Oh My - Feeling the Sweet Love

An amazing friend of mine, and fellow blogger, recently tackled a fun collaborative project that brought many blogging worlds together to create a sweet treat that all can enjoy.  You should check it out by clicking HERE! Why? Well, it has some sweet cupcake toppers you can print and use yourself AND one of my cupcake recipes were featured.  I wonder what Canada Day posts they may have in-store over the next few days.  I know mine is just cooling on some racks as I type.  Stay tuned for my Canada Day inspired Tutti Fruity Cupcake. 

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Faking Fancy Cupcake Wedding Centrepieces #1

Here's the first of a few wedding centrepieces that are easy to do and can also save you money by doubling as your cake.  For this centrepiece all you need to do is rent or buy additional glassware.  I'd recommend getting lost of different types of glasses - like martini glasses, snifter glasses, water glasses and wine glasses - so that they have different heights and it will also add variety to your table.

To display your cupcakes simply turn the glassware upside down and place your cupcakes on the base of the glassware.  If you chose to buy all the glassware, you can also make the glasses into your wedding favours by making tags that thank your guests for attending.  If you'd like, you can even add their names to add a touch of personalization.

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Iced Tea Cupcake

It wouldn't be summer without a tall glass of Lemonade or Iced Tea at some point.  Since we have the Pink Lemonade Cupcake covered, it's time to serve up the recipe for an Iced Tea cupcake.  To make this summer treat you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Frozen Iced Tea Concentrate (you'll be replacing the amount of water it calls for...and you'll want it to be thawed too)
• Store bought White Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• 1-2 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice (optional)
•  1 tsp Fresh Lemon Zest (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: cut down straw, fresh lemon slice, lemon peel curl

Now for the recipe...

Step 1: First things first, thaw your Iced Tea Concentrate because it's pretty hard to mix it in frozen! Once it's a liquid, you can start making your batter.

Step 2: For the most part, follow the direction of your White Cake Mix - preheat your oven and add in your eggs and oil, but replace the water with your Iced Tea Concentrate. Mix the batter until it is smooth. 

Step 3: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on package. Once done, cool completely before icing

Step 4: For the icing, mix together your vanilla icing and butter on high until smooth.  Taste your icing and if it's not sweet enough for you or too buttery add in some icing sugar.  If you'd like to keep your icing plain, then you're done!  If you'd like a lemony kick to it, add a tsp of Fresh Lemon Zest and 1-2 tsp of Fresh Lemon Juice.  It's really up to you and how lemony you want your cupcake to be and if you want to add the zest or pulp in the icing.

Step 5: With the icing all mixed together, it's time to top your cupcake with the sweet or lemony icing.  Add as little or as much of your icing as you'd like.  You can use a piping bag or whatever icing method you prefer. To garnish your cupcake you could try cutting down a straw and sticking it in the icing with a fresh lemon slice or just top it with a fresh lemon curl.

Happy Faking!

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Faking Fancy Cupcake...Wedding Centrepieces?

It's summer and you know what that means...wedding season! This year I'm feeling pretty lucky with only one wedding to attend.  It's not that I don't love going to weddings, it's just that the 9 I attended last summer was a little excessive - but lovely.

Experiencing it myself and watching friends do the same, it's pretty amazing how quickly wedding costs can add up. So, this summer I've decided to share a few fun cupcake wedding ideas that not only cover the cake, but the centerpiece too! But before I share a few DIY - or as I usually call them FFF-DIY (no, it's not profanity...but that could be applicable...it stands for Force Family and Friends) - I'll be sharing another deliciously summer cupcake recipe, my Iced Tea Cupcake.

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Pink Lemonade Cupcake

The first day of summer is just around the corner, which means sunshine and VACATIONS.  What better way to enjoy the sunshine and the patio than with a tall glass of lemonade...PINK lemonade to be exact!  This recipe was inspire by just that - summer sunshine and my back deck.  For this recipe you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Frozen Pink Lemonade -concentrate (you'll be replacing the amount of water it calls for...and you'll want it to be thawed too)
• 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)
• 1 tsp Fresh Lemon Zest (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: cut down straw, fresh lemon slice, candy lemon slice

Now for the recipe...

Step 1: First things first, thaw your Pink Lemonade.  For fun, I strained my Pink Lemonade and reserved the pulp for my icing....but you don't need to - after all, it's an awful lot of trouble.  On to the cake mixing!

Step 2: For the most part, follow the direction of your White Cake Mix - preheat your oven and add in your eggs and oil, but replace the water with your Pink Lemonade Concentrate. Mix the batter until it is smooth.  If you'd like to make your batter a little more PINK, add in a small dab of Red Gel Food Colouring and mix well. 

Step 3: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on package. Once done, cool completely before icing

Step 4: For the icing, mix together your vanilla icing and butter on high until smooth.  Taste your icing and if it's not sweet enough for you or too buttery add in some icing sugar.  Next, you can add in the reserved Pink Lemonade Pulp and/or add a tsp of Fresh Lemon Zest.  It's really up to you and how lemony you want your cupcake to be and if you want to add the zest or pulp in the icing.

