas card.

Also, check out the One Stop Button Shop Facebook page and tell her Stay Calm Cupcake sent you!

Remember to support local and handmade this holiday season! Check back tomorrow for a yummy Mocha-Mint cupcake recipe.

 

Stay Sweet! xoxo

 

Seasonal Trail Mix

Fall Inspired Trail Mix

This recipe is admittedly not a cupcake recipe. But it’s just so easy and delicious that I couldn’t help but share it! I made these trail mix jars as favors for a bridal shower this weekend and they were a huge hit!

Yummy Treats - Festive Sweets

My Fall inspired Trail Mix Treat Jars are fun to make and would be great little presents for co-workers, teachers, school lunch boxes, and more. Let’s get started!

What you’ll need:

• 8 oz Mason Jars (optional)
• 1 bag of Pretzels
• 3 Cups of Honey Roasted Peanuts
• 2 Cups of Walnuts
• 15 Caramel Squares (I cut them into smaller chunks)
• 4 Cups of Candy Corn
• 4 Cups of Raisins
• 4 Cups of Cranberries
• 1 large bag of Reese’s Pieces

Ina large bowl, mix all of your ingredients together. Fill each mason jar with trail mix. I like to use cupcake liners and ribbon to decorate the top of the mason jars.

Don’t feel like using mason jars? Here’s some other fun ideas for sharing your trail mix:

• Fall colored goody bags
• Clear Ziploc bags
• Big Punch Bowl
• Solo Cups
• Piping bags tied with ribbon
• Small Tupperware

Have fun creating these cute little mason jar treats!

~ Stay Sweet~

xoxo

Watermelon Strawberry Ice Cups

 

Ok, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is, I made some fabulous 4th of July cupcakes and cupcake jars to share with you guys! The bad news is, I didn’t have a chance to upload the photos yet, so I have to wait til tomorrow to share the recipe. I know, bummer! But don’t worry, I still have a great summer recipe to share with you.

Watermelon Strawberry Ice Cups! Sound good, right?? Well they are beyond good –  in fact, they are down right addicting. In Florida it has been around 100 degrees outside so these are the perfect cool down treat. They are really simple to make too. Enjoy the recipe!! Xo

Fruity and Delicious

Watermelon Strawberry Ice Cups

Recipe Makes 12 cups

Ingredients

• 4 cups of cubed seedless watermelon
• 2 cups of diced strawberries
• 1 cup of Sprite
• ½ cup of cool whip
• ¼ cup of powdered sugar

Directions

1. In a blender (or food processor) puree the watermelon and strawberry pieces
2. Slowly add in the powdered sugar, followed by the cool whip
3. Mix for a few seconds and add the sprite
4. Puree mixture for  30 seconds
5. If the mixture seems to chunky or thick – add a little bit of water and puree for 30 more seconds
6. Pour mixture in small cups
7. Freeze for 4-5 hours
8. Serve and Enjoy!!

These Ice cups can also be made into really yummy popsicle too! I hope you, your family, and your friends enjoy this summer treat!

Summer = Love

Stay Sweet My Friends!

xo, Jill

A Few Of My Favorites!

Happy June 9^th! I turn 24 today and can’t help but be thankful for the  wonderfully blessed past year I have had. What better way to celebrate than to share this occasion with my amazing blog readers, facebook fans, twitter followers, and cupcake enthusiasts!

So, what helped make this past year so special? Well it’s simple….. YOU did! In the past year my blog and cupcake shop has grown exponentially. I could not have done it without the support of friends and family like you guys. While I have never personally met some of you, the encouragement you have given me along the way has been immeasurable . There are days when my “blogger” friends cheer me up more than the actual people around me. You guys inspire me and motivate me. And for that I say “Thank you!” Never stop being creative, the world needs more people like you 🙂

Enjoy this collection of great recipes that I have found through my blog friends over the past year. Each is a sweet treat that I know will be a hit if you decide to make it.

My favorite recipes from a few of my favorite blogs:

Peach Crumb Bars by Brown Eyed Baker

Lime Zest Cookies by Sweet and Crumby

Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins by Sweet Peas Kitchen

Cheesecake Picnic Jars by My Bakign Addiction

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies by Recipe Girl

Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies by Sweet and Crumby

Have a super sweet day my friends. xoxo

-Jill

Giveaway Winners!!!

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the Shop Til You Drop Blog Crawl! It was so much fun getting to know some great new bloggers and awesome Etsy Shops! I know you are all anxious to see who won the fabulous prizes, so without further ado…drum roll please!

The winner of the Belle Rose Designs giveaway is ElfRenee

The winner of Delightful Designs is Valerie from My Two Cents.

The winner of the pink tutu from Sew Determined is Tanya!

The winner of the $20 gift card to Sweetly Made is Confessions of a “Stay at Home Mommy”

The winner of the Dodu Baby Carseat Canopy is Lauren

The winner of Free Stay Calm Cupcakes is Karina

The winner of Gourmet Chocolate Lollipops from Suckers by Steph is Samantha Faith

Congrats to all the winners!! If you won my Cupcake Kit, please send me an email with your address. My email is staycalmcupcake@yahoo.com