Birthdays/Girls' Night & Farewells

I hope you all are had a great summer! I know I did! It has been packed with activities and events! These Tiramisu cupcakes were originally for my best friend Laura's mom's birthday. I never knew they would be such a hit! But why wouldn't they? They are cupcakes soaked in espresso & rum, and topped with the most delicious marscapone cream ever! After Laura's mom's day, they were requested at a farewell luncheon for one of my dear coworkers, Nicole. She is leaving us to move on to bigger and better things, but she is always in our hearts!! We miss you already NF! Naturally, I had a million cupcakes left over (since I'm still having trouble portioning my ingredients!) So why not bring them to girls' night? This was a special girls' night- my good friend Bree had just gotten  back from her honeymoon! It was great to catch up, and of course indulge in some cake (and a late night ice cream run)!

In addition to all of these great events happening, I  decided to finally take the step, and make my business Facebook "official." It has been kind of weird, & stressful (I do have a full time, exhausting job), but I'm glad I did it. Of course my family thinks it's just a joke, but hey- if this is in the cards, then so be it! I'm having fun, and that's all that matters! So for all of you who have not already been harassed to follow me on Facebook, here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/sweetmandysweets. So without further adieu, here are these perfect little Tiramisu cupcakes!!

Mixing away

I started out with a basic vanilla cake recipe (or use whatever boxed mix you like- it tastes the same- I promise you!)
I decided to put away my favorite batter dispenser (sorry Melis!) for a little while- I finally realized that a full ice cream scoop gets me the perfect amount of batter in each cup!


While these were baking, I made a delicious syrup of fresh brewed espresso (being Italian, this is a staple in our house!), sugar, and Kahlua. While the espresso was hot, I added the sugar and kahlua in- so that everything would meld together perfectly. Once it cooled, I was able to put it in this cute little squeeze bottle!

As soon as the cakes came out of the oven, I went to town with a wooden skewer, making a bunch of holes in each one, so it could soak up all of that delicious coffee mixture! At one point, I decided to just stick the top of squeeze bottle into the cakes, so they could get even more of that coffee goodness.


I had to let these babies sit for at least a half hour to make sure everything was all soaked in there. Note- it will make kind of a mess of your cupcake pan, but that's what soap and water is for!

While these were cooling- I made the absolute most delicious frosting EVER. I promise you. It's a mixture of marscapone, cream cheese, vanilla extract, a little kahlua, & confectioner's sugar on the left; & then you fold freshly whipped cream (RIGHT) into it. It seriously can't be bad. Nothing can be bad if it has whipped cream in it!!

After the folding, you get this very light, airy, creamy, yummy mixture. It is pretty much exactly the kind of cream you would get in a traditional tiramisu. I'm not gonna lie- it was hard to not just grab a spoon and just eat this straight out of the bowl.

After a quick little pipe with the traditional swirl tip (I have no idea what number tip it is, lol) they are almost perfect...

These little espresso pillows are the perfect topping for these cupcakes. The description on the package sold me instantly.

A little dusting of cocoa powder, and we're in business! One VERY handsome boy at work told me they were my best ones yet! I might have to agree with him...and not just because he's cute!
So that's it for now. We'll see what happens for me in the next few months- good things I hope! Side note- I have a new email address for cupcake ordering: mandysweetcupcakes@gmail.com! Thanks in advance! Enjoy what's left of the summer, and until next time...

Perfect amount of batter!

Delicious coffee syrup

.

Fill 'em while they're hot! 

Need to rest a bit before the big icing!

Marscapone/Cream cheese mixture (LEFT)  & Fresh whipped cream (RIGHT)

Literally the most delicious thing. 

So cute! 

Perfect toppers! 

The finished product!! 

Happy 4th of July!

Hi Pretties!
It's been a while! I can't believe it is already July 4th! The summer is just flying by! During those wonderful summer nights, my family sits around a fire in our backyard and makes the best dessert (besides cupcakes)- S'MORES! So I decided to bring the two together with a S'mores cupcake!

