Caley's 22nd Birthday

I made these mini cupcakes and cookies for Caley's birthday.

Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes with A Vegan Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies!

A New Year, A New Pancake

Happy New Year! 2010 was brought in with some pumpkin spice pancakes with chocolate chips.

I'm going to try to include recipes with all my posts this year. Some will be links if the recipe isn't my own.

Pancake recipe

Extra touch:

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Merry Christmas

Santa brought me a vintage cake stand for Christmas this year. It might weigh 50 lbs, but it's a beauty. I was so excited to use it, I had friends over for a chili dinner this past Tuesday.

It holds a Mexican Chocolate cake with Chocolate ganache, dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. While it looked great and everyone else liked it, I myself was not a fan. Something about cayenne pepper messing with my chocolate. I also ate it after a bowl of chili, so that might have something to do with my bias. Regardless, it was a lovely way to wrap up a year of baking.

Mexican Chocolate Cake with chocolate ganache, powdered sugar and cinnamon

The Holidays are Here

Christmas cupcakes for the Rezza family. They all connected with the string of lights to make a tree or wreath. Katie had let me use her printer for some final projects, so I made some festive cupcakes for her family.

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream frosting and Peanut M&Ms.

Bakery Packaging

This semester I have been taking a papermaking course. For our final sharing project, I created these little boxes made of recycled brown bag, and sisal fibers with coffee grounds and cookies 'n' cream sprinkles. I pulled the brown bag sheets in a vat of hot chocolate. The test was to see if I could get the scent to dry with the paper and enhance the experience of the cakes inside. Unfortunately, the scent left after a day, but the boxes were still cute!

I made mini vegan chocolate cupcakes with an almond and dab of chocolate on top. (sorry for the sideways photo.)

This experiment is part of my research for my degree project next semester. I'd like to explore the idea of experiencing baked goods using the 5 senses. I want to create a relationship between the packaging and the product, deeper than that of a protective outer.

Vegan Chocolate with Almond

Cheap Date

We had dinner, but nothing for dessert. Mike and I decided to make a Cherry Chip cake mix my mom had sent. I had some left over frosting from Katie's birthday the day before, so we used that.

Betty Crocker Cherry Chip Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Katie Turns 21

Katie turned 21!...just around the time everyone was burnt out from school. So I made a vegan chocolate recipe, we had dinner in and decorated with any sprinkles we could find. What a good time it was to mismatch sprinkles everywhere, and not have any set design plans. And yes, that's an Edward cupcake in Caley's hand (for Kendra.)

Vegan Chocolate with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Lisa's Birthday Bake Off

The end of last semester it was brought to my attention a teacher at school loves to bake. I have her this semester and we have challenged each other to a bake off, much to everyone else's enjoyment. So far it's been a slow start...

She baked a few weeks ago, and I had yet to make anything to bring specifically to class. Lisa's birthday happened to be this week and so I took the opportunity to bake FOR the competition.

I've never tried such a combination, but the results were fantastic. The cake was moist, while the frosting was the most successful cream cheese frosting I've made to date. I think I've found a recipe to keep, thanks Countryliving!

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Thursday Mocktails

Senior year is getting crazy. My new years resolution is falling to the back burner. I find myself trying to invent time to bake. 

I did get together with some girlfriends last week for a bit of dinner. I couldn't bring anything besides cupcakes, so in between Flash CS4 tutorials and Design Research, I made some chocolate vegan cupcakes with vanilla butter cream frosting. Half with peanut butter cup cookies. Half dipped in ganache and topped with a strawberry.

They were definitely hurried. I piped on the frosting without waiting for the ganache to cool, resulting in sad looking tops. The wrappers also pulled away from the cake over night. I don't know if there was too much oil in the recipe (vegan) and they resisted the wax lined wrappers. Regardless, they tasted yummy!

Wish for some spare time soon so I can post more (detailed and attractive) treats.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Last September, one of my primees (I'm an orientation leader, or "Primer", at school) was vegan. I felt bad he couldn't snack on the chocolate treats I brought for the group. This fall, I decided to make vegan cupcakes for my orientation group, in the event they all turned out to be vegan or lactose intolerant. None of them were.....But the cake was pretty awesome for my first try at a vegan recipe. 

End of Summer Sweetness

Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry Filled Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Frosting

Yesterday was my last day at my internship with North End Scene. The creative director requested a raspberry chocolate combination cupcake. What a sweet ending to a wonderful summer. I really enjoyed working with everyone and learned quite a bit about the inner workings of a magazine. Thanks to Bobby, Jazz, and Lauren for a 'fabulous' first internship experience!!!

Raspberry Butter Cream Filled Chocolate Ganache Dipped Chocolate Cake

Meeting Mason!

He may only be 5 months old, but I've already baked for him twice. Going to spend the afternoon at Mark's, I brought along these cute little critters in honor of baby Mason. 

Peach, Blueberry and Thyme Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

'Little Critter' Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thanks to Mike for helping photo-document these while I crazily finished frosting that morning, and for being my thyme sprinkler and sprinkles coordinator. 

Suzie's Sugar Cookie Sharks

My very favorite bitty biddy loves her sharks, funfetti, and all things cute. So I made her sour cream cupcakes with a chocolate frosting, topped with shark sprinkles and a mini funfetti sugar cookie! YIKES- that's a crazy cupcake! But it's the perfect combination when your favorite people are feeling blue.

Some giant chocolate and raspberry frosted cookies ended up in the box too.... 

Chocolate Frosted Sour Cream Cupcake with Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Bonnie's Blueberry Butter Cream

This summer our apartment had the privilege of subletting to Bonnie, a music student from Ireland. We were so very excited for her arrival (and accent) in mid July. I've been on a fruit fix with the weather gradually warming so I created a lemon cake with blueberry butter cream frosting, along with a simple chocolate chocolate with a little blueberry on top. Long story short, cake is a great way to warm up a newcomer. Bonnie was great to have, and we all really enjoyed her stay.

'Welcome Bonnie! Blueberry Butter Cream Lemon Cupcakes'

 and Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

Jam Packed June

Pentagram cupcakes?!!? I baked these to go with the cake below for a concert at my boyfriend's house. Again, I had to work, so I sent sweets in my place. Robyn helped to frost these, a 'mermaid blue', as we couldn't stand making cupcakes so 'dark'... 

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Frosting

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On a prettier note...

I got bored the day I made this- I remember I sat and practiced fondant flowers forever- so long in fact, that when Mike came to pick me up for dinner I was still in my pajamas at the kitchen table, fondant in hand.

Girl Apartment Cake

Lemon Cake with Butter Cream Frosting and Marshmallow Fondant

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Purple Sugar Cookies! Needed a quick fix.

Sugar Cookie Sandwich with Vanilla Frosting

When Girl Met Boy, and His Whole Family

My boyfriend and I had been dating for two years now, and while both of us had met the others extended family, our parents had yet to meet. So while there was absolutely no need to worry as that evening approached, I still needed to create something sweet, in the event there was an awkward moment...

Cherry Topped, Chocolate Gnache Dipped, Chocolate Butter Cream Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

P.S. the evening was a piece of cake (no pun intended)