Step 5: With the icing all mixed up, it's time to top your cupcake with the sweet (maybe lemony) icing.  Add as little or as much of your icing as you'd like.  You can use a piping bag or whatever icing method you prefer. To garnish your cupcake try cutting down a straw and sticking it in the icing with a fresh or candy lemon slice.

Happy Faking!

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Cupcakes 4 a Cause (Year 2, Round 2)

It's hard to believe that May has come and gone again! Through many great activities and donations an outstanding cheque was presented to the IWK this past weekend. One of those contributors, RS, I owe one dozen cupcakes! Now that it's June, maybe he'll want a summer inspired cupcake like my Pink Lemonade Cupcake...recipe coming soon!

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Baby's First Fancy Cupcake #5

Just a few short weeks ago AS and NS welcomed their beautiful baby girl to the world. LGS is a sweet little girl with quite the head of hair!  The big question is, at what age will she be out kayaking with her parents? But one thing is for sure, she will be a beautiful flower girl in September.

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Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon Cupcake

This is another cupcake inspired by one of my favourite childhood cookies. Warning: this recipe contains raisins. It seems that people either love or hate raisins with no middle ground to be found. But I love them, so here's what you'll need to make this sweet take on classic cookie...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• 2 cups Oats
• 1 cup Raisins
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon 
• Store Bought Vanilla Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: Raisins, Oatmeal

And now the recipe...

Step 1: Follow the directions on your White Cake Mix from preheating your oven through to adding the oil, eggs, and water. Add in 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon. Mix the ingredients together until smooth. Stir in 2 cups of Oats and then add in 1 cup of Raisins.

Step 2: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on the package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 3: On to the icing. Mix together your vanilla icing and butter on high until smooth.  Taste your icing and if it's it's not sweet enough for you or too buttery add in some icing sugar. Top your cupcake with the icing using any method you like.  To garnish, I sprinkled a few Oats over the icing and topped each cupcake with a single raisin.

Happy Faking!

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Cupcakes 4 a Cause (Year 2, Round 1)

Round 1 of the IWK auction has closed at work and I'm excited to say that SB was week one's successful bidder!  Last year, SB was out bid in the first week of the auction, but managed to secure the second week of auction cupcakes. He out bid several of his colleagues for a worthy cause with the promise of a delicious reward of one dozen cupcakes. What will he choose?  Will he be sharing with his FAB staff? Only time will tell.  But in the meantime, I'll be sharing the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cupcake's partner in crime at the bake sale, the Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon Cupcake in my next post.

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cupcake

Inspired by one of my favourite childhood cookies, this cupcake is moist and dense with just a touch of chocolate. And of course, the perfect pairing is a tall glass of milk.  To make this delightfully delicious treat you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• 2 cups Oats
• 1 cup Mini Chocolate Chips 
• Store Bought Vanilla Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: Mini Chocolate Chips, Oatmeal

Here's the recipe...

Step 1: Follow the directions on your White Cake Mix from preheating your oven through to adding the oil, eggs, and water. Mix the ingredients together until it is smooth. Stir in 2 cups of Oats and then add in 1 cup of Mini Chocolate Chips.

Step 2: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on the package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 3: Time to whip up some icing. Mix together your vanilla icing and butter on high until smooth.  Taste your icing and if it's it's not sweet enough for you or too buttery add in some icing sugar. Top your cupcake with the icing using any method you like.  To garnish, I sprinkled a few Mini Chocolate Chips and Oats on top.

Happy Faking!

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May, IWK and Bébés

It's May, which means a month of IWK inspired cupcakes at my workplace.  From auctions to bake sales, I'll be baking lots of cupcakes for a worthy cause this month.  PLUS, I have three friends expecting little ones this month, which means a few Baby's First Cupcakes to come.  But to kick it all off, I have been baking a few of my childhood favourite cookies transformed into cupcakes for our IWK bake sale tomorrow.  What flavour cookies did I bake? You'll just have to stay tuned or if you're a fellow colleague, pop down to the lobby and find out first hand with a few bills to drop down for a wonderful charity!

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Triple Berry Cupcake

Need a quick cupcake that is summer fresh and has only one ingredient to add to the mix? Why not whip up these Triple Berry Cupcakes that are perfect for a backyard BBQ and elegant enough to serve at a wedding. I know this because I've done both! For this recipe all you'll need is...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Store bought Vanilla Icing
• 1 cup of Triple Berry Curd (some for the batter and some for the top of your cupcake - the store bought stuff is perfect...even the stuff in the jar)
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)

It's mixing time...

Step 1: Follow the directions of your White Cake Mix - from preheating your oven through to adding the eggs, oil, water, etc. Now it's time to add one more ingredient.  Add 1/2 cup of Triple Berry Curd and mix the batter until smooth. 

