MSC: Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

So I'm a few days behind on posting this month's challenge, but here they are a few days late.  This month for our Martha Stewart's Cupcake Challenge, Rebecca of The Baking Sisters chose the Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book.  Please forgive my grainy cell phone pictures! So I boxed up the cupcakes and delivered them cupid style on Valentine's Day.

I think my Dad was pretty excited!

I thought these cupcakes were fairly simple to make. I chose to make chocolate buttercream frosting instead of the dark chocolate frosting. No one in my family really likes dark chocolate, so I figured chocolate buttercream was the way to go.

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! Next month we are baking the Candied Hazelnut Cupcakes.

MSC: Snickerdoodle Cupcakes and a CSN Stores Giveaway!

This month for our Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club, Katie from Katiecakes chose the Snickerdoodle Cupcakes on page 138 of the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book.  I have been looking forward to making these cupcakes because I LOVE the Martha Stewart Snickerdoodle Cookies recipe found in her Cookies book.

One thing I really liked about these cupcakes is that you can make them with ingredients you probably have already in your pantry.  I halved the recipe, and ended up with 11 cupcakes.  I also baked them for less time than the book stated, about 16 minutes. 

I decided to use my "go-to" buttercream frosting recipe, simply because me and boiled frostings don't get along very well.  I thought these turned out wonderfully. They had an amazing cinnamon flavor, and went perfectly with a glass of milk. I will definitely be making these again.

And now for the giveaway!  CSNstores.com would like to give one of my readers a $35 gift certificate to any of their 200+ stores.

CSNstores.com is a baker's paradise.  There are so many kitchen items to choose from.  If you win, you may have a hard time deciding what to choose!  Here is how to enter, there are many different chances for you to win:

1. Leave me a comment on this blog letting me know what you would spend your $35 from CSNstores.com.

2. Follow my blog and leave me a comment letting me know that you now follow me.

3. Follow me on Twitter then leave me a comment with your user name.

4. Follow CSNstores on Twitter then leave me a comment with your user name.

So there are four different ways to enter.  Entries for the giveaway will be accepted through Thursday, October 21st at Midnight (CST).  Good luck!

CSN Stores Upcoming Giveaway!

I am so excited to be participating in another giveaway with the awesome people at CSN Stores!

On October 15th, I will be giving away a $35 gift certificate to CSN Stores. If you haven't checked out CSN Stores yet, you should! CSN Stores has so many different items. I think a bookcase headboard would be perfect for my nephew's expanding book collection.

Be sure to check back on October 15th for the giveaway post and our Martha Stewart Cupcakes Challenge group results for Snickerdoodle Cupcakes!

MSC: Cookies and Cream

For this month's Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge, Nina from Nina's Cupcakes chose the Cookies and Cream 'cupcakes' from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. I made these last year with my best friend Jordan, and I thought they were wonderful then. When I made these Sunday night, I had the same result. These were amazing.

This picture doesn't make them look like much, but they were so yummy!

These weren't actually cupcakes, but little mini Oreo cheesecakes. And considering how lackluster the last few challenge months have been, these were a nice change. They were a big hit, especially with my co-workers!

MSC: Triple Citrus Cupcakes

For the month of August, Marthe from Culinary Delights chose the Triple Citrus Cupcakes from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. I saw Martha make these on her TV show quite some time ago and I remember being shocked at the amount of butter in these bad boys. But hey, at least you are getting some vitamin C! :)

These were very simple to make. I used key limes instead of regular limes, and they turned out great. I liked the fresh taste of these cupcakes, but I could definitely taste the egg in them. I halved the recipe, and even with the recipe halved, it still required 4 and a half eggs!

Alex and I went over to his grandparents' house today, and these cupcakes were perfect. Alex's grandfather is a big fan of anything orange flavored.

The book recommended that these cupcakes be served the day they are topped with the glaze, and that is most certainly the case. Overall these were a good pick, especially in comparison to my failures from the last couple of months. Check back next month...we are making the Cookies and Cream cupcakes. These sound amazing!

MSC: Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes

For the month of July, Lauryn from Bella Baker chose the Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes from page 108 of the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book.

Ugh, another failure for me this month.  I was so excited to make these cupcakes because I had never attempted any kind of flourless cake before.  I didn't have any trouble making these, and the ingredient list was fairly simple.  My cupcakes even looked exactly like the picture in the book.

I must admit, I've never had flourless cake before. But this cake turned out really soggy and overly moist (and not in a good way). I was looking forward to taking these to share with my new co-workers, but there was no way I was going to make my first cupcake "impression" with these things.

