too much inspiration?

Is there such a thing? I really think it has more to do with procrastination. I earn a blue first place ribbon on that on a regular basis! I will usually try to limit my online blog browsing time but with all these really amazing blogs with amazing photos and projects it really is hard to limit myself. I will get so inspired that I start to research something and then that takes me to another place and so on...then I find myself looking outside my window and it's dark outside. The day is over. ARG!

I'm going to start limiting myself to an hour THAT'S IT! I have a few projects I'm working on and many many on my to do list. One of those is a quilt with the new Denyse Schmidt Picnic and Fairgrounds collection, which I was happy to find at my local Joann's. I love this quilt pattern that Little Miss Shabby adapted from this free pattern. I may have to try it and I'm thinking Picnic and Fairgrounds would be the perfect collection to use.



In other news, I finally gave my friend Sara this quilt I made for her little boy to come. Everyone at the baby shower loved it. Which warmed my heart cause I still can't totally get used to the fact that people love what I do. I love giving people handmade gifts I think it has a lot more meaning.



I did worry a little bit about the type of quilting I did on it. It's not a continuous kind of thing. I did each square separately and in the end I actually LOVED the effect once I washed it and dried it. It's lovely. On the back I gave it two small circles to tie in the front with the back.




AND to finish this post I have to say that I made THE best deviled eggs ever. I love the classic flavors. Mayo, dijon mustard, regular yellow mustard, salt and pepper and a little paprika for garnish. Amazing lunch time treat for me today specially with this lovely weather!



Summer I'm ready for you :)

Quilting

So I have a new obsession and it's none other than quilting. I've only made a few but I'm hooked. I always get that feeling you know when you are reading a really good book and you can't wait to finish it but at the same time you don't want to because then it's over. Well I get that same feeling when I'm almost done with a quilt. Once it's finished I can't wait to start the next one. I love picking out the pattern, the fabrics, calculating the pieces, everything! Here are two I've made recently.

This is the charming stars quilt I made for my bed.



This is the back.



This is a baby quilt for my cousin's baby girl. Loved the light gray with the pinks and greens.



The back.



I'm working on a blue and gray quilt right now for my sister's room, but I want to start another one...told you I was obsessed!

NEXT: will post pictures of the doll I just finished for my niece, she turned out adorable can't wait to post the pictures!

following a recipe

It's my little sister's birthday today, well she's not so little anymore she's 26 and is already a mommy! One of her favorite desserts is Tiramisu. I decided to see if I could adapt Tiramisu to cupcake form. I did a search online and I decided on a recipe from Food.com because it had 41 reviews and 5 stars. I like recipes that have reviews from readers because it lets me know if there are any errors in the recipe or if it's any good. Reading the comments also gives me ideas and tips, and I always print the recipe and make notes on it.

So usually I'm pretty good about following a recipe, but I think I'm at a point in cooking and baking where I feel ok about making my own adaptations and adding, submitting, or changing ingredients and directions. I know what flavors I like, don't like, want to try, and yeah some times it doesn't work out but most of the time I find that I'm usually right on! Which makes me more confident to keep on trying new things and recipes and ingredients.

This is MY adaptation of the recipe posted at Food.com. I changed some things, kept some the same. I made a few notes that were helpful for me so please read those before you make these believe me it will make it easier for you. I've got to say these are some DELICIOUS cupcakes. Rich, and decadent and if you love Tiramisu you wont be disappointed.



Tiramisu Cupcakes adapted from food.com

Cupcakes

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 1 1/2 tsp)
4 eggs , room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup whole milk (makes a difference trust me)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
24 FOIL cupcake liners

Liquid Coffee Layer

2/3 cup water, boiling
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee
2 tablespoons Kahlua (or any other coffee flavored liqueur)

Mascarpone Filling

1 cup mascarpone cheese (from tub)
3 tablespoons Kahlua (or coffee extract)
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container cool Whip
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting

12 ounces or 1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (more to reach desired consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla
21/2 teaspoons Kahlua


Garnish:

Cocoa
chocolate shavings

Directions:

1. Make mascarpone filling mix first & allow to chill 4-6 hours or overnight.

2. Mascarpone filling: Beat mascarpone, Kahlua and condensed milk until well blended. Fold in cool whip. Chill 4-6 hours.

3. Prepare cupcakes as directed in THIS post. OR you can use any other vanilla cake recipe that's to your liking. Make sure they completely cool.

4. Liquid Coffee: Boil 2/3 cup water in microwave (or boil on stove) and stir in instant coffee then powdered sugar & allow to cool to tepid (or pour in a bowl and put in freezer for a few minutes) then stir in the Kahlua. Once cooled, use a fork to poke holes into cupcakes so that they will absorb the liquid coffee & then brush liquid coffee onto each cupcake using silicone baking brush. I made all kinds of holes! I wanted the cake to absorb as much of the coffee mixture as possible. I brushed the cupcakes about 3 times.

