Don't know if any of you out there ever experiment with things - cooking, hairstyles, accents, etc. For me, obviously, it's cupcakes. If you do experiment, you probably know the pride of a successful venture on the first try, the annoyance of having to try something two or three times to get it just right, or the feeling of utter failure at having to give up on it entirely (had to do this with a chili mango lime cupcake). This is my process as I play with cupcake flavors.
I recently tried out a pink grapefruit and honey cupcake that I've been thinking about for some time. I am about to start on my third test run. In the first attempt I used a vanilla cake base and added fresh grapefruit flavor to it. The flavor was delicious. The texture? Not horrible, but not my fav. In the second trial I used a honey cake base with the same fresh grapefruit flavor. The texture was great. The flavor? Too much honey. For the third attempt I am bringing the two together in a "mostly sugar with a little honey" cake. Hoping for a perfect balance of honey and grapefruit flavors brought together with the texture that I love.
P.S. Most of you probably already know this, but I've opened up my very own cupcake bakery in Orange County. Visit my website: http://loverbeesbakeshoppe.com/
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Lightening Up
I'm lightening up - and by that I don't mean losing weight (I wish) or being more laid back. I'm lightening up my frostings a bit. You may remember my mentioning that I love thick, dense frostings (which I do), but as my husband (and the grand majority of people in this world) do not, I've been practicing making my frostings creamier and fluffier.
Here are the two tricks I have been satisfied with the most:
Tip #1: Use more milk/cream. I've added about 2 Tbsp. of milk/cream to my normal frosting recipes. The frosting ends up a little looser but far more pipable. (In the past I've often busted open my frosting bag trying to pipe too thick a frosting)
Tip #2: Add more butter. This type of adjustment actually changes a frosting recipe all together. You'll probably need to omit any milk/cream called for in the recipe. I usually double the butter and use my whipping attachment instead of my beater. A lot of air gets whipped into the butter creating a lighter and fluffier texture that amazingly enough usually requires less powdered sugar. More butter or more sugar? You pick your poison. :)
Here are the two tricks I have been satisfied with the most:
Tip #1: Use more milk/cream. I've added about 2 Tbsp. of milk/cream to my normal frosting recipes. The frosting ends up a little looser but far more pipable. (In the past I've often busted open my frosting bag trying to pipe too thick a frosting)
Tip #2: Add more butter. This type of adjustment actually changes a frosting recipe all together. You'll probably need to omit any milk/cream called for in the recipe. I usually double the butter and use my whipping attachment instead of my beater. A lot of air gets whipped into the butter creating a lighter and fluffier texture that amazingly enough usually requires less powdered sugar. More butter or more sugar? You pick your poison. :)
Monday, December 17, 2012
Thanksgiving Cupcakes
Just wanted to share some Thanksgiving cupcakes. These were for gifting and celebrating.
Vegan Streuseled Spice Cake - spice cake topped with a brown sugar pecan streusel, frosted with a creamy white frosting and sprinkled with nutmeg
German Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Beer Frosting topped with chocolate jimmies
Lemon Cranberry Cupcake - vanilla cake filled with cranberry sauce, frosted with lemon cream cheese frosting and topped with a sugared cranberry
Chocolate Chip Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting topped with mini chocolate chips
Vegan Streuseled Spice Cake - spice cake topped with a brown sugar pecan streusel, frosted with a creamy white frosting and sprinkled with nutmeg
German Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Beer Frosting topped with chocolate jimmies
Lemon Cranberry Cupcake - vanilla cake filled with cranberry sauce, frosted with lemon cream cheese frosting and topped with a sugared cranberry
Chocolate Chip Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting topped with mini chocolate chips
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Apple Picking & A Baby Shower
I recently went apple picking with my little family up in Oak Glen. We came home with two huge bags of apples. Needless to say I have been baking like a mad woman. I decided to make fresh apple cupcakes for a friend's upcoming baby shower.
