You Owe My Mom a Thank-You

Celebrate your Mom on May 8th

If you’re asking “Why on earth do I need to say thank you to this chick’s mom?”, let me help clear things up for you.

Almost a year ago, my mom gave a little bag full of cupcake related goodies. Some stickers, a cupcake mug, some notecards, and a magnet. The set of note cards said “Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake”. It was then that I was inspired to start my “Stay Calm, Have a Cupcake” blog and from there, open up my online cupcake store, “Stay Calm Cupcake Shop”.  See? You really do owe my Mom a thank you – without her, this blog might not even exist! 🙂

For some reason the 6  simple words on that set note cards really resonated with me. It was a message so simple and so obvious – just stay calm!

I began blogging shortly after with the philosophy that cupcakes are the perfect 5 minute escape from the craziness that can surround us at times. It’s just as important to me now, as it was a year ago, to remind each of you to take a few moments for yourself. Breath deeply, stop worrying, and eat a cupcake. Not because it takes good, or because it’s the “chic” dessert at the moment, but because we all need a couple of minutes to re-group. And honestly, you deserve it! It’s ok to quietly admit we feel overwhelmed while we sit down and take the first calming bite of a delicious vanilla cupcake with homemade buttercream frosting.

So this is for you Mom. Thanks for inspiring me to slow down and continue to pursue my dreams of baking in a greater way than I could have ever imagined.

Happy Mother’s Day to all Mom’s who have undoubtedly inspired your children in one way or another!

Stay Sweet and Stay Calm! The solution is only a cupcake away!

xoxo, Jill

Gourmet Marshmallows

Sweetly Softly Marshmallows!

Thank God it is Friday!!! I need the weekend like you wouldn’t believe.

Today I want to introduce you to one of my new Sponsors, Softly Sweetly: Gourmet Marshmallows. I was so excited that Rachael from Sweetly Softly wanted to sponsor my blog that I headed right over to her adorable Etsy shop and purchased some marshmallows to try. I chose the Peanut Butter Swirl marshmallows. Here’s what I thought:

So excited to see these in my mailbox!!

• Unbelievably fast delivery

 

• Adorable packaging – My 6 marshmallows were packages neatly together with a ribbon tied around them. Perfect for gift giving, except I didn’t plan on giving them away 🙂

 

• Huge portions! I got 6 Marshmallows and each square was at least an inch thick and an in wide. It was massive – perfect size for a quick little sweet treat!

 

• Delicious! I had never tried homemade flavored marshmallows before. Let me tell you – it was a bite of heaven on earth! So fluffy, and the swirls of peanut butter made it so much more than a regular marshmallow. These are not Jet-Puffs, I’ll tell you that.

My boyfriend had one, or two, and absolutely loved them too. I have a couple left in my fridge because I plan on dicing them up and using them as toppers on my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. Don’t you think that will be so cute and yummy!!

Who wouldn't love caramel filled w/ Marshmallow?

I am so happy to announce that Softly Sweetly is offering you guys an awesome coupon code! Use code CUPPYCAKE10 for 10% off her already incredible prices!

Here’s just a few of her incredibly delicious sounding treats:

Toasted Coconut

Triple Chocolate

Bacon Chipotle

Rocky Road

Orange

Caramel Covered!!

Stop over at Softly Sweetly and get your sweet fix for the weekend. Stay Sweet!

xoxo,

Jill

Comfort Food Cupcakes

Photo courtesy of weheartit.com

 

Happy Friday my sweets!

Today I decided that I am going to post any green, four-leaf clover, St.Patrick’s day posts until March! Lately I have felt like the department stores, preparing for the next holiday before the previous one is even over. Valentine’s Day just ended and we have a good amount of time before we celebrate with the Irish. So I’m going to take a break on holiday postings. Is that ok with you guys?

Today I want to share with you one of my all time favorite, comfort food cupcake recipes. I don’t know about you, but I have had a pretty long, fairly stressful week. So this cupcake comes just in time – for me at least.

