Cute Cupcake Gift Ideas #5

Going to a baby shower and tired of  simply throwing a few cute onesies in a gift bag and calling it a day?  Why not step it up and cupcake-ify your gift.  Check out this cool way of wrapping up 4 onesies with a few pairs of matching socks.  All you need is a 4-pack cupcake box (you can find them at craft stores and sometimes at winners), 4 onesies, 2 or 4 pairs of socks and 4 cupcake liners.

Step 1: Layout one of the onesies and fold lenght wise twice

Step 2: Roll up a single or pair of socks and place at the top edge of the folded over onesie (this will be the sprinkle or cherry on top)

Step 3: Roll the onesie with a little of the sock peaking through

Step 4: Place rolled up onesie in cupcake liner with little sock peaking out on top

Step 5: Repeat steps 1-4 three more times with your other onesies and socks

Step 6: Place in 4 pack cupcake carier and you're done!

And to add to the cupcake intencity, why not get cupcake printed onesies!  Either way, your gift will be a hit at the party!

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Sinful Cinnamon Buttermilk Cupcake

Need a classic and simple cupcake that will please the pickiest eaters?  What about a Sinful Cinnamon Buttermilk Cupcake?  It is welcoming and warming!

PICTURE: I have no picture...it was tragically lost on my phone along with several others:( But here's my attempt at a drawing plus I shall describe it for you...it was a luscious off-white buttermilk cake with a swirl of light brown cake peaking through the batter that was a combination of brown sugary-cinnamon deliciousness.  The white icing was piled high and topped with a little a sprinkling of cinnamon and a mini cinnamon stick (not in drawing...it looked dumb when I tried to recreate that part). Can you picture it?

Alright, here's what you'll need to make it...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water...but we're replacing the water)
• Buttermilk (you'll be replacing the water your recipe calls for with this deliciousness)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• Store bought White Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas:Sprinkle of Cinnamon and/or Cinnamon Stick

On to the recipe...

Step 1: For the most part, follow the direction of your White Cake Mix - preheat your oven and add in your eggs and but replace the water with Buttermilk. Mix it together until smooth. Remove 1 cup of batter and place in small bowl. Mix in 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon with reserve cup of batter.

Step 2: Spoon in your plain Buttermilk batter in your cupcake liners.  Then, spoon in the cinnamon-brown sugar batter on top. Once all your batter is divided out across your cupcakes, take a chop stick and gently stir each cupcake to swirl the batter together for a mini-marble effect.

Step 3: Put your cupcakes in the oven and bake as directed.

Step 4: Using your mixer, mix together the store bought white icing and butter on high until smooth. Give your icing a taste and if it's too buttery for your liking, add in some icing sugar.

Step 5: On to the icing! Feel free to ice them how you want - using a piping bag, spoon or a knife.  I garnished my cupcake with some fresh cinnamon shaves over the top of the cupcake and then topped it off with a little cinnamon stick.

Happy Faking!

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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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National Cupcake Day Countdown: 3 days away!

Only three more days until National Cupcake Day and the new fundraiser in support of SPCAs and Humane Societies across Canada. My team, M&M Sprinkles, is getting closer to our goal of $1,000 and we're hoping our BIG Bake Sale on Monday will get us there.

Our most recent fundraising activity was a Casual Day where our team collected donations at our workplace entrance. As a thank you to any donation above $2, we gave people tickets on a draw for a cupcake tree filled with cupcakes baked by the lovely BA! Big CONGRATS to PT on winning the cupcakes and kudos for sharing with your fellow colleagues.

You may have noticed the three GIANT cupcakes in the picture. Well, those were baked by me and put up on a silent auction for the better part of the morning.  The three flavours were Colossal Carrot Cake Cupcake, Giant Red Velvet Cupcake, and Sinful Cinnamon Buttermilk Cupcake. The silent auction was a huge hit - a big THANKS and CONGRATS to the successful bidders: RP,  MS and Finance. All in all the team had a great day and we raised over $500!

Curious about the baking of the Giant Cupcakes? Or maybe looking for the recipe for the Sinful Cinnamon Buttermilk Cupcake? Those will be featured in future posts, so be sure to check back for that AND the outcome of our Bake Sale on National Cupcake Day - February 25. 

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Strawberry Red Velvet Cupcake

Not a baker but want to impress your sweetie with a baked treat? This is the recipe for you! Over the past few years companies have started releasing Red Velvet Cake mixes, making it even easier to make this popular treat. But we're going to take it one step fancier so that your Valentine will never know you faked your way through this treat...all it takes is a little strawberry seduction.  To make this rich, decadent cupcake all you'll need is...

• Red Velvet Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water...but we're replacing the water for this one)
• Strawberry Puree (to replace the water your recipe calls for, I pureed frozen strawberries)
• Strawberry Syrup (you know, the stuff you put on ice cream)
• Store bought Vanilla Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish: Strawberry Candy, Fresh Strawberry, Chocolate Covered Strawberry

And now the transformation...

Step 1: Sort of follow the directions on your Red Velvet Cake Mix. Start by preheating your oven and add the oil and eggs...but DO NOT add the water. Replace all of the water your cake mix calls for with Strawberry Puree.  Mix the ingredients together until it is smooth.

