Cupcake Pops

Thanks to Bakerella for inspiring me on another cupcake related obsession. I have been googling over these pops ever since I stumbled onto her blog months ago but I was waiting for a special day to roll around for me to spend a few hours in the kitchen. On Friday Jim asked me if I would be able to make red velvet cupcakes for his boss, Imad's birthday celebration on Monday. Knowing I would say "yes", I told him with excitement that I had something else in mind but it would still include red velvet cake. It was a fun evening because Jim had baked the cake earlier in the day and then after dinner while he was gardening I rolled the balls and placed them in the chocolate molds. When he was done we worked on them together and a few hours later we were finally done. I will admit that it is a little bit harder than it looks but I think once we do these a few times we will get the hang of it. I purchased a large flower pot from Michael's and cut Styrofoam blocks to fit within the pot. I then placed the pops into an arrangement of cupcake pop Heaven. If you would like the recipe please visit Bakerella's blog under Cupcake Bites Made Easy .Thank you Bakerella for inspiring me and for all the creative things that you come up with, you truly are an inspiration for all of us cupcake lovin' females out here in cupcake blog-land.

Jim-Boy doing an AMAZING job on the pops.

The finished product. . . not too shabby for our first attempt.

Happy Birthday Imad!

Annie, stop drooling and eat a damn cupcake pop...there at Jim's desk. :)

What I purchased and used:

Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix (Target $1.07)

Betty Crocker Buttercream Frosting (Target $1.29)

Candy Melts in White and Yellow (Michael's $2.99 each)

Candy Melts in Dark Chocolate (Michael's $2.99)

Peanut Butter Cup Mold (Michael's $1.99 x 3)

Lollipop Sticks (Michael's $1.99)

M&M's (Target .89)

Sprinkles (Albertson's $3.99)

Side Note: The chocolate was really thick and difficult to put on the cake, I don't know if I used too much frosting in the cake mixture as it really soft, or if I should have kept them in the freezer longer. I still have about ten cake balls left so I am going to attempt a few again to see if letting them mold longer will affect it or not. Overall, really tasty and I cannot wait to hear what Jim's Co-workers thought.

Orangesicle Cuppy Cakes w/ Fluff Frosting

I saw this recipe back in March on 52 Cupcakesblog. Right away I thought of my childhood and how much my Mom would love these cupcakes. When I couldn't find the Orange Supreme cake mix my Mom went into pursuit to find it for me, which low and behold the State Bros. in Lake Arrowhead carries it unlike Albertson's. I had originally wanted to make these for my Mom back in April for her birthday and have never gotten around to it. Well, my parents have been at my house for five days now and last night I decided to whip these up after dinner. I have to admit they were really easy and it didn't involve a lot of ingredients. The only thing that I didn't like about these cupcakes was that the frosting recipe called for regular granulated sugar, maybe I didn't do something right within the recipe but the frosting was really gritty. I may have to play around with this one. The frosting was so sticky and sweet which paired so nicely with the extra moist cake. Next time I think adding mini chocolate chips would make a great compliment.

For the Cupcakes:

• 1 box Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake
• Mix1 box Jello Vanilla Pudding (not instant)

1. Follow directions on box and add in the box of vanilla pudding
2. Follow rest of box instructions.

For the Frosting:

• Fluff 7-Minute Frosting
• 1 c. Marshmallow Fluff
• 2 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In double-boiler top over hot, not boiling water, combine all ingredients except vanilla. With hand mixer, beat until soft peaks form. Remove from heat and continue beating until stiff. Beat in vanilla. Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.
   Recipe Courtesy of:

Sexy Cupcakes for Annie's Birthday

Better than Sex cupcakes? Well, that's what these cute little cakes have been coined. Nonetheless, I found this simple recipe on my favorite cupcake blog, I heart cuppy cakes and knew it was perfect for Jim's co-worker and our blog stalker, Annie's birthday. If I could pick any individual to be my biggest fan besides Jim, Annie would be that person. I bake cupcakes so I can hear what Annie thinks, which is funny because Annie and I have never met. We have conversed on the phone about her upcoming wedding and she watches out for me when the girls on theknot.com are paging me. I was so overjoyed to find out from Jim on Wednesday night that her birthday was Thursday, but knew that I couldn't make them for her actual day, so last night at 12:30 a.m., I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work and starting whipping up these luscious cakes for my biggest fan. I really hope that she enjoys these, and if not I know what to change next time. Happy Birthday Annie!!!

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
• 1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
• 3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped (I used Heath toffee bits)
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (I made homemade, recipe below)

Directions

1. Bake cake according to package directions for 24 cupcakes. Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly spoon the warm topping mixture over the top of each cupcake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm.
3. Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with swirls of caramel topping.

Homemade Whipped Cream

Ingredients

• 3 cups whipping cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

1. In mixer with whisk attachment, whip the cream, vanilla extract and sugar on high speed until thick

Step Two: They look so yummy just like this!

With chocolate candy melts, melt them in a microwave safe bowl for thirty second intervals until completely smooth and then place melted chocolate in a Ziploc bag. Squeeze out all the air and then cut a small corner. On a piece of parchment paper write out your message and then place in the freezer to solidify the chocolate. Decorate as you wish.


And voila! You've got some pretty damn sexy cupcakes. Enjoy!