Nothing says homemade better than a carrot cake cupcake with bits of nuts, raisins, and delicious spices. Top it off with rich, tart, cream cheese icing, and this gal is in cupcake heaven. So please enjoy this recipe and remember that when life gets a little hectic, Stay Calm, and Have a cupcake! Xoxo

Carrot Cake Cupcake

(I used Marthat Stewart’s recipe and adapted it just a tad)

Makes 12 cupcakes – 24 minis

Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup of rasins

 Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and eggs.
• Stir in baking powder, baking soda, allspice, and salt. Add flour; mix.
• Stir in carrots, raisins, and walnuts
• Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.

 Creamy Dreamy Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 packages of 8 oz. Cream Cheese
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tbs of vanilla extract
• 2 Sticks of unsalted Butter

Cream together cream cheese and butter – Mix on high speed up soft and well combined

Add the powder sugar one cup at a time – mixing thoroughly after each cup

Add in the vanilla and mix well

Beat on medium high speed until desired consistency is achieved.

ENJOY!!

So Yummy! I'm baking these tonight!

Stay Sweet!

Xoxo, Jill

Free Cupcakes!

Yup, you read that right…I am giving away free cupcakes! All you have to do is follow me on Twitter @ StayCalmCupcake.

When I get up to 50 followers, I will randomly select 2 of my followers and ship them some tasty cupcake samples free of charge! So easy, and so delicious!

Following me on twitter will you give you updates on sales, exclusive coupon codes for my etsy shop, links to my recipes and blog post, and so much more!

So what are you waiting for? Join in on the fun and enter to win some free cupcakes!

Happy Monday ~ Stay Sweet

xoxo, Jill

Fresh Berry Frosting

25 days til Valentine's Day !

Can you believe it is already the end of January?!? I do not enjoy how fast time is flying. Seems the older I get, the more I find myself questioning where the heck the time went!! It doesn’t help that many stores had Valentine’s decorations and candy on sale before Christmas was even over. I LOVE Valentine’s day – but they started pushing it a little early this year!

Speaking of , there are officially 25 days left until Valentine’s Day. Which means we all still have a decent amount of time to think about what we are going to get that special someone on the day that celebrates love! It also means that for the next 25 days, I have an awesome excuse to bake, decorate, and eat tons of girly pink cupcakes!

Today I want to share some Valentine Inspiration with you. Hopefully this will help you start thinking about the many SWEET ways we can celebrate Valeninte’s Day – starting with fresh Strawberry Frosting!

**The frosting in the pictures is my Strawberry Buttercream. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of my Fresh Strawberry Frosting. **

Fresh Strawberry Frosting

This yummy strawberry frosting is perfect for any chocolate, vanilla, or lemon cupcake. It is fresh, elegant, and taste amazing! The pink color and the fresh strawberries make it the perfect Valentine’s treat. This frosting is different from my Strawberry Buttercream, but just as easy and just as yummy! 

 Ingredients

1.    4 cups of fresh strawberries (frozen will work just as well, make sure you thaw them though)

2.    1 stick of room temperature butter

3.    8 oz of low-fat cream cheese

4.    ½ tsp of vanilla extract

5.    4 cups of powdered sugar

6.     1 cup of white sugar

7.     2 tbs of water Pink food coloring (optional)

Directions

• In a mixer on medium high speed with your paddle attachment, cream together the butter and cream cheese

• Slowly add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, making sure it is fully combined before adding the next one.

• Add the vanilla and mix on high for 3-5 minutes

• Dice up the strawberries in small cubes, put in a medium sauce pan

• Add 1 cup of white sugar and 2 tbs of water to the strawberries

• With a potato masher, mash the strawberries together with the sugar

• Heat on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.

• Let cool in the fridge until mixture thickens

• Add the cooled strawberry compote to the mixer and combine with the frosting (make sure your strawberries are completely cooled or you will ruin your frosting) Mix for 2 minutes.

