Cupcakes, Muffins and Brownies, Oh My!

Well it is official, the Great American Bake Sale Event is less than one week away. It will be the first, and hopefully not last fund raising event that I put together. The supplies have been purchased, the dry ingredients measured out and next week will be full of baking. Some friends will also be working in their kitchens to make candy, pound cakes, mini pies, breads, cookies, brownies, muffins, coconut cream pie and key lime pie. Me, well I will be candying bacon to top some French Toast cupcakes with maple icing. I will also be toasting up some coconut for Lemon Filled Coconut Cupcakes. I have already mixed up some Chai Spice for the Vanilla Chai Cupcakes. I will also be making some Crumble Top Carrot Raisin Muffins and Golden Oatmeal Muffins. I will still have to bake up a few batches of brownies in my spare time...guess I will need to find some of that. "What about the take and bake Cookies-In-A-Jar?" you ask. Those are already done with the help if 2 little elves. This adventure will be alot of work, but I am so excited. There has been a great response for the prize drawing with donations from lots of great places. Now all I need is for people to show up with a serious sweet tooth and the desire to win some cool prizes!!! Look for more on the bake sale over the next few weeks. Stop by and see me and my team "Could Cupcakes Be the Cure?" Saturday August 6th from 11am until 4 pm at Bonni Bakes: 930 12th Street West, Downtown Bradenton in the Village of the Arts.

Special Delivery

Last week I was asked to make some type of cupcake with coconut. You see a certain someone, who will remain nameless but who does not live in my house...I swear... has been on a "coconut kick" for the past few weeks. Intrigued by all the options in front of me I settled on creating a coconut cream cupcake. Not one to conform when baking I borrowed parts of recipes and made some changes to the cake recipe as well. I have to let you know that the original recipe I found called for a whipped cream cheese icing. I had difficulty wrapping my head around a cupcake with smooth and creamy custard being topped with a cream cheese of any sort. The only part of the recipe I stuck with was the coconut cream custard filling, and boy am I glad I did. Toasting the coconut before adding it to the custard mixture was definitely a good choice, it adds so much more flavor to the coconut. I changed the icing to a stabilized whipped cream with coconut flavor and elevated a boxed coconut supreme cake mix. My trick to making my cake moist, especially the boxed cake mix, is adding a package of instant pudding mix. For this recipe I added white chocolate pudding. Now don't

go making a batch of pudding and adding it to your cake mix, just dump the dry pudding mix in with your cake mix and follow the instructions that are on the box for baking. I also substituted the water with coconut milk. I could not see allowing the rest of the coconut milk that did not need to go into the custard go to waste. I used a new technique to fill the cupcakes since I fought with my pastry filling tip during the wild berry cupcakes. It was so simple. I took a paring knife and cut a cone shape out of the center of the cupcake, filled them with custard, leveled out the parts that I had cut out of the cake and placed them back on top, covering the custard. At first I was worried that I could not remember which top went with which cupcake, but in the

 end it does not really matter since you are covering the top with icing. The end result was oh so good. Once they were complete we quickly delivered some of these sweet treats to the one whose heart desired them so. Driving away I quickly received a call that they passed the coconut craver's taste test. Tomorrow the rest will make their way to work to share. What about me you ask...well I will indulge in the extra custard and whipped topping for desert. Over the next few weeks I will be focusing on getting everything together for the "Could Cupcakes Be the Cure?" Team bake sale as part of The Great American Bake Sale. When I return to baking for the blog I will be making the Snickers cupcakes and you will be voting on a cupcake for the following week. If there is anything worth sharing happening then I will share with you. Until next time....

Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis: a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and   from the pupa to the adult butterfly. 


The past month has been a bit of a transition period for me. I have ventured out of my role as a counselor with the agency I work for and am now in the Community Relations position. So I don't see clients anymore but I try to bring them to us through positive PR about the agency. When school is in full swing I will get to go into classrooms and talk to kids about the great work we do and how we can help them and their family. I get to organize events and attend community meetings. I am actually VERY excited. This opportunity has brought a new energy to me. Now if I could just get myself back into a decent sleep routine I would be golden. The past month I have also taken a break from my blog and my weekly cupcakes...finding I needed time to focus and rededicate myself. I have thrown some energy into developing and publicizing my upcoming fundraiser...one not related to work, one that involves baking...a match made in heaven. I was also delighted to see that our not so great governor signed into law an act that will allow home bakers to sell their goods to customers without the fear of being prosecuted. With one stroke of a pen by some one I have little like for Whimsical Wishes Cakes can now be resurrected. My website, reactivated but needing editing before being published. I am looking forward to advertising as a cake decorator / baker. I really have much to be grateful for. My metamorphosis is complete, I am the adult butterfly.

