Tuesday, March 30, 2010

martha why do you enable me so?



i have been on a roll with the Martha cupcakes book, at this rate i might actually whiz through the whole thing in record time :-). The book has already seen better days but the way i see it it only means it is well loves :-). it has multicolored sticky tabs, which let me know MUST TRY now recipes, and those that can probably wait a bit...today i actually chose 6 more, that are going to be my next victims. I cannot recommend this book enough...i have even found cupcakes that will be cute favors for my daughters first proper birthday bash!!!!. Thought i would take a second to list what i have tried so far, and by try i mean baked and given to others or my taste testers (who are quickly approaching burnout lol) i cannot stomach my own baking, probably a very very good thing these days.

1) mocha cupcakes

supposedly the are very yummy...but after 7 tries and 7 flops at the 7 minute frosting that should go on them i have lost that battle for now...stiff frosting my butt, it's always a gloppy mess...a delicious mess (i have tried it) even for the coffee hater that i am..hence no piccies...but i have a lovely stock of mocha cupcakes keeping the freezer nice and full.

2)chocolate chip cupcakes:

just in time for some st paddy's day fun...the where edible (well no one ranted and raved about them lol) albeit a bit too firm for my liking

3)Boston cream pie cupcakes :

can you belive i didn't have enough stuff in to make the full amount of ganache :(. According to my taste testers, they made them think of a cakier eclair. Since i have never had boston cream pie i don't know if that's a compliment or not lol

4) peanut butter filled chocolate cupcakes:

these are a keeper, even the not a fan of peanut butter liked them.

5)cookies n cream cheesecakes:

these were sooooo easy to make, and quick to, the longest part was the "setting" time. but since you can bung them in the fridge tin and all and kinda forget about them, job's a goodin' :-)

6) one bowl chocolate cupcakes:

this one i am particuarly fond off as it has NO dairy. since i am trying to get back on the no dairy train, this is my go to recipe when i need a choclate fix, sub some of the oil for applesauce and it's even more moist.yummy!!

7)strawberry cupcakes:

these i have to say are for the time being the all time favorite, they make my kitchen smell so so lovely and summery :-)). and they look so pretty to.

8) orange vanilla bean cupcakes:

cupcake really yummy...but not to self...must master the art of candying oranges, bitter tasting candied orange "almost" spoiled the cupcake.

9)roasted banana cupcakes:

i have never in my life roasted a banana before to pop into a cupcake, but these also went down really well, even though i found them "stiff/hard" looking

10) triple-citrus cupcakes:

these where really fun to make, and for the best of reasons two. they were my first drop off to a dear friend as the cupcake fairy.

11)hummingbird cupcakes:

with the 7 minute icing another "no i can't" moment here..i compltely botched the pineaple flowers that should have gone on top, and they were in the oven for ages!, but these cupcakes really didn't last long even withut them :-p


phew i feel slightly more sane now, as i am only up to 11...that not excessive at all is it? i probably shouldn't mention that some of these have been repeats :-p


the next upcoming victims??

coconut cupcakes
stout cupcakes
chocolate salted-caramel mini cupcakes
mint chocolate cupcakes


now where will the cupcake fairy deliver to next? Trust me my family are loving the idea of the fairy at the moment...

Monday, March 29, 2010

cupcake fairy---granting wishes one tummy at a time


i know months ago i joked about leaving cupcakes on doorsteps...well the nutter has been let loose and i am doing just that...i have already left my calling card on 3 very deserving doorsteps, and hoping to hit a 4th tomorrow :-p...yes you might be thiking that i have started my burnout party early and have lost the plot, but making 3 batches of diffrent cupcakes in one evning, while watching a flick and icing them and leaving them without prior warning is actually quite fun lol...ok i have lost the plot ;-p

baking machine!



i really need to keep this updated...i have been very busy in the kitchen. my family would argue that i have have spent too much time in there and they are all caked out...never thought i would see the day where i have been asked NOT to bake something for a wee while...have to admit i have gone into baking overdrive these days...i completed my first proper proper cake order for a friend who had faith in me (which means more then she'll ever know). All K mentioned was that her son LOVED hockey at the moment and that he was a huge senators fan...because i never do anything by half,lil old me decided why not attempt a hockey jersey cake for one special boy... this is how it turned out....i for once won't point out all the mistakes :-p, but they are there...all that matters is that the cake went down very well. with this cake i have also officially started my kitchen aid trust fund...i am on my 4th or 5th hand mixer in less then 2 years....and although i cannot justify spending that amount of money on myself...the 5 hand mixers would have more or less covered the cost...so since i am so so stubborn (i know who would have guessed it?! lol), any money i make baking wise is going in said trust fund...if i can only get over the whole i just want to bake for free thing, it might grow faster lol...even though we had to rumble in her hallway :-p K huge thanks for being the first contributor to my trust fund, and for even asking me in the first place....