Step 2: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners.  Top each uncooked cupcake with a teaspoon or so of Strawberry Syrup. Bake as directed on the package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 3: On to the icing! Traditionally you'd use Cream Cheese Icing, but for this recipe we're keeping it easy for the non-bakers.  But if you want Cream Cheese Icing, click HERE for the recipe. To make a simple Vanilla icing just mix together your store bought Vanilla Icing and Butter on high until smooth.  Add some icing sugar if it's not sweet enough for you or just too buttery for your taste.

Step 3: Now it's time to bring it all together and ice your masterpieces! To up the fancy try using an tip in a piping bag.  Just go to Bulk Barn or Micheal's and pick up a simple tip like the #1M (ask a clerk for help).  Ice your cupcakes and top them with the garnish of your choice.

Happy Faking! 

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Will you be mine?

Can you believe that Valentine's Day is just next week? Do you have something sweet planned for your sweetie?  You can always bake them a yummy treat! I've shared lots of great Valentine's appropriate recipes over the last couple of years like my Strawberry Balsamic Cupcake and HOT Chocolate Chili Cupcake.  And this year I have another...Strawberry Red Velvet Cupcake.  For this recipe I have made it even simpler for the people who really don't enjoy baking.  Recipe coming Monday!

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Watermelon Cupcake

With all this cold weather, we could all use a little taste of summer. And nothing says summer like watermelon! Did you know that you can buy watermelon flavour? I didn't until I saw some at Bulk Barn. Now I have to admit, I was pretty hesitant about how well this would work out...but it was (in the words of my coworkers) FABULOUS. For this refreshing taste of summer you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• 4 tsp Cocoa Powder
• 1/8 tsp Watermelon flavour (plus a few more drops for the icing)
• Red Gel Food Colouring
• Green Gel Food Colouring
• Store bought White Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Idea: Watermelon Candy

And now the recipe...

Step 1: Follow the directions of your White Cake Mix - preheat your oven and add in your eggs, oil, and water.  I usually just throw all three whole eggs in and don't bother separating as directed on the package. Mix together until the batter is smooth.  .

Step 2: Ok, it's time to create two flavours of batter. Remove one cup or so of the batter and place in a separate bowl.  In the small bowl of batter add 4 tsp cocoa powder and mix until smooth.  Then, in the remaining bowl of batter, add 1/8 tsp of Watermelon flavour and some Red Gel Food Colour to make it pink.  Mix well until smooth.

Step 3: Add the pink Watermelon flavoured batter to you cupcake liners, filling them around 1/2 full.  For the chocolate batter, I wanted to make them look like the seeds in a watermelon.  To do this, the easiest thing to do is to place the chocolate batter in a piping bag with a 1A tip.  Stick the tip in the batter and squeeze while you pull up - repeat two more times.  If you don't have a large round tip for your piping bag, you can use a turkey baster - but it's messy!! To use the turkey baster fill it from the top and do the same as you would with the piping bag...you'll just need to keep filling it up. 

Step 4: Place the cupcakes in the oven and bake as directed on your cake mix package. Let your cupcakes cool completely before icing. 

Step 5: On to the Watermelon icing! Mix together the vanilla icing, butter, and a few drops of the Watermelon flavour on high until smooth.  Give your icing a taste and if it's too buttery for your liking add in some icing sugar.  If you want it to be more Watermelony, add some more Watermelon flavour.  Once you're happy with the taste add a little Green Gel Food Colouring and mix well until fully incorporated.

 Step 6: Once your cupcakes are cooled, ice your cupcakes however you feel like.  When you ice your cupcakes, try to keep it near the centre of the cake so that you can see the chocolate poking out at the sides underneath.  Top with the garnish of your choice, I used a Watermelon Candy Slice, and enjoy.

Happy Faking!

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National Cupcake Day Countdown: 26 Days

Only two days left in January and 26 days until National Cupcake Day!  I have a team signed up...do you?  My team, M&M Sprinkles, had their kick-off meeting this past Friday, where we enjoyed some Watermelon Cupcakes (courtesy of me) and planned some fun fundraising activities to help support our local SPCA.  I think the Watermelon cupcakes really got the ideas flowing, so to help you get excited about National Cupcake Day too, I'll be posting the recipe later this week.

The team is pretty excited to get rolling with our first big activity planned for February 8.  Not only will we get casual day proceeds from our organization's Friday Jeans Day, but we'll be having some fun with ticket draws and a silent auction to raise a few extra dollars.  Pictures and fund tallies to follow after the event, but feel free to help us out by donating directly to our team online - just click HERE.

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Tiger Cupcake

With National Cupcake Day and the SPCA's fundraiser just over a month away, I thought it would be fitting to post an animal inspired cupcake! I know that Tiger flavour is usually orange and black licorice, but  most people don't seem to enjoy the flavour of black licorice, so I used chocolate...besides, who's going to complain about getting a cupcake? For this yummy tiger inspired treat you'll need...

