Over the weekend I was lucky enough to be asked to make cupcakes for two baby showers. One was for a girl the other a boy; both were for first time mother's to be. Being a mom myself I feel comfortable when I say there is no other experience like becoming a mother for the first time. There is nothing that can prepare you for it, and no real words of advice that an experienced parent can offer. It's just one of those things you have to experience for yourself, each experience is different yet uniquely similar and fantastically beautiful.

Both showers were going with a chocolate brown and polka dot theme (blue for the boy and pink for the little girl) which I really enjoyed (the colors and the polka dots). The little girl to be will be named Savannah so I decided to try something new. I made mini "S" shaped sugar cookies and then coated them with chocolate. I first tried dipping them but they were to small and just became blobs of chocolate so I decided to paint the chocolate on. Then I added some pink sanding sugar for a little sparkle. They were pretty fragile and I broke quite a few in the process but I loved the end result (make sure icing is room temp before adding cookies to top). It was simple, and pretty and pink and chocolate and, etc. etc.

Look how much prettier it is in the natural light (I'm having an issue with one of my photo lights...)

For the little boys shower, the parents have not chosen a name yet so I choose to make some cupcake picks that simply said "It's a Boy". I had originally planned on doing blue and white icing and alternating them on the stand but was unhappy with the color icing I was getting so decided to go with all white and I'm glad I did. I think the blue AND white icing would have been to busy and all blue would have been just too blue. The white icing was perfect, I added a tiny bit of blue sugar but you couldn't really see it.

Again....here it is in the natural light

Growing a Garden

So this is the second year that we are growing our own organic garden. The idea of having our own garden was really so that we could show our little one where the food she eats comes from. We didn't know how successful it would be and it didn't matter we just wanted her to have the experience, but it didn't take long before we were enjoying tomatoes picked right from the plant. Now, I was never a big fan of tomatoes until I tasted one of my own. When allowed to ripen on the plant they are sweet, juicy and DELICIOUS, pair them with some fresh basil or cilantro snipped fresh and well, there is just nothing that compares.

After the success of our first garden we decided to do it again this year, using what we learned from our first go around to make improvements. Here are some pictures showing the planting process and the growth that has occurred over the past month. Enjoy!

Here it is "The Garden". It's not that big; it's roughly 60 square feet. Before planting we prepared the soil. I use the term "we" loosely here (and throughout)...VERY loosely. By "We" I mean Shawn did it and I helped by not asking him to do anything else...and making lunch :). Anyway, back to gardening...it was all overgrown after last years harvest so we cut it and then covered it with plastic tarps to kill the weeds.

Then we added good organic soil building it up into rows of little hills. Next, we planted the plants in the hills and caged them.

Our little helper!

48 days later the results are as follows...

I had Shawn stand in this one to give you a frame of reference for how tall the tomato plant to the left of him is (he's 6"1' or 6'1"...whatever). He had to attach it to pvc pipe to hold it up.

and the soon to be eaten...

Here is one of the cucumber plants. they are so pretty and yet so weird at the same time. They grow these little arms and attach them to things in what appears to be a way to hold themselves up. And the underside of their leaves feels fuzzy but when you mash it between your fingers it makes this weird crunchy sound that feels even weirder. No cucumbers yet, but I'm enjoying the flowers...

Now get out there and row your hoe, or hoe your row...sow your seed...You get the idea plant something, give it a little love and you will be rewarded :)

Why Cupcakes??

My love of baking was instilled in me as a young child...let's just say I was licking batter off beaters when I was still in Pampers. And while I have always loved cupcakes I didn't become so obsessed with them until 2003.

It was in 2003 that I was married to my husband. During the wedding planning there were very few details that he was allowed to...oops I mean interested in helping with, but when it came to the cake he specifically requested cupcakes. At the time cupcakes were not all the rage they are today so when I went about looking for a photo to give the baker I found very few that captured what I was after. Until of course, the one and only Martha Stewart put this picture on the cover of her magazine.

