I ain’t no genius & I’m definitely not Florian Bellanger (thank cupcakes!). I’m no June Cleaver and I am most likely not the person you think of when “perfect” comes to mind. But I have failed a few times, and I have made many mistakes and with most of them I’ve managed to figure out the how/why. Again- don’t think I’m being cocky here, not at all. I just hope my basic little down-home, practical knowledge can help someone else out there. So I decided to do a little Q&A on my Facebook page.

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Q: Neikya Davis- I was wondering if cupcake batters should be different from cake batters. I’ve made hundreds of cakes and never have any baking problems. But whenever I try to make cupcakes, I always have issues with the cupcakes rising. And for that reason, I HATE making cupcakes. Thanks!

A: Well Neikya, I don’t think that there’s a difference in the batters themselves. I say that because most cupcake recipes can be adapted into making cakes and vice versa. I have noticed most cake recipes when used for cupcakes don’t rise quite as well as cupcake recipes alone, though. If your trouble is with the cupcakes rising but sinking in the middle during or after baking, then that could be a few things: ingredients aren’t “fresh” enough, off-brand butter or oil (as silly as it sounds, there is a serious fat difference in “cheap” butter & good quality butter), the wrong size eggs or the fact that the eggs/butter are too cold. It could also have to do with oven temperature. If that isn’t the problem, or the factors I listed definitely aren’t the problem, then it could be your baking powder or baking soda is old. It loses it’s power after a certain period of time and won’t rise. The reason you may not have a problem with the cakes is that it’s a larger surface area for one, and two they don’t have to rise as much as a cupcake does. And if that doesn’t sound like it’s the problem, maybe you’re over-beating your butter? Are you at a higher/lower altitude? Is your oven gas or electric? Is it humid or dry out? All those factors can also influence your baking. I hope that helped! If not, I suggest The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum. She answers tons of scientific questions and gives reasons for everything.

Q: Cindy Wright- I have never had good luck making carrot cake cupcakes. Do you a good recipe? I usually bake from scratch.

A: I’ve had the same exact problem. I can’t find a good carrot cake or carrot cupcake recipe. I sorta gave up. That said, I heard this one is to die for. If you try it, please let me know how it worked out for you!

Q: Melanie Bishop- I have tried to make cupcakes with peanut butter cups or kisses in the middle. However, no matter if the candy is room temp, frozen, or just barely covered with cake batter, the candy inevitably sinks to the bottom of the cupcake. Any tips to prevent this?

A: Melanie, I’ve had this problem, but mainly with chocolate chips. I find it happens when the batter is very liquidy. I have two solutions you can try: one, coat the candies in flour first. Just put a tablespoon in a bowl and toss ‘em in it, then stick ‘em in. Two, bake the cupcakes halfway and try putting them in then. It will be tricky, and don’t burn yourself. Good luck & please let me know if it works!

Q: Dee Kozarov- I am always excited when I see red velvet cupcakes but then I taste one and the cake is always dry and the cream cheese frosting always taste cheap. Do you have any suggestions on better cake and icing?

A: When a cupcake is dry, it’s usually because it was over-beaten or there isn’t enough fat in it. Red velvet in particular can be tricky, I don’t know why. I’ve tried some duds, let me tell you. But I have found an excellent red velvet recipe that I suggest you try. As far as the icing, I hate cream cheese frosting so I recommend either a vanilla bean cream cheese frosting or a regular vanilla frosting.

Q: Jill Ritenour Wilch- I have problems with my cupcakes rising like I would like them to as well. They prefer to spread instead of rise. Anyone else find they do not fill out the bottoms of the liners either? Mine always seem a bit brown and loose.

A: Jill, you may be overfilling the cups. Or not mixing them thoroughly, and the ingredients aren’t fully incorporated. If you could, send me a photo some time. I could help better if I see exactly what you mean about the bottoms. Until then, make sure your ingredients are room temperature, get an oven thermometer if you don’t have one, make sure you mix your ingredients thoroughly but don’t overbeat them, and you fill the cups no more than halfway. Halfway is the standard, although some recipes call for three-fourths or two-thirds, to be on the safe side I usually do halfway. Could it also be that the recipe calls for either not enough/too much flour or sugar and not enough baking powder? Does it happen with all your cupcakes or just specific ones? Do they use butter, shortening or oil? Those can be factors as well.

Q: Jocelyn Lua- I was wondering if you have any way of telling if your cupcakes are gonna turn out soft & moist, or otherwise. Cos I have been baking them for some time now, but i could never know how they are going to turn out until they finish baking (even if i might have used the recipe before). And it makes me nervous as hell, cos I’ll really hate to waste food. =x

A: I don’t really think there’s a way to tell that 100% from the batter, Jocelyn. However I have found that the thicker the batter, the heavier & denser the cupcake and the more liquidy the batter the more moist and “squishy” the cupcake. However, I’ve made some batters that were quite thick like cookie dough, and I’ve gotten some lovely cakes. Again, the weather, the humidity, your oven, and the ingredients all make a difference as to how exactly a cupcake is going to turn out.

Q: Pola Sanchez-Baker- Is there any way to save a whipped cream that’s been whipped too long? It becomes butter-like and… well, just too thick for frosting.

A: In a word, Pola, no. Sorry. Once it’s been whipped that long, it’s beyond the “cream” stage and into the butter stage. It’s best to keep going, add a little salt, and make homemade butter so the whole thing isn’t a loss. That’s what I’d do, anyway. I’d make lemons out of lemonade & use it to make a homemade compound butter. Maybe with some sauteed garlic/parsley, some basil & chopped sundried tomatoes or just with some cilantro. Then I’d wrap it in waxed paper, refrigerate it (or freeze it) and use it for cooking or topping bread later on. Just don’t keep it frozen for longer than 7 or 8 months.

Q: Tina Becker- Every once in a while when I bake cupcakes from scratch, I notice they have a raw flour taste. It only happens now and then…is it just a “bad recipe” or something that I might be doing?

A: There are a lot of reasons it could be. Yes, it could be a bad recipe. If it always happens with just that particular recipe and no others, then toss it, it sucks. It could also be that the flour isn’t being incorporated well enough so it’s not “cooking.” Make sure you scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl during the mixing to get everything all up in there. Another reason could be the brand of flour has a very strong flavor; although I’ve tried many brands myself and never had that issue, it could very well be. So if you switch brands a lot and notice it only with one brand- stop using it. There could also be too much flour in the recipe, or you’re using all-purpose when you need to use cake flour. And yet another reason could be that the flour is old and therefore stale. If you don’t bake a lot and have the flour in the house for a long time, it’ll turn. Finally, are you using the right amount of salt & extract? Both of those things add flavor (and salt also helps the rising if you’re using baking powder, but that’s another unrelated issue), and without them you’ll definitely end up with a not very delicious baked good. I hope one of these can help you! Happy baking!

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If you have any questions yourself, feel free to ask me on Twitter or on Facebook. And as always, you can totally e-mail me your questions any time.

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Each holiday I post a compilation of my favorite (or the best) cupcake or dessert items that are pertinent to said holiday; I also throw in links to other things like snacks or cookies or even meals that relate as well. I started doing it last Halloween (2010). Afterwards, I’d gotten good feedback from people who said it helps them come up with ideas without having to search too much, so I kept it up. The rest is history, as they say.

So here you are. A convenient little list of pretty cakes (& other things listed at the bottom) that are perfect for spring/Easter/Passover/whatever you celebrate. I celebrate chocolate bunnies, myself. Anyway, click on each image & you’ll be brought to the recipe. Enjoy!
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And there’s more than this that I haven’t pictured here, both for the sake of time & space. If you’re interested in them, I’m listing them below. I hope this helps you guys out with some ideas! And don’t forget- there’s plenty more to come in the next week or two.