5. Fill pastry/icing bag with mascarpone filling & inject about 1 spoonful via bag directly into top-center of each cupcake. Also frost each cupcake with a layer of the filling. (you will have enough left over to do this)

6. Prepare Cream Cheese Frosting:Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours,Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy. Add half of the sugar, then the vanilla and Kahlua. Beat until combined. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

7. Frost each cupcake with frosting (This will be a little messy and you will have to mix it in with the filling layer you put on the cupcakes already but believe me it's worth it. Finally garnish with chocolate shavings and a dusting of cocoa.


PERSONAL NOTES:
-these cupcakes ARE time consuming but are well worth the effort and time, so make sure you have the time.
-Use REAL mascarpone cheese, it's a bit expensive but I've found that the taste and texture is heavenly with the real thing.
-I used a lot of Kahlua in this, but you can always adapt the amount to your liking and what you are comfortable with. One tip I saw in the comments for the original recipe was if you don't want to shell out the money for Kahlua try Kimora as a substitute.
-YOU WILL have A LOT of frosting and filling left depending on how much you frost, just put the leftovers in plastic containers and freeze for next time, or some other cupcakes.
-you will notice I state to use foil liners, this is because of the soaking you have to do with the liquid coffee mixture. They are really inexpensive and you can get them at practically any grocery store.




ENJOY! I am seriously hoarding the leftovers they are so yummy!

Good Foundation

I gotta say today was not my day for good looking cupcakes. The humidity and temperature of the house made it impossible to get a good consistency on the frosting. The taste however was awesome! I've been looking for a good vanilla cake recipe that I can adapt for cupcakes. I've tried quite a few already and haven't been really happy with any of them. They are either too dry, taste is not to my liking, or too dense. Today I think I found the BEST vanilla cupcake recipe. OK so when I say the best I mean the best to MY liking. I know everyone has different ideas of what the best is but believe me I had 5 very happy people taste test this recipe today and they all loved it. Oh wait make that 7 including my parents. My dad is super picky and he even said it was tasty :)

I decided to do a vanilla/yellow cake with strawberry jam filling and cream cheese frosting today for my coffee date with the girls. I loved it. They loved it. Although the frosting wasn't as firm as I like it, it still was very yummy with the whole cupcake. The cake was soft, and moist and a pretty light buttery color. Paired with the strawberry jam it was delicious. I know I will be definitely be keeping this recipe as one of my favorites.



(UGH! Pardon the horrible picture but I was in a hurry and today was a yucky day, no sunlight!)

The original recipe is actually called Triple Citrus Cupcakes, and although that sounds great I was on the hunt for a simple vanilla cake recipe. I decided to use this but take out all the citrus from it and add more vanilla flavor.

Vanilla/Yellow Cupcakes adapted from Read.Cook.Digest.

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (I used 1 1/2 tsp)
4 eggs , room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup whole milk (makes a difference trust me)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer, fitted with a flat beater, combine cream cheese, butter, and beat until light and fluffy, add vanilla beat about 30 seconds more.

Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Then beat in oil. Gradually add flour mixture and milk in 3 additions, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Try not to over mix.

Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full, I use an ice cream scoop. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. I checked the cupcakes at 25 minutes with a toothpick and they were done I took them out and they were perfect. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

*Frost cupcakes with your favorite frosting or eat them without, either way they will be good! I cored the cupcakes put some strawberry jam in the middle replaced the cored pieces and frosted them with The BEST cream cheese frosting (at least to me :))

NOTES: I have to say that following the recipe exactly is highly recommended. I didn't use to think temperature of the ingredients mattered but it really does make a difference. This goes for the milk, eggs, butter and in this case the cream cheese. Room temperature is always the best.

Not a good day for a pretty cupcake but a great day for a delicious one :)

I'm ready for spring!

I'm ready for some less chilly weather, the last few days have been really nice, sunny with the most beautiful blue sky. It's still a bit cold but it gives me a glimpse of spring.

SO...I wanted to make a spring cupcake. I've made chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry cupcakes. I wanted to do something fruity, fresh and of course yummy! I decided to make some orange cupcakes since I found some pure orange extract in the pantry and I had just bought some nice oranges. I also wanted to try a new recipe for cream cheese frosting. I have to say that I think I found THE BEST recipe for it. I've made it a few times before but even though it came out ok I wasn't convinced, but this time I really found (to me at least) the best one.



Orange Cupcakes via My Baking Addiction

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, (room temperature)
2/3 cup granulated white sugar or Baker's Sugar
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon of pure orange extract
Zest of 1 orange
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Place the sugar and orange zest into the bowl of your mixer and blend until moist and fragrant. Add in butter and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and orange extracts.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

3. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing.