Now back to the reason you probably stopped by to read this entry in the first place. I know I promised Snickers cupcakes but I have been given a special request. I found what looks like an awesome recipe for Coconut Cream Cupcakes and this weekend I will tackle them...yummy. Thanks everyone for being patient and taking the time to come back to see me through my blog. I will let you all know how the cupcakes turn out and next week, Snickers cupcakes, I promise. Until next time...

Stay Tuned

Hello everyone...just wanted to let you know I am still out here. Cupcakes are on hold but I will return this weekend with those Snickers inspired cupcakes that are now long overdue. Until next time...

Wild About Berries

I have had an interesting week. I could bore all of you with the details or I could get down to what you stopped by to find out about...the cupcakes. Shortly after posting last week's poll I began searching for a recipe for the Wild Berry cupcake. My internet searches were unsuccessful. Everything I was finding was more like a muffin and I am not asking if Muffins Could Be the Cure. Simple enough, I would just remove it as a choice and replace it with something more "easy." At least I thought that would be my plan. When I logged back on I had already gotten 2 votes. What this means for all of you out there is this...once a vote has been cast you cannot edit the poll. Just the motivation I needed to come up with my own version of a Wild Berry Cupcake. A bit overwhelmed at the idea, I decided to put my planning on hold. I held an offline poll, consisting of asking some people when I saw them what their ideas were. What I decided on was making 2 versions of this week's cupcake. One which my husband would describe as more traditional, the other he would describe as "your version." I was not sure if that was good or bad. There was one way to find out...get baking. Now this was a 2 day process. You see I was including 2 fillings this week, one for each version of my cupcakes and every component was from scratch, no boxed mix this week.  My anniversary present this year...letting me buy my supplies instead of getting me a gift...hey at least he remembered. so this is what I came up with:

Version One (the "traditional") A Wild Berry Cupcake (a basic from scratch white cake with wild berry puree added to the batter) with a Triple Berry Curd Filling, Swiss Butter Cream Icing and a Fresh Blueberry for garnish. My girls LOVE these, minus the blueberry on top. I made them as minis, they are eating them in one bite. Now you would think in my house that cupcakes are devoured in an instant. The truth is that my girls usually eat the icing and pretend to eat the cake. These...they are eating it all and asking for more. Talk about a happy mama, after all they are my toughest critics.

Version Two ("my" version): A Vanilla Bean Cupcake (from scratch...thank you whole foods store for carrying Whole vanilla beans) with a Wild Berry Mousse Filling and Fresh Strawberry Swiss Butter Cream. That's right people, I dropped those wonderful strawberries I found on sale (oh the raspberries  blueberries and black berries were on sale too) into the food processor, hit the button a few times and folded them into the heavenly Swiss Butter Cream. Now these are not a fan favorite in my house. Basically if my girls can see the the berries in anything they decide they don't like it right then.  There is no tasting involved, that is just the way it is. Trust me, I did enough taste testing of my own on this one. LOVE it, not as much as the Bailey's icing, but it is up there.
Despite some of the frustrations of this week's baking: how exactly do you fill a mini cupcake, why does my icing still look like soup after 20 minutes of beating it and why won't my meringue stiffen up, I completed the challenge. Better than that, I am proud of my creations. Tomorrow I will be delivering them to a party to celebrate the accomplishments of a Relay for Life event (don't worry, it is separate from last week's event, I am spreading the love...promise). If you want the recipes, either certain portions of them of the entire thing, let me know in the comments and I will pass them on to you. All you have to do is tell me where to send them. I enjoyed coming up with my own cupcake so much that this week you will decide which one of my favorite things will inspire my cupcake. I can't wait to find out what you all choose. I hope all of you have a wonderful week. Until next time...

