Coral Rose Petal Cupcakes

 

 

 

 

 

These cupcakes were made for a 60th birthday. They are fabulous, elegant, and classy! These are a great change from your typical birthday decorations. They could also be used for showers or weddings. These are made from rose petals, but there are a few types of flowers that are also edible. Your guests will think you went to a lot of trouble creating these cupcakes, but truthfully, they are easier than making rose petals from sugar or gum paste.

Recipe:

Yields 14 large cupcakes

2 eggs
1/2 cup water or milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 French Vanilla cake mix

Toppings:

Buttercream Icing

Roses
Egg Whites
Sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix eggs, oil, water, sour cream, and the box mix. Pour into large cupcake papers.

3. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

4. Remove rose petals from stems and spread out flat onto a cutting board. Using a brush, coat the petals with egg whites and sprinkle sugar generously. Allow the petals to dry and harden for at least an hour.

5. Use your choice of buttercream icing to top cupcakes. Pipe icing using a 1M tip. Optional: Use a few drops of dye for colour.

6. Stick three petals into each cupcake (The rule of three: Everything looks better in design in groups of three!).

 

 

 

Dessert: Classic Cherry Cheesecake

 

I really enjoy cheesecake. I made this Classic Cherry Cheesecake on the weekend for brother's birthday party. It is quite simple. I have always liked cherry cheesecakes the best. Whenever I travel to big cities in the States, I usually stop at the Cheesecake Factory. They have so many different varieties. Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Fruit. Cookies. Caramel. And so many more. But I always choose Cherry Cheesecake. Why mess with a good thing?

Recipe:

1 1/2 cup Honey Maid Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs

1 can of cherries

Adapted from: Kraft Recipes


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Mix graham crumbs, 3 tbsp. of sugar, and butter. Press mixture into a springform pan.

3. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla. Add each egg one at a time. Pour mixture over crust.

4. Bake in the oven for 55 minutes. Loosen cake from the rim of the pan. Allow the cake to cool before removing the rim. Refrigerate for four hours.

5. Top with canned cherries just before serving. Option: Add fresh fruit instead!

~ Enjoy ~

Hide-n-Seek Chocolate Cupcakes

 

 

My brother LOVES chocolate and I LOVE cupcakes so I decided to compromise. Using a Wilton chocolate mould, I was able to shape the melted chocolate into these cute little cupcakes. The mould creates cavities that allow you to fill the inside with different types of candies.

You will need:

- milk chocolates
- coloured melting chocolates
- Wilton's Chocolate Cupcake Mould
- bowls and spoons
- candy for filling (optional)


Directions:

1. Separate the chocolates into bowls.

2. Microwave chocolates until completely melted and smooth.

3. Pour chocolate into the cavities and press sides firmly to be sure all chocolate is evenly distributed.

4. Place in the refrigerator for approximately 10 minutes or until the mould looks frosty.

5. Carefully pop out harden chocolate.

6. Fill with treats.

They are very simple to make, but they are time consuming and the chocolate cracks easily. The chocolate needs time to properly harden and cool. I probably made ten, but only five turned out.

Mini Red Velvet Birthday Cakes

I made Mini Red Velvet Cakes for my mom's birthday this year. She loves red velvet cake. I am not a huge fan of it...maybe its because I am so frustrated by the time I finish (which always seems to be around 2 or 3 in the morning) that I don't even want to eat it. However, this red velvet recipe always gets rave reviews. I got the idea to create mini cakes from the blog Sprinkle Bakes. Her cakes turned out beautiful...mine were just okay. I always have good intentions and high expectations when baking this recipe, but I always fall a little short on presentation. Oh well, at least they taste great.

Red Velvet Recipe:

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tbsp red food colouring
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 cups flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp white vinegar

Adapted from: All Recipes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease mini cake pans.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Add in one egg at a time.