Chocolate fudge Easter egg cake pops

Chocolate hi-hat cupcakes with banana-flavored Italian meringue

Sweet noodle kugel

Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate (shape ‘em like bunnies!)

Thumbprint cookies
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Cherry filled low-sugar cupcakes
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Carrot cupcakes with lavender-colored cream cheese frosting

Coconut macaroons & chocolate-covered coconut macaroons

Alfajores with dulce de leche filling

At least a little bit. Okay, in New York that’s rarely true. Last year we definitely had snow in March. But it’s still a nice thought, especially since this winter has been so mild. I’m hoping it stays that way & we have an quick spring. In the meantime… there’s St. Patrick’s Day!

Saint Patrick’s Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig; Ulster-Scots: Saunt Petherick’s Day)^[2] is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick (c. AD 387–461), the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.^[1] It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),^[3] the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official feast day in the early 17th century, and has gradually become a secular celebration of Irish culture in general.^[4]

The day is generally characterised by the attendance of church services,^[4][5] wearing of green attire (especially shamrocks),^[6] and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol,^[6][7][8] which is often proscribed during the rest of the season.^[4][6][7][8]

Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,^[9] Northern Ireland,^[10] Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand, among others. Today, St. Patrick’s Day is probably the most widely celebrated saints day in the world.^[11]

So we celebrate by eating a lot of green-colored confections. And Irish soda bread. And cake. And muffins. And beer. Shit, even if I wasn’t Irish… I can get down with a celebration like that.

So every holiday I do these compilation, or “Best Of” posts, where I link to all my previous cupcake/cookie/muffin/etc ideas. That way, they’re all in one place & it makes it easy for you to quickly find ideas early on. Then I just continue with my holiday-themed posts, and I add those on to the compilation the next year, and so on. Does that make any sense? I don’t know. Either way, here we go. The 2012 Best Of St. Patrick’s Day post! Click each image to view the original post & recipe.

And I’ll be back soon with some new(ish) ideas!

This is a staple around here, from right after Valentine’s Day until almost April. An authentic recipe from Ireland, it’s a sweeter version of the regular Irish soda bread. Jay can eat an entire loaf himself, so if you make it I suggest making two at a time. I guarantee you you’ll love it.

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This is a new favorite; I made these last year & they immediately became a much-requested item. The maple & Jameson frosting is so spectacular you can’t use it on anything but a vanilla cupcake, or else you’ll lose the amazingness.

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Another favorite: Bailey’s Irish cream cupcakes. Bailey’s in the cake, Bailey’s in the frosting. Too good.

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Irish soda bread muffins with caraway seeds. For those of you who like your Irish soda bread a little more portable, or portion-friendly.

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Green velvet cupcakes with mini-shamrock “chocolates”! How absolutely perfect are these? Crazy perfect.

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Other than the color, they have nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day. But they’re cute.

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Like the ones above, they have nothing to do with St. Patty’s Day, except for the color (& the green coconut, which I did because it reminded me of the green grass Ireland is known for), but boy are they damn good. DAMN GOOD I SAY.

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Okay now these were good, too. Made with Guinness stout… how could you go wrong? They taste like an incredibly rich chocolate cupcake, with just a hint of Guinness. Not overpowering at all.

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And here are just a few more ideas, none of which are particularly St. Patty’s related but all are 100% easily adapted for use on March 17th.

Black & Tan Irish macaroni & cheese

Guinness Stout Shepherd’s pie

Quick ‘n’ easy Shepherd’s pie

Linzer cookies (use shamrock-shaped cutters & mint jelly or kiwi jelly/jam filling to make them more appropriate)

Chocolate whoopie pies with mint filling & chocolate ganache (make the filling green instead of pink!)

Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate (use shamrock cookie cutters, & dip them in white chocolate & shamrock sprinkles)

Mint jelly

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Just as one little added tidbit (droppin’ some knowledge on ya, as always)…

Soda bread first appeared in Ireland during the 1800′s, when the use of baking soda as a leavening agent was introduced. Baking was done in the Irish home. They had little time to bake and ingredients were often at a premium. Soda breads contained little more than flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt. Buttermilk was used because it was often leftover from the butter making process. Soda bread was served warm from the oven with a Lashing of Irish butter. Soda bread caught on quickly and soon became a staple of the Irish diet still popular in Ireland and in many parts of the world today.

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‘Tis the season of hearts. It seems as if everywhere I’ve gone since shortly after New Years’ Day, I saw hearts & chocolate hearts & heart-shaped lights & heart-shaped boxes… it’s a good thing I love Valentine’s Day (& the color pink) or else I’d get homicidal. But I do love it all. See, people have this idea about me that because of appearances or my general likes/dislikes that I’m going to be this angry person who hates this terrible “Hallmark holiday.” In reality, that’s far from the truth. I love any & all excuses to cook & bake & decorate with all my vintage stuff, not to mention the fact that the color scheme for this one is kinda delicious. Anyway, it’s February 1st, and that means there are just 2 weeks until Valentine’s Day. Yup, just 2 measly weeks to fit in all the hearts, lace, red & pink that you can stand, then shove it down your throats until February 15th, and then I’ll stop.

So until the 15th of February… suck it up. Even the biggest anti-Valentine’s Day person (if that’s you, you’ll want to make these cupcakes then) can enjoy a double-layer cherry-on-top cupcake, or cookie, or whoopie pie, or cake pop, or some risotto made with red wine. Last year I did a round-up of my favorite cupcakes, too, but of course there are more to include now. So here’s the start of my Valentine’s Day Fairy Tale… just a few ideas to get you in the mood, so to speak. Click each picture & you’ll be magically transported to the recipe!

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If you’re going to go the Fairy Tale route this Valentine’s, Black Forest cupcakes are especially perfect, because Snow White originated in & was said to be written about the Black Forest in Germany. All that fairy tale stuff is what Valentine’s Day is made of, isn’t it? All you need is some pretty pink cupcakes with a cherry on top, a fancy dress & some birds tying ribbons in your hair & you’re ready. Some of us may be attracted to the Maleficent’s instead of the princesses, but that doesn’t mean we can’t like the color pink, or Valentine’s Day, or cupcakes. Sometimes the harder you try to portray yourself, the more anti-everything you say you are (even if it’s genuine), the more people think “yeah right”, & laugh at you. There’s no harm in liking things. So fucking lighten up a bit. And I hate everything, so take it from me.

On that note, I’ll end this post. But first you should also check out some of these recipes; while not all were specifically made for/are Valentine’s Day related, they can be adapted quite well:

Heart-shaped shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate

Chocolate whoopie pies with mint filling & a chocolate ganache

Double-layer chocolate & vanilla cupcakes

Red velvet cupcakes (always good for Valentine’s Day)

Anti-Valentine’s Day cupcakes of darkness (my cupcaking skills were immature back then)

Thumbprint cookies (use a red-colored jam or jelly)

Double chocolate pudding

Peppermint bark (includes ideas for making it “Valentine-y”)…

The best cocoa brownies (ever!)
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I’d say, “The End” but I’m afraid this is just the beginning of the Valentine’s-themed fun. Me & Lola are excited to get in as many rouge-colored desserts & condiments as we can for you guys, so stay tuned!

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No recipes today, just pictures. Those are my grandparents, above, with my uncle as a little boy. How A Christmas Story is that picture!? All he needs is a Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, carbine-action & a thing that tells time. Although he seems pretty into that gun he’s got.

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And that’s my mom as a little girl, with the first artificial tree my grandfather bought. My grandma hated it, they only used it twice. But they did put up like 4 trees… so it was no great loss.