Just call me the Cupcake Smuggler

First let me thank all of you for continuing to follow my blog. I appreciate it more than you know. Second let me thank all of you for voting to bring the first alcohol I actually liked the taste of, beer (which I really do not like) and chocolate together in the form of this week's cupcake. Yes people, you picked the Chocolate Guinness cupcake with Bailey's Irish Cream Icing. My first thought was "Ah crap!" my final thought was "genius!" You can find the recipe which I borrowed from Karin at http://karinscupcakeadventure.blogspot.com/2011/03/guinness-cupcakes-with-baileys-irish.html This week I did not fight with any stage of the cupcakes. This week I also baked solo due to the ingredients. I was extremely concerned as I emptied the entire bottle of Guinness into the vanilla and melted butter. It smelled horrible, the beer was spitting at me from the beaters. I had to remind myself that this cupcake would not exist if people, like most of you, did not think it sounded fantastic. So I continued on. It was smelling better with each addition of the dry mix which included the sugar and cocoa powder. One quick taste before throwing them in the oven kept me wondering, as did the smell of Guinness in my kitchen as the beer actually cooked off during baking. It was time to head out to a happy 1st birthday party so I left the naked cupcakes to cool completely hoping that the icing would change my mind. Now I love the taste of Bailey's Irish Cream. I only wish it did not cost so much.  As soon as I came home a twisted off that cap, took a nice long smell and began to make what I think will be my all time favorite icing ever, and I mean EVER!!! Butter, confectioners sugar and Bailey's...my new best friends. Despite my instant love for this icing I made sure not to pipe too much onto the cupcakes, I promise that the cupcakes were pretty tall, I have yet to figure out that perfect amount when filling the liners. Since I had decided to donate these cupcakes to a special event I dressed them up with some tinted Bailey's icing and a few candy pearls. They were ready to go and so was I. Now here is where I ran into an issue. How can I make sure that these cupcakes last as long as the event they would be traveling to? I made a quick pit stop to the grocery store. One bag of ice and a one Styrofoam cooler later I had found my solution. I quickly wrote on the cooler "21 and up only" and the name of the cupcake flavor. I added the name of my blog as well and headed west for my delivery. Twenty minutes with my windows down and music up with no idea I may have to smuggle in my treats. The beach was dark and it was easy to spot my intended delivery area. It was marked by large stadium lights, the sound of fun music and people walking laps all in the name of finding a cure for cancer. I pulled into the parking lot and noticed a sign announcing I was entering a smoke free / alcohol free zone. For the second time today I thought to myself "ah crap." Reaching for my marker I quickly

scribbled over "21 and up only" not knowing how strict this alcohol ban might me. Looking back I think it was a bit of an over reaction since I failed to mark out the words "Guinness" and "Bailey's Irish Cream." To my delight there was no one checking my little cooler and I quickly caught site of two very friendly and familiar faces, Tia and Scott. They were walking their laps, hand and hand with smiles on their face, all to show support for their loved ones who had been touched by cancer. As always I was asked "where are my two little friends?" A question Scott asks anytime he sees me without the twins attached to my hip. Since it was at least 8:30 pm I was confident with my response "ha, they are at home in bed." I was ushered over to the Team Publix Supermarkets tent where I was able to deliver the cupcakes and let them know that they can share them amongst themselves or with the other teams. After all there would be another 12 hours of the Anna Maria Island Relay for Life. I walked a lap with them, taking a look at all of the booths that were set up in hopes of raising more money for the event. Two things caught my eye, the Luminaria tent and a sign that read "Butterbeer $1 each." This is a cupcake, also known as Triple Butterscotch. After returning to the team's tent I enjoyed one of my cupcakes, I must admit it was pretty darn good. I then made my way back to the Luminaria Tent walking the wrong way into oncoming walkers. I filled out my "In Memory Of" Luminaria, watched it get placed and started to walk away. Just as I took a a few steps it was announced that the Remembrance Lap and Luminaria Ceremony would begin. I watched as people, including myself moved towards their small white bags with names and messages indicating someone they loved that has been lost to

or is fighting against cancer. It was strangely breathtaking as all lights were turned off, everyone was silent and one by one each of those small white bags containing so much significance were lit. It was beautiful and sad all at the same time. The following lap was calm and mostly silent. As I remembered my grandpa Bill I found myself whipping away a mixture of tears of joy and sadness. When I did hear people talking it was those who had not been directly effected by cancer commenting on how sad the visual symbol was of those lost or a mother trying to explain to her young son what exactly cancer is. As I returned to my luminaria I felt myself smile as I looked down at that glowing bag. I left feeling at peace, more than I have in a long time. I headed east, enjoying my 20 minute ride home, windows down and in silence, not even the sound of racing thoughts in my head. Grateful for the ones I love, aware of all those who have been lost. Until next time...

