Two Parts Sugar's Baby Cakes

Two Parts Sugar's Baby Cakes
Originally uploaded by two parts sugar

We just love how moist this looks. The raspberry cream is such a good combination for red velvet. A very good idea for transporting cupcakes without having to worry so much about how they will arrive. We have a fresh fruit puree coming to our store in the spring for making frostings and fillings, we will have to send Two Parts a sample! Just lovely.

Cupcake Rehab Awards my Blog!

Thanks so much to my cuppy cake pal Marilla over at Cupcake Rehab! She gave me this wonderful mention and blog award. I have been grinning ear to ear and if I read correctly now I must share the love and pass this award on to 10 blogs I adore. This is going to take some serious thought. I have decided to thank my pal Marilla now and choose my 10 blogs this weekend!


<3 to Marilla

CakeSpy: Sweet Spot: Dessert Links!

CakeSpy: Sweet Spot: Dessert Links!

mini cupcakes box

mini cupcakes box
Originally uploaded by gabby cupcakes

These are just adorable. I love them, Gabby is very talented

Iron Cupcake Earth January Winner

Janet Hudson Entered with her Wine Cupcake Entry and I must admit ... WOW! Sandy how would we ever get all these delicious recipes without all your hard work!! <3 to you My Fave Cupcake Queen

I have lifted Janet's photo of her Saki-To-Me Cardamom Cupcake with
Go-Go Strawberry Filling & Kiwi Ganache

But for the recipe you should CLICK here

We sent off a prize to Janet and we hope she is going to love it! Congrats to you Janet and thanks to you Sandy! Also a big thanks to all Iron Cupcake Earth Members! Awesome cupcake recipes, photos and most important inspiration!!!
Lyns

$50.00 in Baking Items Free

Just an update on a Giveaway I started on All Things Cupcake, a blog I just started contributing to. I must say it is fun which is why I do cupcakes. What better way to stay at home with my little guy. Not so little anymore, he is 10 years old already.
On occasion we get to his blog " The Awesome Pickle" but sadly not enough. Perhaps we will get to that a little more now that VDay has passed without incident! He is my total inspiration as to why I started cupcakes, more on that in another blog post.

$50.00

Click on the money, which will take you to the contest for the giveaway. Good Luck <3

Martha Stewart Teacups

I cannot stand how cute these are! They remind me of cakes baked in teacups for sure!!!The instructions to make your own is on the Martha Stewart Craft Site If you do get around to making one I would LOVE to see it!

Photo from Martha Stewart Site

Happy Valentines Day

To me Valentines Day is not so much about romance but about love and friendship and whimsy ... Everyone loves somebody ... Happy Valentines Day

Cupcakes Throughout History

How far have cupcakes come over the years? Compare your favorites against these classic, albeit a bit crude, recipes from the past.

1796 - American Cookery: "A light Cake to bake in small cups. Half a pound sugar, half a pound butter, rubbed into two pounds flour, one glass wine. Emptins, a nutmeg, cinnamon and currants."

1828 - Seventy-Five Recipes for Pastry: "Five eggs. Two large tea-cups full of molasses. The same of brown sugar, rolled fine. The same of fresh butter. One cup of rich milk. Five cups of flour, sifted. Half a cup of powdered allspice and cloves. Half a cup of ginger. Cut up the butter in the milk, and warm slightly. Warm the molasses, and stir it into the milk and butter: then stir in, gradually, the sugar, and set it away to cool. Beat the eggs very light, and stir them into the mixture alternately with the flour. Add the ginger and other spice, and stir the whole very hard. Butter small tins, nearly fill them with the mixture, and bake the cakes in a moderate oven."

1833 - American Frugal Housewife: "Cup cake is about as good as pound cake, and is cheaper. One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, and four eggs, well beat together, and baked in pans or cups. Bake twenty minutes, and no more."

1871 - Mrs. Porter's New Southern Cookery Book: "Half a cupful butter and four cupsful of sugar creamed together, five well-beaten eggs, one teaspoonful of [baking] soda dissolved in one cupful of cream (or milk), six cupsful of flour, nutmeg, one teaspoonful of dry cream of tartar."

2006: BakeSpace.com launches as the Web's first online food social network & recipe swap - complete with cupcake logo. Cupcake lovers rejoice and use the site to meet, exchange cupcake recipes and share their tips and expertise.

This article and photo has been used from BakeSpace.com check them out!