I used Martha Stewart's apple cupcake recipe. It's a good one - lots of autumn spice. I was thinking of going with a caramel frosting even though Martha recommended cream cheese. I've been doing a lot of cream cheese frosting lately and am pretty tired of it; but after I tasted the cake there was nothing that would compliment it better than a cream cheese frosting, so I bit the bullet. I used BHG's recipe instead of Martha's (Sorry Martha). BHG adds an additional teaspoon of vanilla and an extra cup or two of powdered sugar. I like the flavor and consistency of this recipe and I tend to stick with what I like.
The shower theme was based on Disney/Pixar's Up. I decorated the cakes with a fondant balloon and piped in the string. They turned out pretty cute.
I've already turned most of the apples into the following: 5 pies, 2 breads, 2 batches of cupcakes and 1 batch of apple butter.
I have one more pie to make for my hubby, some apply sorbet for my toddler and maybe some cider.
I used Martha Stewart's apple cupcake recipe. It's a good one - lots of autumn spice. I was thinking of going with a caramel frosting even though Martha recommended cream cheese. I've been doing a lot of cream cheese frosting lately and am pretty tired of it; but after I tasted the cake there was nothing that would compliment it better than a cream cheese frosting, so I bit the bullet. I used BHG's recipe instead of Martha's (Sorry Martha). BHG adds an additional teaspoon of vanilla and an extra cup or two of powdered sugar. I like the flavor and consistency of this recipe and I tend to stick with what I like.
The shower theme was based on Disney/Pixar's Up. I decorated the cakes with a fondant balloon and piped in the string. They turned out pretty cute.
I've already turned most of the apples into the following: 5 pies, 2 breads, 2 batches of cupcakes and 1 batch of apple butter.
I have one more pie to make for my hubby, some apply sorbet for my toddler and maybe some cider.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Many Cakes Later
I'm finally getting around to blogging. Although I have slowed down in writing I have not slowed down in baking. I neglected to take pictures of all of my recent ventures - pure laziness.
Here is a list of what I have made since my last posting:
I did take photos of a few of the cakes. The Chocolate Bourbon Salted Caramel cupcakes were sublime. You could taste the bourbon as it was in the cake and in the caramel, but it was not overpowering in the slightest. Very tasty. Hard to eat just one.
The Pumpkin cupcakes and Pumpkin Pop Tart cupcakes are pictured together. My hubby loved the pumpkin and I loved the pop tart ones. Pumpkin pie flavored Pop Tarts are tossed into a brown sugar cupcake batter. Absolutely fabulous. I love all things brown sugar so this recipe is right up my alley. I think I'll use it as a base for all kinds of creations.
In other news (well actually, in very related news), my hubby got me a baking pantry. We needed extra storage space anyway and part of the cabinet we purchased is devoted to my baking gear, ingredients and other essentials. It's awesome. Everything at my fingertips in one place. I don't have to go hunting in several cabinets for what I need anymore. Yes, I am spoiled.
Here is a list of what I have made since my last posting:
- Coffee and Donuts cupcakes - try this recipe - it's fantastic
- Chocolate cupcakes decorated as monkey faces for Ezra's birthday
- Chocolate Bourbon Salted Caramel cupcakes from BHG - very good
- Italian Cream Cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting - not what I expected - just okay
- Pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting from the Neely's - not my fav.
- Pumpkin Pie Pop Tart cupcakes - you have to try these too
I did take photos of a few of the cakes. The Chocolate Bourbon Salted Caramel cupcakes were sublime. You could taste the bourbon as it was in the cake and in the caramel, but it was not overpowering in the slightest. Very tasty. Hard to eat just one.
The Pumpkin cupcakes and Pumpkin Pop Tart cupcakes are pictured together. My hubby loved the pumpkin and I loved the pop tart ones. Pumpkin pie flavored Pop Tarts are tossed into a brown sugar cupcake batter. Absolutely fabulous. I love all things brown sugar so this recipe is right up my alley. I think I'll use it as a base for all kinds of creations.