It's beautiful isn't it. Simple, elegant, classy, cupcakes....perfect. So with magazine in hand I went to meet with the wedding planner. I gave them the photo and the following instructions..."I would like cupcakes like this only without the fondant monogrammed hearts. I would like chocolate cupcakes, with white frosting and silver sprinkle thingies (I'm sure I said thingies as I had no idea what a dragee was at the time)" I also asked for a small cutting cake for "ceremonious purposes but nothing fancy...simple and pretty"...like me :) Now one would think that with the above picture as a sample along with my request there would be little to worry about right? WRONG...oh, was I so very wrong. This my friends is what I got.

I know {{{{{{{{{{{GASP}}}}}}}}} But wait...here it is in color

Are you kidding me...really? I did give you the cover of Martha Stewart as a reference right? It's pretty pathetic isn't it? I mean the frosting isn't even piped on, and the cutting cake...when I said cutting I meant I wanted to cut the cake not take a bite of it and cut the inside of my mouth! I shit you not they used a strand of fake plastic pearls around the top edge of the cake (again piping obviously was not in their skill set) and then fake flowers, not sugar flowers, fake plastic flowers that they secured to the cake with STRAIGHT PINS. So here is me and my hubby trying to cut the cake...except as were cutting, the strand of pearls is pulling across the cake and pulling all the flowers with it. At this point I'm over the whole "ceremony" bullshit and I just want to get back to the party, so I scoop the whole damn slice right up onto the cake slicer and go in for a bite.

Just call me Grace...could I have opened my mouth any bigger???????? Anyway, notice said strand of fake pearls dangling from cake. Now here is the next picture...

Not a very good picture, but that's me pulling a pin out of my mouth and looking at it like "WTF is a pin doing in my cake?". Now I don't know about y'all but I don't think you should put pins in a cake unless your intention is to cause bodily harm or your performing some sort of cake voodoo. On top of the shear ugliness of the whole mess, AND the pin situation it wasn't even good cake. It was dry and bland and I don't even remember the icing. Needless to say it was a cupcastrophe!

My marriage on the other hand has been bliss. Early, in our almost 6 years of wedded bliss, I began making cupcakes regularly for my husband and experimenting with different recipes and flavors, expanding on the knowledge that had already been passed to me from my grandma's during countless summer vacations and Christmas holiday's. Baking is a part of family tradition for me. I love everything about it. Making it, eating it, the way it smells when it's baking. It's like therapy...it makes me feel good. So that's "why cupcakes?" because they're good and they make me feel good :)

ICE March - Nuts and Seeds

I was having a hard time (Never, not me...) deciding on a cupcake to make for this month's Iron Cupcake Earth challange. I use nuts in a lot of different cupcakes but I felt like the nut or the seed should take center stage rather than be just an addition and I just couldn't settle on an idea.

I had all but given up and had moved on to doing a little research for another post I'm working on when in the midst of that research I came across a picture and recipe for an almond and sour cherry cake. It was so pretty and looked so delicious and it was then that I decided this was the one. I decided to make almond flavored cupcakes; to half the batter I added cherry preserves. The cherry almond cupcakes were iced with a cherry buttercream and the plain almond cupcakes I iced with an almond flavored fudge icing. They were then topped with a Godiva chocolate covered almond or toasted slivered almonds. On looks alone I loved them. The pink cherry buttercream is....well pink and the chocolate fudge with the slivered almonds is....well chocolate and almonds. It was like ecstasy for the eyes.

And then I tasted them. First was the cherry buttercream variety. The soft lusciousness of the cherry buttercream surrounded my tongue and I thought "could it get better"? I then got a taste of the tart cherry's baked into the almond cake and oh man; that combination of sweet and tart is like a symphony of flavor!

Next, I sampled the almond fudge topped almond cake. Almonds and chocolate together is just timeless. If you like these two seperate your gonna love them together. I think my favorite part of this cupcake was the toasted slivered almonds on top. The crunchy texture they added to the cupcake was so nice and different from the crunch added by chopped whole nuts. Needless to say they were both delish and for me it was easy to pick which one was my favorite...Both. I mean seriously, how do you choose. I tried, really I did. I sampled each cupcake bite for bite until I found myself high on sugar and stuffing my face. So I surrendered.

You take the challange, see if you can choose!