*Makes 12 cupcakes

NOTES:
-I think this recipe could easily be adapted for other citrus fruits, grapefruit, lime, lemon...I think I'm going to try a lemon lime one with lemon buttercream...yummy!
-I used Baker's sugar which is also called castor sugar, it's finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as powdered. It really is a great sugar to work with if you are going to cream your butter and sugar for any cake batter. I've noticed the difference.

THE BEST Cream Cheese Frosting via Cupcake Bakeshop

12 ounces or 1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (more to reach desired consistency)
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours
2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment
3. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy
4. Add half of the sugar and the vanilla. Beat until combined
5. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like

NOTE: I put more sugar than what the recipe says, I like my frosting a little more sweet and the consistency a little more firm. I didn't really measure but it was more than 4 cups for sure, I just kept putting half cups in until it reached the right consistency for me.

I'm really enjoying all this baking I've been doing lately, Have gotten requests to do a few parties...Not sure where this will lead me but I'm really enjoying all of it :) I haven't forgotten about my sewing, right now I've been working on a quilt for my bed. I hardly make projects and keep them so I'm excited to be working on something for myself!

Valentine's Day and Frosting.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's a perfect day to make cupcakes. This weekend I decided to try a cream cheese frosting recipe. I ended up having mixed feelings about the way it came out. Flavor wise it was really yummy, but the consistency wasn't to my liking. I know that generally that kind of frosting is going to end up a little softer than I like. One solution would have been to add more powdered sugar but then it would be too sweet. It piped ok, but I still like my buttercream frosting the best. I think the cream cheese frosting would be better as a filling than a frosting to be honest. My mom's friends were the taste testers this time and they did all loved the cupcakes. As for the cake, I went back to the Hershey's chocolate cake recipe this time because I know that my boyfriend loved it, and that's who these cupcakes were really for anyway.



I ended up making a buttercream for my boyfriend's batch and really liked how it came out this time. It was less yellow and more creamy white since I used the clear vanilla instead of the regular extract. It also pipes amazing!




I had fun with the simple decorations for these cupcakes. I still have to practice styling the cupcakes but I think I'm getting a bit better with the pictures.



Hoping my boyfriend likes them, dinner date tonight for Valentine's day :)

Who doesn't love strawberries?!

I decided to try another "from scratch" cupcake recipe. I mean seriously I'm on my way to becoming a pro! Ok not yet but hey I'm on my way! Last time I made the frosting with a hand electric mixer and although it turned out great, my hand was a little tired and cramped from all the mixing. I remembered that my parents have KitchenAid stand mixer that they haven't even used yet, so I thought hey! I'll break it in for them! I have to say it was so much more convenient and fun.



So niiiiiice! Ok so back to the cupcakes. Browsing the different dessert and food blogs I read daily, I came upon a recipe for Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream. I mean really! Of course I immediately put it on my list to try next. I love strawberries no really I LOVE them. Ok so this isn't really a totally "from scratch" recipe but it's semi-from scratch. It uses a box strawberry mix but then it adds some other ingredients that make it so fluffy and light and yummy. It definitely does NOT taste like cake from a box. I mean I'm not gonna say that I will never use a mix ever again but I'm going to try to do my baking from scratch. It gives me more satisfaction when people try it and they love it and I can say to myself that yes I CAN bake and people LIKE it!

Do you see a pattern? Pink has been my color lately. I think because I love pink and it's Valentine's day coming up so I went with more pink on pink. Yes a little obnoxious but cute :) I also wanted to try out my new little cake/dessert stand that I got at the antique shop. So pretty and delicate.




Recipe from Gimme Some Oven...Visit her blog she has amazing recipes and an extensive index to choose from.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz.) strawberry cake mix
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) lemon juice
4 eggs

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup pureed strawberries (made from fresh or frozen strawberries)
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
3 – 4 cups powdered sugar (adjust to achieve desired consistency)

Directions:

To Make Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Add the cake mix, buttermilk, oil and lemon juice to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, until the batter is well-mixed. Increase speed to high and beat until thick and fluffy, 2 minutes longer.

Pour or scoop the batter into the paper liners until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool on a wire rack.

Frosting:

Cream butter in an electric mixer on medium-speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Then add in the strawberries, vanilla and lemon juice, and mix on low-speed until combined. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and mix until combined. Then beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, another 3-5 minutes. (Add in more powdered sugar if consistency is too thin.)

*I doubled the recipe for the frosting as Ali (Gimme Some Oven) recommends since I wanted to have a generous amount to frost 24 cupcakes.


Next up: Either some Mocha Cupcakes or Champagne cupcakes. Oh and a simple tutorial on how to make your own cake stands using plates and candle holders you have around the house or from thrift stores.