Happy Halloween!

The scariest cupcakes ever! These are chocolate with m&ms in side them with vanilla frosting. Spiders, spider webs and Boo! Very scary...

Happy Halloween :)

xo

super kid cupcakes!

sorry for the lack of posts! i haven't been my usual self since the long weekend, but luckily on Canada Day we went for a picnic with some very special friends! this called for some super cupcakes for some super kids, whose favorite colours are yellow and purple (in that order). i took another crack at the confetti cupcakes, this time without the almond extract. they were still very tasty, and here is a snap of what they look like on the inside! i didn't manage to get a picture before we left, so this is what they looked like after being knocked about a bit in our picnic bag. yum! xo

i (heart) vanilla and chocolate

this is not a new recipe, but it is a good one! vanilla cupcakes with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. i added the hearts even though it's not valentines, just because i love cupcakes ;) awwwww haha

xo

rainbow bit! (aka funfetti)

i made these lovelies yesterday for a bbq-turned-dinner party (what happened to the weather?!?). my inspiration was my fave box mix, rainbow bit. these were good, not quite to the level of real rainbow bit, but what are the 'bits'??? if anyone knows, please tell me! i just substituted rainbow jimmies into the batter and sprinkled them on top of the frosting. definitely a fun recipe xo

retire to dessert

happy retirement dad! i made these 'golf inspired' cupcakes for a party at Cirillo's Culinary Academy on Dundas West. it was a great night and the cupcakes went down really well! there were three flavors; the 19th hole (chocolate stout cake with chocolate whiskey ganache and chocolate whiskey frosting), it's a gimme (vanilla cake with raspberry curd swirl and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream with raspberry curd drizzle), and sand trap (chocolate stout cake with caramel frosting). there wasn't too much that screamed 'golf' about the flavours, just the names :) 

xo

spring/easter cakes!

here are some easter egg cupcakes, i had lots of fun using my new grass piping tip :) and my new mini cake pan! there will be more baking fun all week, i can't wait! these are chocolate buttermilk cupcakes with vanilla swiss meringue butter cream.
here's another great pic by lionel :
http://greenteaandicecream.blogspot.com/2010/03/meag-brought-over-more-delicious.html

last but not least from the weekend...

i had to do something with the left over chocolate butter cream from the mini cake filling :) xo

practice makes perfect

in preparation for lindsay's arrival on sunday i made two mini cakes for us to fondant, using the techniques i learned in my course yesterday. this picture is one of them following the 'crumb coat' step, before the final mask. this time i made two-layer vanilla mini cakes with chocolate swiss meringue butter cream filling and vanilla frosting.

once she arrived we started playing with fondant! see below...

it turns out that covering such small round cakes with fondant is more difficult than i thought it would be :) good thing i had a patient instructor! eventually the cakes looked like this...

and then i was let loose on her butterfly shape cutters!!! it was a bit messy...but so fun! thanks for all the tips and tricks bevi :) xo

baking & butter cream class

i am finally posting about my amazing weekend :) 

i had an amazing time at my baking and butter cream class at bonnie gordon. it is really nice to be supervised by a le cordon bleu trained pâtissier and told what you do wrong. i learned a lot about ingredient combination techniques that i was unaware of and my cake masking skills have definitely improved. the first picture is the final product of my whole day's work on saturday, a vanilla cake with a layer of mango swiss meringue butter cream and frosted in vanilla swiss meringue butter cream.

now that i had such a great time at bonnie gordon i can hardly wait to take another class but i know i need to pace myself. which class should i take next: preserves and fillings for cakes or cupcake bouquets??? decisions decisions!

this second picture is of my cake in action on saturday night alongside a fabulous tarte tatin, yum! xo

noix de coco

spring is in the air :) and tonight we had some friends over for dinner, so for dessert i baked these coconut cupcakes with vanilla butter cream frosting. they were really good! definitely a contender and will be making it into the next voting round. i toasted the coconut myself for the topping and swirled on the frosting instead of piping it. deciding to use vanilla frosting rather than coconut frosting is key in this combination, the cake was lovely and light so adding more coconut may have over done that flavor. i am hoping to do a bit more baking this weekend as well as enjoy the weather!

PINK valentines!

wow! these are the pinkest cupcakes i've ever seen! this was my first time using paste colouring, so obviously there is a learning curve i need to overcome, they were supposed to be more in the pastel family. less is probably more. vanilla with vanilla buttercream, they were yummy even with the pinkness!

m

...testing...testing...

first post!

this is the first of the great cupcake recipe taste test challenge! these were vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream, enjoyed at nanny's birthday lunch :) no complaints yet. next challenge recipe will be the double chocolate, chocolate cupcake with white chocolate buttercream, perfect for valentines!

this weekend my baking exploits will include my first attempt at a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing, yum! wish me luck...

m