"Animal-less"

I always wondered what a vegan cupcake would taste like. No eggs, no milk (soy milk instead). Well, for one they do not rise the same way as a regular cupcake and in turn are much more dense and compact...But, not too bad. My first ever vegan cupcake.



Ready to try? ;)

They're no NY Bagel...

BUT they are a bagel! As I was making them I wondered what is so appealing about bagels anyways. As they were being prepared, they reminded me of doughnuts (without the frying) and when I tasted them they reminded me of just a simple piece of bread. Interesting...

Anyways, I found a reciepe and decided I wanted to try it out. Actually, I found 2. SO, I made wheat and plain. Clearly, they need a little work, but Adam is happy...I guess that's all that matters. ;)
AND here are the results.......

Wheat

Plain

The dough was made from scratch, shaped, boiled, and baked. It was surprisingly simple. Now, who wants to try one?

A little Color for Your Fancy

I don't think I ever realized how many different frostings you can make and how creative you can get in order to find just the right and fun ingredients to top your cupcake. It's always fun to have a new flavored cupcake, but sometimes the most fun comes from what's on top.

Adding a little color can add just the right pizzaz the cupcake may be missing...

Back to Basics

Who doesn't love the basic cupcake? Vanilla on vanilla, chocolate on chocolate, vanilla on chocolate, or chocolate on vanilla? Sure we can get as fancy as we want with cupcakes and thats fun... but sometimes it's nice to have a simple, homemade, cupcake...that's when it's the simpler the better ;)

Homemade chocolate cupcake with homemade vanilla frosting. It's just goodness

Cupcake Mishap

WELL, in an attempt to make a batch of cupcakes this evening I realized a little too late I missed a key ingredient. As I was filling the cupcake cups the batter felt heavier and less willing to just easily slide into the cup itself. I thought it was weird, but did I question it? Not so much. Silly me. As they began to bake it finally hit me...I forgot the milk! Whoops. SO, here we are with a cupcake formed sugar cookie. Not exactly the result I was looking for :)

SO, now the question remains...do I frost this with cookie or cupcake frosting?

How do you eat YOUR oreo?

Psychologists have discovered that the manner in which people eat 
Oreo cookies provides great insight into their personalities. Choose 
which method best describes your favorite method of eating Oreos:
 
 1. The whole thing all at once.
 2. One bite at a time
 3. Slow and methodical nibbles examining the results of each bite     
     afterwards.
 4. In little feverous nibbles.
 5. Dunked in some liquid (milk, coffee...).
 6. Twisted apart, the inside, then the cookie.
 7. Twisted apart, the inside, and toss the cookie. 
 8. Just the cookie, not the inside.
 9. I just like to lick them, not eat them.
 10. I don't have a favorite way because I don't like Oreo.

  Your Personality:
1. The whole thing This means you consume life with abandon, you are fun to be with, exciting, carefree with some hint of recklessness. You are totally irresponsible. No one should trust you with their children.
2. One bite at a time. You are lucky to be one of the 5.4 billion other people who eat their Oreos this very same way. Just like them, you lack imagination, but that's okay, not to worry, you're normal.
3. Slow and Methodical. You follow the rules. You're very tidy and orderly. You're very meticulous in every detail with every thing you do to the point of being anal retentive and irritating to others. Stay out of the fast lane if you're only going to go the speed limit.
4. Feverous Nibbles. Your boss likes you because you get your work done quickly. You always have a million things to do and never enough time to do them. Mental breakdowns and suicides run in your family. Valium and Ritalin would do you good.
5. Dunked. Every one likes you because you are always up beat. You like to sugar coat unpleasant experiences and rationalize bad situations into good ones. You are in total denial about the shambles you call a life. You have a propensity towards narcotic addiction.
6. Twisted apart, the inside, and then the cookie. You have a highly curious nature. You take pleasure in breaking things apart to find out how they work, though not always able to put them back together, so you destroy all the evidence of your activities. You deny your involvement when things go wrong. You are a compulsive liar and exhibit deviant, if not criminal, behavior.
7. Twisted apart, the inside, and then toss the cookie. You are good at business and take risk that pay off. You take what you want and throw the rest away. You are greedy, selfish, mean, and lack feelings for others. You should be ashamed of yourself. But that's ok, you don't care, you got yours.
8. Just the cookie, not the inside. You enjoy pain.
9. I just like to lick them, not eat them Stay away from small furry animals and seek professional medical help - immediately.
10. I don't have a favorite way, I don't like Oreo cookies. You probably come from a rich family, and like to wear nice things, and go to up-scale restaurants. You are particular and fussy about the things you buy, own, and wear. Things have to be just right. You like to be pampered. You are a prima donna. There's just no pleasing you.

