Groovy Baby

Break out the bell-bottoms, put on your tie dyed t-shirt, play some Hendrix, and hang loose.... Yeah baby, it's a 60's themed party. I hope the fuzz don't show up and try to break up our good time.

I had so much fun making cupcakes full of peace, love, flower power, and smiley faces... You dig, man?

I was going to get a chocolate mold to make the chocolate decorations, but instead I did them by hand.  I printed out a picture of a peace sign and a smiley face to use as an outline.  I put some clear wax paper over the print out and traced the picture in chocolate.  The trick is to put melted chocolate into a small molding bottle (or you can melt it in the bottle) so you can use it like a pen.

For the peace signs, I used white chocolate. Once they were completely hardened I brushed on some food coloring. Use a paper towel to wipe off the food coloring before it dries (to keep it from clumping up on the chocolate). Once the color dries you could add another color over it to get a tie dyed effect.

Happy Halloween!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween and you got more treats than tricks.

Over the weekend I some simply delicious Halloween cupcakes to help celebrate.

Oh Boy!

There is nothing better than the anticipation of a new baby coming into the family. A little baby make the future look so much brighter.

Soon, a little man named Mason Finn will be joining this world.  To help celebrate his arrival I made cupcakes that matched the baby show invitations. Lucky for me, my sister-in-law made the invitations, so I was able to get the images she used to make these toppers.

I have to thank 3 very special ladies that helped make these cupcakes. I don’t know what I would have done without their talents and skills.

Thank you Elizabeth, Emily, and Nancy. You did such a great job! 

Cracking Up

Ok, so I’ve been practicing with cake pops and have learned so much since the first time I tried to make them. One of my biggest challenges was the CRACKING! I would make my pops and put them in the fridge to set. Then I would take them out and dip them. All would look good until about an hour passed…. then the cracking would begin.

I was so grateful to find a video from pintsizebaker.com on how to fix a cracked cake pop. The problem is that I can’t seem to find the video anymore. So here is how you fix your cracked pops.

1. Let the cake pop hit room temperature. (I let mine sit overnight.)
2. Melt your chocolate and dip a tooth pick into the chocolate.
3. Run the toothpick over the crack filling the crack with chocolate.
4. Run your finger over the crack to remove excess chocolate and to smooth the chocolate into the crack.
   • If the crack is still visible use the tooth pick to spread more chocolate over the crack and repeat step #4.
5. Keep running your finger over the crack until the crack is completely sealed with chocolate.
   • The warmer your finger is the better. It gives you an opportunity to mold the chocolate over the crack.

Ahhh… beautiful cake pops…

Welcome to Boston

Its been a while since I’ve posted to my blog but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been having fun with new cupcakes. I’ve been a bit distracted with some other things going on in my life ;)  I have tons of pictures and posts to share with you and I’ll try to get them all posted soon.

I recently made some cupcakes that were Boston themed. What better way to welcome some family, friends, colleagues, foreign exchange students - whoever you have coming into town.

Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, Paul Revere, Duck Boat, on and on and on… There are so many wonderful things that represent Boston. (Oooh, as I’m writing this I’m thinking I should have made Sam Adams beer flavored ones…. YUM!)

I love the ways these turned out.

Fifty is Nifty

My friend was throwing a surprise 50th birthday party for her sister and asked me to make some cupcakes to help celebrate the milestone.  I was trying to come up with something fun so I did a couple of different designs. 

I made some quick little chocolate swirls and put them in the top of each cupcake. I used some silver dusting powder (edible, of course) to give some sparkle to the chocolate swirls and the fondant decorations. They came out so great.

On other cupcakes, I put some photos of her as a little girl and others with an adorable picture of her today.

 

Happy Birthday Laura!!!! I hope you had a great time at your party. 

It’s a Big Deal

I think a birthday is a Big Deal!  Even those people who say “I don’t want to make a big deal about my birthday” really like it when someone makes a big deal about their birthday. 

A birthday is your special day that deserves to be recognized and celebrated with your friends and family.  Even if it’s a small gesture like saying “Happy Birthday” in a loud voice… it makes the birthday girl/boy feel special. The older I get the more I realize that every occasion needs to be celebrated (even if it means you’re one year older, yuck!).

Well, today is my friend’s birthday so I knew I wanted to make her some fun cupcakes for her special day.  This was a great opportunity to use the funky letter tappits (plastic stencils) which I purchased a few weeks ago.

After making the letters , I cut out some fondant circles to attach them to.  I used colorful fondant for the circles so that the white letters really popped!  Finally, I made some colorful little flowers with sugar pearls in the center to make them fun and feminine.

