Chocolate Orange Blossom Cupcake

Wondering what delicious treats I made with my Flower Pan?  Well, here is one of many to come!  I called it the Chocolate Orange Blossom Cupcake for a few obvious reasons.  For this recipe I did get a little lazy with the icing and used store bought icing with no additions. But who's going to say something when they get a cute little flower cupcake.  No one... that's who.  For this SIMPLE but tasty recipe I used:

• Chocolate Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Store bought Vanilla Icing
• 1/2 cup of Orange Juice
• Zest of 2 small Oranges (or one large Orange) 
• Garnish Ideas: Orange Chocolate Melt or Dried Orange Slice

On to the recipe...

Step 1: Kind of  follow the directions on your chocolate cake mix. Go ahead and preheat your oven and add the oil and eggs...but DO NOT add all the water.

Step 2: Replace 1/2 cup of the water it calls for with Orange Juice.  So, if your mix calls for 1 cup of water, then add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of Orange Juice.  Then, add the zest of two small Oranges (or one large Orange).  Mix the ingredients together until it is smooth.

Step 3: Now it's time to spoon your cupcake batter into your cupcake pan liners.  I used my Flower Pan to make cute little flower shaped cupcakes, but you can just use a regular pan. Place them in the oven and bake as directed on package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 4: As I mentioned I got lazy with my icing and just used the store bought stuff, but you can always add some butter, icing sugar, and/or orange liqueur if you wanted to jazz it up.  I opted for using piping tip 104 to make flower petals and used an Orange Chocolate Melt as the middle of the flower. And there you have it, my Chocolate Orange Blossom Cupcake.

Happy Faking!

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Quick Tip #2 - Fast and Mess-Free Batter Pouring Thinger

I don't know about you, but I'm not always the most tidy baker.  I get especially messy when it comes to pouring my batter into the cupcake pan liners.  I usually start off pretty good, being extra careful as I spoon in the batter.  But after filling 4 or 5 cupcake pan liners in a row, I start to get lazy and sloppy!  It gets especially bad when they are the baby cupcakes that are near impossible to fill without pouring half of it on to the sides of the cupcake pan making for wasted batter or burnt on specs.

For those of you who feel my pain, I have a simple and cheap solution.  It's used for making chocolate, but I use it for batter filling.  From what I can tell it has a few different names, but I think the most common name is a chocolate easy pour funnel.  Here's a picture so you know what you're looking for, - I got it at Bulk Barn. It's really easy to use, reduces the amount of spillage onto your pan, and makes baby cupcakes extra quick and easy to fill.  All you do is fill the funnel with your batter, place the funnel over the cupcake liner, pull up on the little lever to get the batter flowing, and push the lever back down when you've filled it as far as you want.  If you're baking alone, place the funnel in a bowl or large measuring cup to make the filling of the funnel a little more manageable.

I used this trick for my Chocolate Orange Blossom Cupcakes which is my next recipe to be featured!

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake

So here it is, my recipe for the Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake. I know, it's already a childhood classic, so why mess with a good thing? Well, I say why not make a good thing even better by cupcakeifying it. Yes, I just made up the word cupcakeifying, but some day it may be added to Wikipedia making it a legitimate word:) On a side note, this is my cupcake I entered in the Chatelaine contest, so please be sure to vote for it by clicking HERE. The contest closes February 28, 2011, so please vote for me.  I could win a new mixer!  And as a friend of mine said yesterday evening in her pitch for why you should vote for me, "If she wins a mixer, everyone wins" - thanks KM!  How true is that! So please vote.

Alright, now on to the recipe for my Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake.  Here's what you'll need:

• Marble Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• 1/2 cup of Jam (I used Raspberry Jam without the seeds)
• 1-8oz package of room temperature Cream Cheese (I usually use Light Cream Cheese, but it's up to you) 
• 3/4 cup of Icing Sugar
• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter
• 1 tub of Cool Whip (I usually use light Cool Whip)
• 6 ounces of Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Step 1: Follow the direction of your marble cake mix including: 1) preheating your oven, 2) adding the eggs, oil, water, etc, 3) measuring 1 cup or so of the batter and pouring it into a separate bowl and 4) mixing in the cocoa package to the 1 cup of batter.  With all that out of the way, now it's time to add the jam!