• Add pink food coloring for a pinker frosting (optional)

XOXO

There you have it, yummy strawberry frosting! I like this frosting best on top of a chocolate cupcake- it’s a fun take on chocolate covered strawberries 🙂 After all, who doesn’t love strawberries and chocolate!

Enjoy the recipe and keep an eye out for a Valentine’s Giveaway – coming soon!!!

Xoxo Jill

*All photos are property of Stay Calm, Have a Cupcake. Photos by ABYoung Photography**

Coconut Pecan Frosting

Coconut Pecan Goodness!

Since I’m on this coconut kick, I decided to make German Chocolate cupcakes. And no German Chocolate cupcake is complete unless it has the traditional coconut pecan frosting. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and nutty that compliments the bitter chocolate cupcake so well.

This was my first time making this frosting, so I went to the trusted Martha Stewart cupcake book for her take on the frosting.

Here’s the recipe, with a few of my own little tweaks and notes:

Coconut Pecan Frosting

Makes enough for one 9-inch 3-layer cake (or 36 cupcakes!)

Ingredients

• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
• 1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar  (I used dark brown for a richer flavor and really liked the result!)
• 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and brought to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 2/3 cups (7 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut (Make sure you chop up the coconut. Sometimes the strings in the bag are way too long and makes for messy eating)
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (I did not toast mine, bc I think it gives a very strong pecan flavor that over powers the frosting – but it’s a matter of preference)

Directions

1. Combine egg yolks, evaporated milk, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add butter, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick, about 10 minutes. (Should be the consistency of pudding)
2.  Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl.
3. Stir in vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans. Let cool completely. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before using.

Enjoy this frosting on top of any chocolate dessert! Stay Sweet xoxo

Coconut Cream Cupckes

A perfect little getaway!

Coconut is the type of food that people either LOVE or HATE! I fall on the LOVE side of the argument. I love everything about coconut, from the texture, to the flavor, to the smell. I can’t get enough of it. If you are like me, then this cupcake is the perfect way to indulge in your coconut obsession. A moist coconut cupcake filled with milky coconut cream, and topped with vanilla buttercream and toasted coconut flakes. Divine!

Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Makes 2 dozen

• 3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 8 large egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.

With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside.

In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Do not overbeat. Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in remaining egg-white mixture; stir in shredded coconut.

Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake 20-23 until the cupcakes are golden brown.

Coconut Cream Filling

5 tablespoons of heavy cream

1 can of cream of coconut – Blend well so the large coconut bits are dissolved

½ cup of sweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup of cool whip

½ cup of cream cheese

1. In a blender, mix the cream of coconut to get rid of large coconut chunks
2. In a mixer, beat together the cream cheese, cool whip, and cream of coconut
3. Add to the mixer 5 tbs of heavy cream – beat until you get it to the desired consistency. You want it thick, but not too stiff.
4. Add is the coconut flake and beat until well mixed.
5. Put your filling in a piping bag and fill each cupcake with this yummy coconut cream

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. 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. Frosting should be light and fluffy.

For toasted Coconut Flakes, simply heat your oven to 350, spread the sweetened coconut flakes out evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on them though, they burn quickly! Use the toasted flakes to top your delicious cupcakes.

Share with some friends and enjoy!

Stay Sweet, xoxo

Jill

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

After a very long, and much needed break, I am back! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday and enjoyed some marvelous New Year’s parties and treats. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some lighter sweets. I have had so much chocolate in the past 14 days that I’m starting to look like I belong in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory!

Today’s cupcake recipe is one that I absolutely adore! It’s a combination of two yummy treats: 1) Lemon Meringue pie 2) Cupcakes!

This Lemon Meringue cupcake is great for a light dessert or an afternoon snack. Don’t be intimidated by the meringue, it’s pretty easy!

Lemon Cake

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1 cup whole milk, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Lemon Custard Filling

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter

In a large saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Mix well. Beat the egg yolks and water together, then whisk into sugar mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and butter. Cover with plastic wrap until completely cooled.

