Fancy Stuff Review #4: Giant Cupcake Pan

Yes, after two years of pressure and a charity ask from my team, I finally baked, not one, but THREE giant cupcakes.  All I have to say is the giant cupcakes are a giant pain in the... BUT they did look pretty cool and raised a total of $132 for just three cakes.

If you're wondering what made them such a pain, I can narrow it down to two pain points:

Pain Point #1: Baking Time - because of the size, they took over an hour to bake.  To me, the best part about cupcakes is how quick they are in the oven.

Pain Point #2: Cake Removal - I had a few choice words while I was trying to remove the cakes from the pans in one piece. Despite the parchment disc on the flat surface of the cake, MAJOR buttering efforts and final flour dusting, the cakes were still a pain to get out...but I was successful.

All in all, the cakes were a BIG hit but I certainly won' t be making them again anytime soon.  One of the cakes I made was a Sinful Cinnamon Buttermilk Cupcake.  Recipe coming soon, but no photo as I tragically lost several pictures off my phone...still not over it.

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Green Tea Cupcake

Tired of the Beer or Whisky Saint Patty's Day inspired fare? Why not mix up a new flavour that still stays true to the classic green coloured food hat your party guests have come to expect...like Green Tea Cupcakes! It's tasty, different and GREEN! For this treat you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water...but we're replacing the water)
• Strong Steeped Green Tea (enough to replace the water your recipe calls for)
• 1 Tablespoon Green Tea Powder (optional...it depends how much green team flavour you want)
• Green Gel Food Colouring (optional)
• Store bought Chocolate Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: Shortbread Cookie or Chocolate Coasted Tea Biscuit

And now the recipe...

Step 1: Start by steeping your Green Tea.  You'll want it to be pretty strong, so if you can steep it the night before and leave the bag in, even better!  But if you forget, or you don't have time, the Green Tea Powder will save you!

Step 2: Follow the directions of your White Cake Mix - preheat your oven and add in your eggs and oil. Replace the amount of water your cake mix calls for with Strongly Steeped Green Tea plus 1 Tablespoon of Green Tea Powder (optional).  Mix all the ingredients together until the batter is smooth.  Mix in a little Green Gel Food Colouring if you'd like a nice green cupcake.

Step 3: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on the package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 4: For the icing, simply mix together your store bought chocolate icing and butter on high until smooth. Give it a taste and if it's too buttery for your taste or needs to be thickened, add some icing sugar.  Once you're happy with the taste and consistency - and your cupcakes are cool of course - it's time to ice your cupcakes! .

Step 5: Layer on as much or as little of your icing as you'd like.  If you're going for a classy look you'll want to use a piping bag. I find your garnish is really what makes your cupcake seem fancy, so try using little Shortbread or Tea Biscuits to top these off.

Happy Faking!

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National Cupcake Day Fundraiser Success!

It's been one week since the BIG National Cupcake Day Fundraiser in support of SPCAs and Humane Societies across Canada.  Last week my team, M&M Sprinkles, held our final fundraising event - a bake sale.  We had an AMAZING number of baked goods donated and even managed to secure a last minute second bake sale with the remaining goods from our sale at a local sports centrethat evening. 

All in all we had a great time and raised over $1,500 for our local SPCA.  Big shout out to all of the team members of M&M Sprinkles and our baking supporters.

As for my bake sale goods, I served up three new flavours: Sangria Cupcake, Shirley Temple Cupcake and B52 Cupcake. Recipes coming this month from all my February baking excursions PLUS a Patty's Day inspired recipe too!

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