Will in be Number 1

Cherry Buttercream and Chocolate Covered Almond on an

Almond Cherry Cupcake

Or Number 2, the Classic

Chocolate and Almond Fudge with Toasted Slivered Almonds

on an Almond Cupcake

To Vote for one or both of my cupcakes go to: No One Puts Cupcake In A Corner starting on April 1st.

Now for the recipes:


For the cupcakes I used the Golden Almond Cake recipe from The Cake Bible
( this is such a fab book, I won't print the recipe bc if you like to bake you should own this)


To make the almond cherry cake: Mix batter as directed. Add 1/4 cup good quality cherry preserves to the batter (I used Bonne Maman). Divide batter evenly among mini muffin cups and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes


Cherry Buttercream
1 stick unsalted butter- room temp
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup canned cherry juice
1/4 tsp. almond extract
pinch of salt


Cream butter and 2 cups sugar with cherry juice, salt and extract until smooth. Add remaining sugar gradually beating until smooth.



Chocolate Fudge Frosting

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

5 tbsp. unsalted butter

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. almond extract

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Heat milk, butter and sugar over medium until it boils, stiring often. Remove from heat and add chocolate and extracts, stir until melted and smooth. Allow to cool completly before piping on cupcakes. Top with toasted* slivered almonds. Enjoy!

* to toast nuts place on baking sheet in 350 degree oven for ~10 minutes. Turn once or twice.

As always thanks to the sponsors who provide an awesome prize pack!

Our March ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

A Bunnycake Easter Plushie by DOGBONEART, http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21636297.
A whimsical piece by CAKEASAURUS, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5729584.
as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
a collection of all new printed cupcake liners, 200 in all from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers:

HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/ . And as a special thank you, we would like to once again thank DIANAEVANS - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5599270 for her participation in the February challenge. An incorrect link was posted and we want to be sure that she gets the recognition she deserves. Thanks again Diana!

Now run along and vote...for me of course ;-)

Catching Up...

These past few feeks have been busy for me. First there were cupcakes for a friends birthday. Vanilla buttercake with chocolate buttercream and an iced sugar cookie, and in my new boxes!!! LOVE them (the boxes and the cupcakes).

Then there was this Mickey Mouse cupcake tower for a little boys 2nd birthday. I got to use my new custom built cupcake tower for this one, LOVE it!!

All that was immediatly followed by one of my all time favorite events the Little Everglades Steeplechase. I not only got to go and enjoy the event but I provided cupcakes for two tailgates ( I only got pictures of one). Thanks to Fancy Flours for having the perfect and cutest little cake topper for this event.

Devil's food with cashew buttercream and devil's food with mint buttercream

Me!

And last but not least I did this Super Mario Cake for one of my favorite little guys 5th birthday! the original Nintendo was the first gaming system I ever had and I can vividly remember the Christmas that I got it and how my cousins and I stayed up all night playing. We literally played until out thumbs hurt! The little guy thought his cake was pretty cool and that made me feel pretty cool as well!

I hope you like them!

Tiny Tiramisu's - ICE February

Since coffee is the ingredient for this months Iron Cupcake Earth challenge I just had to make a cupcake version of tiramisu. I've made cupcake tiramisu's before and really enjoyed them, but this time I wanted to do something a little different. Since I was already making coffee flavored devil's food cupcakes for my first ICE entry I decided to make chocolate tiramisu cupcakes for my second entry. I also wanted them to be bite-size because that's just the kick I'm on!

Once the cupcakes were cool, I sliced them in half (try and be careful to keep the correct tops and bottoms together...they'll go back together easier this way) and brushed them with Frangelico and coffee. I brushed each piece twice but was careful not to soak them so they wouldn't get to soggy and fall apart. Next, I piped a small dollop of the mascarpone icing onto the bottoms. This is about when my mouth started to water!

Finally, I replaced the tops, added another dollop of icing and finished them with some grated dark chocolate. I must say, these came out almost cuter then I imagined and they taste fantastic. They are light and sweet and beautiful. They would be perfect for any black and white event or special occasion. I believe this is my new favorite. They don't take much more effort to make and they are well worth it, I highly recommend you try them! And now, I will shamelessly beg for your vote!

PLEASE

VOTE

FOR ME!

