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

Birthday Girl Loves Cupcakes!!

This month, I am sponsoring Hallie’s Birthday! She is turning 2 and we are celebrating all month long. Each week I am sending Hallie a new type of cupcake to try – at the end of the month, she will let us know her favorite flavor! Her favorite flavor will be on sale in my shop for the first week of June!

You can help celebrate! Head over to Polos, Pearls, and Pacifiers to see how you can get 15% off any order of cupcakes!

If you are interested in having Stay Calm Cupcake Shop sponsor a blog event for your little peanut, contact me at staycalmcupcake@yahoo.com

Stay Sweet xoxo

Jill

Mini Party Cupcakes

Miniature Party Bites!

I love these miniature little cupcakes for several reasons:

1) They are so darn easy  to make!!

2) They look beautiful and require little to no decorating skills

3) They add the perfect amount of “pazzaz” to any birthday party!

So let’s get started! For these cupcake you will need a miniature cupcake pan and miniature cupcake liners.

I chose to make a vanilla butter cake as my base – you can use whatever yummy recipe you feel comfortable with.

Vanilla Butter Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. In medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In measuring cup, mix milk and vanilla.
3. In large bowl, with mixer at medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat just until smooth, scraping the bowl occasionally with a  spatula.
4. Pour batter into cupcake liners (I usually fill them close to the top of the liner that way they puff up nicely) and bake for about 18-20 minutes.
5. Let cool completely before frosting the cupcakes.

 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting: 

• 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tbs of heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 tsp of lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp of orange juice
• Rainbow colored sanding sugar

1. With an electric mixer, beat together sugar and butter. Mix on low until well blended.
2. Continue mixer on medium for another two minutes. 
3. Add vanilla and whipping cream, beating on medium for another minute.
4. Now here’s my secret…I add a little bit of lemon and orange juice to this frosting. This gives it a hint of fruity flavor that makes the mini cupcake even more fun! Kids love it too! Omit this step if you want a pure vanilla buttercream
5. Frosting should be light and fluffy.

Fill a piping bag with your frosting. Cut the tip off so there is a small hole. Pipe the frosting onto each cupcake – leaving only a dollop of frosting on each – do not worry about spreading out or piping in a design.

Pour your multi-colored sanding sugar onto a plate.

Dip each frosted cupcake into the sprinkles – smashing the frosting down around the top of the cupcake.

And there you have it – gorgeous, colorful, and delicious cupcakes that were super easy to make!! You’re cupcakes are going to be a hit at any party you bring them too. I just know it!

Stay sweet xoxo

Stay Calm Cupcake!

** Follow me on Twitter @ StayCalmCupcake – I only need 27 more followers and I will give away 2 free cupcake kits!! **

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” (https://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/paintball-cupcakes/)

Til next time, Stay Sweet!!

Paintball Cupcakes

Packaged up and ready for delivery!

I recently had a lady order cupcakes for her son’s 14th birthday. She ordered “paintball themed” cupcakes. To be honest, I was a little stumped at first. How on earth was I going to pull off, “paintball” cupcakes ?! I have never been paintballing in my life, not to mention the thought of getting hit by an exploding ball of paint makes me cringe! Luckily, I was able to think of some pretty fun ideas and the overall presentation turned out really great! I decided to color the icing in bold colors and used a frosting trick that allowed me to pipe two colors at once. I think this gave the cupcakes a paintball feel. What do you think?

Two-Tone Frosting

 

To create the two-tone effect, I wrapped the blue icing in plastic wrap and rolled it into a thin tube. I did the same thing for the yellow icing. I then cut the tips of the plastic wrapped frosting “tubes” and put both colors of icing in one piping bag. Voila, two-tone icing!! This trick is really easy and saves from a big mess!!

 I hope the birthday boy liked his cupcakes and had a great birthday!