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And these. These are my Christmas cupcakes this year… little winter wonderlands on top of some rich, chocolaty cupcakes. I thought they were so serene looking with their snowy landscapes.

I also wanted to wish all my “fans” & Twitter followers & readers the happiest & healthiest holiday possible. You’re all really important to me, I’ve met so many wonderful and amazing people through this blog and having this outlet and the support & kind comments I’ve received from people has helped me get through a difficult holiday season. I thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy what I have to say in the coming new year.

So on that note, I hope you & yours have a very happy, healthy holiday season. I’ll see you after Christmas, punks.

Credits:

· Deer toppers & tree toppers from Layer Cake Shop

· Edible clear glitter from Divine Baking Supplies

· Red foil liners from Sweet Cuppin’ Cakes Bakery & Cupcakery Supply

· Cupcake boxes from Bake-A-Box

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Sometimes I just need to make a logo, even if it’s for nothing. Sorry. Involuntary graphic-designer twitch.

Anyway I’ve been getting a lot of love from Pinterest, so I want to say hi & thanks! Tons of you have been clicking through from there- so I hope you’re liking what you see, and keep coming back. I’ve also been getting a lot of Christmas goodies via snail mail lately. I guess that means I’ve been a good girl this year? I think I have been, but I guess every naughty person says that, right? Anyway this particular gift (& inspiration) is in the form of a Christmas table runner my amazingly-talented-with-a-needle-&-thread Californian friend Yoyo made for me. A custom made table runner. How friggin’ lucky am I?

Crazy lucky. And look! It has cupcakes on it!

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A Christmas table runner with pink candy stripes & cupcakes… I can’t even deal with the cuteness. It’s just the best, and the color scheme & patterns match almost perfectly with all my grandma’s vintage Christmas stuff. The pinks & greens & lighter than usual Christmas colors just went so amazing with the white plastic trees & retro Christmas ball candle holders. And as usual, it all inspired me to make cupcakes that went with it!

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And yes, they’re little cuppy cake trees. I seem to be all about the trees this year, eh? Now that I look at them, though, they’d be great for a little girl’s birthday too. The pastel colors are so sweet. They almost melt my cold heart.

Whoops, that tree to the right is leaning a bit!

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I took purposely washed-out vintagey kind of photos of them, & used my grandma’s vintage jadeite plates for a more 1950′s-ish presentation. I think it worked, don’t you? Those salt & pepper shakers are from Santa’s Village in Jefferson, NH. If you’ve never been, you should go!

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The cupcakes are just a plain vanilla cake, with vanilla flavored pastel green-tinted buttercream. As far as the frosting on the cakes, I used a large star tip to create that look. If you make 12 cupcakes, make enough frosting for 24 cupcakes; the trees need to be frosted twice as high as normal. The color is Wilton icing color in Leaf Green (only a drop!). Candy pearls are by Wilton, pink liners, larger pink candy ‘baubles’ (candy-coated chocolate) & pink candy pearls from Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery & Cupcakery Supplies. Green sanding sugar was bought at Target ages ago, but you can get it anywhere. And of course- runner by Topstitch! If you’re in the market for awesomesauce handmade items, check out Yoyo’s blog & her store. She’s always updating it with new material. And I’m sure for the right price she’ll do custom items for you, too, so just ask.

Christmas is getting closer & closer. Are you all ready?

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And of course, my grandma’s little vintage elves had to get in on the act. Are you prepared for the cuteness overload?

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Super duper über cute. Those elves (or pixies?) are the coolest. I also have ones that are “candle huggers.” I think they were made by a company called Gilner in the 1940′s & 1950′s (and I think even some go back to the 30′s). These are from the ’40′s, when my grandparents were first married. Apparently they’re very collectible.

I kept the rest of the cupcake true to the original I’d seen, of course my own spin on it since I didn’t have their recipe. Peppermint twist “North Pole” cupcakes (topped with Andes Peppermint Crunch chips)! I bought this bag of Andes chips before Halloween… because I’m crazy. Well that & also because I knew I had to use them to bake with this year. I didn’t know at the time what I would make, but I knew it’d include those. Then I saw that little booklet of baking ideas with its adorable red & white striped cupcake on the cover. Brilliant. I could incorporate the Andes baking chips with red/white peppermint cupcakes- without having to use the tired old candy cane method! ‘Cause yeah, that’s cute & all, but let’s face it- it’s been done to death.

So I did what that little baking booklet did!

Or rather, my version of it.

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‘NORTH POLE’ PEPPERMINT TWIST CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• red food coloring (please remember to use a good quality NO-TASTE red food coloring!)
• Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips (or crushed candy canes)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° degrees F.
2. Line a cupcake pan with baking cups; depending on how big your cupcake tins are, you can make between 8 and 12 (I got 12 but I could’ve easily filled mine more). Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Add the egg, mix it in slowly. Combine the vanilla extract and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add ⅓ of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by a third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.
5. Scoop about ¼ – ½ of the batter into a separate bowl. Mix in the peppermint extract well, then mix in the red food coloring, drop by drop, until red color (not pink) is achieved.
6. Spoon plain vanilla batter into baking cups, filling each about halfway. Add 2-4 teaspoons of the red batter to it & using a knife or toothpick, swirl & swish it around until there’s a swirled pattern. DO NOT THOROUGHLY MIX IT- you’ll end up with pink cupcakes, not red swirl. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
7. After frosting, sprinkle baking chips or crushed candy canes on top.

Elf not included.

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The frosting tip is this one, and the frosting is a plain ol’ vanilla confectioner’s sugar buttercream (an Italian meringue or Swiss meringue would be nice too). For cupcakes like this, I prefer to use a plain white liner so that you can see the swirl through it, but do whatever works for you. And like I said, I seriously stress the no-taste red color. If you don’t use it, you might taste an unpleasant bitter or chemical-y flavor that will overpower the peppermint & vanilla. Some good choices are Wilton’s No-Taste Red gel food coloring and Americolor Super Red gel paste food coloring. Same goes for making red velvet cupcakes, although with the cocoa powder I find it isn’t as noticeable.

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I told you I was all vintage inspired this season. So on the kitchen table, in addition to these lil’ pixie people, I used my grandma’s vintage Christmas tablecloth & some of my mom & grandma’s vintage Santa’s. My mother has a Santa collection that would make Martha Stewart cry; you need a certain kind of Kris Kringle? Ask her. She has a bunch that belonged to my great-grandmothers, my grandma, and ones that were hers from when she was a child. Not to mention the tons of them she’s gotten as gifts or bought herself over the years. She has every single type of St. Nick you could ever want- Victorian, Colonial, 1950′s, 1920′s, plastic, metal, plaster, hollow, solid, papier mache, German Santa’s, Irish Santa’s, folk Santa’s, traditional Santa’s, modern Santa’s, American Santa’s, Santa’s in cars, Santa’s on sleds, cat Santa’s, happy Santa’s, sad Santa’s, angry-looking Santa’s, tall Santa’s, tiny Santa’s, etc. I’m not joking. Any type of Santa you can imagine, she’s got. But I just chose to borrow some of the 40′s/50′s/60′s ones for my little retro display. It seemed they’d be more fitting with the tablecloth.

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Even though my grandma isn’t here physically this Christmas, her things are all around & in that, she is here. Here are a few close ups of the tablecloth. It’s so cute. I’m going to try & look through some old pictures & see if I can find any of either my grandparents’ apartment or their house at Christmas with this on the table. I mean how amazing is this? So stylized. It’s right out of Christmas in Connecticut.