Black Forest Cupcakes by peabody rudd


# For the Cakes:
# 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
# 2 tsp baking powder
# 1 tsp salt
# 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
# 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
# 1 1/2 cups sugar
# 2 eggs
# 1 1/2 cups milk
# 1 tsp vanilla extract
# 1/2 cup Kirsch or cherry brandy
#
# Filling and Frosting
# 1 cup heavy whipping cream
# 1 cup powdered sugar
# 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
# 1 TBSP kirsch or cherry brandy
# 1 can pitted cherries, drained
# grated dark chocolate for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa together and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk. Add vanilla a beat well.
4. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.
5. When cupcakes are cool, unmold, cut into half or in thirds, and sprinkle with cherry liqueur.
6. To make the filling and frosting:
7. In a large bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add sugar, vanilla, and kirsch. Beat until stiff. Spread layer(s) of cake with half the filling. Press cherries into whipped cream before adding next layer. Save enough cherries to decorate cupcakes. Frost top and sides of cupcakes with whipped cream. Decorate with remaining cherries. Sprinkle grated chocolate over cupcakes.
If you do not have Kirsch or Cherry Brandy DO NOT make these....the recipe has to have it to make it tasty. This is the original recipe. Source: Cupcakes Galore but Gail Wgaman

Jesse and Anne from Pink Cake Box Visit

Here is our recipe for red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese frosting:


Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients & Supplies Needed:
Muffin Tins and Cupcake Papers
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons liquid red food coloring (Add more for desired darkness)
2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers. .

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, mix milk and vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes – curdling will occur. Then add the oil, eggs, food coloring and vanilla to the milk mixture, whisking until mixed.

Using a stand mixer, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with the paddle until just combined.

Divide the cake batter evenly into the tins - about 3/4 full. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1 pound cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 cup unsalted butter softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)

Instructions
Mix cream cheese with butter until smooth. Add extracts. Slowly add sugar and blend until light and fluffy! Fill and Ice cake as desired. Pecans can be added to top of cake for decoration. Use a piping bag with a round #8 tip to create fluffy cupcake tops!


Here is an example of our cupcakes:


http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/scrabble-themed-cupcakes-2008-08-09.htm

Thanks,

Jesse & Anne
www.pinkcakebox.com

Queen of Hearts Cupcakes!

Hey everyone! This is Marilla from Cupcake Rehab, and Lyns asked me to make some yummy vanilla vegan cupcakes so here I am!

Lyns told me the theme she wanted me to use was Queen of Hearts, and I loved that idea. Using red sugar, some Martha Stewart cupcake liners and some good ol' conversation hearts I came up with these.
FLUFFY WHITE VEGAN CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• roughly 1 ½ cups vanilla soymilk
• 2 1/8 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• 1 1/8 cups sugar
• ½ cup oil
• 1 ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. coconut extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Line 20 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.
2. Place the apple cider vinegar in the bottom of a liquid measuring cup and fill the cup with soymilk to equal 1 ½ cups. Stir well and set aside (the mixture will curdle).
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another mixing bowl whisk together the soymilk mixture, canola oil, vanilla, and coconut extract. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth using a hand-held mixer, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl when needed.
4. Fill each muffin cup with ¼ cup of batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
5. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from the pan and place on a wire rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

THICK & CREAMY FAUX “BUTTER”CREAM

Ingredients:

• 1 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
• 1 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor
• 3 ½ cups confectioners sugar, sifted if clumpy
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ cup vanilla soy milk

Directions:

1. Beat the shortening until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.
2. Add the vanilla, butter flavoring and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.

So there we are- a delicious vanilla vegan cupcake recipe. More information can be found at my website, where I also posted these. Happy Valentine's Day!

Coming Soon More Vegan Cupcakes

Already, I am drooling for this site to open up. The promise of more vegan cakes in cupcakeries is becoming more and more inspiring. It does become a hobby in its own, searching out wonderful pastry chefs and their glorious vegan approach to the cupcake conundrums! Can't wait? You can find my new cuppie cake pal now in several locations.
















Wonderful FlickR photostream

Rebeccas Cupcakes

~All photos and logos belong to Rebeccas Cakes and the Vegan Cake Girl~
Cheers Rebecca!

Ohhhhh Baby!

There are so many new little wee babies populating my immediate life, that I got to thinking about all the others most likely populating yours. Or at best those around you. I know I have baby shower items leaving our stock room daily! This is good news, I LOVE babies.
In keeping with our vegan weeks, I decided it appropriate to not only use alternative cupcake toppers, but to also make them available to you.
We have DIY kits for making those yummy bridal shower cupcakes. These kits include the cupcake liners for double cuppin, 10 cupcake toppers, the frosting bag, and a shiny new tip! All of this for $12.00 More and more to come! Congrats to all those new Mumma's out there!