I've come so close to quitting this challenge because honestly, the cupcakes so far haven't been so great, with the exception of the Pumpkin cupcakes. But, I've committed to this challenge and I'm going to keep going, dang it! :) I'm sure most of the failure is on my part, but I've got to keep going so I can be a better baker.

Next month, Marthe from Culinary Delights has chosen the Triple Citrus cupcakes. I have wanted to make these cupcakes since I saw them featured on the Martha Stewart TV show, so hopefully they will be a success!

Be sure to check out all of my other baking buddies' posts. You can view our list of bakers at our Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club website.

MSC: Strawberry Cupcakes....FAIL

This month for our Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge, Sherry from Sherry Starts Cooking chose the Strawberry Cupcakes on page 146 of the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book.  I love strawberries, so I was excited to make these.

Hmmm...I'm not even going to share a picture on this one.  The cake was just mildy strawberry-ish, and my darn Strawberry Meringue Buttercream was liquid, I never could get it to set up.  I know I probably did something wrong to cause this.  I don't think my heart was in this recipe.   I wanted it to be good, but somehow I failed.  I think the relationship between me and meringue is just not meant to be!  Oh well, there is always the Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes next month!

Cheesecake Brownies a la Martha Stewart

I've blogged before about the amazing group of women that I scrapbook with.  Our group on Meetup.com is called Oh Crop!  We were having a weekend retreat a couple of weekends ago, but I couldn't make it.  So I made these brownies by Martha Stewart to drop off for the girls. 

Alex and I also managed to be productive in our garden this weekend, we pruned our little garden area.  Our japanese maple is blooming beautifully.  I found this great article about how to Beautify Your Garden, give it a read if you get a chance.

Oh, and for more info on Martha Stewart's books, here are some Borders Coupons.  Also, I hope to be doing some reviews of some really awesome products that I have won in giveaways lately.

MSC: Jumbo Cupcakes

This month for our Martha Stewart's Cupcakes challenge, Jess from Cookbook Habit chose the Jumbo Cupcakes on page 133.  And since this little guy was having a birthday, I decided to make them for him.

He is a big fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and I had some awesome Mickey Mouse sprinkles that I couldn't wait to decorate his cupcakes with.  I was super excited to make the Marshmallow Fluff filling, and I wasn't disappointed...it was so yummy.  I thought the cupcakes, however, were a little dry.  But it seems like a lot of the recipes that we have baked in this challenge have been dry.  I didn't want to leave the tops of the cupcakes without a nice mound of frosting, so I made my go-to buttercream frosting.  This made the cupcakes super rich.  The best part of the cupcakes were the filling.

Here are a few shots of the party we threw for Ryan in the park by my parent's house.

My brother Jeff and nephew Ryan.  Look at him eyeing that cupcake!

My amazing Mom with my nephew Owen

MSC: Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

This month for our Martha Stewart Cupcakes challenge, Megan from My Baking Adventures chose the Lemon Meringue cupcakes. I was very excited to try this recipe since it required me to step out of my baking "box" so to speak. Lemon Curd was something that I had never attempted before. The amount of eggs in this month's challenge was a little crazy. I think I went through about two dozen eggs between the cupcakes (4 eggs), the curd (8 egg yolks and two whole eggs), and the frosting (5 egg whites)!

I decided to make the lemon curd first since it needed to chill in the fridge for a few hours. I thought the actual process of making the curd was pretty simple. It was when I went to check on it a few hours later was when I realized that I had failed, the curd was still runny and had never firmed up. I was so disappointed! I took to my Facebook to rant about my failed lemon curd. My Wilton cake instructor, Dorothy, asked me what went wrong. She talked me through it, and it turns out I didn't cook it long enough. I'll have to give lemon curd another try...

On the other hand, I really enjoyed making the cake. I loved the fragrant smell of lemons while making them. I tried Martha's Seven Minute Frosting again, just to see if I would have better luck than I did last time. But no, they were exactly the same. I guess I figure when I put some much effort into making frosting I expect it to taste amazing, but this frosting is just kind of boring.

When it came time to toast the cupcakes, my husband Alex was more than willing to help me out:




The final results:




The verdict: I would make the cake for this recipe again. The frosting, heck no: I'm done with this frosting. I'll stick to my classic buttercream, thank you very much. And when I'm feeling ambitious (or when I have 8 egg yolks lying around), I'll try making Lemon Curd again.

Be sure and check out all of the other baker's results. You can see a list of all the other participating bakers here.

AND please stay tuned later today for a giveaway!!

MSC: S'mores Cupcakes

I was excited to make these cupcakes from the start! I LOVE S'mores, so I thought they would be terrific in cupcake form.