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Basically, this all boils down to the fact that I love all things peppermint & candy cane-like, I love all things vintage and I love baking with them & using them as inspiration. Luckily, my family saved a lot of their fantastic vintage stuff for me to swoon over. I’ll never understand people who don’t like vintage items! What is WRONG with you people?! This stuff is phenomenal. They just don’t make things like this anymore. Not to mention, a quick look on eBay or Etsy & you’ll see, this stuff goes for quite a bit of money. So if you’re lucky enough to have it, you’re sitting on a goldmine. Especially the Gurley candles (which I have a TON of, for every holiday), some of them go for a fortune!

Not that I’d ever sell. But anyway, I do love seeing/hearing about other people’s Christmas goodies that have been in their family for ages (or at least a few years), so if you feel like sharing, please do! You can add links to pictures or stories or whatever you like in the comments. I’m a nosy bitch so humor me……

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In case you hadn’t noticed, I take holiday’s seriously around here. Both on my blog & in real life. I come from a long line of holiday enthusiasts; my great-grandfather had custom made lights for his trees & built a village for underneath it himself, long before Dickens’ Village® was a household term. He was also almost kicked out of the Bronx for his electric bills this time of year. My grandpa had something like five trees in the house when my mom was growing up, and as a child I always had my own personal tree. Not to mention my mom’s ‘holiday trees’ that have become pretty popular with my friends, some of whom are starting the tradition themselves! So yeah, we’re serious about our holidays- so much so, on the first of December each year, it starts to snow on this blog! It’s pretty cute if you’ve never seen it before. So take notice… & the best part of this snow? No shovels needed.

Also, each year around this time, people start planning their Christmas baking. I know this. I do it too. As a matter of fact, I have most of my baking for the month totally mapped out, and I did practically right after Thanksgiving (if not before). To assist you in your idea-gathering & planning, I sometimes create these little compilation posts; a place where all (or most) of my holiday cupcake ideas can be put together for easy reference.

This year, for reasons that will be explained further in the week or so to come, I was greatly inspired by the 1950′s/1960′s & their Christmas ads, such as this one for Reynolds.

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I love the idea of using pink & white for Christmas, not just the regular red & green which is so expected. Anyway, as far as compilation posts go… I did one of these last year & so I had to update it for this year. After I posted last year’s, there were more Christmas goodies that I made. This list is the most comprehensive so far. Click on each photo for the original blog post, recipes & details.

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In case you aren’t into cupcakes (THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?), some popular holiday cookie & snack ideas are:

• Chocolate-dipped shortbread
• Pain au chocolat
• Peppermint bark
• 7-layer magic cookie bars
• The best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies EVER
• Coconut & chocolate-covered coconut macaroons
• Rugelach (both cinnamon & chocolate)
• Cranberry-orange scones
• Sour cream chocolate chip loaf
• Chocolate whoopie pies with mint filling

Andif you like to provide your (possible) houseguests with or give as gifts some holiday-appropriate & delicious jams or preserves or whatevers, then look no further:

• Chinese Apple-sauce (pomegranate cranberry sauce with orange zest)
• Lemon-orange whiskey marmalade
• Earl Grey’s nectarine tea preserves
• Tea jelly
• Caramel apple syrup
• Banana brown sugar butter

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of course, there are much more to be found in the Christmas category. Just do a little browsing, I’m sure you’ll find something you like. And don’t forget- as usual, the Christmas-themed baking & cooking for this season will start very shortly, so stay tuned…

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So, I bought these really cute fall leaf sugar decorations & I wanted to use them desperately, and what else would I use them on but cupcakes!? Cute little fall cupcakes that are dark chocolate cupcakes, spiced with cinnamon & cayenne pepper topped with brown butter frosting. Simple, but let’s be honest, I just made them to use the little leaves. Yes, I made cupcakes just to use decorations I bought.

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But in all fairness, it’s fall! I was so inspired by the fall colors in the table runner & the icing leaves, not to mention the gorgeous fall leaves outside my window.

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So I had to. I really did. Despite the fact that I’ve been baking so much lately (& cooking) that I think by December 1st, Jay will have to roll me down the stairs & into the car… or possibly just roll me down the street like a not-as-blue-but-just-as-round-Violet Beauregarde. Yeah. Despite that, I had to make them. And of course, I had to do the brown butter thing. Jay’s leaving tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for San Antonio, Texas. He doesn’t get any cupcakes as punishment for leaving me & going off to do cool stuff without me. Alas, someone has to do the dirty work around here- baking, cooking, etc. We can’t all be rock stars; some of us have to rock out the kitchen instead of the stage. At least he’ll be home by Thursday!

What was I saying? Brown butter, that’s right. Brown butter is so amazing. If you’ve never had it, you need to make it immediately. I’m not kidding. It’s a game changer; a sweet, caramel-y, soft, kind of burnt taste that is sublime in frosting. You’ll want to frost every cupcake you make with it. Great with caramel, vanilla, chocolate, spice cake, malted milk cake, apple cake, just about anything/everything. It’s basically perfect. I’ve used it before on cream soda cupcakes & that was heavenly.

DARK CHOCOLATE SPICE CUPCAKES

Makes 12 cupcakes

Get these ingredients:

• ¼ cup Hershey’s® Special Dark unsweetened cocoa powder (or another dark cocoa powder of your choice)
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Then you should:

1. Preheat oven to 350º degrees F. Line a 12-count cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together cocoa powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, flour, salt and baking powder. In another bowl whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk and vegetable oil. Gradually whisk flour mixture into sugar mixture. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Fill cupcake liners ⅔ full. Bake in preheated oven for 12 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool for several minutes in the cupcake pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Frost only when completely cool.

BROWN BUTTER FROSTING

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 4 cups powdered or confectioner’s sugar
• 2-4 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• dash of salt

Directions:

1. For brown butter, in saucepan heat ½ cup butter over medium-low heat until lightly browned, about 8 minutes; cool thoroughly. Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the butter so that any large burned fat solids aren’t included in the frosting. Fine specks are expected & totally fine, though.
2. In bowl, beat the other ½ cup softened butter with mixer on medium 30 seconds. Add cooled brown butter; beat until combined.
3. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and dash salt. Beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons half-and-half, use more if needed until spreadable. Use frosting immediately. If frosting begins to set up, stir in a small amount of boiling water.

Probably wasn’t a good idea to use black liners & take the pictures on a black runner, but I did like how they matched

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The ‘use immediately’ thing is 100% true. The nature of this frosting is that it sets up fairly quick. That can be a pain in the ass at times, but it’s well worth it.

I absolutely love brown butter frosting, I can’t say enough about it & I’d love it on just about any cake or cupcake or cookie. But on these it’s especially delicious. The cupcakes are like a Mexican hot chocolate-type of flavor, which I love, not to mention incredibly moist. Combine all that with the brown butter flavor & it’s just amazing… it’s so warming & fall-like. A great Thanksgiving cupcake. And don’t be scared of the cayenne! I promise you, it adds a slight warmth (or heat) but it won’t make you run for the hills. So many people are afraid of using cayenne or chili powder in their baked goods, but I’m telling you, when mixed with chocolate & cinnamon- it’s mind blowing.

And in true holiday form, as per usual, here’s the Thanksgiving tree in all her glory!

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For those of you who are unaware, my mom puts up a tree for every holiday. I post pictures of them with one of my holiday posts; it starts after Christmas with her white winter tree, then Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, etc. Most recently I posted the Halloween tree. They’re usually the same though, year to year, with just a few changes- new ornaments, perhaps some new lights or ribbon, etc. It’s a fun tradition I always look forward to.

One thing that will be different is I won’t be hosting Thanksgiving this year, so for once I won’t be doing all the cooking! I will, however, be doing the baking. I do look forward to sharing those baked goods with you next week, but in the meantime, go make these cupcakes. Seriously.