• Marble Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Orange Juice (enough to replace the Water your mix calls for)
• 2 tbs Orange Zest
• Orange Gel Food Colouring (optional)
• Store Bought Chocolate Icing 
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup or one full cup if you decide to make chocolate icing....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: Orange Coloured Icing, Orange Candy

And now for the recipe...

Step 1: Kind of follow the direction of your Marble Cake Mix.  Go ahead and preheat your oven and add the eggs and oil to the cake mix, but replace the water with Orange Juice. Mix the batter well until smooth.

Step 2: Now, that the batter is mixed you can start following your cake mix directions again.  Portion off 1 cup of the batter into a separate bowl and mix in the cocoa package until smooth. In the remaining batter, mix in some Orange Gel Food Colouring (optional) and the 2 tbs of Orange Zest until fully incorporated.

Step 3: Alright, it's time to get the batter in the cupcake pan liners. Start by spooning in some of your orange batter.  Then add a spoonful of the chocolate batter and top with more orange batter.  To make it swirl together simply take a chopstick and stir it slowly to create a marble/tiger effect.  Place them in the oven and bake as directed on package. Once they are done baking, let them cool completely before icing.

Step 4: While the cupcakes are baking and cooling, why not move onto your icing.  Mix together the store bought Chocolate Icing and around 1/2 a cup of butter on high until smooth.  Mix well and add some icing sugar if it's not sweet enough for you or too buttery. Spoon or pipe the chocolate icing onto your cupcake and garnish with either some Orange Icing Zigzags or an Orange Candy.

Happy Faking!

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Calling All Cupcake & Animal Lovers!!

I have never needed an excuse to bake, but if I ever did need a compelling reason I've certainly found one!  As if National Cupcake Day (February 25) wasn't enough of a reason to preheat the oven...the day has now become a fundraiser for our furry friends!  That's right, the SPCAs and Humane Societies across Canada are using it to raise some much needed funds for all fuzzy friends, big and small, that have been abused, abandoned or are in need of help.

I'll be turning out some new Faking Fancy Cupcake recipes for this fundraiser and may even start a vote on what cupcakes to create.  I'll also be dragging some co-workers into a team and registering within the next few days! Check out their site at www.nationalcupcakeday.ca and get a team together for your workplace or friend group.  It's sure to be fun and delicious - plus it's for a great cause.

Stay tuned as we begin our countdown to National Cupcake Day!

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Sex on the Beach Cupake

After all that snow that my homeland received over the last couple of days, I couldn't help but think that my next post should be a cupcake with a sunny disposition.  So here it is, my Sex on the Beach Cupcake that tastes like a splash of sunshine!  To make this summer-sunshine inspired treat you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Orange Juice (you'll be replacing two-thirds of the water your recipe calls for)
• Cranberry Juice (you'll be replacing one-third of the water your recipe calls for)
• Orange Gel food colouring (optional) 
• Red Gel food colouring (optional)
• Store bought White Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Peach Schnapps (just a splash
• Garnish Ideas:Drink Umbrella

On to the recipe...

Step 1: For the most part, follow the direction of your White Cake Mix - preheat your oven and add in your eggs and oil, but wait to add the OJ and Cranberry Juice (the liquids to replace the water). The batter gets pretty stiff before you add the liquids, so don't panic, it's normal.  Mix it together and remove one-third of the batter and place in another bowl. 


Step 2: Add one-third of the called for amount of water with Cranberry juice to the one-third of the batter.  Mix well.  If you'd like it to be red like a Cranberry, add a little Red Gel food colouring and mix well. 


Step 3: Now add two-thirds of the called for amount of water with Orange Juice to the two-thirds of the batter.  Mix well.  If you'd like it to be more orange , add a little Orange Gel food colouring and mix well.

Step 4: With all that measuring, dividing and mixing out of the way, it's time to get the batter in the cupcake liners.  Add some of the orange batter into your cupcake liners.  Using a teaspoon add a spoonful of the pink batter.  Add a little more orange batter and then add a teaspoon on pink batter.  Once you've filled all your cupcake liners, take a toothpick and swirl the batter to make a marbling effect.

Step 5: Put your cupcakes in the oven and bake as directed.


Step 6: Using your mixer, toss in the vanilla icing, butter, and a splash of Peach Schnapps and mix on high until smooth.  Give your icing a taste and if it's too buttery for your liking or too runny, add in some icing sugar.  Also, if you want to add more Peach Schnapps, go for it!  You can always add more icing sugar to thicken it back up if it gets too runny.

Step 6: It's finally time to top your cupcakes with icing!  Feel free to ice them how you want - using a piping bag, spoon or a knife.  Garnish your cupcake with whatever makes you smile:)  I used a drink umbrella.

Happy Faking!

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Hello 2013...you snuck up on me!

Well, it's 2013 and I have been a complete blogger-delinquent.  I apologize for the blackout and infrequent posts and will try to make 2013 a more consistent year of posts.

Even though my cupcakes didn't get officially written down and shared, I never stopped baking so I have several new recipes, gadgets and other fun things to share.

Happy New Year and cheers to many new Faking Fancy Cupcake recipes for you to make and enjoy!

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