Step 2: In the remaining vanilla batter add around 1/2 a cup of your favourite jam.  Just so that I've put it out there, I have never done this recipe with a chunky jam and have my doubts on how it would turn out, so consider yourself warned:)  Mix the jam in really well with a mixer.

Step 3: Spoon your jam flavoured cupcake batter into your cupcake pan liners, only filling them just over 1/2 way.  Then, spoon a tablespoon or so of the chocolate batter in the centre of the jam flavoured batter.  Place them in the oven and bake as directed on package.  As they bake, the chocolate batter will bake through to the middle of the cupcake.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely before icing.

Step 4: While your cupcakes are baking, why not make the yummy peanut butter cream cheese icing.  Cream together one package of cream cheese, 3/4 cup of icing sugar, 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 1 cup of Cool Whip until smooth.

Step 5: With the cream cheese icing out of the way, it's on to the chocolate glaze.  Melt together the 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and the last bit of the Cool Whip.  Let it cool while you wait for your cupcakes to cool completely.

Step 6: Once your cupcakes are cool, it's time to layer on the icing and glaze.  Use a piping bag with a large circular opening (I like to use tip #12) and build a nice little mound of icing on top of your cupcake.  You could just spoon it on because you'll be topping it with a chocolate glaze that will cover up your laziness. With the icing layered high, it's time for the chocolate glaze.  Place the warm chocolate glaze mixture in a piping bag or a Ziploc bag.  Cut the tip and drizzle as much as you want over the top of each cupcake. Finito!  

Happy Faking!

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Please Vote for My Cupcake!

A friend of mine passed along a link to a cupcake contest a little while ago and on a whim I decided to enter one of my creations. The contest is being judged by votes so I need all the help I can get! And, because I'm completely honest, you do need to create an account to vote, but it's really easy and fast.

Please, please, pretty please vote for my yummy cupcake. I promise to share the recipe this week! It's my Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake. Super easy and super tasty. Click HERE to vote now. The contest closes February 28, 2011, so vote soon and share the link to my cupcake with your friends. Stay tuned for results and my recipe!

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Fancy Stuff Review #1 - Flower Power!

I have decided that I should have started this blog long ago cuz it just got me a free pan!  Well, kinda free...ok, it was a gift from two good friends of mine (shout out and BIG thank you to MM and NC).  But the gift was inspired by my blog, so it counts:) 

So here it is, my new flower power cupcake pan - love it!  And do you know why...because you can make fancy cupcakes with even less work than lots of my faking fancy cupcake ways.  I mean how much fancier can you get than a shaped cupcake.  You don't even need icing....but that would be foolish because icing is delicious and you should always have a sugary topping on all cupcakes!

There are lots of fun shaped pans out there so feel free to experiment or just send them my way and I'll gladly use them.  Also (shameless plug) I've never used a silicone cupcake pan and have no thoughts on them...YET;)  But for now I will continue to use my metal pans and the next cupcake recipe to be featured is the classic childhood favourite... Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake.

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Chocolate Chili Cupcake

Looking for something HOT and SWEET to give your Valentine? Well, here's the perfect treat for your someone special. Or, if you're looking to do quite the opposite, you can make this into a pretty mean weapon for the not-so-nice Valentine.  Here's my take on the Chocolate Chili Cupcake.  For this spicy treat you will need:

• Chocolate Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Store bought Chocolate Icing
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of ground hot chilies (I used chili flakes and ground them myself) 
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: Chili Pepper Flakes, Cinnamon Hearts, or Hot Lips

And here's the recipe...

Step 1: Follow the directions on your chocolate cake mix - from preheating your oven through to adding the eggs, oil, water, etc. Mix together the batter until all the lumps are gone. Now it's time to add some HEAT... and I don't mean the oven.

Step 2: Add in your ground hot chillies. It's up to you just how much you want to put in, but I wouldn't go over the 2 teaspoons.  I've experimented going over that and have made a few people breathe fire (sorry MM and SB - but thanks for being taste testers!).  But, if you're looking to play a mean trick, you'll want to go over the 2 teaspoons. Mix the ground chillies in well...no one wants a chunk of that in their cupcake.