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Part of the charm & intrigue of Halloween is the fright factor. That things-that-go-bump-in-the-night-”what-was-that-sound” factor that gives you the chills- but you love it. The reason why people go on scary roller coasters or watch horror movies. That same feeling, that’s the best part of Halloween. I try to make that a part of everything I make around this time of year, not to mention I try to include the fall flavors that everyone loves. Of course, I’m biased. Like I said, this is my favorite holiday. I think some of my favorite things about it, in addition to the “scary” aspect, are all the traditions & symbols. It has such strong Celtic roots, I find the origins of the things we do today to be really interesting. Some of which I’ll be sharing with you over the next few weeks in detail… for now:

Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. For instance, the carving of jack-o’-lanterns springs from the souling custom of carving turnips into lanterns as a way of remembering the souls held in purgatory.^[5] The turnip has traditionally been used in Ireland and Scotland at Halloween,^[6][7] but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which are both readily available and much larger – making them easier to carve than turnips.^[6] The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837^[8] and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.^[9]

The imagery of Halloween is derived from many sources, including national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature (such as the novels Frankenstein and Dracula), and classic horror films (such as Frankenstein and The Mummy).^[10] Among the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from Scottish poet John Mayne in 1780, who made note of pranks at Halloween; “What fearfu’ pranks ensue!”, as well as the supernatural associated with the night, “Bogies” (ghosts), influencing Robert Burns‘ Halloween 1785.^[11] Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks, and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween.

Halloween imagery includes themes of death, evil, the occult, or mythical monsters.^[12] Black and orange are the holiday’s traditional colors.

I’m aware not everyone enjoys this day as much as I do, and I guess my personal opinion that they’re a bunch of boring, humorless stick-in-the-mud’s is irrelevant, but either way I think it’s fun & harmless. What could be more fun than dressing up as something you aren’t & getting free candy? I don’t know. It sounds pretty friggin’ amazing to me. So being it’s my favorite holiday, I have lots of treats for you to choose from for your spooky fall baking needs. I’ve done compilation posts before, as a matter of fact this past year, 2010-2011, I did one for every holiday, Halloween being the first. But being I did it early on each season, I excluded all the new ideas I had & implemented afterward. So this year it’s a truer compilation: all (or most) of my muffins, cupcakes & other treats; all with a Halloween or fall theme. Some are slightly more complex than others, but all of them are pretty simple when you get down to it & they really don’t take a lot of time or effort (or money, or experience really) to execute.

If you have any questions about where I bought supplies, etc, or just about the cupcakes/treats in general, feel free to comment or e-mail me.

CHOCOLATE STOUT CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE BONES TRUE BLOOD ORANGE CUPCAKES WITH CANDIED BLOOD ORANGES

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DEVIL’S FOOD CUPCAKES WITH CINNAMON RED-HOTS FROSTING DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

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CHOCOLATE MALT CUPCAKES WITH FUDGE FILLING EERIE MONSTER CUPCAKES WITH SWEETMELT EYES

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TRUE BLOOD VELVET CUPCAKES & CREAM CHEESE FROSTING BLACK LICORICE CUPCAKES & ORANGE MARSHMALLOW FROSTING

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JACK-O-LANTERN PUMPKIN MUFFINS PUMPKIN STREUSEL MUFFINS WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING

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MARSHMALLOW BONES APPLE MUFFINS

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CINNAMON VANILLA CUPCAKES & MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE FROSTING TRES LECHES COCONUT CUPCAKES

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S’MORES CUPCAKES WITH MARSHMALLOW BUTTERCREAM SPICE CUPCAKES WITH BROWN SUGAR FROSTING

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And of course, if you’re looking for something in particular, you can always go through the archives, specifically the seasonal ones, like the pumpkin or apple categories. Another particular favorite of mine not pictured are the infamous apple cider donuts, they’re perfect for Halloween shenanigans. You could go bobbing for apple cider donuts! And if you’re into pumpkin seeds, I have two recipes, both plain & brown sugar/spice versions. And the two recipes second to last on the list, the cinnamon/vanilla & tres leches coconut, would both be perfect for Dia de los Muertos as well (which is what I used the latter for myself).

Almost any cupcake recipe or cookie recipe can be altered or decorated to fit in with Halloween. Use your imagination… you never know what you may come up with. If worse comes to worse, and you’re stuck for ideas, ask a kid! Kids have the best imaginations and come up with the best stuff, especially for Halloween. A kid’s brain works on a totally different level, they’re practically un-offended by everything, which is perfect.

And stay tuned this month for many more creepy (& not so creepy) fall-appropriate recipes & ideas.

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That photo is from Eleanor & Frank’s wedding in the late 1940′s. As you can see, my grandfather & Mike’s grandmother were siblings, and my grandmother & Mike’s grandfather were also siblings. So Eleanor & Frank are the grandparents of my aforementioned cousin Mike, and in turn are the parents of my mother’s cousin Tom. Agnes & Butch are my grandparents, a.k.a. the parents of my mother. Make sense now? I hope so, because I really don’t want to break out the pie charts & graphs. Either way, our family tree only has one branch on this particular side, haha.

Anyway, Mike & Heather sent a care package to me & my mom a few weeks back from a (seemingly) awesome store down there called Roux Royale. We each got a mug, a pair of adorable salt & pepper shakers and this awesome cake plate!

Can you tell I’m a bit in love with the photography apps on my iPhone?

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Because I’m inspired by everything, this beautiful cake plate gave me the urge to bake something fantastic to put on it. Although I kept looking at it and rethinking what I was going to do. I’ve made King’s Cake cupcakes before, so I didn’t want to do that. Even though that’s where the natural progression of thoughts went, it’s taboo to bake it before Jan. 6th or after Mardi Gras. I’ve also made beignets, and as good as they are, I recently had a gigantic serving of them from the Grand Lux Cafe which satisfied my craving, plus I wasn’t sure they were really appropriate for display on this cake plate.

Mmm… Grand Lux beignets… *sigh* …. anyway back to reality…

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And I could’ve done a Cherries Jubilee-type cupcake, especially since the plate mentions cherries, but I’ve done enough cherry stuff lately. So I kept on thinkin’…

Then I remembered that famous New Orleans dessert, Bananas Foster. Ahh, the lovely Bananas Foster. It originated down there in NOLA at a famous place called Brennan’s, so what better dessert to display on that New Orleans cake plate!?

Bananas Foster is a dessert made from bananas and vanilla ice cream, with the sauce made from butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum, and banana liqueur. The butter, sugar and bananas are cooked, and then the alcohol is added and ignited. The bananas and sauce are then served over the ice cream. Preparation of the dish is often made into a tableside performance as a flambé.

The dish was created in 1951 by Paul Blangé at Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana.^[2] It was named for Richard Foster, a friend of Owen Brennan‘s who was then New Orleans Crime Commission chairman. It is still served at a number of fine restaurants in New Orleans as well as in many restaurants around the world.

-Wikipedia

Brennan’s is really, really famous. It’s in the French Quarter. The head chef, Lazone Randolph, has been featured on more TV shows than Rachael Ray. Well not quite, but almost. Along with Cafe Du Monde, it’s seemingly one of those tourist places that screams New Orleans.

So yeah, I figured Bananas Foster was a perfect idea. Besides, my family is a bit bananas, so it’s even more appropriate! I love them, don’t get me wrong. I love them & they’re pretty much wonderful, but they’re mostly insane. Which helps to make them wonderful. If everyone was sane, wouldn’t the world be a boring place? I’m sure this concept has been done to death, but this is my version of Bananas Foster cupcakes. Easy, not a lot of drama, and no tableside fire action… but the end result does look & taste far more complicated. And it doesn’t melt, unlike the ice cream in the traditional, original version. I even had some cupcake liners left over from last year that were very similar to the cake plate’s design. How do you like them apples bananas?