Meringue Topping

• 4 egg whites
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• Pinch salt

Cupcake Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line 30 cupcake pan cups with paper liners.

• Sift the self-rising flour and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, beat the unsalted butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating each egg until incorporated before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

• Gently beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture, one third at a time, alternating with half the milk and half the lemon juice after each of the first 2 additions of flour. Beat until just combined; do not over mix.

• Fill the prepared cupcake liners with batter 3/4 full, and bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing them to finish cooling on a rack.

• Fill a piping bag with the lemon custard. Fill the center of each cupcake with the custard. The easiest way to do this is to use an apple corer to remove a portion of the cupcake center.

Meringue Directions

• In a medium bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. In a second bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the sugar mixture, a little at a time, to the egg whites, beating between additions. Continue to beat until the suagr dissolves. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag. Pipe the meringue in peaks onto each cupcake.  Torch the meringue to give it’s golden color –  or bake for 10  minutes at 350 degrees.

Let cool and enjoy!

Till next time, stay sweet. xoxo

Candy-Cane Cupcakes!

Chocolate Candy Cane Cupcake

Can  you believe that Thanksgiving is next week?!?! I can’t!

I feel like just last month I was working on a summer inspired  strawberry lemonade cupcake recipe . Boy how time flies! Today my post is another Holiday inspired recipe. It’s a yummy recipe to top your favorite  chocolate, vanilla, or white cake cupcakes with. Peppermint Twist! Yum!

Peppermint Twist butter-cream is a different type of mint then  my Green Mint Frosting (Recipe Here ) Peppermint Twist tastes just like candy canes!!

Enjoy the recipe. Stay Sweet xoxo

Peppermint Twist Buttercream

 

Peppermint Twist Cupcakes

• 1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
• 1 stick salted butter (softened)
• 1/2 pkg. french vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract (maybe a little bit more depending on how much mint flavor you like..I like a lot)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Red food coloring

Set your mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until smooth and silky. Turn the speed to low and add the pudding mix, when it is all incorporated, slowly add the cream, a little at a time. When fully incorporated bring speed up to high and beat for 5-7 minutes. Turn speed back down to low and add peppermint extract and powdered sugar by Tbsp.  Beat again at high speed for a good 5 minutes to ensure creaminess.

If you don’t want red stripes, crunch up some candy canes and sprinkle them on the top of your cupcake!

To get the red stripes in your frosting, draw three (3) red food coloring lines inside your piping bag. Put the frosting in the piping bag and begin to pipe onto your cupcakes. Voila…red and white frosting that is as delicious as it is beautiful!!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Sugar and Spice and Oh So Nice!!

Pumpkin Spice is a close second to Chocolate Mint when it comes to my favorite holiday flavors. I had some free time this weekend so I decided to experiment with a pumpkin spice cupcake/muffin recipe. I can’t lie – I ate 3 before I even frosted them!

The great thing about Pumpkin is that anything you bake with it comes out so moist! That means, its perfect for cupcake making! Below is the recipe I used for really yummy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes. I don’t know what I loved more, the honey cinnamon icing or the moist cake!  If you leave the icing off though, they are more like muffins, perfect for breakfast on the go. With or without frosting, these baby’s are YUMMY!!

Enjoy, xoxo

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes - Without Frosting

Honey Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

(Adapted a smidgen from Martha Stewart’s recipe.)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
• 1 tsp. cinnamon (I went a little over and liked it!)
• 2.5 tbsp. honey
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1-2 tbsp. milk

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Takes about 2 minutes on Medium High.
2. Add the honey and cinnamon, and gradually add the powdered sugar one cup at a time.
3. Add the milk and more powdered sugar (if needed) until you get your desired consistency.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 2-1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin pie filling (this is KEY – we want Libby’s pumpkin pie filling, not the regular canned pumpkin)
• 2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and mix well.

Combine the flour, pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda – Add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes (or wait 2 minutes and eat one anyway, because honestly they smell far too good to resist!)

Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo with frosting on the cupcake. I forgot!!