To vote for me go to http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/ . Voting will commence on March 1 @ 8 PM (at the latest). The winner will receive an awesome prize package from the following...

Our February ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
DIANA EVANS - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5599270
as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

As an added bonus for February, SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a variety of cupcaking supplies, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/ .

Tiny Tiramisu's

1 devil's food cake recipe ( 24 standard cupcakes or minis)

2 oz. fresh brewed dark coffee

1 oz. Frangelico liqueur

Mascarpone Icing (adapted from Shelly Kaldunski's Tiramisu Cupcakes)

1 lb. mascarpone cheese

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup Frangelico liqueur

1 tsp. vanilla

Whip ingredients together until it comes together and gets fluffy.

Bake cupcakes according to directions. Once cool slice each mini cupcake in half (standard size cupcakes cut in thirds) Mix coffee and Frangelico together and brush each side of the cupcake with the mix. Pipe a dollop of the mascarpone icing onto the bottoms and replace the tops. Add another dollop of icing and sprinkle with grated chocolate.

Coffee Cupcakes - ICE February

Since Tampa was recently voted the Nation's most caffeinated city it seemed only fitting that for my first Iron Cupcake Earth challenge the ingredient would be coffee. I will admit I am a slave to my coffee pot, I set it the night before and wake in the morning to it beeping letting me know that the "sweet nectar of the Gods" is ready. I truly don't feel I can fully function until I've had my coffee. Yes, I am addicted!!

For my first entry (yep that's right I will be entering more than just one cupcake) I made a simple coffee flavored devil's food cupcake that I then brushed with more coffee and iced with a coffee flavored buttercream. To make the coffee flavored devil's food I used my favorite devil's food recipe (I'm sure any chocolate cake would do just fine) and added instant espresso style coffee to the batter. Now I never drink instant coffee and don't pay much attention to it but when I saw this one marked "espresso" I knew it was the one I wanted. You see, one of the many Cuban influences on Tampa's culture can be found in Tampa's coffee. Cafe con Leche or Cuban Coffee are staples here in Tampa and pack a powerful caffeinated punch! Anyway, enough history...back to baking.

Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled I brushed the tops with black coffee ( I used Chock full o' Nuts which is what I drink daily). To make the icing I mixed the instant coffee with the milk for the recipe and then added it to the butter and powdered sugar. After tasting it I felt it needed a little more coffee so I added another tsp. straight to the icing. I like to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, I just think they're prettier that way, and since these were coffee cupcakes it seemed only appropriate that the icing be a little perky!

These cupcakes are so yummy! Chocolate and coffee go so well with each other that it's hard not to love these. The coffee flavor is not overwhelming but is definitely present. I actually had one with my cup of coffee the other day and dipped my cupcake (icing first) into the hot brew...OMG...heaven in a bite. These are perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up and since the icing is not a cooked buttercream they will freeze nicely so you can always have some on hand. I hope you will try these and enjoy as much as I have! We are not only competing for bragging rights but also for prizes ( a list of can be found below) so PLEASE vote for me by going to http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com/ . Voting will begin no later than March 1st at 8 PM.

Chocolate Coffee Cupcakes

One recipe Devil's food cake (or your favorite chocolate cake recipe)
3 Tbsp. instant espresso style coffee ( I used Cafe Bustelo)
1/2 cup brewed coffee, black ( I used Chock Full Of Nuts)

Add instant espresso to the cake batter and mix well. Distribute batter evenly amongst paper lined cupcake pans filling each cup about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for ~15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Brush the tops of each cupcake with the coffee using a pastry brush. Ice with coffee flavored buttercream.

Coffee Flavored Buttercream


1 stick unsalted butter (room-temp)
1/4 cup milk
4-6 Cups powdered sugar ( to desired consistency)
3 tsp. instant espresso style coffee ( I used Cafe Bustelo)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
small pinch of salt

Mix instant coffee with milk to dissolve crystals. Add coffee, powdered sugar, vanilla and salt to butter and cream until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes.

The Sponsors

Our February ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

DIANAEVANS - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5599270
as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!As an added bonus for February, SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a variety of cupcaking supplies, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers:

HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com/, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com/, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com/; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com/; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com/ .