      Until next time, stay sweet! xo

Double The Fun : Cupcake Toppers

I usuall try to bake something on Tuesday nights. Pat plays on a pool league every tuesday, so I have some time to myself , and what better activity than baking!! Last night I made funfetti cupcakes with buttercream frosting and topped them with the mini- cupcakes from last weeks blog entry (https://fontgirl.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/double-cup-cupcakes/).

They were so much fun to make and turned out great!! I’m already thinking of all the other ways I can use theses cute little toppers!

               

Birthday Baking Advice

Today is my birthday. I am still pretty unsure about turning another year older, but I figure that to celebrate, I will give you, my readers, some “gifts” of baking advice. So please enjoy 🙂

1.       Allrecipes.com and Joyofbaking.com

My favorite recipe finder online is “allrecipes.com”. I have never once used a recipe of theirs that didn’t turn out fabulous. They have all types of recipes, from lunch, to dinner, to dessert. If you can think it up, allrecipes.com will have a tried and tested recipe for you to make it. I have used this site to find everything from fruit dip, to lemon crusted chicken, to quiche. I think you will find it a valuable resource when in the kitchen. I sure do!

Now for baking, I prefer to use joyofbaking.com – they have a decent selection of recipes, and they always give you such thorough directions. It’s hard to mess something up when they tell you every single step, word for word. My only set back is that they don’t have as wide of a variety as I would hope for. They do update their recipes regularly though, which makes it easy to find new one when desired. I think you will enjoy this site if you are looking for a really good cake, cupcake, or cookie recipe!

2.       Always Add More Vanilla

Here’s a little trick that I started doing awhile ago…I always add a smidge extra vanilla than what the recipe calls for. I have found that often times recipes will call for small amounts of “pure vanilla extract”. Well if you are like me and only buy (mostly because it’s more reasonably priced) “Imitation Vanilla Flavoring” then you should certainly add a little more than recommended. Pure vanilla has a much stronger scent and flour than that of imitation – this is why it’s safe to add extra even thought the recipe doesn’t call for it. This trick hasn’t failed me yet.

3.       Taste It Before You Give It

I would NEVER, I repeat NEVER give baked goods to someone without first tasting them myself. The last thing you want to do is give someone a cupcake that you accidently used salt in, instead of sugar – not that I’ve ever done that ;). Even if I’m baking a cake, I will cut a small (unnoticeable once iced) section from the cake and taste it. It saves from a lot of embarrassment and ensures that your friends and family aren’t going to be forced to lie to your face and spit out the treat behind your back. It’s that simple, just don’t give it before you try it!

4.       Don’t Improvise Unless You Know Your Ingredients

A good rule of thumb I have is to follow the recipe to the “t” – unless you have tried a variation before and have been pleased with the results. I’ll admit that I’m not always measuring exactly one cup of flour – it might be a little over, perhaps a little under – that’s not a cake breaker. I’m talking about using water, when the recipe calls for milk, that is a no no. I have a friend, love her dearly, but she always calls me asking if she can “substitute this for that”. My answer is always “no”. She normally disregards my advice and uses an ingredient that she thinks will work instead of what the recipe called for. It never fails, I always get a call back saying “you were right, it’s hard as a brick”. Or “you were right, it won’t even bake!” It’s now a running joke between us. She’s too funny! I think she is finally learning to take my advice and not use substitutions though– once she sticks to the recipe, her treats will always be delish!!

It hard to resist the urge to substitute when you think it will work out just fine. Unfortunately though, substitutions rarely work unless you know your ingredients extremely well –something I haven’t even mastered yet. Speaking of, anybody know the equivalent to a can of evaporated cane juice?? I dint think so – haha

So there it is, my sweet treat readers , a little gift of advice for those of you that share the same baking enthusiasm that I do. Speaking of baking (when aren’t I? )I wonder what type of delicious birthday dessert I will have tonight. Cheesecake, chocolate cake, vanilla with raspberry swirls……I could go on for hours. So, until next time, stay sweet! xoxo

Cherry-Limeade Cupcakes. Happy Birthday..to Me!