Raspberry & Champagne Cupcakes

Remember when Mountain Man and I got stuck in Atlanta?

wasting our extra day at the aquarium

Well, on top of the fabulous wedding we attended, one of our friends who also made the trip to hotlanta happened to have a birthday that fell on the same weekend.

Now you all know how I feel about birthdays and I absolutely can't let one of my friends go without something sweet, especially when she's having to spend her birthday away from home!  

So I whipped up a batch of cupcakes, found a nifty little disposable cupcake carrier perfect for 6 little sweets and brought them as my carry on.

You'd be amazed at the amount of people who will make comments as you walk through the airport carrying a box of cupcakes, but much to their dismay the cupcakes made it all the way to Georgia and made their special delivery to the birthday girl.

Raspberry Cake 
Oven: 350 Bake time: 20 minutes
Makes 3 8-inch cakes or 24 cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 package raspberry jello
4 eggs, separated
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 cup flour, sifted
1 cup milk 
1/2 cup pureed raspberries  

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with liners and set aside.
In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add jello and mix until incorporated (this lends for pretty in pink cake)
Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition.
In a small bowl whisk flour, baking powder and salt.
Alternate flour and milk, incorporating after each addition- beginning and ending with flour.
Using a spatula mix in pureed strawberries.
In separate bowl, whip egg whites until slightly stiff peaks form.
Fold egg whites slowly into batter.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill each liner with one scoop. 

Transfer to oven and bake for about 20 minutes- check with toothpick and adjust time if necessary.
Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool in pan for for about 10 minutes before removing and allowing to cool completely.

Once cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with the Champagne Buttercream listed below.

Champagne Buttercream

1 cup shortening (I use high-ratio shortening)

1 cup butter, softened

8 cups powdered sugar

1/4-1/2 cup cheap champagne* I used Andre-Blush

1/2 tsp vanilla

Place shortening and butter in a large bowl and beat until combined and smooth.

Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time.

About 4 cups in, add 1/4 cup of champagne and vanilla.

Continue to beat and add remaining powdered sugar and more champagne as necessary. 

Beat/whip on high until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

*The frosting on these cupcakes is amazing- the tartness of the champagne blends well with the normally sweet buttercream.  Even though everyone liked the cupcakes I thought they were a little sweet..I always get such rave reviews on my strawberry cake I thought swapping in raspberries would work too, but there was something just a little off. I think I might go for a more natural raspberry flavor next time.

Happy Baking!

Happy Birthday America!

Dear America,

In celebration of your birthday I baked you a cake, just like I do all my favorite people!

Last year we made a pie in your honor...

...but this year I wanted to make sure you had something extra special so I personally decorated a cake for you.

I know you won't be here to blow out the candles, but that's okay because we probably wouldn't be allowed to light them anyways. Texas actually put a ban on all things related to your fireworks (even sparklers are out of the question) but don't worry, we're still going to celebrate... just fireless.

You're pretty special you know that? It's not every birthday that we get a whole day off from work to celebrate, so thanks :)

XOXO,
  E

I hope everyone's day is filled with grilling, cold drinks and good friends!

Happy 4th of July!!

Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Cupcakes

Peanut butter and chocolate: is there any better combination?

If you're hesitating with the answer you're wrong...the answer is no.

Peanut butter and chocolate is and always will be, hands down, the best combo in the world.

I know, I know... It's a bold statement, but you can't fight the truth people.

One of the guys at the office had a birthday a few weeks ago and being a huge fan of the dynamic duo, I knew what had to be done.

Last year I made him an ultra rich Chocolate & Peanut Butter Overload Cake, so this year I mixed it up a little and made cupcakes.

I used my Dark Chocolate Cake recipe (which also happens to be my favorite) filled each with a peanut butter cup surprise and topped 'em with some delicious Peanut Butter Buttercream (recipe below).

Peanut Butter Buttercream
1 stick butter
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
*possibly some milk or cream if its too thick

In a large bowl beat butter and peanut butter until smooth and creamy.
Slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

Cupcake Construction

Whip up your favorite chocolate cake recipe.

Prepare cupcake pan with liners and unwrap all your mini peanut butter cups.