In other news (well actually, in very related news), my hubby got me a baking pantry. We needed extra storage space anyway and part of the cabinet we purchased is devoted to my baking gear, ingredients and other essentials. It's awesome. Everything at my fingertips in one place. I don't have to go hunting in several cabinets for what I need anymore. Yes, I am spoiled.
Friday, September 21, 2012
A Baby Shower
I got to make cupcakes for a friend's baby shower this past weekend. It was so fun to make something so cute. I went with an orange creamsicle cupcake from BHG. I liked the recipe, but found myself wanting a little more creamy or milky flavor. The recipe calls for a cream cheese frosting with a couple of teaspoons of orange gelatin mix and a teaspoon of orange zest added to it. It was just a little too tangy for me, but still good and oh so enjoyable.
The shower was a Noah's ark theme so I baked my cupcakes in baby animal printed baking cups. I used a french tip to pipe my frosting and covered each cake with white sprinkles. I finished the cupcakes with fondant baby animals. My fondant was too thick, but I was worried about the animals staying in place if I made them too thin. I also happen to really like fondant - surprise, surprise.
The shower was a Noah's ark theme so I baked my cupcakes in baby animal printed baking cups. I used a french tip to pipe my frosting and covered each cake with white sprinkles. I finished the cupcakes with fondant baby animals. My fondant was too thick, but I was worried about the animals staying in place if I made them too thin. I also happen to really like fondant - surprise, surprise.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
A Special Project
My husband's aunt turned 80 years beautiful this month. Guess what I brought to the party?
My sister-in-law and I each brought a batch of cupcakes for the guests. Hers were great - red velvet with cream cheese frosting and what I think might have been a strawberry cheesecake cupcake (I didn't get to taste that one). I had heard from our aunt that maple and cream cheese are her favorite flavors. I tackled the maple.
What I ended up with was a walnut cinnamon cake filled with a maple pie filling, frosted with a maple almond butter frosting, topped with lightly toasted walnuts and a fondant maple leaf. Here's the long road that got me to that end.
I practiced several recipes in the two or three weeks leading up to the party. I tested out at least four cake recipes and four frosting recipes. I also made a maple filling using a recipe that fills a maple tart from BHG's recent Fall Baking issue. This filing is fabulous. I want to try making the tart.
Cakes:
One of the things I realized as I tested out recipes was that I kept looking for the maple flavor you find in a maple doughnut. The recipes using pure maple syrup instead of maple flavoring are a whole different ball game. I got over my desire for the fake flavor that I know and love and went with recipes using pure maple syrup. They were just better recipes. Here is one of my test batches. I decorated with a brown sugar cookie in the shape of a maple leaf.
So here's where the trouble starts: when I went to use my carefully chosen recipes for the big day, my buttercream didn't turn out. The only thing I did differently was double the recipe. I don't know what happened. It just wasn't my day I guess. The frosting was way too loose and wouldn't firm up for anything.
In a panic, and after a few tears, I pulled out the other frostings I had practiced on earlier that week. I had them in the freezer. I used both the brown sugar maple frosting and the one I made up out of my filling. I had also purchased some gold sugar for dusting and made fondant maple leafs to decorate. Here are the finished cakes.
They were so beautiful; that's why what happened next was so heartbreaking. We transported the cupcakes about 5 or 6 hours and when we went to put them in my mother-in-law's freezer for the next day we found that the frostings had melted. The cupcakes were globby messes.
There I was away from kitchen and all of my tools with my finished product in shambles. It was hard to sleep that night. The next day I went to four different stores looking for replacement frosting and decorating ingredients. I was praying that I would be able to salvage the cakes. I ended up buying extra baking cups in case I had to transfer the cakes to cups that weren't covered with melty frosting, plastic piping tips, a bag of walnuts, and for the frosting, maple almond butter, maple flavoring, butter and powdered sugar. I was also hoping to salvage my fondant maple leaves.