A Match Made in Heaven

There are not many people I know that don't enjoy the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Most of my family, including myself have a weakness for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. In fact I was surprised that the Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes did not win by a landslide a few weeks back. Because of this I made 2 batches this week to spread the love (sorry you did not get any grandma). That is right people, 48 little piles of heaven right under my roof made in a little over 3 hours and I only ate one, to taste test of course. For this week I flew solo in the kitchen, I knew looking at the directions that it was going to take some time, more than a 5 year old can stand on one task.  I had to use some elbow grease on this one, my hand held mixer was screaming for help after I committed to making a double batch in one VERY FULL mixing bowl. I had a big, manly cheerleader in the living room reminding me to take a deep breath and stay calm when I thought I was going to fail at folding the 12 egg whites I had whipped to medium soft peaks into the 36 ounces of melted semisweet chocolate chips, 3 sticks of butter, cream, vanilla, 12 egg yolks, sugar, flour and 24 regular size Reese's cups!!! I mean what is a measly dozen egg whites anyway. After about 10 minutes of under my breath cursing and sighing I finally found success. I started baking the 48 cupcakes into their shiny gold liners and then I remembered I still needed to make the icing. By then it was 8 pm, I am getting tired all over again just thinking about it. I made the icing, filled my pastry bag and found the icing was way to thick to be piped out to top the cupcakes. It was all put back into the bowl and after being thinned out, back in the bag the icing went. Then I discovered that my mini peanut butter cups had begun to melt together. I quickly salvaged what I could from the packages and crossed my fingers there would be enough to top each and every tiny cake. The cupcake goddesses were working against me. After a complete cooling off period, both for the cupcakes and me...I iced and topped each with their mini cup! SUCCESS, take that cupcake goddesses! The cupcake was saved as my reward for cleaning up my baking mess. I am not kidding when I say the cake melted in my mouth. The peanut butter icing gave it that Reese's finish. After a long night I packaged up the cupcakes and they were ready to make their way to my dad's house, day care and the local fire house of my choosing. Delivery was late today after spending some time at a friend's house celebrating her little boy's birthday. After all we did need to eat dinner before hitting the road to deliver cupcakes. Abigail had told me earlier that she did not want to deliver cakes because she would rather just eat them. When she found out we were going to make the trip to the fire house she changed her mind. I had originally planned to drop the cupcakes off at the fire house closest to my other deliveries, but that would have meant not sharing the moment with my little girls. I quickly drove home to pick them up and we made our way to the first fire house with their lights on, bay open and fire truck in eye shot!  We walked around a few minutes trying to confirm which doorbell to ring. Bell located, pushed and answered. We were quickly invited in to say hello to the guys. 

I explained that all of you decided they should get the cupcakes this week. You all should know they send a big thank you. I only wish each of you could have been there to get to play in the fire truck and meet the resident ducks the way the girls did. Tomorrow I begin my week with one of my least favorite activities of the year, a role as a peer reviewer for a quality assurance entity. Three days of telling other people they are either doing a great job or they need to do a better job, yuck. On the brighter side I get to end my day taking the girls to their ballet / tap class, much more fun. I will continue to check in and see what special supplies I may need for next week's cupcake. Don't forget to vote for your favorite. Until next time...

"System Error"

Hello all, apparently there were some issues with the host website so the poll for next week's cupcake was removed. I have added it back into the page. So please come on back and vote for which culinary concoction I should bake next week!!! Until next time...