Place one peanut butter cup in the bottom of each cupcake liner.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake and transfer to oven to bake for required time.

Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

In the mean time, make your peanut butter buttercream.

Once cupcakes have cooled, pipe a good helping of buttercream on each cupcake.

Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

A Dump Truck Birthday Cake

Marriage counseling has run its course...can you believe it's already been 9 weeks? 

But what does marriage counseling have anything to do with a Dump Truck Birthday Cake you ask? 

Well... everything!

During our first weeks in class, Mountain Man (who I should basically hire for my marketing manager) shared that I like to make cakes in my spare time. One of the ladies facilitating the class got extremely excited about this and the next thing I knew I had two gigs in the making.

The first cake she requested was a simple floral cake for her mother's 80th birthday...

And then a couple weeks later she asked for a dump truck inspired cake for her grandson's 2nd birthday. 

My mind immediately went to a 3D cake.

This was my third attempt at a sculpted cake and it was definitely a learning experience. 

I wish I could have taken a few more pictures of the process for you, but I get in a zone when I'm decorating and stopping to take pictures just wouldn't be possible. 

I started with two 9x13-inch sheet cakes made of my Chocolate Layer Cake that I cut into two 3x10-inch cakes. I sculpted the left overs to form the cab of the truck and the back of the truck as well (which I didn't get pictured)

I then covered the cake in a thin layer of buttercream.

Then came the hours of fondant work... there were definitely a few hiccups in this process so it might be better that there are no pictures involved. Regardless, I got the cake done and couldn't have been more pleased with how it turned out...and the customer was pretty darn happy too!

If anyone out there is thinking about making a 3D truck I have a ton of tips that I'd love to share, so feel free to shoot me an email any time! This cake was a lot of fun.. I love being a part of special celebrations!

Happy Baking!

Hello Kitty Birthday Cake and Cupcakes

I got to give out my first business card!

About a month or so ago MM brought over a guy that he worked with who was in need of a cake- his daughter was turning 5 and was having a Hello Kitty themed birthday. Of course, (as all men should know) he knew his wife needed the final say, so a few quick words, a handshake and a business card later he said his wife would be getting in touch.

A few weeks later a couple of emails were shared, a phone call was made and the order was placed- a Hello Kitty themed cake and two dozen Hello Kitty cupcakes.

Remember the Animal Birthday cake I made for Lucas? Well that cake and this one were being delivered the same day, not 30 minutes apart, which meant lots of time management when it came to all the decorations.

About the same time that I started working on all the animals, I also started working on these little Hello Kitty heads.

 I searched high and low for a character cookie cutter, but since no such luck was to be had,  I had to resort to individually hand cutting fondant into heads, eyes, noses and bows... talk about time consuming.. as our friend that's staying with us watched me, she likened it to an assembly line of Hello Kitty's.

The cake was my favorite  White Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and the cupcakes were Dark Chocolate Cake also with Vanilla Buttercream.

I was so happy with the final product, but more importantly the birthday girl, Haley was happy too!

As for me.. I'm headed east for dress shopping tomorrow!!

I hope you all have a lovely rest of the week and weekend too :) Wish me luck!

Happy Baking!!

Lions, Tigers, Zerbas & Monkeys (Oh My!) Birthday Cake

Let me just start by saying Mountain Man and I have great friends.

Since we moved to Texas we've had the opportunity to meet even more awesome people.

When all the wedding planning began I wanted to try and make it as personal as possible; using the talents of the amazing people in our lives. Of course my girlfriends have been extremely supportive, especially those that just recently got married or are well into the planning phases themselves- it is invaluable to have people like that around you when you're making the big leap or you would be completely lost at where to begin...

I contacted a friend from college who now has his own photography to do our pictures and could not have been happier when he accepted the job...

A close family friend of MM is an ordained minister and my aunt, who just recently became a nun, are going to perform our ceremony...

And a friend in Texas, who is also trying to begin his photography career, agreed to do a few engagement photos for us.

So what does this have to do with an animal birthday cake?

Well, when we asked our friends here to take a few photos for us we did a little bartering. Our friends Richard and Ursula have an adorable little boy who recently turned 1, and in exchange for a small photo sesh, I agreed to make his first birthday cake.