Step 3: Once you're happy with how well you've mixed it all together,spoon your cupcake batter into your cupcake pan liners.  Now it's time for some hot, hot heat!  Place them in the oven and bake as directed on package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 4: For the icing, I like to make a very plain chocolate frosting to balance the spiciness of the cupcake.  As per usual I take the lazy way out and just jazz up my store bought frosting by adding butter and simply mixing it until smooth.  You'll want to give it a taste and if it's too buttery for you, add some icing sugar until you're happy with the taste.

Step 5: To frost your cupcakes you can do the classic knife spread, lazy man's spoon lump, or use a piping bag.  If you use a piping tip, your cupcake will look even fancier.  But really it's up to you.  To top it off, you can garnish your cupcake with hot chili flakes, a cinnamon heart, or maybe some hot lips.  

Step 6 (optional): Warn your cupcake recipients that these are made with hot chili's and may be a little hot


Happy Faking!

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Quick Tip #1 - Fast Room Temperature Butter

I don't know about you, but I am an impromptu baker.  And, to be completely honest, I'm never organized enough to remember to take out the butter in advance.  I've tried many different ways to get my butter to room temperature including the least successful microwave method, which has resulted in my butter being more of a puddle than anything else.  I am here to tell you that there is a better way and here it is...use a cheese grater!

Using a cheese grater to quickly soften your butter makes it easier to mix in by hand, with a fork, or with your trusty hand or stand-up mixer.  And, once you've tried it, you'll have to admit that it's much easier than cutting it up into tiny pieces with a knife or pastry cutter. And there you have it, my quick fix to cold butter.

Stay tuned for my next cupcake recipe, the Chocolate Chili Cupcake.  Perfect for your hottie this upcoming Valentine's Day.

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Cookies n' Cream Cupcake

Here it is! My second most popular cupcake to date.  You'll have to stay tuned for my most popular:)  It's SUPER easy to make and delicious!  It also looks pretty fancy with the chocolate glaze on top.  For this recipe you will need:

• Vanilla Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Store bought Vanilla Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Mini Oreos
• Cool Whip
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate

And now the recipe...

Step 1: Follow the direction of your vanilla cake mix - from preheating your oven through to adding the eggs, oil, water, etc.  Mix together the batter and spoon some into your cupcake liners to just cover the bottom - but not too much because you'll now need to...

Step 2: Add two or three mini Oreos in each cupcake and cover them with the batter.  Once they are completely covered, put one more Oreo on top for good measure.  Place in oven and bake as directed on package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 3: And now it is time to ice them!  In a bag, smash up some Oreos.  You can use your hands or use a rolling pin for finer crumbs. I always opt for the rolling pin method - it's much faster.

Step 4: Now it's time for the glaze! Melt together 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and around a cup of Cool Whip.  Let it cool a little while you make the icing.

Step 5: Add vanilla icing and butter in mixing bowl and mix on high until smooth.  Give it a taste and if it's too buttery for your taste, add some icing sugar.  Once you're happy with the taste, mix in the Oreo crumbs (as little or as much as you want) but keep enough to sprinkle over the top of the cupcakes.  Because of the chunks of Oreo you won't be able to put the icing in a piping bag, so you'll need to spoon the icing on top of the cupcakes.

Step 6: And now it's time to top your cupcakes with the glaze and Oreo crumbs.  Place the warm chocolate glaze mixture in a piping bag or a Ziploc bag.  Cut the tip and drizzle as much as you want over the top of each cupcake.  Then, sprinkle some Oreo crumbs on top.  DONE!!!

Happy Faking!

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Just add water, oil and eggs...I think not!

Welcome to Faking Fancy Cupcakes!  This blog is dedicated to pushing the envelope of packaged mixes, thinking outside of the cake mix box, and adding a little something more than water, oil and eggs to your cake mix.

Have you watched a baking show wishing that you had the time (or recipe) to make some of those fancy looking cupcakes? Well, the time has come! I am making it my personal mission to dream up (and use some cupcake R&D...better known as rob and duplicate) delicious and fancy looking cupcakes you'll be proud to put on any plate or cupcake tree.  And the beauty of it all is that it will all be based on a cake mix with only a few additions. Nervous?  Don't be!  After all, how badly can you mess up a cake mix?

First delicious cupcake to be posted...Cookies n' Cream

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