smores cupcakes

Will and I made smores cupcakes and they were delicious. I got the recipe from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. This is the only recipe i've tried from this book but it was super delicious.



graham cracker cupcakes
.5 cup all-purpose flour
1.5 cups finely crushed graham crackers
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
.75 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
.75 cup milk
1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. mix flour, crushed graham crackers, baking powder, and salt together and set aside
3. cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. add vanilla and then alternate the flour mix with the milk. beat until smooth and then fold in the chocolate chips.
4. spoon the batter into cupcak liners and fill them about 3/4 full*
5. bake for 20-25 minutes. remove from oven and cool

marshmallow icing
2 egg whites
pinch of salt
.25 cup sugar
.75 cup corn syrup
marshmallows, crumbled graham crackers, and milk chocolate for decoration

1. beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. the egg whites get a lot bigger than you'd expect.
2. add sugar slowly while beating
3. gradually add corn syrup
4. beat until soft peaks form
5. drizzle the frosting onto the cupcakes
6. decorate

makes about 15 cupcakes, but i recommend doubling it. you cant have too many of these.


i decorated my cupcakes by microwaving marshmallows for about 15 seconds, placing a hot m-mallow on each cupcake, and piercing it with a graham piece. then i grated chocolate over the sticky topping.


will used crumbled graham crackers and chocolate chips and sprinkled them on his cupcakes.

we gave them out at fort reno. i think people liked them.

magnolia bakery cupcakes.



Will and i made cupcakes from the magnolia bakery recipe. they turned out delicious. they're pretty buttery and dense, but still taste light. it's hard to explain. i guess you'll have to make them to see.

i got the recipe from the 52 cupcakes blog

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line 2 muffin pans of 12 muffin spots each with cupcake liners. whatever they're called. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. In a small bowl combine both flours.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
4. Add the sugar gradually and beat for 3 minutes or until fluffy. (will did this because he's really good at mixing. he has good arms because his car has manual steering)
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.
7. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix.
8. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. Cool the cupcakes in the tin for 15 minutes.
11. Remove cakes from the tins and cool on a wire rack before icing.

for the icing,

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add in 4 cups sugar, then the milk and vanilla. On
medium speed of an electric mixer, beat about 3-5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well (about 2 minutes) after each
addition, until the icing is thick enough for good spreading consistency (you may not need all
of the sugar. we used about 6.5 cups total).

we frosted ours pink and blue and just spread on. you could pipe the frosting from a pasty bag for the swirly look.

vday 07

valentine's day is a good excuse to flex your martha muscle (which is anatomically located posterior to the sternocleidomastoid). the average man spends about 150 dollars and the average woman spends 80 dollars. me, i spent about 5. and used a lot of stuff around the house.


for my friends, i found some playdoh valentines with really ugly stickers on. i took off the stickers and put them on my dog, then i made my own stickers and stuck them on. i used recycled paper i had lying around the house from french paper. playdoh doesnt make you fat and it's more fun than flowers.





for my valentine, i made a homemade card - the essential gift for valentines day. last year i made little coloring books, but this year since i have a special someone i decided to make a unique card for him. lately i've been obsessed with shrinky dinks. a lot of people dont know what they are... which is ridiculous - did you have a childhood? shrinky dinks are these thin plastic sheets that you can draw on, and then you stick them in a 325 degree oven. they shrink and get thick. they're great for jewelry (more about that in a different post).


Well the boyfriend really loves Casablanca, and since it's a pretty beautiful love story i chose that as my shrinking subject. i found a picture online and drew it onto the plastic (tracing is easy too because the paper is pretty clear-ish). then i stuck it in the oven and watched it shrink down (it will curl up at first but then eventually lay flat, so be patient!), and then took it out and let it cool. then i used a glue gun to stick it on a doilie and some more recycled paper. it makes a pretty memorable and unique valentine.



i also made him red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. i dont like red velvet cake and i hate cheam cheese frosting, so i dont really know if they're any good. they look pretty! and they're bright red. we'll see if he likes them.

i have one single shoebox and i need good ideas for what to do with it. i want to make something. please help!

coca-cola cupcakes

cupcakes

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 sticks margarine
2 tbsp. baking cocoa
1 cup Coca-Cola
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows

Combine flour and sugar. Boil margarine, cola, and cocoa. Definitely watch the pot/pan while you're boiling, the cola bubbles over like crazy. Pour over flour mixture. In a bowl, beat eggs; add marshmallows, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and mix well.

Put cupcake paper cups in muffin pan, dont try to make them without these - the cake is sticky! spray them with pay to insure no sticking. Pour equal amounts of batter into the muffin tins and bake at 350º for 18-20 minutes.


cupcakes before baking.


coca cola frosting

1 stick margarine
1/4 cup Coca-Cola
3 tbsp. baking cocoa
2 heaping cups powdered sugar

Boil margarine, cocoa, and cola. Pour over powdered sugar; mix until smooth. You'll need to add a bit more sugar into it to make it thicker and fudgier. I also added a bit of vanilla into mine to counter some bitter taste. While the frosting is still hot, dip a spoon into it and drizzle it over your cupcakes. it will set smoothly.