Completely trusting each others creativity, Ursula simply gave me a napkin of the party favors, requested one cake for the party and one little cake for Lucas and sent me on my way.

A Strawberry Cake was requested, with a Strawberry Pastry Cream filling and the Best Buttercream covered the rest of the cake.

I spent the next week coloring fondant, cutting out little shapes and assembling all the little animals for the decorations.

It was all worth it when I got a sweet text from Ursula and saw these pictures all over Facebook...

Playing with his little zebra...

Toooo much cake...

How cute is he?! As for the engagement photos, lets just say I was more than impressed and I can't wait to send out our save the dates now!

Happy Baking!!

ps. If you are having trouble leaving comments could you possibly send me a message (sweetebakes@gmail.com) with the error you're getting? I'd like to get it fixed, but don't have the necessary information! Thanks!

Dark Chocolate Cake with Pomegranate Cream Cheese Frosting

In addition to my normal responsibilities at work, I’m also the office birthday cake baker. 

When your name and birthday appears on the office calendar you can best bet that you’ll be getting a cake courtesy of swEEts by e. I usually get some information from the birthday girl or boy and then go on my way to make up something tasty for the big day.

I was so excited when Katie came to me with her ideas for her birthday cake… I think she gets just as excited about my creations as I do. Every time I bring something into work she likes to pretend she’s on Top Chef or Chopped and gives me a complete foodie critique. We both get a huge kick out of it (self proclaimed dork, right here).

The week before her birthday she rushed into my office and quickly shared the news with me: she wanted chocolate and pomegranates...let the internet inspiration begin.

I knew her cake had to be super chocolate-y and when I fell upon this Dark Chocolate Cake I knew it was a winner.

 

The pomegranates on the other hand were going to be a bit of a challenge..can you believe I've never made anything with pomegranates?? I did some searching though and found what sounded like an amazing cream cheese frosting using POM juice.

Mountain Man had one bite of the cake and looked at me, completely straight faced and proclaimed, “This is the best cake you’ve ever made.”


This chocolate cake is definitely a keeper; the addition of the boiling water at the end leads to a deep, dark, very moist cake. Because Katie is a chocoholic, I covered the cake with a thin layer of chocolate ganache, used the POM frosting for the filling and top of the cake and covered the sides of the cake in chocolate cake crumbs.

Dark Chocolate Cake
Recipe from Hershey's
Oven: 350 Bake time: 35 minutes
Makes 2 8-inch cakes


2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup AP flour
3/4 cup Special Dark Hershey's Cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water


Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour cake pans, line bottom with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat until combined.
Stir in boiling water (the batter will be very thin)
Pour batter evenly into cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.


POMegranate Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe adapted POM Wonderful
Reduce 1 1/2 cup POM juice to about 3 oz. or half the size
8 oz (1 pkg) cream cheese
4 oz butter
12 oz (about 4 cups) powdered sugar


In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, reduce POM juice to about half. This will take a while, so I would suggest starting this while preparing the cake.
Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy.
Slowly add powdered sugar and reduced POM juice *allow juice to cool before using.
Beat until smooth.

Happy Baking!

Mountain Man decorates a German Chocolate Cake

I can always count on my Mountain Man when I'm in a crunch...He decorated this cake all by himself! So I might have offered a few words of advice and had him practice the border a few times on a piece of parchment paper, but I think he did a pretty darn good job!

Before we bite into this cake though, I have to tell you something... I wasn't going to say anything at first, but I can't lie to you! I'd feel too guilty...I mean, Christmas was only 4 days ago.

See, the truth is... I originally wrote this post a few weeks ago...okay, so it the day after Thanksgiving, but it was after a night when I had a lot of things that needed to get done! It was the the week of Thanksgiving, I had to pack for our trip to Abilene, decorate a birthday cake for some folks in the office and decorate a wedding cake!

Then everything just got away from me.. next thing you know it was Thanksgiving and then Christmas cookies started popping up and this post kept getting pushed back and pushed back. But I couldn't wait any longer! I had to share this German Chocolate Cake that MM decorated and the wedding cake I decorated.

Just as I was figuring out my plan of action for that evening MM offered to help me out so that I wouldn't have to be up till all hours of the night.