SO, with that said...how do you eat your oreo cookie cupcake?

Girl Scout Inspirations

Who doesn't love a good girl scout cookie? Whether it's the lemon delights, the peppermint cookies, the peanutbutter cups, or just a really good samoa.

How about a cupcake to replace those cookies...

...Samoa cupcake, perhaps?

A chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting topped with toasted coconut and drizzled chocolate.

*MmMmM*

A Variety of Goodness

I began with making 2 flavors...Chocolate and Vanilla. The frosting added the variety of flavor.

*Chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse frosting topped with chocolate shavings*

*Vanilla or Chocolate cake with strawberry frosting topped with a strawberry*

...incase you weren't already strawberried out.

*Vanilla cake with lemon frosting topped with a lemon slice*

The frosting is what added the flavor to the cupcakes...it was a cool whip frosting so the lightness complimented the heaviness of the cake well. Perfect for a spring or summer gathering :)

"DIrty Thirty" Birthday Celebrations

So, my sister turned 30 this year. As we planned her birthday celebration for this BIG birthday I wanted to do something special for her. I somehow convinced myself that I could in fact make her a "fabulous" birthday cake. It was a task I offered at my own free will but a challenge I was excited to face.

When I went to the store I immediately became overwhelmed with all of the different tools and gadgets for cake making. Sure, I've made a simple birthday cake before...who hasn't. Bake the cake in the cake pans, slather it with their favorite frosting, and then slap a "happy birthday" on top. But I didn't want this to be just an ordinary birthday cake. I wanted it to be fun and creative. The more I thought of ideas, the more the baking aisle became a happy place to visit.

I will admit, I did a lot of research in order to figure out what all these tools were used for, but once I learned what they were I was ready to get started. I immediately called my mom while standing in the aisle to tell her how excited I was and how many things I had to choose from. When I got to the register I was no longer impressed. I had no idea how much making a cake would cost. I have a new respect for those prices we all whine about at bakeries. BUT, this was for my sister...so, suck it up and hope it turns out somewhat decent.

The easy part was baking the cake. Sure, I can do that. I've baked a lot of cakes. The next step wasn't so easy. For the first time I decided to experiment with fondant...AND boy was it an experiment. I spent hours rolling out a block of hard "icing", but got a nice little arm muscle work out in the process. Adam would come in from working in the garage to find me each time hunched over the counter still rolling away. He liked to comment that this cake was going to take me forever...and from the looks of how the first fondant experience went, it did feel like it would be forever.

I FINALLY got the white rolled out and layed over the cake. Next would be mixing black coloring into the white in order to cut out "zebra stripes". In my head it seemed like a really fun idea. When it took me another couple of hours to ge the black just right and then cutting the stripes I was beginning to re-think the whole idea.

This is the end result of a whole day's work...and just the beginning

Another day = filling in the gaps with more stripes

In my mind a "BIG" celebration needs to have a "BIG" cake. It can't just be one simple layer. It needs some color...some fun. Day #3 of cake decorating was mixing the white with pink coloring. This took forever and another trip to the store for some more fondant. I messed up the rest of my white and got some funky florescent red color. It was just not working, but I evenutally got the pink I was looking for. This time I think I had mastered the rolling of fondant and this one went a little faster and smoother.

Applying the pink to the top layer...

Day 4...Adding some "pizzaz"...we're finally getting there!

AND our final result. Fresh flowers for the top

The Birthday Girl with her "30th" cake!

Happy 30th Birthday to my "big" sister. I hope you enjoyed your celebration AND all the extra cake!

Vanilla on Vanilla

A simple vanilla homemade cupcake with vanilla frosting. The simplest and yet my favorite. Everything on this cupcake is from scratch and I'm pretty proud of it.

Who wants to try it? :)

Let me introduce myself...

Hey There!

Well, more than likely if you are reading this, you know me. BUT, maybe not. I'm Chrissy and I have a big dream of owning a cupcake business. Will that dream come true? Likely not. But a girl can dream, can't she?

I'm a 27 year old hospital social worker. Recently married and enjoying (or at least trying) what life is throwing us. I can't deny, I'm a little burnt out AND far from a professional baker. I'm not really sure where my want or need to own a cupcake business began exactly but i have come to realize how much of a stress reliever it has been for me after a stressful day or week. Now, the mission is to find people who want to eat them...AND maybe pay for them, perhaps? I do know I need to prove myself before anyone dishes out the green stuff, but maybe one day? In the mean time, I will continue to use cupcakes as a stress reliever and give them away to first available person brave enough to consume them ;)

Enjoy!