Mary Ann of Meet Me In The Kitchen chose this month's Martha Stewart Cupcake challenge recipe.

Now, I know I said I was excited to make these cupcakes, but that doesn't mean I wasn't slightly intimidated by it. Chocolate ganache? I'd never made that. Marshmallow frosting? I'd never made that! Heck, unflavored gelatin...I'd never even BOUGHT that before! And graham flour, what the HECK is that?! But that is the point of this challenge: trying something new and different, and challenging oneself. :)

So I made my way to my favorite health food store in Denton, Cupboard Natural Foods, and bought me a package of graham flour. By the way, if you love dried papaya spears, this is THE place to buy them, they are the best!

Anyway, I'd been feeling a little under the weather, but decided that it wasn't going to keep me from making these cupcakes. I found the cupcakes very simple to make, and they smelled absolutely amazing while baking. I halved the recipe.

I also thought that the chocolate ganache glaze was fairly simple to make. It turned out smooth and glossy, just as I had imagined it would.

As for the frosting, well, I have decided that any frosting that requires preparation on the stove tends to be a little bit of a challenge for me. I think I just need more practice. After heating the water and sugar to the soft ball stage, I whisked it with the gelatin/water combo as instructed. I then put it in my stand mixer for the required amount of time. After five minutes on speed setting '6', nothing had happened. So I upped the speed to '10' and started to see some progress. But, I think I let it go for too long, because the frosting was difficult to pipe onto my cupcakes in the end. But that's okay, now I know to up the speed.

Here they are:




I haven't actually tried these yet. I'm a little nervous that they won't be good! And, I was too stuffed from last night's Valentine's Day dinner to even consider eating one of these! My co-workers will be arriving soon, and they are my usual guinea pigs. I'll update when I have some opinions from them.

On a completely random note, look at what my awesome mother-in-law got for me:

It's a t-shirt! She got it from cafepress.com. So cute!

Be sure to check out everyone else's baking experiences! Our blog roll can be found at our MSC Cupcake Challenge website. Have a great day everyone!

UPDATE: I tried one and enjoyed the flavor of the cake very much, just like graham crackers. Since I made my frosting last night, it had turned into an actual marshmallow overnight! I thought it was pretty cool!!! And the ganache had a great flavor. I would definitely make these again, and apply the things I have learned.

To the recent anonymous commenter on this blog

I recently wrote this post about my experience making Martha Stewart's Coconut Cupcakes.

To the recent anonymous commenter on this post: you are very harsh! Here is what they said:

"They cupcakes look divine, and if you have a Kitchenaid (or other stand mixer), there is no excuse not to make 7 minute frosting. I read that the next time you make the cupcakes you'll use imitation vanilla flavouring rather than vanilla extract! I suggest if you're going to use artificial vanilla, just buy a cake mix.Also, you pointed out that you didn't like the 7 minute frosting because it actually takes 15 minutes. Well, it takes 7 minutes to cook and of course prep time is more. But if you don't like it, then go with the frosting in a can, because if you're using fake vanilla, why bother with the real frosting! I just think if you're going to make Martha Stewart's cupcakes, you may want to use the real stuff. It's not Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines - it's Martha Stewart for heaven's sake!"

I'm not really sure why you would post anonymously anyway, unless you just wanted to be rude and not be held accountable.

Using artificial is a taste preference to me, and using it is not the same as using a cake mix (at least not to me anyway).

And I'm sorry that you didn't like my opinion of the frosting, but, to each his own!

The purpose of my blog (and the Martha Stewart cupcake challenge itself) is to share one's experiences with each recipe. Not to criticize someone for using artificial vanilla and telling them that they may as well use frosting out of a can!

I guess when I openly blog about my baking experiences, I open myself up to comments like these, and I chose to approve the comment, despite it's rudeness. Who knows, maybe I shouldn't be so sensitive. Thoughts?

MSC: Coconut Cupcakes

I was so excited to select this month's cupcake challenge, the Coconut Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. I am having such a great time doing this challenge, and there are so many bakers participating!

I love, love, love coconut. So these were an obvious choice for me. I didn't experience any trouble baking these cupcakes, and I thought they were relatively simply to bake. The recipe called for pure vanilla extract, and although I don't usually like to use pure vanilla extract (I prefer the fake kind!), I used it anyway. I could tell a difference in the cake. I want to make these again, but use imitation vanilla to see if the cake taste would change dramatically.



But then, I got to the recommended frosting, which was the coconut version of the 7 Minute Frosting. I almost skipped the recommended recipe and went with a MUCH simpler Coconut Buttercream, but I decided to be true to the book and went with it.