Vegan Vanilla Westie

Well here she is in her vegan glory! We call her Anillagan.
Anillagan has been created using the Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World Recipe Book.
We changed a few components in the recipe though. We used Indonesian Vanilla for an extra kick and added just a scant tsp Of Chai seasoning to add depth to the flavour. Glad we did, it turned out amazing.
The candy trims are vegan (no gelatine in these! We looked for it!)
We won't tell you the recipes but we will of course give you the page numbers!
For the Cake you will need to turn to page 33
The Frosting page 142
Get making your Anillagan soon!

Bake & Destroy's Own Elvis Comeback Specials Recipe

Recipe:

Vegan Elvis Comeback Specials

Inspired by the King’s favorite snack- peanut butter and banana sandwiches, this dairy-free cupcake is so decadent no one will ever guess it’s vegan.
For the cupcakes you will need:

1/2 cup mashed over ripe banana
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
2/3 cup rice or soy milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup finely chopped dark chocolate or vegan chocolate chips, chopped
Then you:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your pan with paper liners.
Throw your mashed banana in a blender or or just smash it into oblivious with a fork. Just try to get the lumps out.
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl, mix well. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the oil, soy or rice milk, vanilla, almond and mashed banana. Stir or fold the wet ingredients into the dry, but don’t over mix or you’ll get tough cupcakes. Small lumps are fine. Finally, add the chocolate, folding gently.
Fill liners 2/3 full. Bake 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Top these with vegan peanutbutter buttercream from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World:

You will need:

1/2 cup margarine, softened
4 Tbs. shortening
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 & 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
2-4 Tbs soy milk

Then you:

With an electric mixer, cream together margarine and shortening until smooth. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until very smooth. Beat in sugar, mixture will be very stiff. Dribble in soy milk a little at a time, beating continuously until frosting is pale and fluffy.

Drizzle each frosted cupcake with vegan ganache, also from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World:

For this you will need:

3 Tbs soy milk
1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Then you:

Heat soy milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until almost simmering. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips. Set aside to cool about 10 minutes, then use a piping bag or a fork to shake chocolate all over frosted cupcakes. The ganache will set up when cool.

Top each cupcake with a sour cherry ball (or a real cherry) and chopped peanuts.

Get to it!

Thank you so much for this yummy recipe Natalie!

Natalie Slater on Vegan Baking

Ready, set… vegan!
By Natalie Slater

It wasn’t too long ago when a baker could take pride in owning an all-butter bakery. Pastry cases filled with cream pies, cupcakes and cookies invoked images of the fresh eggs, cream and butter used in every item and the customers clamored for it.

But with all the buzz about trans-fats, food allergies and now, a surge in vegan diets, it’s getting harder and harder to be a successful old-fashioned bakery. The availability of commercially produced vegan products is on the rise and smart bake shop owners are learning a few new tricks in order to keep up.

The Vegan Diet

Simply put, a vegan is a strict vegetarian who eschews consumption of all animal products. This includes meat, milk, eggs and butter and extends to include gelatin, honey and a few other animal-based ingredients. Unfortunately, it’s hard to say exactly how many vegans there are world-wide because censuses are only conducted once every 10 years, and even then citizens can only choose vegetarian as a differentiator, vegan is not an option. To put it in perspective, though, there were over 600,000 vegans living in the united States alone in 2006. Surely, given the movement’s popularity thanks to popular film stars and musicians this number has dramatically increased world-wide.

In most major cities there are already all-vegan bakeries finding success even with non-vegan customers. This doesn’t mean it’s time to cancel your dairy shipments and change your entire menu, but incorporating a few vegan options into your rotation is a great way to drum up new business. You might even find some of your old recipes being replaced by vegan ones. Such was the case for Jodi Rhoden, owner of Short Street Cakes in North Carolina. “My vegan chocolate cake is my standard chocolate cake. It’s so good I use it for everything and no one notices the difference,” she says.

The Science of Vegan Baking

Vegan baking can be as simple as replacing a dairy ingredient with a non-dairy- soymilk for dairy milk and soy margarine for butter. But when it comes to replacing eggs, vegan bakers get creative. Many vegan recipes call for egg replacements such as applesauce, canola oil or bananas. For more tips on replacing eggs and other items in your recipes see the tips below.