Holy Oreo

I woke up today excited to try out some new things. With my membership card in hand I loaded the girls up and made our way to the local YMCA for open swim time. Since doing our tour the girls have been excited about the prospect of swimming in the biggest pool they had ever seen. The locker room was quite an experience, one that I am sure we will have again and again. The girls exhibited great independence in the "big pool" and took an instant liking to the friendly lifeguard. We pulled our waterlogged bodies out of the pool and quickly changed clothes, making our way to the closest playground equipment. When hunger took us over we decided to leave for the day, making plans to perhaps celebrate Mother's Day in the pool. The second thing I was excited about was the Death by Oreo Cupcakes I would be making. I quick trip to the grocery store made sure I had everything I would need for these sweet treats. This time both of my girls were ready to help. A few arguments broke out about who got to mix what and why one of them dropped the mixer in the bowl as soon as I mentioned it should not occur. In the end we overcame and turned out a pretty fantastic treat. I love Oreo cookies. I love dipping them in milk even more, but I think attempting to dunk this particular creation would not have a welcome result. There are a select few that will get to indulge in this with me. For those who are not lucky enough to do so you can make them at home. Here's how:
For the Cupcakes:
1 package of chocolate Oreo Cookies
1 Box Devil's Food Cake Mix (seems like cheating but sure does not taste like it)
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Line the cupcake tin with paper liners and place a whole Oreo in the bottom of each (yes you read that right!)
2. Set aside 10 Oreos (these will be for your icing). Take the rest and crush them into coarse crumbs, mix the crumbs with the DRY cake mix
3. Add wet ingredients and mix according to the box directions
4. Pour batter into liners until 3/4 full making sure the Oreo is completely covered with batter
5. Bake for 15-18 minutes (I baked for a little over 18 because I overfilled my liners)
6. Let cool completely before icing

For the Icing

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature            
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
10 reserved Oreo Cookies
2-3 Tbs heavy cream

1. Finely grind Oreos (use a food processor if possible)
2. Mix in butter and vanilla
3. Add powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time, mixing well with each addition
4. Add heavy cream as needed until reaching desired consistency
5. Ice cupcakes

You will see that I added a mini Oreo to the top for decoration. This is not necessary but when I saw it on http://karinscupcakeadventure.blogspot.com/ I thought Karin was on to something so I copied her, thanks Karin for the recipe and the decorating idea.

If you try these at home I am sure you will love them as much as I do. I promise I only ate one. If you would rather just stare at them longingly in an attempt to avoid the caloric intake that comes with them then feel free to check out my slide show of these and more sweet creations of mine. Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas out there. Until next time....

In the Event of a Tie

Hello followers. I use that term in the highest regard. Your votes have left me with a decision to make. We have a tie for this week's cupcake. The winners are Death by Oreo and Peanut Butter Cup. I am forced to make the choice on what to do with this result. Since I have the majority of the main ingredients available to me at home and it is Mother's Day on Sunday and I  love the cookies and cream combination, you have twisted my arm to choose Death by Oreo this week. I will not ask you to vote this week. Instead I will bake up your other favorite on the list next week. I wanted to give credit to a fellow blogger for having some great cupcake flavors listed in her blog, including last week's Chocolate Dr. Pepper and all of this week's poll choices.  Karin blogs on http://karinscupcakeadventure.blogspot.com/  I am not sure if they are her recipes or if she found them somewhere else. One thing I am sure of is I hope the next 2 are as yummy as the first. Stay tuned for more posts. Until next time!

I'm a Pepper, You're a Pepper

Hello everyone. I wanted to say thank you for tuning in. A quick update, my doctor's appointment went well. No change or increase in medications and my BP was actually almost acceptable. I got up the courage to ask the doc about Chantix and started it on Friday. I am supposed to let everyone know to pay attention to my mood. First reason is that I cannot take the Chantix and my anti-depressant at the same time. Second reason is because in the next few weeks I may become increasingly irritable...really, I have already been feeling like that trying to quit cold turkey.I guess that comes down to not too much will change in the next few weeks.   I have to admit that I failed to go on my walk today, but I think we will head out to Robinson's Preserve for our walk tomorrow.

Your votes were tallied and the cupcake for this week was determined. I had a ton of fun baking Chocolate Dr Pepper Cupcakes this evening. I had a little helper  that was wide awake and thrilled to play a role in this week's dose of cupcakes. My other little one fell asleep for the night before my baking began. This particular cupcake was easy to make. It is the first time I have made a cake that required the butter be melted for the batter and the icing. Then again it is the first time I have made a cake with soda for the liquid. One thing I love about this recipe is that the cupcakes only take 15 minutes to bake. They were so light and moist, hugely different from the matcha cupcakes. The smell as they were baking was fantastic, probably because of the cinnamon. The icing gave me a run for my money. First it was too thin...add powdered sugar, then it was too thick...add Dr Pepper. Finally it was perfect. The cakes were taken out of the oven. At that point I looked down and it was 10:43 p.m.  I had to break the news to my assistant chef that she would have to go to bed and her taste test would have to wait until tomorrow. Make no mistake she will wake up asking for a cupcake for breakfast. I did taste them in her absence. I have to say they were YUMMY!!! The icing, like most homemade styles, was very sweet. The hint of Dr Pepper and cherry syrup was there. What I was most delighted to experience was the little bit of heat provided by the
cinnamon. I will post the recipe tomorrow if anyone wants to try these. It is late and I should go to sleep sometime before my children wake up for the day.   Almost forgot, check out the slide show I added to the page.

