Candy Cupcakes Part III - Mini M&M Bite Sized Rainbow Fish Cupcakes

Oh how I *so*  love these little guys!!  Once again, I've been seeing them on blogs and Pinterest, so I don't even know who to give credit to for this idea...but whoever you are, well done!!  How great are these?  I even had a lot of fun putting them together.  And, it's so easy!  This would be a great activity to do with children.  Here is the first time I came across these cupcake fish.  I made a few slight changes - I did not place the M&M's on an angle and I added M&M tails.

To begin, you need either store bought or or make your own mini cupcakes.  You can find mini-muffin liners at the grocery store and they can be placed in a mini muffin pan.  Fill the liners about 2/3 full.  It's much easier to frost them if the cake is even with or a little above the top of the liner.  If they don't quite reach the top, you can put them aside to use for the "water".

To assemble these you need a bag of M&M Minis, White Icing (either a can or homemade.  I always recommend homemade.  It really makes a difference!), Orange, Yellow, Green and Blue food dye, and either 2 Ziploc baggies or  piping bags.

Split the white icing into five parts.  Dye one yellow, one orange, one green, one blue, and leave the last white.  Set the white aside.  Next, decide how many cupcake minis you would like to be fish and how many to be "water".  Set the water cupcakes aside.  Start icing the designated fish ones in each of the four dyed colors.  Once you have completed this step, it's time to add the M&Ms...the best part!

The photo below shows the first steps of placing the M&M's.  Coordinate the M&M colors with the cupcake icing color.  If you are anal like me, you will be careful to make sure the"M" logo is facing down.  Add two red M&Ms for the fish lips:

The next part of the transformation is to add the eye.  Fill a Ziploc bag or piping bag with 1/2 of the white icing.  Snip a very small bit off the corner of the baggie or  bottom of the piping bag.  I used a Wilton Tip #3, but realized I didn't need to after all.  Squeeze a dot of white icing where you would like the fish eye to be located:

Now take a brown M&M and gently push it into the center of the white icing dot:

Adorable!  Right?!  Next I made the "water" cupcakes to place randomly around the fish, as if they were swimming around.  In the second Ziploc bag or piping bag, I placed the white and blue icing together.  I squished the two colors a bit, careful not to fully blend them:

Snip the end of the bag again, a little wider this time to make more of a wave pattern, and ice the cupcakes.  I used a piping tip for a little more texture, but if you don't have one to use, it'll be just fine.  I used an up and down motion sort of like this ^^^^ in two or three layers on top of eachother until the cupcake was covered.    Then, I arranged the cupcakes and water on a Fish Platter:

So cute!  Yet, something was bothering me.  I realized it was missing tails!  The photo I first saw didn't have tails, and lots of others didn't, either.  A few I saw used flattened Starburst Candies shaped like a tail and placed on the end, but I didn't have any.  Instead, I decided to use some of the leftover white icing I'd used for the eyes as "glue" to add some M&Ms for tails.  This worked fantastic!  

Now I was happy!  The "gluing" of the tails worked because the M&M Minis are so light.  I'm not convinced this method would have worked with regular size M&M's.  I believe their weight would have made them fall off the edge.  However, this was a success and I just love these little guys!!  I like anything with fun, bright colors, really, though.

Well, tomorrow is my last day of Candy Cupcakes.  Stay tuned for M&M Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes!

Mother's Day Flower Bouquet Cupcakes

When I first began this blog last August, I had a wish for myself.  I hoped that, although I got started by finding recipes and designs that inspired me and creating them as exactly as I could, one day I would suddenly start having my own ideas for additions, substitutions, and designs of my own.  Slowly, this has been happening and I can't tell you how rewarding it is!  I've admired so many bakers and bloggers ability to make amazing confections...and how they find inspiration EVERYWHERE!  Well, I still begin by finding images of whats been done before, but, sometimes, I come up with something on a whim.  Like these flower bouquet cupcakes I made last night.  How exciting!!