While I normally come up with my confections to lure the men at my work (LOL), my friend Nicole is 60% responsible for this recipe- She saw it on a cooking segment during our local morning news. Once she told me about it, I immediately went online and found the recipe! This was probably the most fun cupcake to make- there's just something about a S'more in the summertime that just goes perfectly- and what the heck- why not add a cupcake in there!

So I started with my favorite chocolate mix- after following the directions, I added some graham cracker crumbs that had been pulsed in the food processor. You just add the crumbs to the top, right before going into the oven. I think I overfilled the cupcake liners, but they still turned out just fine! While these were cooling, I decided to get my cute little decorations ready! I bought those big Hershey bars and just cut them in half, along with mini marshmallows & graham cracker squares cut diagonally. 

In addition to the delicious toppings, these little cakes were filled with fluff! Just like the "hostess" cakes from before, I just took a regular open piping tip- and just filled them until the fluff popped out a little on the top. Things do get a little messy with the graham cracker crumbs and the fluff, but I just kept some paper towels handy & things were fine. 

The next component to these cakes was a delicious graham cracker frosting. It was one of the easiest/tastiest  frosting's I've made. It just called for one cup of the same graham cracker crumbs that were on top of the cupcakes, some butter, water, confectioners sugar, a pinch of salt & vanilla...that's it! Just cream the butter, and slowly add in the rest of the ingredients, and this is what you have:

And here we have the finished product: 

These were scrumptious! And they look so adorable too!

 I hope you all enjoy your Fourth of July- I'll be enjoying a delicious s'more by the fire with my family! :)

Happy EMS Week!

To all of the Paramedics and EMT's that I see on a daily basis- this is for you. You are the best!

You guys really are the bee's knees. I had never encountered a steady stream of EMT's until I started working at the VA a few years ago. Over those years I have become friends with a lot of you guys (ALERT & Brewster) - and I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of your hard work, dedication, and help that you give on a daily basis...and I'm not just saying that so you'll wait while our patients are treated! :)

To all of the people who just call you "ambulance drivers"- you're rude. Most of our patients would be dead, if it wasn't for these fine men and women...and by fine, I mean fine... Whoa Nelly, some these guys are incredibly handsome, funny, & caring! hahaha...but no, seriously. Some of you are super hot.

It's just something small to say thank you. Work life would be markedly harder without you around! If you happen to be in the JP VA Basement area tomorrow, please don't hesitate to make your way down for a delicious treat...you deserve it! HAPPY EMS WEEK! <3 <3

Starting to come together...

First, I would like to just wish all the mothers out there a Happy Happy mother's day! We had a big family dinner- it was fabulous.
Moving on, I completed my first official cupcake order this week!! I cannot believe it! I was just passing word around at work that I would be willing to bake and sell cupcakes for events, and low and behold, someone took me up on it! One of the nurses had a graduation coming up for her niece and nephew, and asked me to do the cupcakes for the party. I was nothing less than ecstatic.
Her requested flavors were the "hostess" cupcakes (see previous blog post), and red velvet with cream cheese frosting. So exciting!

We'll start with the red velvet...such a vibrant red color- 

 This is your typical boxed mix- eggs, vegetable oil, & water. A lot of people don't even know that red velvet cake is actually just chocolate cake with red food coloring. The way the red color is able to come out so vibrant, is because of the addition on vinegar to the mix. That's all for the science portion of this post! So while I was trying to get it into the baking cups, I ended up with batter all over the place. You would have thought some sort of violence had just occurred! After getting everything cleaned up, this is what we have:

I chose a cute red baking cup with white polka dots! They are adorable! After some time in the oven and a little cool down, I started on the cream cheese frosting. 

Seriously, what could be bad about cream cheese, butter, confectioner's sugar, & vanilla? I'll tell you, NOTHING. If you read most buttercream recipes, you'll see that it wants you to have the butter at room temp. While this is true, with the cream cheese frosting you want to only have the butter at room temp- add the cream cheese in cool from the fridge. It will hopefully stay a little bit stiffer that way, and make it easier to decorate your cakes. You kind of have to play with this frosting- it might be too savory- add some sugar, too sweet- add some cream cheese add butter. Just taste as you go along. 