Baby Steps

There are a few things that I have had to admit to myself this week. Well one big thing really, I have been in denial. There are few things in life that happen the way we would like them to. I am trying not to be too hard on myself because I really am just beginning on this new road. This week I have struggled with my fight to stop smoking. My heart rate has been elevated, my blood pressure uncontrolled by the medication. I am ashamed to say that it has taken me this long to come to terms with the damage I have done to my body. The odds are stacked against me, there is a history of hypertension and heart disease in both my paternal grandparent's families. Why I thought I would be the lucky one to overcome it is beyond me. I go back to the doctor tomorrow and I am sure that the medication will change or increase or both. No matter the outcome one thing is for sure there are big changes coming for me. This week I finally accepted it is time to leave my job. The work that I loved for so long has taken it's toll on me. The work itself is not overwhelming but with every shift in funding means a shift in responsibility. That has been the hardest thing for me. There are days that I feel like I cannot pull my weight, so many things happen to take me away from work, like my health and  the health of my family. None of which I can control. With every sick day I feel more guilty for the burden it places on my co-workers, some of which have become very dear friends. Because of this I have come to the point where it is time to leave not only this particular job, but the counseling field in it's entirety. At least for a little while. I need to find something that is predictable, in a good way. Something that allows me to leave the job behind when it is quitting time. It will be hard, we all know the pickins are slim out there. On top of that how do you convince a perspective employer that you have the skills to do anything more than work with at risk youth when that is what you have lived and breathed for the past 10 years. Somehow with this realization has come a sense of peace within me. I contribute that in part to the most important person I work with supporting this change for me...you know who you are. The other realization I had this week is that I am making excuses for why other parts of my life cannot change. Specifically my physical activity. I have continued to say that I cannot find the time. How can I break away from the mommy responsibilities that "consume" my time at home. A very wise person once told me to make the things I dreaded the most into something fun, something that could be made into a family activity. I never really understood what that meant before last night. Last night I decided to register for the Heart Walk, a 5K walk in September to benefit the American Heart Association. As I put on my tennis shoes and got ready for my first evening walk, two little girls were begging to go with me, trust me I am not exaggerating. I spent more time arguing with them about why they could not go then it would have taken me to get them ready for a walk. It started a fight and made me angry for no reason.  Today I made a decision to include them in this journey. I picked up some cheap water bottles, 3 LED lanyard glow sticks (since we will be walking in the evening) and a pedometer.  Minus the stop for $1.99 Happy Meals on the way home from day care, it was the best decision I have made in recent weeks. I prepared them for the walk making sure they understood that it was going to be a long walk and that they would need to pay attention to cars. We put on our walking clothes and shoes, strung the glow sticks on our necks, grabbed our water bottles, babies and baby strollers and we were off. Two exercise buddies, forty minutes, 2.3 miles, 5072 steps and 392 calories later...I am no longer in denial.

Royal Icing

At our house we watch a variety of shows. More recently my husband has taken a liking to Top Gear which airs on BBC America. This week during the commercial breaks there has been preview after preview for the upcoming royal nuptials. While some want to know everything there is to know about the April 29th ceremony, I had only one question. What kind of cake will they eat at the reception? How big will it be? I guess that is actually two questions...inquiring minds and all. There are several reports about who has, in fact, been commissioned to design and deliver the cake. Perhaps this means there will be several cakes on display, not uncommon at royal wedding receptions. One thing is for sure, the cake flavor will be traditional  English fruit cake. That is right people, the royals and their guests will be enjoying the very cake that I often think of when deciding what to purchase for my secret Santa gag gift. I know there are people who genuinely enjoy this type of cake, I don't know any one of them personally. Many are making a strong argument that the English version, referred to as "Fruit Cake", tastes much better than the American version, referred to as "Fruitcake." For that to be completely true there must be a much more significant difference in the two than just the spelling.  As far as how big it will be, apparently those details are not being disclosed to the public. I would not be surprised if it tops 9 feet, now that's a whole lot of cake. Another interesting thing I found while researching online is that the royal cakes are often covered with a hardened, sugary icing called Royal Icing. I have worked with this type of icing before and definitely understand why the cake cutting ceremonies for royalty are often performed with some type of sword. Royal Icing would not be my choice to cover my cake with, but it will definitely allow for very precise and intricate designs to be placed on the cake. There are some people who will be planning parties to watch the ceremony. I will not be one of them, I prefer to be asleep in my own bed at 3 a.m. On the off chance that you are one of the royal followers and you would like to serve Fruit Cake at your shin dig Here is the recipe that is said to be very close to the one that will be served to Prince William and Kate. Good luck figuring out what buttered paper is, how to steam a cake and exactly what temperature a "slow oven" would be. I am sure with enough Google you can find those answers.

