Baby's First Fancy Cupcake #7

A belated CONGRATS to SR and WR who welcomed their baby boy, HNR, in June.  He was a little late to say the least and was quite the sack of potatoes (10 lbs 2 ounces to be exact), which reminds me of a cupcake dare from a friend to make a Chocolate Potato Cupcake...perhaps that will be my next recipe.  Anyways,  I'm sure you'll keep Mom and Dad hopping for many years to come and I can't wait to meet you in August!

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Faking Fancy Cupcake Wedding Centrepieces #2

Before you tackle this Cupcake Wedding Centrepiece, be sure to check out my entry on Cupcake Stands because it will come in handy as you shop.  This centrepiece is another three in one! Not only does it give you a beautiful centrepiece filled with each guests tasty cupcake dessert, but it also serves as the table number.  You can keep it as simple as that, OR you could put each guests name on the cupcakes to add a personal touch.  As for the cupcake featured at the top with the table number...may the best guest get seconds.

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Tie-Dye Cupcake

I LOVE these cupcakes! Just looking at them makes me smile. They are playful and have fun written all over them.  Whether it's a kids birthday, a small celebration or a big retro party blowout, these cupcakes are versatile enough to serve up at most any occasion.  To make this colourful treat you'll need...

• Vanilla Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water - but we're subbing out the water for this one)
• Buttermilk (to replace the water)
• Assorted Gel Food Colouring (as many or as few colours as you'd like)
• Store Bought Vanilla Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: This cupcake doesn't really need a garnish, but if you wanted to up the colour insanity you could always sprinkle rainbow coloured candies or chocolate chips

Now how to make them...

Step 1: Follow the direction of your Vanilla Cake Mix - from preheating your oven through to adding the eggs and oil BUT replace the water it calls for with Buttermilk.  Mix together the batter until smooth.

Step 2: Here comes the COLOUR. Decide how many colours you want to include in your batter.  For simplicity, let's say you go with 6.  Take 6 medium-small sized bowls and divide out your batter evenly - or not...no one will know.  Add your selected Gel Food Colouring to each bowl and mix well.  Now you have 6 different colours of batter!


Step 3: Using a teaspoon,  spoon in a single colour of batter into your cupcake liner.  Alternate between all the colours until you've filled your cupcake liner 3/4 of the way full.  While you're filling each cupcake liner, try tipping the pan slightly as you add a colour so that the layers aren't lying flat on each other.  Bake as directed on the package.


Step 4: While your cupcakes are baking, why not whip up the vanilla 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.

Step 5:  To make your Tie-Die icing, you'll need a piping bag, tip of your choice (I used tip 1M - my favourite!), assorted Gel Food Colouring and a small paintbrush or long stick.  Take your piping bag and brush or scrape on a long stripe of Gel Food Colouring on the inside of the bag.  Alternate around the colouring around the inside of your bag until it looks like a multicolour peppermint wheel.  Carefully spoon in the icing trying not to mess up the sides - you'll touch the sides a bit but it's not a big deal.  Pipe the icing on as you normally would and it will come out rainbow streaked!

Happy Faking!

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Baby's First Fancy Cupcake #6

This past weekend I was lucky enough to meet HB and BB's newest addition to their family.  AB was two weeks early and definitely surprised his parents with his arrival having not finished his room.  He is SUPER sweet and I miss him already, but I left this Baby's First Fancy Cupcake behind.  Hopefully him and his parents will be in my neck of the woods to visit in the near future.  And if they do, maybe I'll make him my Tie-Dye Cupcake, if he's old enough that is.

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Tutti Fruity Cupcake

Here's a great summer recipe that will please kids and adults alike! Perfect for the patio party or Canada Day get together, this fruity cupcake is refreshing and fun!  To make this summer treat you'll need...

• White Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• Frozen Fruit Punch Concentrate (you'll be replacing the amount of water it calls for...and you'll want it to be thawed too)
• Reg Gel food colouring (optional)
• Store bought White Icing
• Butter (room temperate...around 1/2 cup....but it's up to you)
• Icing Sugar (optional)
• Garnish Ideas: fresh strawberry, fruit flavoured candy

Now for the recipe...

Step 1: First things first, you'll want to thaw your Fruit Punch Concentrate because it's pretty hard to mix it in frozen solid! Once it's thawed to 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 Fruit Punch Concentrate. If you'd like to make them a pink or deep pink colour, add some Red Gel food colouring. 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: On to 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. To ice them, you can use a piping bag or whatever icing method you prefer. To garnish your cupcake try topping them with a fresh strawberry or fruit flavoured candy..

Happy Faking!

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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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