 
I just love the way the turned out.

Just Ducky

Come on everyone, sign along….

Rubber ducky you’re the one
you make cupcake time so much fun!!! 

The other day I made some cupcakes for a friends baby shower.  Since the happy couple don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl, the theme of the shower was the gender neutral rubber ducky.

I found a great rubber ducky chocolate mold at Michael’s craft store (who recently expanded their cake and candy decorating sections) which were so easy to make.  After I made a few dozen of the chocolates, I whipped up my favorite chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and put the ducky’s right on top. They were absolutely adorable.

Nutella for the Fellas

This one is for all the Fellas… Happy Fathers Day!

I hope that all the Dads out there are having a great day and treating themselves to something special.  For the “Fellas” in my life, I made some Nutella (a chocolate hazelnut spread) cupcakes. What better way to say “you’re the best” than a special little sweet treat.

I made my favorite chocolate cupcake, filled it with Nutella, and topped it with a Nutella butter cream frosting and a few mini chocolate chips. If you like Nutella you will love these cupcakes.   They simply melt in your mouth.

Enjoy!

Picture This…

For my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary party, my sister-in-law ordered cookies that had their wedding picture printed on them.  They were so cute you almost didn’t want to eat them. (I said almost.) They were a great way to celebrate such a special event. Everyone talked about how wonderful they were for days after the party.

A couple of weeks ago I was thinking about them… so why not on a cupcake???

I took the leap and ordered a cake printing system. It finally arrive last week. I couldn’t wait to try it out.  So this weekend I made some for my neighbors kids.

To my surprise, the quality of the print outs were better than I expected. The lines were very crisp and clear and the colors were vibrant. I’m delighted with the results. 

Now, what other pictures do I have…  Mulligan on a cupcake anyone???

A Classic Foursome

People are always asking me “which flavors are your favorites”? My response is usually “the classics”. I love vanilla and chocolate.  This week I put together a classic foursome for some friends and family.  Foursomes aren’t just for golf.  My cupcake foursome is the equivalent of a hole in one!  Everyone loved them.

The classic foursome included: 

• Vanilla cake with vanilla butter cream frosting
• Chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream frosting
• Lemon cake filled with lemon curd and lemon butter cream frosting
• Strawberry cake with fresh strawberries and strawberry cream cheese frosting

Hitting a Funny Bone

I had some extra chocolate cupcakes the other day, so I decided to make cake pops.  After discovering peanut butter flavored chocolate at A.C. Moore I couldn’t resist trying a peanut butter cup cake pop.  They came out so good.

After I dipped the cake in the chocolate, I rolled it in cut up pieces of mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joes (I LOVE that place).

I gave one to my friend who said it tasted like a Funny Bone. She hit the nail on the head. They really do taste like Funny Bones. DELICIOUS!

SWEET 16

Today I made some cute polka dot cupcakes for a special young ladies 16th birthday.

The polka dots and numbers are made from chocolate. I was going to use fondant but thought the chocolate would taste better.  I mean… who doesn’t like a nice chunk of chocolate in or on your cupcake?  YUM, right?

Happy Birthday Sophia!

Spark and Hustle

On Friday night, me and two of the greatest women I know participated in the Celebrate Your SWEET Success event at Tori Johnson’s Spark and Hustle Boston.

We had such a great time giving out samples of vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, and cappuccino cupcakes. We met many amazing women who are working to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true.   What an inspiring night it turned out to be.

Thanks to all of my friend and family who helped me prepare for the event.

Cake Pops

What could possibly be better than a bit of cake mashed in frosting and dipped in chocolate???  Other than world peace, I’m not sure what else could compete.  OK, that’s a total exaggeration but it sounds REALLY good right?

I’m talking about cake pops. They are becoming more and more popular these days and I can understand why. They are just the right size for those of you who want something sweet but can’t commit to a whole slice of cake or  cupcake (I don’t know any of these people but I hear they exist).

The cake pops in this picture are vanilla cake with traditional buttercream frosting dipped in both white and dark chocolate.  Today I picked up peanut butter flavored chocolate that I’ll use to make a peanut butter cup cake pop. Oh YUM!!

If you’re planning on trying to make your own cake pops, I would suggest choosing your decorations wisely.  Big crunchy decorations can be difficult to eat as well as hard on the teeth.

ENJOY!!!

Holy Cupcake!!!

The First Holy Communion season is upon us!