Agar agar powder, a natural gelatin, makes a great replacement for animal-derived gelatin in marshmallow recipes. Silken tofu adds itself nicely to vegan cheesecake and custard recipes and most major grocery stores now keep vegan cream cheese on the shelves for frostings and fillings.

Vegan Best Practices
Many bakers find themselves intimidated by vegan baking, but try not to see it as a limitation. Once you understand the rules, the flavor and texture possibilities are endless. Learning at least one great vegan recipe is well worth the effort, vegan customers are very grateful to have choices and word-of-mouth among them spreads fast.

Because many vegans have chosen this diet for reasons they feel very passionate about it’s important to adhere to certain practices when baking for them. Here are some steps for successful vegan baking:

General Practices

-Educate yourself about animal ingredients. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals website offers a list of animal ingredients you can print and keep in your kitchen.
-Make sure pans and utensils that were used for making dairy items are washed thoroughly before using them to make vegan products. Consider using separate, vegan-only pans and utensils for added piece of mind.
-Clearly label all vegan items as such so they aren’t confused with dairy versions. This is especially important if you keep buttercreams or cake mixes on hand.

Commercial Practices

- Minimize the number of vegan items you offer to ensure product freshness.
- Train your bake staff to avoid recipe mishaps and educate your counter staff about your vegan options.
- Create a separate, different-colored order form for vegan cake orders.

Putting It Together
Regardless of which recipes you choose, there are a few special items you need for all vegan baking:

- Plain or vanilla soy or rice milk
- Soy margarine, most bakers prefer Earth Balance for it’s butter-like flavor
- Vegetable shortening
- Apple cider vinegar, combined with soy milk, it helps cakes to rise

There are several vegan dessert cookbooks to choose from including Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Home Romero, The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky. Like most recipes. vegan recipes are easy to tweak into your own, unique creations.

Vegan Tips and Replacements At-A-Glance

If you can bake a cake, you can bake a vegan cake. Here are a few hints to help make it the best vegan cake possible.
Most vegan bakers will warn you against commercial egg replacers. They’re great for bread making and for cooking, but in cakes they’re too dense and gummy. To replace one egg try:

- 1/4 cup mashed banana (products made with banana may brown quickly)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup pureed silken tofu
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed with 3 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup soy yogurt

To replace a 1/2 cup of butter try 1/3 cup of canola or other vegetable oil.

Vegan cake batters tend to be lumpy, don’t try and mix the lumps out. Like all cake batters, over mixing will result in tough cakes. Learn to live with a few lumps.

Bake & Destroy's Eggless Valentine Toppers

Bake and Destroy's Natalie Slater has the perfect valentine cupcake toppers if you want to be truly funky and vegannie cupcakish for a day (you will get hooked!)
Natalie bakes these up with her own hands all terrifically handmade, eco friendly of course not to mention ORIGINAL!

If you want to spark up your cupcakes Natalie the owner of Bake and Destroy in Chicago can be found baking up something all over the place! Here are a couple of links to find her, and her wonderful ideas.



BAKE AND DESTROY ETSY

BAKE & DESTROY BLOG


Happy V Day Natalie!

Stumbling Over a Cupcake

A new cupcake conundrum occurred over the weekend, which I decided to write about. I have the dearest most wonderful friend turning 50 on Monday. So what better thing to do is offer to make cupcakes for the party ... in saying this ... he is vegan and worth every ounce of 10 dozen minis made vegan. (he is worth more really)
Eggs.
Yep ... Eggs
Up until his enormous monologue on why eggs should not be consumed, I always used eggs in ALL my baking. I found myself thinking HOW? How can a baker not use eggs? Well, they have Lloyd as a great friend or they buy Vegan Cupcakes take Over the World.

In saying this I flipped through the book, which is fantastic for the expert vegan but this eggless way is very new to me. Or so I thought.
Funnily enough, my traditional chocolate chippin cuppin recipe is by default vegan ... who knew and it is YUMMMMMMERS. The frosting vegan as well ... I am on a serious roll here.
Till the topper ... EGG WHITES ... yes I went through a gazillion sites looking for egg whiteless adornments ( I wanted to use baby booties) EGG WHITES!
Then I looked in the shoppe and again, LOOK AT ME GO ... vegan sprinkles again by default ...
No egg whites just rice flour and soy with colouring ...
So if you have a Lloyd as a great pal, or are vegan, or want to be vegan for a cupcake day ...
click here for your party sprinkles...... If you want my recipe email me at lyndsay(AT)acupcakery(DOT)com
Cheers to Lloyd! My eggless wonder friend =o)
And cheers to Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, Sara Quin for their awesome book.