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To avoid the dense, heavy cupcakes that using real bananas cause, I used banana extract. I don’t care if Florian Bellanger would disapprove. They came out amazing, so he can suck an egg. I mean that in the most respectful way, of course. They’re moist, fluffy, but not dense & thick. I’m including a recipe for a gorgeous, thick, creamy caramel made from condensed milk as well. If you’d like to use that (I didn’t) you could spoon it over the frosting, over the caramelized bananas or even on the cupcakes before you frost them. I thought the flavor of the bananas themselves was enough… but if you want a really decadent over the top cupcake… go for it.

BANANAS FOSTER CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• Caramelized bananas (recipe below), cooled
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk caramel (optional, see here for recipe)
• 1 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons milk
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon pure banana extract
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• few drops yellow food coloring (if desired)

Directions:

1. Set oven to 375° F to preheat. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together, into a deep mixing bowl, the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, ¼ cup of the milk and flavorings. Beat on low until blended, then beat on high for another minute or two.
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl, add the remaining ¼ cup milk, egg, and food coloring (if using) and beat ½ minute longer on high. Scoop into muffin tins to fill them about ¼ or ½ way because they rise a lot. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick/cake tester comes out almost totally clean. Cool completely.
4. Frost with evaporated milk buttercream frosting (recipe below), then drizzle condensed milk caramel on top with the tines of a fork or a small teaspoon. Top each cupcake with one or two caramelized bananas, and if desired, a bit more caramel.

Confession time. Okay, my confession here is this: as you can see below, I did not use pure banana extract like I recommended. I used Watkins‘ imitation banana extract. However, unless you use Watkins, I’d go with pure. The Watkins flavor is really good & not overly fake or sweet, I know sometimes supermarket extracts can be a bit strong at times, in a bad way.

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EVAPORATED MILK FROSTING

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 4 ¼ cups powdered sugar
• 2 ½ ounces evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Cream together the butter, vanilla and 2 cups of the powdered sugar.
2. Once well incorporated, add evaporated milk alternating with a cup of sugar at a time until all ingredients have been added. Beat on high for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Spread or pipe on completely cooled cupcakes.

Gotta have some cafe au lait with them, of course…

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CARAMELIZED BANANAS

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, sliced
• 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Spray a non-stick frying pan and a ceramic plate with cooking spray (or waxed paper or parchment on the plate instead), and heat the pan up over medium heat.
2. Mix sugar & cinnamon together in a shallow dish. Dip each banana slice in the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Make sure they’re completely coated.
3. Using a fork or small tongs, place bananas in pan as they’re ready. Cook until golden-brown, then flip. The first side will take a few minutes, the second side a bit less. Do not let them burn! If you see them getting too dark, sticking to the pan or smell a burning smell- flip them immediately! Keep an eye on them.
4. When finished, place on coated plate (bananas will be sticky). Let cool before topping cupcakes.

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If you choose to use it, you may need to soften the condensed milk caramel a bit before drizzling it, depending how warm your kitchen is, etc. In that case, place the can, open side up (obviously) in a small saucepan of simmering water (only about one inch- don’t get the caramel wet!) for a few minutes, stirring fairly constantly, until it softens enough.  I didn’t feel as if I needed it, but it would make a lovely addition. You could even fill them with it- that would be divine.

Proper “Nu Awlins” cupcakes for a proper “Nu Awlins” cake platter. Thanks again, Mike & Heather, for my newest additions! They’ll be well used around here, as there’s always some kind of baked goods out for display.

How professional looking, right?

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Recently, I was lucky enough to be sent a large box (yes- a box of boxes!) from Bake-A-Box. Inside was a variety of different-sized bakery boxes. Needless to say, I was super excited about this. And when presented with an opportunity to go somewhere for dinner, I decided to bring some cupcakes in my nifty new boxes. Killing two birds with one stone; bringing a lovely dessert to my host & also testing out these convenient little portable cupcake containers. Not to mention the fact that this coming Monday, September 12th, is my blog’s 4th birthday! Usually, I do a giveaway or a big birthday bash, but this year I just wasn’t into it. However, at the very least, I thought we I deserved some prettiful cupcakes after almost 4 years of bloggin’, rockin’ & rollin’… & beating people with whisks.

So me & Lola got to work.

Lola lookin’ foine & reppin’ Sourpuss Clothing! Have you met Lola?

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You have to make a pretty dynamic cupcake to have it be prettier than Lola, just saying. My first attempt (strawberry shortcake cupcakes) was kind of a failure. Not for any other reason than they just weren’t “post-worthy.” They looked okay, tasted awesome, but just didn’t have enough oompf or pizzazz to blog photos of ‘em. I mean, look at these cupcakes I posted last week. They’re perfection. I can’t follow those up with average-looking, amateurish cupcakes. But not being one to waste perfectly good food, I packed up the boxes with them anyway to give to another deserving person. Not someone any less important, mind you, just someone who appreciates the taste more than the aesthetics. Then I went to Plan B: lemon marmalade cupcakes, all of them piped high with seven-minute frosting; some topped with marmalade, frosted, then toasted & some not topped with marmalade, but with candy lemon slices on the frosting. Ta-da!

See, I had an open 16 oz. jar of strawberry jam in the fridge & the urge to use it. Sure, it’s being eaten on toast & scones & bread, etc. But I wanted to bake with it. So the first batch was a vanilla cupcake filled to the bursting point with this strawberry jam, then topped with a Swiss meringue buttercream. Seeing as how those weren’t photo-worthy, I went on to make these, crossing my fingers they’d be better. But… the jam was mysteriously much emptier when I went back to use it. Not wanting to open another jar, I used the lemon marmalade I’d made recently instead of the strawberry jam (recipe here). The cupcakes are bright, lemony, sweet & tart yet had a slight complexity from the tea; plus they’re vintage-y looking. They were basically the perfect cupcake to showcase these awesome boxes- and celebrate 4 years of Cupcake Rehab!

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LEMON MARMALADE CUPCAKES

Makes about 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 8-oz. jar Lady Grey’s lemon marmalade
• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. Line cupcake or muffin tins with papers; set aside. Into a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg & mix thoroughly. Combine vanilla with milk in a glass measuring cup.
2. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Add flour mixture to butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk mixture and starting and ending with the flour. Do not overbeat.
3. Add ¾ cup marmalade, a ¼ cup at a time, until combined.
4. Spoon batter into prepared tins, filling cups about ¾ full. Bake until a cake tester inserted near the centers comes out clean and the tops spring back when pressed lightly in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven; spoon a teaspoon of marmalade on top of each while still hot, then remove from pan after 10 minutes. Let cool completely out of the pan before frosting.

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SEVEN-MINUTE FROSTING

Makes about 4 cups, plenty of frosting for 18, possibly 24 cupcakes depending on how high you frost!

Directions:

1. Combine ¾ cup sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230° degrees.
2. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining tablespoon sugar, beating to combine.
3. As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230° degrees, remove from heat. With mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down side of bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.

For those of you who have trouble with 7-minute frosting: the key is to accurately measure the temperature of the boiling sugar/water mixture. It MUST reach 230°! If not, the frosting will probably not work. I’ve never had a failed attempt at 7-minute frosting, and that’s because my candy thermometer is my best friend. If you don’t have one- get one. Especially if you plan on ever attempting cooked frosting’s or if you want to start to make candy or begin canning. Also, you probably need a stand mixer to make it. If not, your arm will most likely become numb & fall off long before the frosting is done. Have you ever tried to mix something with a hand mixer for over 7 minutes straight? You can also double the above recipe for frosting layer cakes or 24+ batches of cupcakes. Also, when it says use immediately, it means immediately. Do not wait. If you wait even a little bit, it’ll get clumpier and not pipe as smoothly. So make this frosting only when you’re 100% ready to use it.