I'm certain something like this has been done before, and I would find it with a bit of Googling, but I didn't see it first and then make it.  No, instead I was sitting with my Husband while he ate a late dinner and I just started playing around with leftover cupcakes and icing.  And I love what I came up with!!

These are such HAPPY cupcakes.  Don't they make you smile?  The colors and the illusion of tiny little flowers piled high....sigh.  I just love them.

While I was looking at them I immediately thought of Mother's Day and how perfect they would be to give to one of the most important women in our lives.  And, honestly, they are just so easy to make.  Really!!

Begin, of course, by making a batch of cupcakes.  I used some leftover strawberry ones from my Ladybug Cupcakes.  You can use any flavor you like, but some of the cupcake color will show through the flowers, so bear this in mind when coming up with your color scheme.

Next, make your buttercream.  This is my favorite recipe:
Buttercream Icing

2 sticks butter, room temperature

4 cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

In large mixing bowl, beat butter on high speed until fluffy.  Add three cups of sugar, one at a time until combined.  Add vanilla extract and milk, along with last cup of sugar.   Beat until smooth.  Add more milk, one teaspoon at a time, to reach desired consistency of frosting.

 Split the icing into as many colors as you'd like to use.  I used yellow, purple, and pink.  Then fill a piping bag fitted with a Wilton #2D tip (place each color of icing into a separate bag).  Use the photo below for reference while reading the written description that follows:

First, pipe a circle of flowers around the outside of the cupcake (first cupcake in photo).  Then, fill in the exposed middle area with four flowers (second cupcake in photo).  Pipe four more flowers on top of the middle four flowers.  Lastly, pipe one flower on top of the second layer of four flowers, centered (third cupcake in photo).

When you've completed the flowers, use a pair of tweezers to add a single dragee in the center of each flower:

Here is the succession of steps:

And that's it!  Couldn't be simpler!!  I used green for the demo, as I had some left over from making the grass on my Ladybug Cupcakes.  The color doesn't work for the "bouquet" I put together, however it would be nice for next St. Patrick's Day or Christmas.  But it's neither late-winter or mid-winter, so let's enjoy the light, bright colors!!

Would your Mom be impressed if you gave her something homemade rather that store bought goods?  I know mine would.  So, even if you don't make this particular design, play around and see what you can come up with.  Mom's love a little thoughtful creativity.  :)  

March Madness - Baking Style!

I had mentioned the fundraiser baking I was doing for St. Patrick's Day, but I didn't mention two additional orders placed for the same day.  This led to a few absolutely chaotic days of baking and travel, which has challenged me more than just about anything I've done is a short period of time....but was also the most fun I've had in awhile!

The fundraiser I was contributing to was in New Hampshire.  Having to get the baked goods such a long distance (since I live in NY) was cause for concern.  I could have come up with a few items that would have withstood mailing.  However, in the end, my Husband and I decided to make a weekend out of it and too a nice, long drive with cupcakes, cakepops, and brownies to keep us company!  (Sadly, I had to take most of these pictures in the middle of the night, so the lighting and colors are off).

(To find the recipe for Guinness Extra Stout Brownies click here.)

In addition to the fundraiser treats, I had an order for 2 dozen green velvet cupcakes.  I absolutely love any color "velvet" cupcake.  The taste of the cocoa and vinegar is just too delicious! 

In addition to all of the St. Patrick's green items, I also had an order for Minnie Mouse Cupcakes for a birthday party.  I absolutely LOVED the way they turned out.  Unfortunately, I finished them after sundown and had to deliver them before sunrise, so the photographs were taken with unnatural light.  The colors are completely washed out doing no justice to the vibrant pink, which makes me sad!  They were so cute:

My friend Amy was an absolute Godsend, helping me with the gumpaste bows and ears.  I hadn't worked with gumpaste before, so her assistance in working out the method while continuing to bake cupcakes honestly was a blessing.  Thank you, Amy W!!!

