Sweetheart Cupcakes

These are probably the sweetest looking cupcakes I have made to date. Shawn, an old friend from high school reached out to me a few weeks ago and asked me to make a special cupcake for his upcoming wedding to his lovely fiance Robin. Needless to say I was beyond flattered and happy to oblige!

Weddings are all about love. I wanted them to feeeelll the love on this cupcake. I think they did. The couple was fond of red velvet and cream cheese, so I went with those flavors, although you could go with any flavor of your choosing. I really loved how the red batter with the heart cutouts just seemed to go perfectly with one another. Sooo cute.

I am officially calling this red velvet recipe the BEST one that has come out of my oven. I especially loved how rich and moist the cake turned out. I'd tell you the recipe, but then I'd have to kill you. Hah. No really.



All you really need to accomplish this look is a sturdy cupcake and heart shaped cookie cutter (small enough to fit inside the crown of the cupcake. Simply slice the top part of the cake off (right where the cake meets the liner) and press the heart shaped cutter into the top. Push it out, and voila! Ice the cake with any frosting you love (but do it with the tops still off!) and then place the heart shaped tops back on! Dust with some powdered sugar and BOOM! The perfect cupcake for your sweetheart.

Let's not forget the delicious Oreo cake pops I made as well. Shawn saw them in an earlier post and was just dying to get some for their reception dinner.



I really hope this lovely couple loved them as much I did making them. Congrats to Shawn and Robin!

love.love.love.

Tie Dye Vanilla Fudge

it seems i can't find a minute lately to blog. my to do lists have been longer than usual lately and typing up a post seems to end up last on that list. sorry people.

today was an early day at the office, so i decided to make this post a priority. wanted to share a fun fudge recipe. while the flavor is just your classic vanilla, the color is what makes these fab. you could whip these up in any color to fit the holiday you're celebrating. i made this batch for the 4th of july (yeah, the color is a little more pink than red, oops!) but you could switch it up and do black/orange for halloween, green/gold for patty's day.... you get the idea.

without any further ado... tie dye vanilla fudge!

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter

5 oz evaporated milk

2 cups marshmallow creme

8 oz white chocolate chips

red and blue food coloring (or colors for the holiday that you're celebrating!)

The How To:

 (For thinner fudge, use an 8x8-inch baking dish. For a thicker fudge, use an 8x5-inch baking dish.)

Line a baking dish with foil. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large pot, combine the sugar, butter and evaporated milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. When it comes to a boil, stir constantly for 5 minutes. Add in the marshmallow creme and the white chocolate chips. Stir until smooth.

Divide the mixture into 3 bowls. Tint one red, one blue, and keep the third white. Pour the red fudge into the prepared baking dish, followed by the white fudge, then the blue fudge. Use a knife to drag through the mixture, combining to form the marbled effect. Let cool completely before cutting.

That's all for now. Promise not to disappear again!

Have any fancy fudge recipes I should know about? Leave me some comment love. Pleasse? Me thanks you.

love.love.love & happy baking!

Graduation Goodies

It's been a busy summer. Between bridal showers, weddings, buying a house, and traveling, I just looked over at my calendar and can't believe it's already July.

Being so busy hasn't left much time for baking or new recipes, but I didn't want to leave you hanging. I thought I would share some of the stuff I made for two recent graduation parties.

 A huge congratulations to Jason, Austin and Jacob!

These "grad cap" cupcakes were made for Landstown High School. I used a Reese' mini PB cup and attached it to a chocolate covered graham cracker. I used M&Ms and airheads for the tassles. The cake is chocolate with a vanilla buttercream.

I got a copy of the HS logo and printed them out and attached to small cupcake tags made by yours truly. The mini "diplomas" were rolled out of plain printer paper and tied up with some silver ribbon. If you wanted to do a edible version, you could use white sugar sheets or rolled fondant. The cake is chocolate with a chocolate marshmallow buttercream.

Not too shabby, eh?

These were the cupcakes I did for a joint grad party for two Great Bridge HS grads. Their colors were green and gold. This is a chocolate cake with a PB frosting. The stars are handmade out of colored fondant.