Anyway, I piped the frosting high with my favorite tip, then toasted it slightly. For the rest, I used a quartered slice of candy lemon. Then of course I put them in my new Bake-A-Box boxes for delivery. Thanks to Lyns for the cute little yellow scalloped liners; they were perfect with these! Not only did the scalloping match the boxes, but the yellow was just the right color.

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The thing I hate about most boxes- the assembly- was a cinch with these. And they were really cute! Not boring or plain, even though they’re white they’re attractive. People even asked me where I got them, or suggested I bought the cupcakes at a bakery *gasp* AS IF! So yes, I’d definitely buy from them, and yes, I’d encourage my fellow bakers to do so as well. The cupcake holders inside pop in and out, so you could fill them with cakes, cookies or brownies too. And they come in a ton of different sizes. The shipping was super fast too! Go visit Bake-A-Box & tell them I sent you (I always wanted to say that).

Anyway, I love the yellow sunshine-y-ness of these cupcakes. The scalloped edges of the liners & the box not to mention the colors remind me of my marigolds.

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It’s been a tough summer, and I know that there’s more rough spots ahead. And between my grandma’s passing, my crazy neighbor’s antics (another story for another day), an East Coast earthquake & then a friggin’ hurricane, it’s been full of excess drama & bullshit that I really didn’t need. But I’m making the best of things, and trying to enjoy at least a little bit of every day. I want to thank Nicole at Bake-A-Box for sending the fantastic boxes… all you bakers out there, go buy some! They’re awesome. And I want to thank all my readers & followers! You guys are the best & you make every blog post worth it, not to mention the past 4 years.

I may not have the most popular blog ever, I may not make the most beautiful or most creative cupcakes (however I do happen think they’re pretty amazing), I may not have the best or even the funniest blog (although, shit, I think I’m fucking HILARIOUS), I may not get so many hits my server overloads weekly, I may not have KitchenAid giveaways weekly or 560 comments kissing my ass on every post. But none of that has ever been important to me, nor was it why I got into doing this. I got into it for fun, all I really wanted to do was to bake fun stuff & share it with other cool like-minded people. So to me the fact that I have almost 1,000 Facebook fans & over 800 Twitter followers just blows me away. Every single time I get a comment or an e-mail that praise me or compliment me or the blog in the slightest, it automatically turns into a good day. That’s how much I value all of you. And don’t worry- I’m doing just fine in the visitors department, by the way, of course I ain’t on Dooce level… but who is? Other than Dooce, I mean. So no, I don’t make so much money off the blog that I can retire at 30, I don’t get any huge compensation for it, I don’t get money or trips thrown at me, nor is it always easy to do this; between the tech aspect, the design aspect, the social media aspect & the recipe aspect itself, it’s actually like a full-time second job. But I adore it. And it’s my personal opinion that anyone in anything JUST for money or fame is a phony, so rest assured when you read this blog, you’re reading the work of someone who puts 100% into it just for the fun & enjoyment of it, and for the community of it, not for any monetary gain. Not that that’s a bad thing at all… it’s just not where I’m at. I don’t give a shit about getting a TV show that might air after The Neely’s, getting an advertising deal with Le Creuset, or that I may have too filthy of a mouth to impress Martha. But again, I don’t give a flying fig about that or anything else; especially what people may think of me. Never have, never will. I’m in it for my amusement & yours, and that’s all, whatever positive things come from that are greatly appreciated & welcomed, but definitely not needed. I’m having a blast just the way things are & I hope my readers are too. The day it becomes a chore or just a way to make a buck is the day I quit. I enjoy it, I hope you do too, and I hope it continues for a long time.

So it’s been four whole years! And I, for one, am not going anywhere. Not anytime soon. But I just want to thank you all… you all who’s e-mails & comments make it doubly & triply worthwhile… all of the amazing bakers & cupcakers I’ve gotten the chance to “meet”… all the great businesses who I’ve had the pleasure of discovering… THANK YOU! YOU LIKE ME, YOU REALLY LIKE ME!

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I look forward to spending many more with you.

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I first saw this concept done by Retro Bakery in Las Vegas. I can’t say for sure what they use for their paint splatters, but they come out amazing (view some here & some here). I’ve wanted to do it for a while, but I was putting it off for a few reasons: 1) I wasn’t sure what they used as “paint”, 2) It seemed messy & I was always dreading the clean-up, and 3) Everytime I remembered it, something else was going on… too hot out, I had to bake something else, etc. But I finally had the right conditions & frame of mind to do it, and went for it. And let me tell you- the clean-up was nothing. So I decided, after Googling, that Retro Bakery probably used something with a similar texture to Candy Melts, and also that using Royal Icing wasn’t for me. Some people do seem to use that, and some even use thinned-out buttercream, but I definitely wanted to use the melts for my “paint.” It just seemed like that would make a better consistency “paint” than anything else, and also be more pleasant to eat. Royal Icing isn’t always nice when you’re not expecting the slight crunch, and who would expect that when eating a cupcake? So I used 4 colors of Wilton Candy Melts; blue, red, yellow and green. Typical “paint” colors, right?

Before…

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After!

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I decided I wanted to try it one night during a relative cool spell (68º degrees & breezy at 11 p.m. in New York in June! It’s a miracle! … but one that didn’t last very long, haha), and I think they came out spectacular. I also tried out a new vanilla cupcake recipe, one from Crumbs Bake Shop. I got the recipe online but it’s actually from this little boxed set. Not bad, I must say. Very moist and “bouncy” with a nice texture. However… I halved the following recipe and ended up with 18 cupcakes. Don’t ask. No idea. That always happens to me!

CRUMBS BAKE SHOP VANILLA CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla and almond extracts.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a small bowl. Then, with the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with the flour.
4. Fill each cup ¾ full with batter. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the center of the cupcakes spring back when touched. Cool completely before frosting.

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HEAVY CREAM BUTTERCREAM

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 ½ – 2 pounds powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream (perhaps more)

Directions:

1. Place the butter and shortening in a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Slowly add the first pound and a half of powdered sugar, a cup at a time until all is incorporated. Turn off the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl very well. Add the vanilla and mix again.
2. Slowly add half of the heavy cream while the mixer is on, and beat for one minute.
3. Add more cream or sugar as needed to achieve a frosting consistency that’s suitable to piping.

For the paint effect; bake the cupcakes and allow them to cool completely. Frost them as desired (I used a plain vanilla so the paint was more obvious, with this tip) and let the frosting “set” in a cool area for 10-15 minutes, or pop them in the fridge for a bit. Meanwhile, melt the Candy Melts according to the package and cover your work space with parchment paper. Set up your cupcakes on the paper and using a spoon and fork, “splatter” the melts on the cupcakes. You may need to “thin” the melts out a bit with some vegetable oil before you use it to splatter. Do a test run on the parchment, and if it’s too thick, add vegetable oil by the ¼ teaspoon, making sure to incorporate it thoroughly, until you reach the right consistency.

These are perfect for a kid’s party, or even for the 4th of July! Just use red & blue melts, and red & blue solid liners with a vanilla cake & vanilla frosting; you’ve got yourself a perfect “firework” cupcake. Or, how about an 80′s party? Use 80′s colors and alternate the frosting color with different color melts. You could adapt it for any holiday, really. But I think it’s really an idea that was just made for a little kid’s birthday party. I had no particular reason for making them, so I dubbed them “Jackson Pollock cupcakes.”