Another friend, also an Amy, came by to help with the cakepops.  We had a lot of fun putting them together.  Thank you, too, Amy G!!!

(Instructions for making Cake Pops can be found by clicking here.)

And here's the whole haul (minus Minnies):

After delivering everything, my Husband and I enjoyed the perfect New England weekend.  The weather was amazing, so we visited Strawberry Bank in Portsmouth, NH, which is a collection of Colonial buildings put together as a museum:

Next, we toured the inside of and learned about a World War II era Submarine - the USS Albacore:

Then we popped up to Maine to see one of my favorite Lighthouses - The Nubble Light in York, ME:

And to cap off our time in New England, Maine lobster rolls for lunch:

A perfect weekend!  It was so great to be out in the warmth and sunshine.  Now it's time to think spring, flowers, bunnies, and colorful eggs - in baked goods form, of course!!

"Top Of The Morning To Ya" Peach Pies

Okay, so these are really a variation of a theme, but I really enjoyed the stenciled Conversation Heart Cherry Pies and thought it would be cute to make a St. Patrick's Day version.  The fundraiser on St. Patrick's Day I'm donating  sweets to is coming up and these will be a fun addition to cupcakes, cookies, and brownies I'm planning to bake. Since I already had the Celtic Stencils on hand from sugar cookies I made a few months ago, all I needed was:

•  pie crust dough
•  a cookie cutter 
•  peach filling 
• edible food powder 
• a food paintbrush.

Stenciling is pretty simple.  You just need to be very careful when lifting the stencil in such a way you prevent the colored powder from spreading itself outside of the design.  While I had no problems while stenciling cookies, for some reason the pie crust was more challenging.  I don't have an explanation for this, I'm just making note of it.  Some of them got really messy with spatters of green powder and I couldn't use them.  To see the step-by-step process of putting together these pies, please click here for the details.  

In keeping with St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to use the colors found in the flag of Ireland: green, white, and orange.  Green would be represented by the stencil color, white by the crust, and orange by the peach filling.  I experimented with two colors of powder, dark green and light pearl green:

Sealed them up and placed them in the oven:

They cooked up nicely, but I thought the light green (top pie) was too light and the dark green (2 middle pies) were too dark, so I mixed the two and came up with a dark-ish sparkly green (bottom 2 pies) that I was happy with:

Did I mention I love peach pie?  Well, I love all fruit pies, actually:

I love how quickly these little pies bake up.  The prep time is minimal, especially if you don't stencil and, instead, sprinkle powdered sugar on them after they've cooled.  Also, they are wonderfully portable.  My friend Amy was visiting me from Buffalo this past weekend and I gave her a few for the plane ride home.  She suggested adding some coarse to the top crust before baking.  I think that's a fantastic idea and I'll definitely do that for the bake sale!

Make Your Own Shamrock Shakes - Even Better Than the Real Thing!

I didn't believe it when I read the claim...a copycat recipe for Shamrock Shakes?  I could believe a tasty mint shake, but one that tastes like THE Shamrock Shake?  Is it possible to re-create it right in our kitchens?  In a word:  Yes!  Here's how you do it:

McDonald's Shamrock Shake Copycat Recipe

Recipe by Naptimechef

3 cups good quality vanilla ice cream

1 3/4 cups 1% milk

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

green food coloring

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend.  That's it.  Seriously.