      These look so delicious right now! Since it was a graduation themed party, I decided to make a little graduation hat for the top! I can't take all the credit for it, but I saw this cute idea on Pinterest. For the hats you'll need some royal icing, mini reese's cups, a bar or 2 of Cadbury milk chocolate (they are the perfect size, once you  break up the squares), and some Twizzlers pull n' peel (for the tassels). Flip the reeses upside down- apply a dot of icing, and attach a square of chocolate. Add another dot of icing to the top of the chocolate square, and attach a little piece of the twizzler:

I cannot get over how cute these turned out! And the final product:

I'm not going to get crazy with the Hostess ones (if you want to know all about them, read the last blog post! :) )- but here are a few shots of them: 

I got a text from my coworker Saturday night saying they were a hit! I'm so glad they turned out well! 

I do have to give a HUGE shout out to my sister, Ashley. I could not have got this order done with out her! Thank you so much Asher! Well that's all for now; I'll see what other business I can drum up over at the hospital! 

Trying something new...

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter/Passover/Whatever you celebrate that just passed! It was great to have the family all together to mow down on a boat load of food and sweets. Hah. The Easter bunny (a good friend) got me the absolute cutest earrings- 

How adorable are these?! 

Anywhoo, this week (today-4/23) is one of my co-workers' birthday. I literally spend more time with her, than I do with my own family. We are partners. We often finish each other's sentences, and/or unintentionally wear the same color scrubs. Although her favorite "cake" is Boston Cream Pie, I just did not have the time to make those for her. Instead, I chose to make her, (and everyone else in the office) something just as delicious, if not more so. 

For some reason, I keep having these bright ideas that I have to make two flavors of cupcakes. I know it's completely unnecessary, but hey, like they say- You Only Live Once! So for this post we have chocolate cupcakes 2 ways- First, with an absolutely delicious peanut butter cream cheese frosting. I could literally eat this out of the bowl and be a happy, happy girl. Second, a play on the all too famous Hostess Cupcake- with a sweet marshmallow creme filling, topped with a chocolate ganache, and adorned with cute little white chocolate swirlies. 

Looks nasty right now but soon....deliciousness. 

Here we are again- starting with my favorite Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix-  Devil's Food - add a teensie bit of grated chocolate to the mix.

Took me a good 10 mins to get through this entire bag! 

Finished PB frosting...scrumptious. 

I'll start with the Peanut Butter ones. So while these are cooling, Hop on over to the mixer and cream some butter & cream cheese until smooth. Add in a little vanilla & however much peanut butter you would like. I didn't want them to be to peanut buttery, so I added in a little less than a cup. After all of that comes together, gradually add in 2.5 cups of SIFTED confectioners sugar. Trust me- Sifting is key. Unless you want lumpy frosting...I left it in the fridge for a bit while I did some other things, but when I tried to use it- it was just too thick. My sister  ( a fabulous baker herself) suggested we add some milk- so in went a couple of tablespoons. It ended up being the perfect consistency!

and the finished PB cupcakes....

little baby ones. So cute! 

Momma bear cupcake- with little baby bear cakes in the back! 

It's not a party until you have sprinkles! 

Now, on to the Hostess Cupcake! I saw this recipe a few weeks ago on Pinterest, and have been dieing to make it ever since. Again while the cupcakes were cooling, I made the filling to go in the center of each cake. It consisted of butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and marshmallow creme (I used the JetPuffed brand...bad experience with Fluff last time...lol). 

Marshmallow Creme Filling. 

I just used a small piping tip in a pastry bag- stuck the tip in the cake, and gave a little squeeze until the filling popped out a little on the top. That's what she said. bahahahah. I wiped the little bit of excess off of the top of the cake before dipping them into the fabulous ganache. It made them have a smoother top, and didn't put some random marshmallow in my beautiful chocolate. 

 The chocolate ganche that went on top could not be easier to make. You just chop up 6oz of bittersweet chocolate (I chopped it on top of a piece of parchment, which was on top of our cutting board, so I could just scoop it up easily with no mess), and place it in a bowl. Bring a bit of heavy cream and a touch of butter to a very SLIGHT boil and slowly pour into the chocolate bowl. Whisk together until it looks delicious and glossy.