Step 2: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on the package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 3: While you're waiting for your cupcakes to cool, why not make the icing!  Using your mixer, mix the vanilla 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 4: Now that your cupcakes are completely cooled, it's time to assemble your Triple Berry Cupcakes.  Take your cooled cupcakes and spread some Triple Berry Curd over the top.  Next, fill your piping bag with your Vanilla Icing and pipe it onto the top.  I like to make sure that you can still see the Triple Berry Curd poking out from under the icing. And they're ready to eat!    

Happy Faking!

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Quick Tip #9 - Pick-Up the Fancy!

In a rush to up the anti on your cupcakes or just trying to make them extra special for an event? Simple! Pick-up the fancy with a decorative cupcake pick. You can buy lots of fun cupcake picks at stores like Bulk Barn, Walmart, Michaels, or other stores in your city that sell baking or craft supplies. They aren't always labeled as cupcake specific, but if it has a small toothpick size stem and a fun topper, you're set!  Drink stir-sticks can work too, but you may need to cut off part of the stem.

If you really want to tie your cupcake into a theme or share a special message, you can always get crafty by making your own. Simply print out the message and/or the design of your choice and glue it to a toothpick.  Sound easy? That's because it is! Of course, you can make them a little more complicated if you want to try your hand at origami and make a pinwheel.

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Baklava Cupcakes

Want to add an international spin to your cupcakes? These Baklava inspired cupcakes are sure to do just that! Before you start furiously writing down the ingredients or printing this recipe, I just want to be honest with you and let you know that these do require a little more work than my usual recipes, but it's still super easy! For this recipe you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water - but we're replacing the water with Milk)
• Milk (to replace the water)
• 5 Tablespoons of Honey (some for the batter, icing and topping)
• 2 1/4 Cups Chopped Nuts (some for the batter and some for the topping - I used walnuts for the batter and a mixture of walnuts, almonds and pistachios for the topping)
• 3 1/4 Teaspoons of Cinnamon (some for the batter, icing and topping)
• 1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg (for the batter)
• Pinch of Ground Cloves (for the batter)
• 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar (for the topping)
• Store Bought White Icing
• Butter (Around 1/2 a cup at room temperate for the icing and around 3 tablespoons for the topping)
• Icing Sugar (optional)

Yes, I know, it seems like a lot of ingredients. But if you really wanted you could cut the cloves and nutmeg so that helps!  Now on to the recipe...

Step 1: Sort of follow the directions on your White 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 Milk.  Add in 1 Tablespoon of Honey, 2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon, 1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg, and a Pinch of Ground Cloves and mix the ingredients together until it is smooth.

Step 2: Now, if you're not a fan of nuts in your cupcakes you can skip this part.  But if you do like nuts, stir in 3/4 of a Cup of Chopped Nuts.  I used walnuts, but you could use a mixture of whatever you have in your cupboards.  Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on the package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 3: While your cupcakes cool, why not make your icing. Mix together your store bought White Icing and around 1/2 a Cup of Butter on high until smooth. Add in 2 Tablespoons of Honey and 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon. Mix well until fully incorporated. Icing, done! 

Step 4: By now your cupcakes probably still need some time to cool. So, on to the simple, sweet nutty topping. In a frying pan, melt down around 3 Tablespoons of Butter on medium heat.  Add 2 Tablespoons of Honey, 1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar and 1/4 Teaspoon of Cinnamon. Stir until fully incorporated and continue to heat until it reduces to a sticky syrup. Add in 1 1/2 Cups of Chopped Nuts. Mix well and let cool.  

Step 5: And now it's assembly time - only once your cupcakes are cooled of course. Pipe or spoon your icing on each cupcake. Add a spoonful  (around 1 teaspoon) of your lukewarm topping on the top of your icing and gently spread it around. Make sure that your topping is not hot when you add it because it will melt your icing. That's it, not too difficult at all and you'll be surprised how quickly you can whip these up!

Happy Faking!

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Easterize Your Cupcakes

Easter has to be one of my most FAVOURITE holidays. How can you not love a holiday that is dedicated to chocolate deliciousness?!? This Easter, don't worry about what flavour you'll be making, Easterize your cupcakes instead!  How? By using Easter themed cupcake liners, wrappers, and toppers. You can get lots of really neat cupcake wrappers that can make your cupcake look like it's surrounded by a picket fence or wrapped up in basket.  Check out Michael's, Bulk Barn and even Walmart for some fun Easter themed cupcake accessories.

If you're wondering what delicious cupcake Easter treat I'll be making this weekend, you'll be surprised to hear that I won't be making anything. Instead, I'll be enjoying a cupcake treat or two and collecting a few new cupcake flavour ideas in the Big Apple.  It's my first time visiting and I'm pretty excited for all the shopping and dining ahead of me with a few BFFs. But when I get back, I'll be sharing my Baklava Cupcake recipe, so be sure to check back next week and have a Happy Easter!

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