Oh- and if you don’t know who Jackson Pollock is, he was a painter, and here’s an example of his work called Convergence (click to see larger):

And send one they did! They sent the cutest little collar for Arwyn, and it came a few days ago.

It came all wrapped up so nice, and with a magnet too!

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Super adorable little cupcakes…

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So I opened up the package, and put the magnet on my fridge, and put the collar on. It looks so cute. Of course, here are some requisite photos. Arwyn is a wonderful model, isn’t she? And so gorgeous!

This last one doesn’t show the collar, but it’s just here to emphasize her beauty

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This particular collar style comes in a few other different patterns/colors as well. So a big big BIG thank you to Dog Collar Boutique! If you have pets, you should take a peek at their website. They have tons, and I mean tons, of beautiful collars, and they come in a large variety of sizes. If you have a small dog or a cat, the extra small or small sizes would be perfect, depending on their weight and size. They also have leashes, harnesses, carriers, doggie coats, and more! They also have cat collars and a gorgeous line of sterling silver dog tags.

Of course, my favorites are the ones with cupcakes…

Look at her, all ready to beat someone with her whisk! Or make cupcakes, whatever!

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If you want cuteness like that, and by cuteness I mean the bib not the baby- I don’t think John is willing to share her… then you can go to my Cupcake Rehab webstore and buy stuff. I have an assload of things for sale from hoodies to bibs (duh) to coffee mugs to dog bowls! Seriously. Buy some stuff, take pictures, and send me the pics. I’ll add ‘em to the C.R.my page & you’ll be (quasi-) famous. But I can’t promise it’ll make you as cute as Angelina.

Back to the eats. What’s fair is fair, and while it’s Easter time for Christians, it’s Passover for the Jewish people. Each holiday & religion hold to their own traditional foods & desserts, as do the specific ethnicities and races within each religion, just as they hold to the traditions of the religions themselves. I myself am neither Christian nor Jew, but I certainly don’t discriminate against delicious food items. I embrace them all!

Hamentashen is more traditional around this time of year, but honestly, since when have I been traditional? Actually that’s not true, I’m very old-fashioned. At any rate, I don’t happen to like hamentashen at all, so rugelach it is!

Rugelach is one of my absolute favorite “cookies.” I like the chocolate ones, and I like the filling to have a touch of cinnamon. I also like the cinnamon sugar. I’m not into the fruit filled version. I used to love the ones from the 2nd Avenue Deli… Jay used to work right near it, but that was before the two of us got together (unfortunately). And back when my dad was still working, he’d randomly pick up a bunch in a 2nd Avenue Deli tin and I’d eat all the chocolate. Once he got them as a gift for someone, and I finagled it open, ate two chocolate ones and resealed it. Shh, don’t tell.

Rugelach aren’t difficult to make. It’s similar to rolling a croissant, or a chocolate croissant. This particular dough is made with cream cheese, although there are many different varieties.

Rugelach (Yiddish: רוגעלך) (other spellings: rugelakh, rugulach, rugalach, ruggalach, rogelach (all plural), rugalah, rugala (singular)) is a Jewish pastry of Ashkenazic origin.

Traditional rugelach are made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling.^[1][2] Some sources state that the rugelach and the French croissant share a common Viennese ancestor, crescent-shaped pastries commemorating the lifting of the Turkish siege in 1793^[3] (this could be a reference to the Battle of Vienna in 1683). This appears to be an urban legend however, as both the rugelach and its supposed ancestor (the Kipfel or Kipferl) pre-date the Early Modern era, and the croissant in its modern form did not originate earlier than the 19th century (see viennoiserie).

An alternative form is constructed much like a strudel or nut roll, but unlike those, the rolled dough and filling is cut into slices before baking.^[4]

The name is Yiddish, the Jewish language of eastern Europe. The ach ending (ך) indicates plural, while the el (ל) can be a diminutive, as, for example, shtetlekh (שטעטלעך, villages) is the plural of shtetl (שטעטל, village), the diminutive of shtot (שטאָט, town). In this case, the root means something like “twist” so the translation would be “little twists,” a reference to the shape of this cookie.^[3] In this context, note that rog (ראָג) means corner in Yiddish,^[5] so it is possible that a more accurate translation would be “little corners.”

Alternatively, some assert that the root is rugel, meaning royal, possibly a reference to the taste.^[6] This explanation is in conflict with Yiddish usage, where the word keniglich (קעניגליךּ) is the dominant word meaning royal.^[7]

Finally, in modern Hebrew, they are known as roglìt (רוֹגְלִית), a postbiblical Hebrew word meaning “trailing vines”.^[8] The Yiddish word ruglach probably came first. The modern Hebrew is probably a neologism, chosen for its similarity to the Yiddish and its descriptive meaning.

Rugelach can be made with sour cream or cream cheese^[1][2][3] doughs, but there are also pareve variants with no dairy ingredients,^[9] so that it can be eaten with or after a meat meal and still be kosher. Cream cheese doughs are the most recent, probably American innovations, while yeast leavened^[9][10] and sour cream doughs^[11][12] are much older.

The different fillings can include raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, chocolate, marzipan, poppy seed, or fruit preserves which are rolled up inside.

I’ve been wanting to make rugelach for a long time. I sort of combined 4 or 5 recipes I found to make one of my own. I think it turned out fantastic! Except one word of advice: if you don’t have a stand mixer, this dough is not going to happen for you. It’s so thick that it slowed Lola down and she made all kinds of “Rrrrrr” noises. But she can handle it. And there’s no way you can mix it by hand, you need to cream the butter and cream cheese together and even using a hand mixer isn’t gonna work out well for that. You know how cream cheese is… many a mixer has broken under it’s wrath.

Chocolate rugelach

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CHOCOLATE RUGELACH

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ vanilla extract
• ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ cup melted bittersweet chocolate, cooled but still “liquidy”
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Beat softened butter and cream cheese in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until blended and smooth. Gradually add flour and ¼ cup sugar and vanilla, beating on low speed until well blended. Divide dough into 3 equal parts; wrap individually in plastic wrap. Refrigerate anywhere from 1 to 4 hours or until firm enough to roll.
2. Heat oven to 375°F. On lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into 9-inch circle (keep remaining dough in refrigerator). Cut circle into 12 wedges. Place about 1 teaspoon melted chocolate at wide end of each wedge; spread about three-fourths of the way up wedge. Stir together 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and cocoa powder; sprinkle over melted chocolate, sprinkle over melted chocolate. Starting at wide end, roll toward the point. Place cookies, point sides down, about 1 inch apart on a sheet of parchment paper covering an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg.
3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and filling.

Cinnamon sugar rugelach

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The dough I made is a sweet dough, if you’d like a not-sweet version just remove the sugar and vanilla. If you’d like to add a little something extra, sprinkle with some sugar after brushing the dough with the beaten egg. Other options for fillings are apricot (1 cup apricot preserves plus ¾ cup chopped walnuts), cinnamon sugar (4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, ½ cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon) or raspberry-raisin (1 cup of raspberry jam and ½ cup raisins).  Or you can be totally rebellious and come up with your own filling!

(Psst… wanna know a sweet shortcut to the chocolate filling? Bosco chocolate syrup plus a sprinkling of cinnamon. Trust me, it works and it’s delicious. Just don’t use too much syrup, you’ll end up with a gooey mess.)

To me, they’re perfectly sweet, not too sweet, plus the cream cheese adds a little something special. I devoured way more  in one sitting than I should’ve. A little basket of these is a perfect hostess gift.