Monday, July 28, 2008

Blue Spikes with Pink Sugar


Some fun with frosting! I made these a few months ago while housesitting and am just getting them up now. These are yellow cake with basic buttercream, decorated in a not-so-basic way.
I love how the pink sugar just bounces off this blue frosting, and with a cupcake like this, no ordinary baking cup will do- so I give you zebra stripes! Stay tuned for more fun with frosting later this week!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

na na na na na na....Batman!!!


I've been pretty busy making cupcakes for a friend's wedding on Friday, but I couldn't resist whipping up this batch of Batman cupcakes for the Dark Knight premier. Devils food cake topped with chocolate buttercream and a classic Batman symbol made from yellow fondant. If I had to do it again, there's a few things I'd change- but considering I made these in under 2 hours on a whim, I'm pretty happy with the final result.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Pink Lemonade!


It's been pretty hot up here in Boston, so I wanted my next baking project to be something refreshing for summer. I found it in my pink lemonade cupcake- a light pink cake with a subtle lemonade flavor (achieved by using pink lemonade concentrate in the batter) topped with a tart lemonade buttercream and a royal icing pink 'lemon slice' that I made myself.

Legend has it that pink lemonade has its origins in the circus. It is said that 14-year old Henry "Bunk" Allot stumbled into success when some red cinnamon candies fell into a tub of lemonade he was mixing to sell at a circus concession stand. The resulting pink mixture sold so well compared to it's yellow counterpart that it quickly became a staple of the circus experience. The first print reference to pink lemonade made in 1879 refers to the circus as well, adding more fuel to this legend.

Recipes for pink lemonade date back to 1863, calling for currant juice or strawberries to be added, resulting in 'pretty color and pleasing flavor, a very good drink for summer or for evening parties'

Monday, July 7, 2008

4th of July Cupcakes

What could be more festive for July 4th than Red Velvet Cupcakes?
I had originally intended to make these in both red and blue, but ran out of time. My guests didn't seem to mind at all!

The origin of Red Velvet Cake is one with many theories- some will claim it is a Southern creation (who could forget the armadillo groom's cake in Steel Magnolias), while others claim it came from the North. In Canada during the 1940s and 1950s, Eaton's department store promoted it as an "exclusive" recipe, while our own Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City has it's own twist on the legend. Wherever it came from, it sure is tasty, and one of my favorites.

Red Velvet Cake gets its bright red color from food coloring, however some recipes call for beet juice. Ingredients include the usual suspects of flour, butter or oil, eggs, etc. along with buttermilk, cocoa powder, and vinegar, which give the cake its rich texture and flavor. I topped mine with a decadent cream cheese frosting and a mix of red, white, and blue stars and sprinkles. The perfect treat for a holiday.