Because I Love You.

I like to sing...I'm not good at it, but I like it. To my ears I sound fantastic; I could hold my own with Celine and Christina no problem. To the poor souls who are subjected to my random serenades I sound more like a rooster with bronchitis being struck by a car. But I don't let a little thing like tone deafness hold me back. Why just the other day I was inspired to sing.

Remember all that niceness I was sharing with you the other day. Well I decided I wanted to do something nice for my hubby. A few weeks back I had planned on making a home-made version of the Hostess cupcake, but I never got around to it so I decided to surprise him with some when he came home from work. As I was whipping up the fluffy, marshmallowy goodness that was to be the delicious center of these babies I found myself singing a song from my youth. Now, I'm a product of the 90's so don't judge me to harshly when I tell you what it was I found myself singing repeatedly...okay...you ready...it was Stevie B's, Because I Love You.

I know, I know, I know. I know what your thinking (at least I can imagine what your thinking..."Stevie B... sound of crickets...really???"). I can't help it...this song was like an anthem for at least a summer during my middle school years. I was a cheerleader for the local P.P.A.L league and every Saturday night our parents would drop us off at the rec center for the weekly P.P.A.L dance. I can vividly remember slow dancing to this song, having the chaperons (the poor adults with nothing better to do with their Saturday night then to stand around monitoring a bunch of hormonal, tweens stumble their way awkwardly through puberty and the beginnings of blossoming romances) step in anytime we got to close to one another. So say what you must, but I was feeling the love when I was making these and this song brings back fond memories for me as does the Hostess cupcake.

I can remember being a little girl and how excited I would get if my mom picked these up at the store, and how I would eat them first by peeling the chocolate fudge from the top, saving it for last. Then I would eat just enough cupcake to expose the fluffy center which I would eat around saving one big fluffy cake crumby bite for last. Then I would devour the icing and wash it all down with a big glass of cold milk...good times I tell you, good times!!

So with Stevie B playing on repeat in my head and visions of marshmallow fluff enrobed in chocolaty goodness running through my mind I proceeded to stuff the cupcakes by cutting out a small section from the center, then injecting the cream and replacing the cake section.

Then I glazed them and added the traditional white swirl using royal icing.

Next, was the hardest part of all (sigh)...taste tasting.

My first instinct told me they were the bomb...but I had to be sure.

And I couldn't leave my fingerprints and teeth impressions behind as evidence. What? What's that you say? This, isn't, a, crime scene? Well it WOULD be a crime to not finish this cupcake!

So good, so so so good. I usually don't care for a ganache glaze preferring a sweeter more fudge like version but paired with the sweetness of the marshmallowy center it was awesome. It was moan inspiring (yes, sometimes I moan when food is really good...especially when it involves chocolate and cake and fluffy centers...you get the point). My hubby loved them and I love him and it's all just love over here.

Marshmallow Cream

1 stick unsalted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup Marshmallow Fluff

2 TBSP heavy cream

Beat all ingredients unitl smooth and fluffy.

These really are worth the several step process it takes to assemble them. Start with your favorite chocolate cupcake. You could skip the royal icing at the end and just use a powdered sugar and milk icing. I just happened to have left over royal icing so I used it. And if you prefer a sweeter chocolate glaze add some powdered sugar. After making these I'm tempted to try some different flavor fillings like a fluffy carmel center, a lemon curd, a whipped hazelnut filling...the possibilities go on and on and on!

I better go make a list (that I'll ultimately misplace and spend way to much time looking for)

Sugar coated kisses,

N.

Now that's nice

Have you ever seen that bumper sticker that says " Mean people suck"? I feel there should be a counterpart sticker that says "Nice people rock"! It seems we're always so focused on the negative in the world...which celebrity is headed for rehab, how bad is the economy today, that jerk just cut me off, etc., etc., etc. I'm a believer that negativity breeds negativity, you get back from the universe what you put out there. That being said I wanted to share a little bit of nice with you, maybe it will make you smile and in turn you will be nice to someone else. Lord knows the world could use a little bit of nice right about now!

Okay so first, about a month or so ago my Aunt Becky surprised me with a little package. She sent me some cookie cutters and silicone cakelett pans. There was no reason to send them other then she saw them, thought of me and bought them for me...how nice right! As a way to say thank you I decided I wanted to do more then the traditional card, so I made her some sugar cookies with one of the cutters she sent.

I can't decide if I think they look more like sunflowers,

or

Black Eyed Susans.

What do you think?

I hope that they reached her in good condition and brought a smile to her face!

Okay, next nice thing: last weekend I received a totally random email from a gentleman in CA who had seen the Mickey Mouse cupcake tower I made. He one, described it as a "masterpiece" and two, wanted to know how much I would charge for something similar if not the exact same thing. How flattering is that!!? I unfortunately, had to tell him I don't ship; but I was sure to tell him Thank you. I told him "baking is my passion and it brings me great joy to know that what I do makes other people happy." and that's the truth!

