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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Neapolitan Cupcake

The best thing about Neapolitan ice cream is that you don't need to choose between chocolate, strawberry and vanilla - one of the hardest decisions in life if you ask me.  Making the decision on a cupcake flavour is just as hard, so why not make Neapolitan Cupcakes? Here's everything that you'll need to do just that...

• Marble Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Strawberry Apple Sauce (enough to replace the Water AND Oil your recipe calls for)
• Store Bought Vanilla Icing
• Store Bought Chocolate Icing (optional)
• 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: Fresh Strawberry, Chocolate Curls, Strawberry Candy

On to the recipe...

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

Step 2: Now, I know your Marble Cake Mix says to portion off 1 cup or so of the batter, but since when do I listen to my cake mix directions?  Instead, only portion around 3/4 a cup into a separate bowl and mix in the cocoa package to the 3/4 cup of batter. You could portion off the full cup if you want more Chocolate than Strawberry, but it's really up to you.

Step 3: Spoon your Strawberry 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 strawberry batter.  Place them in the oven and bake as directed on package. Once they are done baking, let them cool completely before icing.

Step 3 (optional): I had some left over chocolate icing that I decided to put in the centre on my icing mound.  To make my Chocolate icing simply mix together the 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.  Pipe or spoon around a tablespoon or so of the Chocolate icing in the centre of your cupcake.

Step 4: For the vanilla icing simply mix together the store bought vanilla icing and around 1/2 a cup of butter on high until smooth.  Mix well and, like the Chocolate icing, add some icing sugar if it's not sweet enough for you or too buttery. Pipe it around the Chocolate icing, if you decided to have Chocolate and Vanilla icing, or simply pipe it on top of your cooled cupcake. Garnish with a Fresh Strawberry, some Chocolate Curls or a Strawberry Candy.

Happy Faking!

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Caramel-WOW Cupcake

This creation is like an oversized chocolate covered caramel square, but in cupcake form. It also combines two of the gooeyest ingredients - Caramel and Marshmallow - into a tasty treat that will make you say WOW!  To make this sweet, sticky creation you'll need...

• Marble Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• 1/4 cup of Caramel Sauce
• Store bought Vanilla Icing 
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• 1 cup of Fluff
• Icing Sugar
• 1 cup of Cool Whip (optional)
• 3 ounces of Semi-Sweet Chocolate (optional)
• Garnish (optional): Caramel Square, Chocolate Covered Caramel Square

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. 

Step 2: Now it's time to add a little caramel to the mix.  Mix in around 1/4 of a cup of Caramel Sauce into the vanilla batter and stir until filly incorporated. And now your batters are ready to be spooned into your cupcake liners!

Step 3: Spoon your caramel flavoured cupcake batter into your cupcake pan liners, filling them just over 1/2 way.  Next spoon a tablespoon of the chocolate batter in the centre of the caramel 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 and surround the outside.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely before icing.

Step 4:  On to the icing.  Here's where you add in a little more WOW with Marshmallow.  Mix your vanilla icing, Fluff and butter on high until smooth.  Add in some icing sugar to thicken it back up.  If you want to stop there and simply top your cupcakes off with this icing and be done you can.  Just spoon or pipe on your icing and garnish with a Caramel or Chocolate Covered Caramel Square ... or to make it a little more fancy, move on to step 5.

Step 5 (optional): If you want to fancy it up a step more with a chocolate glaze, simply melt together 3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate and 1 cup of Cool Whip.  Let it cool a little before you add a little to the top of your icing.  To get in on top of your icing, 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. You can consider that to be your garnish or add a Caramel or Chocolate Covered Caramel Square to the top.  

Happy Faking!

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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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