 Here are my notes:

• I used 2% milk and it turned out fine.  I also used French Vanilla ice cream, which may alter the taste just a bit.  Next time I'll use plain old vanilla just for comparison.
• I have a blender, but I don't really blend things, so I didn't know which setting to put it on.  I used a little of each!  None of them seemed to combine all of the ice cream and milk, so I used a spoon to push the ice cream down (after turning the blender OFF, of course) and mix it up a bit.
• I wanted my shake a little thicker, so I used almost all of a 1.5 gallon carton of ice cream.
• This makes about 3 full beer mugs of shake.  You can easily make it for one or two people by playing around with the measurements.  It's certainly not an exact science, as some like their shakes thick, and some like them thin.
• A little mint extract goes a long way.  If I had added one drop more than 1/2 teaspoon, it would have been too strong.  Again, though, it's a preference thing.
• The dye did not mix up in the blender, I had to mix it by hand, after the ice cream and milk were blended.  I started with two drops of liquid green dye and ended up using quite a bit more until I reached the pale, green color I wanted.
• To store the leftovers I poured the shake back into the ice cream container and put it in the freezer.  When I am ready to serve more, I'll blend it back up and hope it tastes good.  :)
• It's delicious and I loved it.  You should make it, too!!

Sláinte!!

Camouflage Cupcake Sandwiches

After Amy and I made the neon rainbow cupcakes and whoopie pies a few days ago, I started thinking about making a camouflage version of a cupcake sandwich instead of a true Whoopie Pie.  The problem with Whoopie Pies, for me, is that I just can't stomach the idea of using a cup of shortening in a frosting/filling.  At some point I guess I will have to get over it, as it really is necessary sometimes, but for now I'm just going to avoid it and make cupcake sandwiches with buttercream icing.  There is such a difference in the taste to me when using shortening.  Do people really like it??  Until I get with the program and make proper Whoopie Pie filling I'll call these Cupcake Sandwiches.

Anyway, my Sister's boyfriend is going to Kuwait for a year.  He is in the National Guard (as is my sister  Sandy, who completed a tour in the Guard in Iraq) and has been given his orders to leave soon.  They have a 5 month old daughter, my incredibly beautiful niece Ellie.  She is the smiliest baby I've ever met!  Needless to say, they are quite unhappy about being separated for so long.  I feel terribly for Sister, Nate, and Ellie.  I wish there was something I could do to help, but there really isn't.  I can only bake.  So I dedicate this post and made these cupcake sandwiches in honor of them:  Army Camouflage for Nate and Sandy (who is also in the guard and served in Iraq), pink Camouflage for Ellie.

Here's how I made them:  I used a french vanilla boxed cake and split half of the batter into four equal parts in four separate bowls.  Put the other half of the batter aside.  I then dyed one of the four bowl black (using black gel dye), one army green (using kelly green gel mixed with some brown gel dye), brown (using brown gel), and, lastly, beige (using just a touch of brown gel added with a toothpick to control the amount added).  

Next, I spooned very small amounts of each color at a time into a whoopie pie pan.  After filling each cavity, I baked them for 8 minutes on 350 degrees.  

Before Baking

After Baking

Remove each cake and let cool on a wire rack.  With the other half of the cake batter, I again separated it into four separate bowls and dyed them varying colors of pink.  I baked them the same way.  While the cakes were cooling I made the icing.

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

2 sticks of butter

4 cups of confectioner's sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3-5 tablespoons half and half

Using a mixer, beat butter until it is fluffy.  Add 3 cups of sugar - one cup at a time - mixing until it's completely incorporated.  Add vanilla and half and half along with last cup of sugar and mix, adding more half and half until the icing is the desired consistency.


For the army Camo cakes I dyed the icing light army green (a small amount of both kelly green gel and brown gel dye). 

 The pink Camo cakes I iced with pink buttercream.

I think they turned out quite nicely and would be great for birthday parties or a Soldiers' "Welcome Home".  I look forward to making them for Nate again a year from now!  I hope you like them....that is, if you can see them...because they are camouflage, ha ha ha....get it?!  This has been my Husband's favorite on-going joke.  And I miss it every time.  Maybe it will make you laugh, ha ha ha.

Thank you, as always, to our Armed Forces (especially my many family members) for all you do to protect and serve our country.

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