For this party I also made some Oreo Cake pops. The ball is made out of an oreo and creamcheese cake base, dipped in white chocolate and drizzled in colored chocolate to match the HS colors.

I am pleased to announce my grads were very happy with the finished product! So was I!

Anyone have some cool graduation goodies they made for a recent grad in their life? I need ideas for next "season"!

love.love.love & happy baking!

Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars

I've been pretty lazy. Lazy on posts and lazy at life in general. I baked this entire weekend and ended up sleeping in a cupcake battered tee shirt just because I didn't feel like changing. Yep, I looked like a critter and I owned it. I'm sure you've all been there. Where nothing in the world will stand in the way of you and your bed, not even a change of clothes.

I've been meaning to share this doozie with you for a few weeks now. Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars. If I could get stuck with one dessert for the rest of my life, it'd probably be creme brulee.  Mix up a little cheesecake with this beloved custard and you'll really make dreams come true. The recipe makes over two dozen bars and the combo of the cream cheese and the sweet crunchy toffee is just delightfully good. And they're low fat! {not really...but the best things aren't!}

(recipe from Betty Crocker)

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1 box (4-serving size) French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup toffee bits, finely crushed

The How To:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, pudding mix, brown sugar, melted butter, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and 1 whole egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan.

2. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining whole egg, 3 egg yolks and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over crust in pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set in center. Immediately sprinkle top with crushed toffee bits. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.



Voila! Have any favorite bars you like to make? I'd love to hear about them!

love.love.love & happy baking!

Bridal Shower Bakes!

It's wedding seasssoonnnn! :)

I had the pleasure of helping out with my dear friend Tracy's bridal shower this past weekend. When she exchanges vows with her future groom in July, I will have the honor of standing at the altar beside her. It isn't very often you're able to share in special moments like that.

To add to the excitement, I was responsible for creating the shower cupcakes. You all know how stoked I was about this. After tossing around idea after idea, I decided to go with two different flavors/designs. And I'd have to say they turned out great!

Take a peek, will ya? :) 

The first ones were my Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes I made earlier in the year. I tinted the icing pink, added some sugar pearls and wrapped with some white lace wrappers. I custom made the cupcake flags by using some lace doily paper and some wedding sticker embellishments I found at Michael's. How cute riiighht?!

The second cupcake I did was a chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla buttercream.  I added some "I Do" cupcake flags and glued some royal blue rhinestones to them. (Tracy's wedding color!) I dusted with some black sanding sugar to match the black damask cupcake liner. looooveee these.

All the ladies at the shower gave me "oooh's" and "aaah's" and I have to tell you I was tickled pink. More importantly, the bride loved them! I seriously cannot wait to bake for my next event!

Even though the cupcakes were what I was most pleased with, I wanted to share with you the other "task" I was given. I was recruited to hand paint the wine glasses for the mothers and the bridal party. Let's be real people. I can't draw for crap. If the world depended on my artistic ability, we'd be completely screwed. I had no idea where to start. But, alas! I found this awesome tutorial that gave me some inspiration and I ran with it.

Not too shabby for my first go round, right? :)

I used one of Tracy's wedding colors, royal blue to paint the bases and added the wedding date to the bottom of the glasses.

The bride had her own special glass!

the bride to be digging into my baked goodies!

trace and her bow bouquet. what a trooper!

 All in all, I'd say it was a successful day! I hope the bride loved it as much as I loved doing it!

The bridal party: Myself (looking fierce in yellow!), Aireka (I want to steal your dress.), Tracy (the beautiful bride to be!), Amanda (her sister and maid or honor), and Andrea (her future sister in law).

What do you guys think? Did I do alright for my first cupcake bridal shower?

love.love.love & happy baking!

French Dip "Cupcakes"

So far my Sunday has consisted of coffee in bed and a Breaking Bad marathon. 

What is Breaking Bad you say? Where do I even begin?!! Do you have a couple hours? I would need to sit you down and explain how this completely whacked out television show has me so engulfed that I may need rehab. For real people, do yourself a fave and jump on the Breaking Bad bandwagon. I can't even tell you what you're missing. There's just no time! We need to move on...