Traditional English Fruit Cake

Fruit Cake

1 lb butter                                                              
1/2 tsp clove
1 lb sugar
3 lbs raisins
12 eggs
1 lb flour
1 lb currants
2 tsp cinnamon
1 lb citron, thinly sliced and cut into strips
Nutmeg, Allspice, Mace 3/4 tsp each

Royal Icing

1 lb figs, finely chopped                                                  
1/4 cup brandy
2 Tbs lemon juice

Cream butter, add sugar gradually, beat together thoroughly.  Separate yolks and whites of eggs, beat yolks until thick and lemon colored. Beat whites until stiff and dry. Add egg whites and yolks to butter mixture, add flour (reserving 1/3 cup), spices, brandy and lemon juice. Add all fruit except citron. Dredge citron on reserved flour (this will be placed between layers of cake mix when placed in pans. Put mixture in buttered deep pans (does not specify a size), cover with buttered paper, steam 3 hours and bake 1 1/2 hours in a slow oven or 4 hours in a very slow oven.I am not sure how much cake this makes.

Or you could always chose Prince William's Chocolate Biscuit Grooms Cake....Google it...it would be my choice!

Dessert Tea

Yesterday I went on a trip to Won Kai Imports. I was in awe of the aisles of Asian ingredients, most of which I looked at and wondered "What is that?" You see I could not read 99% of the packaging. The very friendly employee led me straight to the Matcha. There were several types to choose from so I went with the package I remembered seeing the most while doing my online searching. I quickly picked up several packages, including one for our child care provider who told me she loved green tea. I left feeling accomplished and excited to make my first dose of cupcakes. Today I ventured into the cupcake unknown. This was a challenge for me because I am not a green tea drinker. I love soda...I am hoping the Dr. Pepper cupcake wins the vote for next week. I was very excited to make the Matcha Cupcake. I gathered my ingredients early this morning, set my butter out to let it get to room temperature and set off for a Saturday morning at work. This is not uncommon for me due to the nature of my job, but today I was looking forward to coming home to bake...just for fun. The batter was thicker than I have seen before and I have made a lot of cake. Using an ice cream scoop to fill the cups I crossed my fingers that they were not overfilled. Moving on to the icing I quickly realized I would need to make 2 batches. The end result looked a lot like Wasabi, thank goodness it did not taste like it. The cooled cupcakes got a swirl of icing and a few candy pearls. Each one was neatly packaged and ready for the Japan Relief Bake Sale. I delivered an uneven five to our green tea loving day care provider and was more than pleased when she called a few minutes later to tell me she liked them. In case any of you would like to try this Far East inspired dessert here is the recipe. 


Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees


What you will need for the cupcakes:

24 cupcake papers               
2 large eggs
1 cup unsalted butter            
2 large egg yolks
2 cups sugar                       
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder           
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup milk                           
2 Tbs matcha tea


Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
Add sugar. Beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs / egg yolks one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. 
Add to butter mixture and mix until combined.
Mix in matcha with milk. Add to the batter and mix until combined. Scoop batter into paper lined baking pan. 
Bake for 22 - 25 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. 
 Let cool completely before icing.

                                                      What you will need for the icing:

1 stick butter                       
1 Tbs matcha powder
2 Tbs half & half                 
3 cups powdered sugar-sifted


     Mix matcha with the half & half to make a paste.      
     Beat butter briefly, scrape bowl.     
     Add the sifted powdered sugar and matcha paste.      
     Beat until smooth
I made 2 batched because I like to pipe on my icing. If you plan on spreading a thin layer on the top then you will be fine with one batch. 


Don't forget to vote for what cupcake I should bake next week.  


HAVE A WONDERFUL EASTER EVERYONE!!!