Well, the 7 minute frosting turned into 15 minutes. It took SO long to set up, even though it was being made in my stand mixer. And making the syrup, ugh, I didn't really enjoy that, either. But, the end result did product a pretty, shiny, rich frosting.

I took the cupcakes to work the next morning for my co-workers to enjoy. They went over well, except for with our video editor, who is allergic to coconut! Needless to say, he didn't partake in the cupcakes. :)

I would probably make these cupcakes again. But without the 7 Minute Frosting. And I would use imitation vanilla instead of pure vanilla extract. So I give this one a 6 out of 10 in terms of overall goodness.

Next month we are making Smores Cupcakes! I am so excited about this one. Thanks to Mary Anne from Meet Me in the Kitchen for selecting this one. And of course, head on over to our Challenge Website to see all of my baking buddies work as well. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

MSC: Candied Sweet Potato

So last month, I accidentally made the wrong cupcakes for our Martha Stewart Cupcakes challenge. But alas, I am redeeming myself this month. While my fellow cupcake bakers are making the Gingerbread cupcakes that I made last month, I made the Candied Sweet Potato cupcakes.

I found these cupcakes to be fairly simply to make, although I must admit that I was a little bit intimidated by the toasted marshmallows and the candied pecans. Before this recipe, I had never even cooked a sweet potato before. It was fairly simply, I cooked it the night before so that it would be ready to go the next day when I was ready to bake.

The cupcakes were easy to mix and slide in the oven. The cake was moist and tasty, with a nice hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. I successfully toasted the marshmallows and candied the pecans, and I was so thrilled that I pulled it off.



I was glad that this recipe was chosen, it challenged me to try new techniques. And, I probably wouldn't have tried this recipe had it not been for our challenge.

I presented the cupcakes to my co-workers, and some of them hesitated, probably because of the sweet potato. But, one of my co-workers, Jenny, claimed it was the best cupcake she had ever had! Yay! It really made my day.

And special thanks to my husband Alex for photoshopping the picture of my cupcakes in poor lighting!

Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes for my Scrapbooking Friends

Last Friday night was my monthly get together with my scrapbooking buddies. After the huge success of this month's MSC: Challenge...Pumpkin Patch cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting...I decided that the cupcakes would be perfect for the occasion. I was right, all my friends loved the cupcakes.



(I am so proud of these pictures. When given the right light, I think my picture taking abilities have gotten better than they used to be!)

We had a few newbies to our group this month, four of them to be exact! One of the girls, Denise, was BRAND new to scrapbooking. She was starting with some paper, a few embellishments, and photos of her daughters. One of the layouts she was working on was of her two daughters eating cupcakes! I had just made a cupcake diecut using my Cricut machine, so I offered it up to her to use on her layout. I think she was so excited that I gave her the diecut! She did a great job on her first layout, and hopefully she will be back next month.

MSC Challenge: Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

October's Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge, headed up by Betty at Eat My Cupcake, was the Pumpkin Patch cupcakes. This month's cupcake was selected by Kim at What The Whisk. Please pardon the crummy pictures...I took them at night in some bad kitchen lighting.

Okay, I've made plenty of cupcakes in my day. I've had this blog for about two years now. These cupcakes just might be best that I have ever made. The response by my co-workers was amazing. Well, except for the co-worker who is allergic to pumpkin.....good thing I told him what kind of cupcakes they were right when he was about to eat one!



I didn't have cake flour on hand, and I never have. Does that make me a bad baker? Anywho, I found the conversion on line and added corn starch to all purpose flour to make it the equivalent of cake flour. I thought these were fairly easy to make, and smelled fabulous while they were baking. I topped them off with the cream cheese recipe from the book, which is a great recipe, too.



I packed up the cupcakes in my favorite new accessory, my cupcake courier. I also packed a few extras in another box to take to my hair stylist (I had an appointment that day) and her staff. They loved them so much that I got an order to make them for the salon in November!


I will DEFINITELY be making these cupcakes again. For the order next month, of course. I'm also thinking about making them for Thanksgiving this year. Maybe I'll even make them into those adorable Turkey cupcakes on the following page of this recipe!

Carrot cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting for Alison's Birthday

My dear friend Alison had her birthday last week, and we all celebrated by going to Luna De Noche in downtown Dallas. I had never been there before, and I thought it was pretty good, but totally overpriced!! But that's is beside the point....

This year, Alison presented me with a few suggestions for cupcakes that she would enjoy. Last year I made here these Chocolate cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting, so this year I went with Carrot cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. What can I say, Alison loves Cream Cheese frosting!!