Dinner cupcakes are starting to become the regular on our kitchen table. I spawned an obsession when I made these spag and meatball ones and then it became really ridiculous when I made those Buff Chicken ones. Then I came across some French Dip ones. Roast beef is probably my favorite deli meat. So I was game to try these out. And I have to say they're probably my favorite ones to date. These are the simplest things to whip up when you're short on time and they still seem to impress my hubs every time I make them. (I've done them three times already!)

The gooey Swiss cheese, the robust roast beef, and the melted mozzarella on top of those wonton beauties make them as flawless as a unicorn's tear. Try them... You'll like them...

French Dip Cupcakes
(recipe adapted from Emily Bites)

24 oz deli roast beef, thinly sliced and chopped into pieces (I used my store brand’s 96% fat free kind)
8 Laughing Cow Light Swiss wedges, chopped
2/3 c Au Jus gravy (I used Heinz)
32 wonton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
8oz (2 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese


The How To:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375. Lightly mist 12 cups in a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a microwavable bowl, combine the roast beef, cheese wedges and Au Jus sauce. Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir to combine until cheese wedges are melted and roast beef mixture is fully coated with cheese and Au Jus sauce.
3. Push a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each of the twelves sprayed cups in the muffin tin. Spoon about half of the roast beef mixture evenly amongst the wonton wrappers. Sprinkle about half the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of each cup. Press another wonton wrapper on top and repeat the layering steps with the remaining ingredients.

4. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin. Makes 12 cupcakes. (I suggested boxing half of these up for lunch tomorrow. They are super delish re-heated.)

Voila! Dinner in 20 and you really didn't have to do all that much!

Back to this Breaking Bad thing though, anyone else out there watching it? What do you think of it so far? I'm itching to get my hands on Season 4.  Speakkk to me!


love.love.love & happy baking!

Tie Dye Cupcakes

I am extremely sunburned as I type this. My bra straps feel like they are going to melt through my shoulders. My face feels like leather. Have I painted an attractive enough picture for you yet? I'm not sure there's anything more uncomfortable than being this red-faced. Next time, I'll use more sunscreen.

I'm hoping your Memorial Day weekend was a little less painful than mine. {i kid, i had a ball this weekend!}

One of my favorite "hippie" pals had a birthday on Sunday and I wanted the cupcake to reflect his free and fun spirit. I decided to play with my batter and give it a tie dye look. Everyone needs a little color in their life.  I swear, if my friend Michael was a cupcake, he may have looked just like this.

rainbow!! weeee!!!

I went with a basic vanilla cupcake and topped it with a vanilla buttercream, although you could really use any flavor you like. The process is pretty simple, just a tad time consuming, but the end result is pretty rad.

Preettttyyyy grooooovy if you ask me!

The How To:

1. Start by whipping up your favorite vanilla cupcake batter. I used this one. If you're short on time, you can always use a boxed cake mix, although I guarantee you they will taste better from scratch!

2. Have 1 packet of assorted food colorings or gels on hand. I used purple, green, red, blue and yellow for my batter colors.

3. Once your batter is mixed up, separate the batters into bowls so you can mix each color you'd like to use. For mine, I ended up with 5 bowls/colors.

4. Tint each bowl with a few drops of food coloring or gel. I used anywhere from 5 to 8 drops of food coloring to get my batter the right shade. Don't over mix your batter in this step, because you’ll develop the gluten in the flour and be left with a very tough, bread-like cupcake.Try and mix with minimal stirs.

5. Layer spoonfuls of each colored batter into the cupcake liners until they are 3/4 full. When all the liners are filled, use a toothpick to swirl the batter a few times.

5. Bake your cupcakes according to the recipe you're using.

6. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

I used this vanilla buttercream recipe and tinted my frosting orange with food gel. I iced the cupcakes and then garnished with rainbow sprinkles and peace signs.

The whole gang really loved the way they turned out. I'm sure these would dazzle at any kid's birthday party as well.

Have any fun, bright recipes I should know about? Hit me!

love.love.love & happy baking!