*** chocolate cupcakes ***

i had a last minute party come up on monday (labor day) and was asked if i could make chocolate cupcakes. it was a hectic week and busy weekend even though we didn't have anything scheduled originally but i made it work. squeezing in time to "test" bake recipes isn't always feasible but it is necessary to make sure i'm using a recipe that is "perfect": the right flavor, the right texture, the right look. i have made chocolate cupcakes in the past but they were always from a box. now that i am baking as a business, i want to provide my clients with premium quality baked goodies made from scratch.

i adapted a recipe i found from glorious treats and they came out beautifully. they had that deep dark chocolate look, spongy moist texture and tasted DELICIOUS! i just used a basic cream cheese frosting recipe and added unsweetened cocoa powder and heavy cream to make the chocolate frosting. i topped off each cupcake with some white non-pareil sprinkles and cut out some pink fondant butterflies. i made a little bunting of the birthday girl's name to "top it off".

next up: carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and more chocolate cupcakes but this time i'm topping them off with buttercream frosting

love,
elain

*** strawberry cake pops ***

the past few weeks have flown by. with summer vacation ending for the kiddies and school starting, the last few weeks are a bit of a blur. but still i found some time to bake.

i baked a strawberry cake and attempted to make cake pops. not knowing that white candy melts are hard to work with, my first attempt was a miserable FAIL. the white chocolate was lumpy and my cake pops didn't have that nice pretty smooth outside coating. i did some "research" (a.k.a. reading other cake pop-ers blogs) and learned that white candy melts can be difficult to reach that desired consistency. so the kids got to enjoy the failed attempt and i told myself i would try again another day.

so yesterday, i took another stab at it and this time it came out better. still not the consistency i needed for that smooth outer chocolate shell but a lot prettier than the first.

i also made some with dark chocolate candy melts since i had a little bit left and needed to use it up before it got "old". i love the contrasting colors of the dark chocolate and pink. i forgot to take a picture of what the inside looks like by taking a bite of one... next time for sure.

my next goal is to overcome my fear of royal icing to decorate sugar cookies. i have an order for 60 cupcakes coming up next weekend for a baby shower so i will be busy perfecting my carrot cake cupcake recipe this week. will post pictures!

love,
elain