I used the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, and then the Cream Cheese Frosting from Crazy About Cupcakes. The cupcakes were incredibly moist, and were falling apart from their wrappers. But they were still really good. I enjoyed one the next day as a breakfast muffin (without the frosting, of course!).


Oh, and there is THIS! My new Cupcake Courier! And it is everything I had hoped for! It held all my cupcakes in place beautifully. Once it was loaded down with 2 dozen cupcakes, it was pretty heavy. It can hold up to 3 dozen cupcakes, so I imagine it could be even heavier!


Thanks Mom for supporting my cupcake habit!!!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the birthday girl with her cupcakes, but I know she enjoyed them. And, unfortunately for me, Alison lives in Austin now, so I don't get to see her very often. But, I do get to visit her in Austin every now and then!

Happy Birthday Alison....love ya!!!

MS September Cucpake Challenge: Zucchini Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sorry my entry is late folks, but I just got over a nasty viral infection. I felt terrible for about a week...yuck. But, I'm all better now and I was able to complete the challenge this weekend.

For those of you who don't know, I am participating in a Martha Stewart Cupcake challenge. Myself and quite a few other bloggers are baking our way through the cupcake book one recipe at a time. I am thoroughly enjoying being a part of this challenge and seeing what everyone else comes with.

I have to admit, I went into this challenge a little skeptical. I had read my fellow bloggers posts about this cupcake and wasn't expecting much from it. I thought this was a fairly simple cupcake to make, but it was so weird not to have any BUTTER in a cupcake recipe!

The cake I thought was a little overly "spicey" if that makes any sense. The cloves and lemon zest were a little overwhelming. Maybe I added too much? I omitted the walnuts, mostly because I don't really care for them in baked goods. I also halved the recipe in anticipation of not liking them very much...here is the final result:




I took a half dozen to my best friend Jordan and her boyfriend Lance. Sunday Jordan and I went to see "Julie & Julia" and it was fabulous. We laughed and had a great time...I never knew Julia Child was so animated. I guess I've never seen any of her cooking shows! It was a great movie and I recommend it to everyone.

So, would I make these again? Probably not. Were they absolutely terrible? No. They were just OK. Good experience, though!

A Challenge Revisited

Last month, for the Martha Stewart Challenge I am participating in, hosted by Sugar B at Eat My Cupcake, I made Chocolate Salted Caramel cupcakes with Dark Chocolate frosting....see them here. They were such a success that I got another request for them.

This time I made standard size cupcakes instead of the mini cupcakes. I liked these much better. Mostly because I didn't have to cut the centers out of 50+ mini cupcakes!




Like the last time I made these cupcakes, I had WAY too much frosting left over. I froze some of it in case I need to use it in the future. I've never frozen frosting and then re-used it at a later date, so we'll see how that turns out. Overall, I was very pleased at the way these turned out.

Martha Stewart Cupcakes August Challenge

One of the blogs that I enjoy reading regularly, Eat My Cupcake, decided to host a Martha Stewart cupcake challenge. Each month, a big 'ol group of foodie bloggers will each make a cupcake recipe selected from the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book. I am such a cupcake nerd, I pre-ordered this book from Amazon.com so that it would be delivered to our house on the day it was released!

The first cupcake challenge was the Chocolate Salted Caramel cupcakes with Dark chocolate frosting. I read the recipe a few times over, and was a little intimidated at first. But, I love a challenge (especially a cupcake one!) so I went for it. Unfortunately, I had too much chocolate and butter on my hands constantly, so I didn't take many preparation pictures.

The cake was simple enough to make. I used regular Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder, mostly because I can never find the Dutch unsweetened cocoa that many recipes call for. The cakes were incredibly shiny and glossy. After they had cooled completely, I cut cone shaped holes in the cupcakes to make room for the salted caramel I was about to make. I managed to get six and a half dozen mini cupcakes from this recipe, even though the book said it would make 56 total minis.

Next up was making the salted caramel filling from scratch. This was a first for me. In the recipe, it stated that the mixture may splatter, and it sure did! It actually scared the crap out of me, but with stirring, it quickly calmed down and turned into a smooth caramel. And it was YUMMY!

Then came the dark chocolate frosting. It was very easy to make and incredibly chocolately! I'm not a real big fan of dark chocolate, but this frosting was good. Very rich, easy to work with, and it had a beautiful glossy sheen to it.

I had a event to cupcake cater at this morning, so I made these for the event. Here is the final results, along with the Red Velvet cupcakes I made. The pictures didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.


A close-up:




The event was a success for Jovie Salon, and the salon called me to let me know that a client of theirs wanted my contact info to place an order...yippee!!!!! :)