In all honesty, I was a little hesitant of his offer at first, mostly because I had never seen a cake that he had decorated. I knew he'd do a fine job with the filling and frosting for the cake, but decorating? I just didn't know...

He made a good argument though: When we have our own bakery there are definitely going to be times when I need his help and shouldn't he get the practice in now before its the real deal?

He got me. How could I argue with that? And it was so gosh darn thoughtful.

I guess I would have to say this is our first cake- baked by me and decorated by him.

Oh and did I mention that this cake was delicious? We had two birthdays in one week at the office and thankfully they both liked German Chocolate Cake so I got to kill two birds with one deliciously chocolate stone.

I had actually never made a German Chocolate Cake before so when I was searching for a recipe and came across one on David Lebovitz's site I was super excited to try it. Funnily enough, the recipe was almost identical to the one on the bar of Bakers' German Chocolate! I did use David's recipes for chocolate icing and filling though.

German Chocolate Cake
Recipe is combination of Baker's Chocolate/David Lebowitz/Allrecipes
Bake time: 30-40 minutes Oven temp: 350
Yields 3 8-inch cakes

1 package Baker's German Sweet Chocolate (4oz)
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar + 1/4 cup
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
Coconut-Pecan filling
Chocolate Frosting

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 3 8-inch cakes and line bottom with parchment paper.
Microwave chocolate and water in microwaveable bowl for about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 minute (or add water and chocolate to a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until chocolate is melted). Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Blend in melted chocolate and vanilla.
Add flour mixture alternatively with buttermilk, beating until just blended.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Fold egg white into chocolate mixture.
Pour batter equally into pans and transfer to over, baking 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool in pans for at least 15 minutes before removing cakes to cool completely.
Once completely cooled, fill with Coconut-Pecan filling and cover with Chocolate Frosting (recipes below)

Coconut-Pecan Filling
1 cup cream
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup coconut
1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange chopped pecans on small baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until pecans become aromatic. Remove from oven and set aisde.
Combine sugar, milk, egg yolk, butter and salt in large saucepan and whisk until blended.
Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken.
Stir in coconut and pecans and remove from heat.

Allow to cool slightly before using.

Chocolate Frosting
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate or (4 oz bittersweet and 4 oz semi sweet)
2 TBS light corn syrup
1 1/2 oz butter
1 cup cream

In a large bowl add chocolate and light corn syrup.

Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just boiling.

Pour hot cream over chocolate and stir/whisk until chocolate melts and mixture becomes completely smooth.

Allow to cool and thicken slightly before using. (We even stuck it in the fridge for a little bit)

So what do you think?? Pretty good right?!

And let's not forget about the wedding cake!

I had to take these pics the night I finished the cake, which explains the quality of the pictures. I was very excited about the final product though and Kay was such a wonder to work with! I've definitely been lucky so far with the brides I've worked with.. all have been so understanding and open to my thoughts and ideas. I just hope all the brides will be so kind.

In other news, we're hitting the road (a 17 hour road) this evening for some New Years skiing out west. Mountain Man has already given me the okay to sleep the majority of the way so hopefully by the time I wake up tomorrow afternoon we'll be in snowy Colorado where we'll be spending a week on the slopes, ringing in 2011 with good friends. So if I'm not around the next few days, please understand.. just call me Peekaboo Street ;)

Happy Baking!!

Friends & Strawberry Cake

I've said it before and I'll keep on saying it.. I have some amazing friends.

I seriously find myself in awe of how supportive my friends are of my blog and my passion for baking/cake decorating.

Case in point, this birthday cake.

The girls at work are ridiculously supportive of my adventures, probably because they get to reap a majority of the benefits from my baking endeavors, but in any case they're awesome.

Last week I got a phone call from Fi letting me know she had been doing a little marketing for me and possibly had someone who wanted a cake for his wife's birthday.  After talking with him he wanted not only one cake, but three! A simple cake for her actual birthday, a theme cake for a Halloween/Birthday party and cupcakes.

This is the first cake of the three projects. Simple in nature, but fabulous in flavor. I realize that strawberries are a little out of season, but that's the joy of frozen fruits- plus it's what they requested so how could I say no?

