Finally, I have a second to update some cupcakes. Some are forever old. This first one I wanted to show you is a super easy way to put cute, tasty decorations on. I just melt down some white chocolate and line a cookie sheet with wax paper, spread out the melted chocolate on the sheet and let it just barely set up. Next take your favorite mini cookie cutter and stamp out as many as you want. Decorate and then top your cupcake. So fast, so cute.
urtle: Chocolate cake with marshmallow butter cream frosting, caramel center with pecans and chocolate drizzle. Second up is Banana Puddin': Banana cake with Banana 
Cream Frosting and a Vanilla wafer. One of the new favorites.
Well, it has been weeks since I have posted anything....seems like I go through stages like that. BUT, I have been working on a lot of things. Today I have a very special treat for you! One of my favorite people had her 18th birthday, and I was asked and given freedom to create a custom flavor and cupcake tower for her. Tex is a very unique girl and I wanted her cake to reflect that. So the super secret flavor I was testing at Valentines can now be revealed: Tex's Chocolate Passion. It's chocolate cake with passion tea ganache and marshmallow butter cream frosting. I had to take the pictures with my phone so they aren't the best, but hopefully you can get a glimpse of what the cakes looked like. The d
ecorations are handmade out of candy clay (my new favorite alternative to fondant!)
First up, possibly a new fav. Chocolate Pie. My 2nd favorite dessert, but not just any 'ole chocolate pie will do. My Grandmother's is the only pie for me, or DeeDee as everyone calls her. This cupcake is in her honor. Butter Cake stuffed with DeeDee's chocolate pie and topped with toasted meringue. The test group called them excellent.
My sister LOVES sweet and salty and loves syrup on her sausage or bacon. It literally tastes like pancakes and bacon. It's maple, brown sugar and chopped bacon in the cake and then it's topped with Brown sugar and maple butter cream and a piece of crispy bacon. They are rich and can be eaten any time of the day. Not for your average cupcake eater.
This is my favorite of the whole holiday.....given from someone far far away to someone they love very much. Next up, Easter? Father's Day? Birthdays? Happy Friday? Who knows....holla at me if you have a unique flavor you would like to eat in cupcake form!
I'm working on a new cupcake flavor for a VERY special person. I can't tell you who yet. But, I thought I would give it a test drive for valentine's day. I can't even tell you what's in it because that would give it away who it was for. But it's got chocolate, exotic flavors and ooey, gooey goodness. And I'm still working out the kinks.
The frosting completely migrated off the top...
My cousin/best friend Britt is very fond of no bake cheesecake, and I like it pretty well myself. In her honor we have created cherry cheesecake cupcakes, and they might be my new fav. It's butter cake topped with cheesecake frosting and cherry pie...I'm gonna need another one right now!
I don't know if I've told many stories lately, but every one of my cupcakes is based on someone either I know and love or someone that someone else knows and loves. Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my all time favorite combos. Much like our friend Sarah: the perfect combination of sweet and sassy.... AND just so happens to L-O-V-E peanut butter cups. So, for her valentine that's just what she got: Peanut butter cup-cupcakes! They have moist chocolate cake with salty peanut butter frosting, then are dipped in chocolate and topped with a PB cup.
(Even though I couldn't find fresh raspberries anywhere and had to settle for raspberry yogurt and extract.)
Next the special message was added.
And this pic, just because I like it. 
insides....
This week I joined a group called Baking GALS (Give A Little Support). They put together packages of homemade baked goods to send to our troops. I have been looking for something like this for awhile now and I'm so excited to be a part of it! This morning I got up and baked dozens of cookies, packaged them up and shipped them out. I just hope that they get there in one piece. Since it's so close to Valentines Day, I decided to make the cookies valentine-y. Get ready because next week is my favorite baking week of the whole year!!
Ok, so this one is for my friend and co-worker Kent. He doesn't really eat sugar and he loves meat. This year for his birthday I decided to make him a meat cake. It's basically a three layer meat loaf with mashed potatoes for the frosting. It was a lot of fun and I make it in a cupcake version too! I don't have a picture of it cut open, but if I can get one, I'll post it later. As you can see, I've been busy over the past week. AND, Valentines' Day is coming up. I won't be doing a mass delivery this year, but if you want a special cupcake for your loved one, just contact me and I'd be happy to sweeten their day with a few cupcakes!
My little cousin also recently had a birthday and she is one of the sweetest girls around. And just like my sister, she doesn't really like chocolate. I know, there should be some sort of law about not liking chocolate, but it also allows me to be creative. And this is the kind of project I have been wanting to work on for awhile. Her colors for her party were hot pink, orange and lime green. So, I created a signature cupcake and stand just for her big day! I love doing that! "Libby's Rainbow Sherbet" cupcake will definitely make the flavor list. It's Lime, Strawberry and Orange cake made with fresh limes, strawberries and orange swirled together then finished with Very Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. Her cakes were also topped with brightly colored monograms.
My middle sister just turned 30 on Friday and we wanted to make sure to have a party that reflected her personality completely! She is a classy cowgirl, think leather and lace or pearls and wood. Tough as nails and delicate as a flower. For her birthday I wanted to do a special dessert table just for her. Her best friend, came over early and helped me set up and our older sister helped by baking her out-of-sight snicker doodles! Also on the menu I made: lemon mousse fluffed on top of a white chocolate dipped gingersnap and topped with a fresh blackberry, peach champagne cake with hand piped swiss dots, fruit kabobs with dip, bacon cheese phyllo cups, lemony shrimp and passion tea. Some of her favorite things.
I was not happy with how this one turned out, but everyone else enjoyed it. I had this great vision of a Egg Nog cupcake that would be the star of my Christmas flavors, but it didn't make the cut for me. It wasn't Noggy enough, but I have some ideas of how to make it much better, including a little nog pastry cream in the middle! Mmmm....maybe we'll have Christmas in March.
Awhile back I got asked to do cookies for a baby shower as a party favor. They turned out pretty cute! Now, most of you probably don't know that I make cookies too, I just don't do it often because I LOVE to eat them and that's just not good for me. I can stop at one cupcake but cookies (especially chocolate chip) I can not resist.