Then just have at it- dip those bad larry's into the ganache and have them dry on a wire rack. 

I am not so steady when it comes to the dainty things (like the cute little swirlies on top of the cupcakes) so I had to enlist my fabulous baker sister Ashley to give me a hand. All she did was melt some white chocolate chips and put them in a piping bag- cut the tip off ever so slightly, and just replicate the famous Hostess swirls. 

Ash at work! 

Adorable mini! 

And the finished product: 

Ready for travel! 

So what we had two different kinds? They were both absolutely delicious. Maybe next time I'll settle down, and just do one, but for now, this works. I wish you could taste these through the computer! If you want the recipe for these, or any of the other one's on the blog- email me and let me know- I'd be happy to send them along! That's all for now- Off to dream of some other delicious flavors! Happy Birthday Cole!

Hippity Hop Hop...

I hope you are all ready for Easter/Passover! I know I am! There has been a plethora of sweets at our house this week (really awesome for my diet!), but I couldn't help but make a batch of cupcakes for the holiday. 

Things started out like the usually do- with my favorite Duncan Hines mix. Literally the best chocolate cupcake you'll ever have. Prepare them according to box directions, and before you put them in the cupcake liners, fold in a teensy bit of of chocolate- I like Cadbury milk chocolate bars for this. 

Once again, I was unable to decide on a frosting flavor. I conducted a few polls again at work for people to choose between Nutella and Oreo frosting. Nobody could really choose, because they both sounded absolutely fantastic. So after a quick trip to the store, I was prepared to make both. I usually have a little of extra batter left from the two boxes of cake mix, so I just made a couple of pans of mini cupcakes with that. My idea was to use the Oreo frosting for the big cakes and the nutella for the minis. 

I started with the Oreo buttercream. I let out a few frustrations and smashed a pack of oreos with the back of a frying pan. I tried to get them as fine as possible, without having to break out the food processor. I decided to use a little cream cheese in this frosting to break up some of the sweetness from the oreos and the sugar. Let me tell you- this tasted absolutely divine. Honestly, what could be bad about it? Nothing. 

So after that was done- I started on the Nutella. At least 1/4 of the people I asked about their opinion on the flavors, had no clue what Nutella was. I couldn't even believe it. How had these people not tasted the most fantastic spread ever? I have no clue. Anyhoo, I started with my basic buttercream recipe, and added the nutella that I had softened in the microwave for like 40 seconds. While they were both resting in the fridge, I made a few little spring time decorations:

White chocolate (with rainbow crystal sugar) butterflies and cute little white chocolate flowers. I used a mold that I ordered from amazon & different colored candy melts from Michael's. They are a pain to make, but they look so cute! 

So here's when things started to get a little crazy. I'm all set to start frosting with the Oreo, and then...nothing. It would not come out of the frosting tip! So I figured it was the tip I was using, so I switched them out and....still nothing! So instead of getting more frustrated, I switched over to  the Nutella. Things seem to be going well until the frosting got melty and I had to refrigerate them for a little, so they wouldn't melt off of the cakes. 

While frosting, I was thinking of what went wrong with this absolutely delicious Oreo frosting, and I figured it out. I needed to use the food processor to get the cookie crumbs super fine. It was the pieces of cookies that were getting caught up in the piping tips. Lesson learned. But I will totally be trying that recipe again. 

It was pretty late at this point, but I still had all those minis to deal with. My sister suggested that I just frost them with an offset spatula, and roll them in some left over cookie crumbs, so they wouldn't look that "ghetto." LOL. So that's what I did, and they came out great! 

These went like hot-cakes! Once again, I used them to lure in the good looking men passing by in the hospital hallways...one of these times it'll work! 

Even though there were a few mishaps, it has helped me learn and now I know what I have to change and work on for next time. 

Well I hope everyone enjoys their holiday and time with the family. I know I will! Easy on the sweets- they'll be plenty more to come!