3. Mix together red food colouring and cocoa powder. Add to creamed mixture.

4. Add flour, buttermilk, vanilla, and salt.

5. Combine baking soda and vinegar in a separate bowl until fizzy. Add to the mixture.

6. Blend everything smooth and add to the greased mini cake pans. Be sure not to fill to the top. They overflow easily.

7. Bake in the over for 18-20 minutes. Cool before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe:

2 - 8 ounce cream cheese packages, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Adapted from: All Recipes

Toppings:

Red, Green, and White Sprinkles
Square of Lindt chocolate

Dessert: Toblerone Caramel Cheesecake

Yum Yum Yum! I love Toblerone! There is something festive about them. I know they are sold year-round, but I seem to indulge in them during the Christmas season. I made this cheesecake for my grandma's birthday. She isn't big on cake so this was the perfect alternative. Its super easy to make, but you definitely need to be organized ahead of time for prep, cook time, cooling, and topping.




Toblerone Caramel Cheesecake

Recipe:

1 1/4 cup Oreo Baking Crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/3 cup caramel topping
1 bar Toblerone, coarsely chopped

Recipe adapted from: Kraft Foods - What's Cooking 2010

Springform Pan

 

Kraft Foods - What's Cooking 2010

When the cheesecake cracks, it is ready.

 

Directions:

1. Mix together Oreo Baking Crumbs and melted butter. Press firmly into a springform pan.

2. Beat together softened cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla. Slowly beat in one egg at a time until completely smooth.

3. Pour cream cheese mixture over Oreo crust and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

4. Refrigerate for at least four hours.

5. Top with caramel topping and crushed Toblerone. Serve and Enjoy!

Doggie Cupcakes: My Dog's 15th Birthday!

My Little Pumpkin turned 15 the other day! I have had Buddy since I was nine-years-old. He has been such a good dog over the years and its hard to remember a time before he wasn't stomping around.

I'll admit that he wasn't always good. He had a tendency of hopping fences, running around the neighbourhood creating chaos, and once he even smashed the front window when he saw a squirrel outside. However, in the last five years, he has embraced his senior years and has calmed significantly.

Now normally I wouldn't be so dog crazy, but 15 is pretty monumental for a Lab/Shepherd. So I had to go big for what will likely be his last birthday (sadly). He is having more trouble getting up and climbing the stairs. Unfortunately the end is nearing though I hate admitting it.

I decided to make him dog-friendly cupcakes for his birthday. The recipe yielded four large cupcakes, which was perfect for two large dogs to share (yes, we also have a Lab/Alaskan Malamute who is gigantic).

Not happy about the hat that my sister made him wear.

Peanut Butter Carrot Dog Cupcakes

1 cup white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Adapted from Dog Treat Recipe Exchange

What? - Onyx

Cinnamon Frosting

12 oz. light cream cheese
3 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla

Pipe frosting onto cupcake and top with a Milkbone. And let them enjoy :)

Best Friends

Stealing Buddy's Hat

*Note: Buddy passed away 15 days after this was posted. It happened very suddenly and quickly. He has been so missed. I am happy to say that this is actually my most viewed post! I am glad he is living on through this blog  :)

Turning 24...

Yesterday I turned 24. Really feel like I am starting to get old...

Reflections of being 23? The first half was a struggle, but ultimately it turned around in the last few months. Ended school...started school again. Lost A LOT of weight. Remembered how to be an athlete again. Started writing. Took up cake decorating. Learning everything I can about gardening. Just trying to enjoy life a little more. Hopefully I can continue to keep it all up to make 24 a memorable year.

So for my birthday, I made my own cupcakes. It sounds sad like no one loved me enough to get me a birthday cake, but I insisted to my mom that I really wanted to make my own birthday cupcakes.

Sugar Rose Cupcakes

Took the rose petals right out of my mom's vase

The sugar petals are extremely easy. It shocked a few people at the table to learn that they were real petals.
 There are a few different flowers that you are able to consume such as rose petals and pansies

Pansy Petals. Sugar petals are easy. Just clean and pat the petals dry.
Brush on egg white and sprinkle fine sugar. Let them dry for at least 3 hours.

Loved the little basket cupcake wrappers.

Buddy with the birthday girl.

Rose Cake

This cake was made for my aunt's birthday. It was my first time making these roses, but it turned out to be very simple.

Roses were so simple. Just take a 1M tip and go around in a circle starting in the centre.

To make it look more like a rose just go over the outer layers of the rose so they look raised.

Doesn't have to be perfect because when it is completely covered it is hard to notice the mistakes.

Cupcakes work the exact same way with one single rose. I used Wilton Pink and Yellow Color Mist to create the colouring.

Got the idea from iambaker.net. Turned out to be a great cake.