I wanted to make a cupcake to celebrate the First Holy Communion of two very special little ladies. While strolling through A.C. Moore I came upon a chocolate mold with some small crosses. It added just enough decoration to a chocolate cupcake with a chocolate buttercream frosting to make it even more irresistible.

  

This weekend I also played around with brightly colored fondant. I made some small flowers to top off a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. They came out so cute and looked so delicate.

Now on Twitter

If you are on Twitter, you can now find me at:
http://twitter.com/beantowncupcake

Be sure to follow me if you’d like updates on my baking adventure.

I’m on Fire

My sister-in-law asked “have you ever make a lemon meringue cupcake?”…. Challenge accepted!

I’ve never made meringue before and to be honest, raw eggs make me nervous.  After doing some research online, my confidence was high and I was ready to get started. However, to make a proper meringue I would need to buy a kitchen torch. Off I went to Bed Bath & Beyond with my 20% off coupon in hand.

An hour later I was ON FIRE! I constructed my lemon cupcake and added a nice lemon curd filling.  Now it was on to my meringue. Happily I found that it was easier to make than a standard buttercream frosting.  I piped it on to my almost thoroughly cooked cupcakes and baked it for about 5 more minutes.

Once I took them out of the oven, the meringue had just started to brown.  Now it was time to LIGHT IT UP!  I set up my kitchen torch and got to it. I quickly learned that not only does meringue burn quickly but so doesn’t the paper cupcake cup!!!

Who knew making cupcakes could be so dangerous?

The key is to keep the torch a good distance away from the meringue and slowly move all the way around the cupcake. Move the torch a little closer and again move your way around the cupcake.  Keep moving around evenly until it reaches the desired color.

Enjoy!

It’s a Sign

A Sweet Little Grouch

My friend’s daughter LOVES Sesame Street. I mean straight up obsessed!!!  Her birthday is quickly approaching so I thought I would try my hand at creating the characters on cupcakes. I started with Oscar (because she reminds me of him sometimes, a sweet little grouch!).

The biggest challenge of making this cupcake was his fur.  The key is to start on the outside and work your way in. Make long strands and lift the tip (I used a Wilton #234) up off the cupcake and let the strands fall. I found if the strands were too short they would smoosh together.  After doing the first one I got the hang of it. I think he came out pretty good for a first attempt.  Now lets see about creating Big Bird with all those crazy feathers….

My Biggest Fan

This weekend I did some baking for my little friend’s birthday.   She’s been one of the biggest fans of Beantown Cupcake Company since the beginning. Since turning 2 is a big deal, we had to have all of her favorites available… Chocolate, Vanilla, Red Velvet…

I made my first chocolate butter cream frosting this weekend and really hit it out of the park.  My testers all gave me the thumbs up on the recipe.  I think the key is to use whipping cream at the end to make it nice and fluffy.

Sweet Success

I’m so excited …. I recently learned that I will be providing samples of my cupcakes at the CELEBRATE YOUR SWEET(S) SUCCESS event at this year’s Spark and Hustle conference in Boston (Hilton Boston/Woburn).  Spark and Hustle is a three-day intensive conference made up of over 200 current and aspiring small business owners.  As the event grows closer I’ll post more information.

A great big “thanks” to my friend Michelle who let me know about this opportunity.

Let them Fly

I was asked to make some cupcakes for Chloe and Camryn 6th birthday party. After a little looking around for inspiration, I found adorable butterfly cupcakes on AnniesEats.net http://annies-eats.net/2009/05/26/butterfly-cupcakes with detailed instructions on how to make them. 

I gave it shot and they came out great. I used a yellow cake with a traditional vanilla butter cream frosting with blue food coloring. They were a big hit at the party.

Here are couple of pictures.

“Love” is in the Air

One of my “testers” put in a special request for Red Velvet cupcakes. Since I am grateful for their willingness to rate them, I had to oblige.  I decided that I would try to work on my presentation because I know they taste fantastic.
I thought these came out so pretty and it was easy enough to do.

Weekend Samples

For a number of weeks I've been baking a variety of cupcake flavors and distributing them to my official "testers". 

This weekend I made an amazing mochaccino cupcake with coffee frosting, a pumpkin cupcake with maple frosting, and a champagne cupcake with strawberry frosting. 

I hope all of my testers enjoy!!!

Any flavor ideas for next weekends bake off? I'm up for just about any challenge.

Getting Started

Starting up a little cupcake company is not easy but I'm trying.  Hopefully, our website will be up and running soon enough so we can start filling all of those orders.

Coming soon http://www.beantowncupcakecompany.com/