And last but not least my hubby asked me this week to makes some cupcakes for the ladies in his office. Things have been pretty hectic there lately and he thought it would be a good way to end the week. Nice right? He left the "what to make" decision up to me, and an easy decision it was. I decided to make my version of a Rocky Road cupcake. I call it "Malfunction Junction". Those of you from Tampa know exactly what Malfunction Junction is, for the rest of you...let's just say it's a section of I-275 that sucks beyond suckage. They just seemed appropriate for the occasion...the perfect way to end a rocky week!! For my Malfunction-Junction I start with a devil's food cupcake, I ice it with a marshmallow buttercream and then top it with toasted walnuts, coconut and a drizzle of chocolate. For the ladies I made them pink...and I just love them!

Pretty little things aren't they?

Marshmallow Buttercream

1 stick unsalted butter - room temp

1 cup marshmallow fluff

1 cup powdered sugar

4-6 tbsp. heavy whipping cream ( you could use milk, I happened to have cream so I used it)

Beat all ingredients until light and fluffy. Add as much cream as you need to reach the consistency you would like.

Go play nice.

xoxo

N.

A Busy Week...

It's been a long and busy baking week for me. I had 5 dozen custom decorated sugar cookies for Friday and a birthday cake for Saturday. I doesn't seem like that much when you type it, but anyone who's ever made this variety of sugar cookie knows, they are a labor of love. You have to make , roll, cut, chill and bake the dough. Then you have to cool, outline and fill the cookies. And then finally after they have been left to dry for hours, (yes, hours. They take hours for the royal icing to completely dry) you can do what is my favorite part...decorate them. It's decorating them to be special for an event or occasion that makes them worth the time and effort. I mean an iced cookie as an iced cookie, but when they're unique to you and/or your event they're...well...special.

This particular order was for a baby shower. They asked for pink, lavender and yellow cookies, with Lily on them. I just love babies, and the mom-to-be is a first timer which is awesome so I was super excited about making these. The colors were really pretty and the sprinkled sugar added just a little bit of sparkle.

I did some with just a letter "L"

and for the first time I used fondant, in the form of tiny flowers.

Here they are on pink on a black background. I'm never quit sure how to take a picture of cookies. So I tried a bunch of different stuff.

And here they are all bagged up and ready to go.

My tips for making sugar cookies is to roll and cut the dough when it's warm. I roll mine between sheets of wax paper. Chill it, then remove scraps and bake the cookies. I outline mine with a medium consistency royal icing and then flood them using thin icing in a squeeze bottle. I outline them again once they're dry and then decorate . They are best kept in the refrigerator and can be stored in the freezer. You can find a good recipe for sugar cookies and royal icing at Fancy Flours

Hope you like.

N.

Back with a BANG!

So it's been a while since I last posted here. No excuse really. I have the tendency to get a little sidetracked, starting new projects only to get bored after the initial excitement of the whole venture wears off. It's not that I haven't been baking, believe me I have. I just haven't been taking pictures and blogging about the experience. But lately the itch to share my sweet treats has returned and when I made blueberry scones yesterday I knew it was time.

I've been wanting to make blueberry scones for some time now. I had never even tried a scone until recently and yesterday was the first time I made them. I used the blueberry streusel scone recipe from Joyofbaking.com. Since I didn't hunt down any devonshire cream to go with them I made a mascarpone whipped cream also found on the joyofbaking.com. I ate one immediately after they came out of the oven and a second one not long after the first.

It's one of those things where when your done eating it you use your fork to mash up any bits of crumbs left on the plate, it's that good.

Here they are right out of the oven. Look at how the cream melts and oozes all down the sides of the scone. YUM,YUM,YUM!!

I sprinkled a little of the streusel topping and a few extra blueberries I had left over on top. Who doesn't love a little extra yum!

And here it is after given a few minutes to cool off. No oozing cream but just as big on the YUM factor. And look how festive they are, perfect for the 4th wouldn't you say.

Close-up of delicious blueberry goodness...

The key to mixing these is to NOT over mix them. I mixed them completely by hand and just until the flour was incorporated. Over mixing will yield a tough scone. Be gentle when folding in the berries so they don't burst before baking and I didn't use all of the streusel topping. But you can sprinkle it on afterwords or even save it for your pancakes, either way it's delish!

Next time I think I will add a little more lemon zest to the cream, I only used half a lemon this time. The lemon compliments the blueberries so well and gives the cream a really fresh taste. I'm telling you, from the way the blueberries pop in the scones during baking spreading their delicious juices throughout to the rich and creamy, sweet goodness that is the mascarpone whipped cream these babies are a must try. Not to mention how festive they are for the 4th. What better way to start your Independence day celebrations then with a fresh blueberry scone...YUM!!