Sleep Walking

Sometimes I feel like I am sleep walking through life. My daily routine rarely has a change. When it does it generally means someone is sick or injured in my family. I find myself trying to find a way to take care of myself. Where do I find the time to exercise and plan healthy meals. Maybe somewhere in between the endless tasks that wait for me everyday. I knew being a working parent would be tough, but never really realized the things that would be placed on the back burner. I don't miss the late night parties or the nights out on the town. What I miss most days is quite and relaxation. What I find hard is allowing myself to miss them. It does not seem right that I miss the days where the only person I had to bathe and dress was myself. That I did not have to rush out of the house, out of work and back home. If I was running a little late it was not a crisis, there was no need to pick up the phone and call anyone but my husband. What I really need to do is insist I am given time to get myself healthy, even just a simple 30 minute walk seems impossible. All that said, I love my family with all of my heart. I am scared that my heart is strained, that it cannot handle even my most calm day. One day at a time...today was just a hard one. Tomorrow will be a new one. 

Gotcha Matcha

Today I started my quest to find the one ingredient for my Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes that I have never purchased before. I quickly realized that it is not such a common ingredient. I found myself searching the coffee / tea isle of my favorite local grocer. Empty handed I quickly moved to the organic / health food isle. Still no luck. Not being a fan of driving all over town to find one single item I decided to start researching online. I could purchase this particular green tea product from any number of online retailers but would be paying more than the cost of the tea to get it to me in time to make my creation by the delivery date. This option was tossed aside. Now I turned to searching for any possible place that Matcha might be sold in this little town. I called local whole food stores. The cheery employees on the other line quickly told me they were very sorry, but they did not carry the product I needed. How can you call yourself a "Superstore" and not carry a finely ground powdered high quality green tea? I was beginning to think that this stuff was reserved for smoothie shops and Japanese Tea Ceremonies. Don't get me wrong...Mr. Miyagi and Yukie shared a beautiful moment during Karate Kid Part II but did that one love renewing scene back in 1986 really make Matcha so popular that it is this hard to find? I had to tell myself I would not let the allusiveness of my heart's desire get in the way of my first dose of cupcakes. I thought back to the trucks you see pull up outside Asian Restaurants. They surely use products that they cannot order from the local food service company. I quickly typed "Japanese Grocers." Specifically those that would be found in my sleepy little town. Expecting the worst I was happy to see a listing for the east side of town, picked up the phone, dialed and asked my very important question...."Hi, do you carry Matcha Green Tea Powder?" ... "Please hold"....Another voice came on the line loudly repeating the name of the business, so I asked again, waited and heard the 3 little words I longed to hear "Yes we do." Thank you Japanese Grocer dude, I will see you soon. 

What am I getting myself into?

I have been trying very hard to find something for me. You know "me time".  The problem is finding something that I can afford to do and making sure I like it enough that I won't regret my decision. The way I see it we all deserve at least one thing in our lives that we can say is ours, that we are passionate about and look forward to without stress or apprehension. Some of you may say "she's a thirty something, is she having a pre-midlife crisis?" Truth is I am having a my health is crappy and I need to make a change moment. This time it is for real. I have two beautiful girls that I love more than life itself and I want to be there to watch them grow. My biggest roadblocks thus far have been motivation and commitment. I am overweight, struggling to quit smoking (sorry family I am trying...I really am) and suffering from hypertension. At the end of last month the doctor prescribed me blood pressure medication, at 34 REALLY!!! So here is what I am proposing to myself, each week I will find a new cupcake to try. I know, I know, how "Julie & Julia" is that. Simple enough, I love to bake. I love even more sharing my creations with others, so that will keep me from eating them all. Boy would that be counter productive for weight loss.  I will use my blog as a way to get over the 15 minute cravings for a cigarette that just won't go away. Along the way I will share my journey one day at a time, one pound at a time...one cupcake at a time! I can't promise that I will have witty posts like my fellow blogger who authors Diary of a 3rd Person and Scotsman Interrupted (check them out...become a follower, you will love his stories). What I can promise is that I will be true to myself. I will share even the toughest of struggles because I need that sense of release. I want to get back to the me I actually liked. Not the angry, tired lost me that I have become. Stay tuned...this weeks cupcake Matcha Green Tea Cupcakes. These will be donated to the above referenced author of D3P and Scotsman Interrupted for a Japan Relief Fund Bake Sale that will take place on April 25, 2011.