Strawberry Cake
Oven: 350 Bake time: 30 minutes
Makes 2 or 3 8inch cakes

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 package strawberry jello
4 eggs, separated
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 cup flour, sifted
1 cup milk
1/2 cup pureed strawberries 

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour two 8 inch pans and set aside.
In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add jello and mix until incorporated (this lends for pretty in pink cake)
Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition.
In a small bowl whisk flour, baking soda and salt.
Alternate flour and milk, incorporating after each addition- beginning and ending with flour.
Using a spatula mix in pureed strawberries.
In separate bowl, whip egg whites until slightly stiff peaks form.
Fold egg whites slowly into batter.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes- check with toothpick and adjust time if necessary.
Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool in pan for at least 20 minutes before removing cake from pans to complete cooling.

Frost with this..

Whipped Buttercream Icing
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup crisco
8 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup whipped cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whipped cream

In a large bowl beat butter and crisco until smooth and creamy.
Slowly add powdered sugar, 1/4 cup of whipped cream and vanilla. Beat on low until incorporated and then increase speed to medium/medium high until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, beat whipped cream until stiff peaks form.
Fold whipped cream into icing until combined.
*This addition of whipped cream will lend for a lighter buttercream that is still stiff enough to decorate with.

Happy Baking!

I'll be decorating the themed cake tomorrow night.. so be on the look out!

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

Today marks the day of another one of my co-workers birthdays, so of course that means cupcakes!

When I asked Heidi for ideas regarding her celebratory sweets she smiled big and let me know she really liked key lime pie...and so the brainstorming began...

Have you ever been to Key West?  

I have and it's awesome...I went a couple years ago during grad school and fell in love...

The most southern spot in the US, a small town dedicated to beach bums, Jimmy Buffet blasting from every corner, roosters running the streets, laid back living, cross dressing karaoke bars, conch fritters, margaritas galore, and beautiful sunsets.. what could be better than that?

Oh I know... Key Lime Pie.

One of the best things to come out of Key West is their Key Lime Pie. Did I mention that they even freeze it and dip the slices in dark chocolate? Yes, you heard me right.. Chocolate dipped Key Lime Pie on a stick. I'll give you a second to think about it..

While you try to wrap your head around that delicious dessert I'm going to go ahead and move on to these Key Lime Pie inspired cupcakes.

We're going to start with a graham cracker cupcake, filled with key lime pie filling and topped with fresh whipped cream and a sprinkle of graham crackers and lime zest...mm mmm mmmm.

Key Lime Pie Filling

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup key lime juice (yes, I squeezed my own)

3 egg yolks

Preheat oven to 350. In an oven proof bowl, whisk ingredients until smooth and combined. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before using. You could even put it in the fridge until you need it.

Whipped Cream 

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

In a small bowl, use an electric mixer to beat ingredients until stiff peaks form. Place in refrigerator until needed.

Graham Cupcakes
Recipe found on Cupcake Project
Oven: 350 Bake time: 18-20 minutes
Makes 24 cupcakes

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup AP flour
1 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers (1 sleeve)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
In a large bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs one at a time, blending completely after each addition.
Stir in vanilla.
In a separate bowl whisk flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, soda and salt.
Alternate adding flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour.
Place an ice cream scoop full of batter in each cupcake liner.
Transfer to oven and bake for 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean and cupcake bounces back.
Once baked, remove from pan and allow to completely cool.

When cupcakes are cool, cut a small crater in each using the coning method...aka using a knife to cut small holes in your cupcake.. like so:

Fill each hole with a spoonful of key lime pie filling.

Top each cupcake with whipped cream (using a piping bag is easiest) and a garnish of graham cracker crumbs and lime zest.

I hope you enjoy these as much as everyone in the office did. 

I couldn't help but humm Jimmy Buffet songs all day long 

and had a weird inkling to read some Hemmingway??

PS. I'm going home this weekend for the first time since Christmas (YAAAY!) I'm getting to spend countless hours with my friends and family including my father who is just getting back from Afghanistan! So I'm probably going to be a little M.I.A from the blogging world for a few.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend!! 

Happy Baking!