Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Cutest Idea... Ever!

I just came across this. This may be a staple for every sleepover, girls night, holiday, and tuesday night!

cute food photos - Epicute: Mini Cupcake Fondue

Do you see this??? Do you know what you are looking at??? Well the big pot has icing if that gives you a clue.. Its CUPCAKE FONDUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes.

I said it.

Cupcake Fondue.

In case you went momentarily blind from the massive amounts of cute, I said it again.

I cake across this while browsing Must Have Cute but it turns out its from one of my very favorite shops which also has a blog... Bake It Pretty. She is pure genius. The idea is to take mini cupcakes... dip them in the melted icing... and then cover them in sprinkles and/or any and every wonderful topping you can think of. Its the new ice cream sundae. Mmm Ice cream sundae... can that be a fondue topping???

Stay Tuned

Later this week I am attempting Apple Pie Cupcakes! They were the request of my co-worker for her birthday. She is the most fun and was probably my bff in a past life. She brings sunshine and song to my long days at work so I think Apple Pie Cupcakes will definitely be in order. I plan to attempt the "Pumpkin Pie Cupcake" strategy, only replacing the pumpkin pie filling with apple pie filling. I looked at many options but really couldnt imagine making an Apple Pie Cupcake that didnt have crust. What is pie without pie crust?? Stay tuned for the magic!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

The Best Cupcakes Ever Made

I will definitely be claiming this recipe as one of my new Thanksgiving/Christmas tradition. I made 3 dozen easy for Thanksgiving and people haven't stopped talking about them yet. I think I could sit and eat over a dozen of these myself and not feel guilty. Not because they are healthy in any way, shape or form, they are just THAT good.... behold...

bakeitinacake's
Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes w/Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream



Here is the genius behind these...

Do you see there in the middle?? Yes.. that is what you think it is.

Tiny Pumpkin Pies baked inside cupcakes!

As if yummy confection, known as cupcakes aren't enough, suddenly creamy pumpkin deliciousness hits your tongue and everything just melts. And they are entertaining, as everyone who ate one bit into half then wanted to see what the inside looked like, and wanted to see what everyone else's looked like. No matter how you bite it, its pure genius.

I did however change the recipe slightly, as you know, I don't make cake from scratch.

First of all, I have made the buttercream with Cinnamon because I didn't have Cinnamon Chips, but that was a mistake. The cinnamon chips are necessary for ultimate deliciousness, but I did hear they are hard to find. My grocery store just happened to have them up front with all of the other Christmas Baking ingredients. Amazing and they absolutely make the icing.

I did use 3 cups of powered sugar instead of 2... actually I just eye ball it after making a zillion batches of icing. I am used to making decorator icing which is really thick, so the very thin consistency of 2 cups of confectionery sugar just wasn't doing it for me. Also, add it to your mixture a 1/2 cup at a time unless you would like it to snow sugar in your kitchen.

I used Pillsbury's White Cake mix instead of making Bakeitinacake's recipe for cake.

I used pre-made refrigerated pie crust from the grocery store.. which Bakeitinacake actually suggests.

Pie filling. Read the back of the can. I have never worked with canned pie filling before and going into this didn't realize you needed to add things to  filling to make it actual pie filling.

They turned out a-maz-ing. Right down to the little pie crust circles on top. I had one boy tell me that he could eat a whole bag just of those. And I highly recommended making them, they just add the final touch to these adorable creations.