When I got back to my mother-in-law's house I painstakingly scraped off all of the melty frosting - even from the pretty baking cups. I also cleaned the fondant leaves. I was able to salvage it all. Whew!
I lightly toasted my walnuts and went to work on my frosting. Here is the recipe I made up:
Maple Almond Butter Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup maple almond butter
1/2 tsp maple flavoring
4 cups powdered sugar
1 - 2 tbsp milk or cream
I ended up liking this frosting more than Martha Stewart's. Here's my finished cupcakes again.
They were delicious. I will definitely do this recipe again. I'll take a shorter route next time though.
My sister-in-law and I each brought a batch of cupcakes for the guests. Hers were great - red velvet with cream cheese frosting and what I think might have been a strawberry cheesecake cupcake (I didn't get to taste that one). I had heard from our aunt that maple and cream cheese are her favorite flavors. I tackled the maple.
What I ended up with was a walnut cinnamon cake filled with a maple pie filling, frosted with a maple almond butter frosting, topped with lightly toasted walnuts and a fondant maple leaf. Here's the long road that got me to that end.
I practiced several recipes in the two or three weeks leading up to the party. I tested out at least four cake recipes and four frosting recipes. I also made a maple filling using a recipe that fills a maple tart from BHG's recent Fall Baking issue. This filing is fabulous. I want to try making the tart.
Cakes:
- Butter cake - too dense and dry
- Doctored yellow cake mix - too sweet
- Walnut cake made with crushed walnuts - too whole wheat tasting
- Martha Stewart's Walnut cake - the winner!
- Maple cream cheese frosting - too loose
- Brown sugar maple frosting - too brown sugary
- Frosting using my recipe for maple filling as the base - not as maple tasting as I wanted
- Maple French buttercream from Martha Stewart - the winner again! Go Martha!
One of the things I realized as I tested out recipes was that I kept looking for the maple flavor you find in a maple doughnut. The recipes using pure maple syrup instead of maple flavoring are a whole different ball game. I got over my desire for the fake flavor that I know and love and went with recipes using pure maple syrup. They were just better recipes. Here is one of my test batches. I decorated with a brown sugar cookie in the shape of a maple leaf.
So here's where the trouble starts: when I went to use my carefully chosen recipes for the big day, my buttercream didn't turn out. The only thing I did differently was double the recipe. I don't know what happened. It just wasn't my day I guess. The frosting was way too loose and wouldn't firm up for anything.
In a panic, and after a few tears, I pulled out the other frostings I had practiced on earlier that week. I had them in the freezer. I used both the brown sugar maple frosting and the one I made up out of my filling. I had also purchased some gold sugar for dusting and made fondant maple leafs to decorate. Here are the finished cakes.
They were so beautiful; that's why what happened next was so heartbreaking. We transported the cupcakes about 5 or 6 hours and when we went to put them in my mother-in-law's freezer for the next day we found that the frostings had melted. The cupcakes were globby messes.
There I was away from kitchen and all of my tools with my finished product in shambles. It was hard to sleep that night. The next day I went to four different stores looking for replacement frosting and decorating ingredients. I was praying that I would be able to salvage the cakes. I ended up buying extra baking cups in case I had to transfer the cakes to cups that weren't covered with melty frosting, plastic piping tips, a bag of walnuts, and for the frosting, maple almond butter, maple flavoring, butter and powdered sugar. I was also hoping to salvage my fondant maple leaves.
When I got back to my mother-in-law's house I painstakingly scraped off all of the melty frosting - even from the pretty baking cups. I also cleaned the fondant leaves. I was able to salvage it all. Whew!
I lightly toasted my walnuts and went to work on my frosting. Here is the recipe I made up:
Maple Almond Butter Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup maple almond butter
1/2 tsp maple flavoring
4 cups powdered sugar
1 - 2 tbsp milk or cream
I ended up liking this frosting more than Martha Stewart's. Here's my finished cupcakes again.
They were delicious. I will definitely do this recipe again. I'll take a shorter route next time though.
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