Cake in a Jar!

Cake cake cake cake.

This is a throwback post...from two years ago when I was getting ready to celebrate my first blogiversary. I'm going through all my drafts and finally publishing some!

I decided to bake...CAKE. Because what's a party without cake?  I decided any old cake wouldn't do. How about rainbow cake...baked in jars...topped with glitter and sprinkles??? Good. I'm glad we're on the same page.

 

This is super simple. Celebrations can be stressful and sometimes I think the simpler the better. I chose to use Funfetti cake mix for this because 1) funfetti. no explanation needed. 2) nothing says party like sprinkled cake - seriously even the box says happy birthday 3) i'm a busy girl.

You can use any kind of cake. Any kind! I split my batter into three different bowls and chose three different colors. Pink, purple, and lime green. The jars I used are smaller than normal mason jars. Those would take forever to bake. I used small Kerr jars. I layered the batter very carefully. My best friend and I took two different layering approaches and I loved them! DO NOT FILL THE BATTER TO THE TOP. We filled the jars about 3/4 of the way full and that was too much. I would say go for half full.

Bake low and slow and use a sheet pan. 325 degrees. I would check your cakes between 25 and 30 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on the size of your jars.

Once your cakes have cooled, frost those babies! AND THEN. It's sprinkle time. I used edible glitter first. So sparkly and so pretty. I really wanted the glitter to stand out so I used hot pink sprinkles as well! I think the sprinkles add even more sparkle and shine.

That's it! So simple, but so fabulous! I hoped you enjoyed this post! (okay seriously past me was just so cute)

Minion Cupcakes!

I've been on a baking roll lately!

I recently had an order for minion cupcakes. I had seen photos floating around Pinterest and knew that these cupcakes could be done fairly easily and look so cute!

What You Need:

• blue cupcake liners
• cupcakes of your flavor choice
• yellow frosting
• brown or black frosting for piping
• giant marshmallows cut in thirds
• brown m&ms 

What To Do:

1.  bake your cupcakes in your blue liners
2.  let them cool completely
3. tint your white frosting yellow, or use store bought yellow frosting. spread a thin layer of frosting on your cooled cupcakes 
4. depending on what minion you're making - you'll use one marshmallow slice or two. stick them right on the frosting toward the top half of the cupcake
   
5. take a brown m&m. place a dot of frosting on the "m" side and place that side down onto the marshmallow slice(s)
   
6. take your brown or black frosting and draw straps coming out of the marshmallows to the end of the cupcake
7. take your brown or black frosting and make a cute little mouth
   
8. i wish i had some witty or cute minion quote to make, but i don't. soooo, enjoy!!

The birthday boy loved these! I loved the way they turned out. I actually have an order for 4 dozen later this month. I'll be a minion making machine!

Cupcakin' Bake Shop // Berkeley, CA

I can't remember if I ever officially announced it, but J got into UC Berkeley! This past weekend, our roommates from Monterey came to stay with us. We decided to BART over to Berkeley for the day and get an official tour from a very official student. It was game day, so there was a lot of people out and about! We spent the day walking around and eating all the food. Before we left that morning, I looked up a cupcake shop. The Yelp reviews were awesome, so I made sure we stopped.

Cupcakin' Bake Shop was everything I hoped it would be. It's located on Durant Street - a short walk from the campus. The outside was so stinking cute and welcoming. I spotted it from the other side of  the street and may have jay-walked ran across the street to get there.

The girl behind the counter was very pleasant and patient with us. Cupcakes are serious business and the flavor decision is crucial!

Beth got the summer berry, which was vanilla cake, vanilla frosting and fresh berries. Holy Cupcake, that was the best vanilla cake I have ever had. It was fluffy and moist and perfect.

I got the s'mores. I usually get some sort of chocolate cupcake from shops because I like to compare them all. Much to my surprise, there was an actual graham cracker crust on the bottom of the cupcake. That is my absolute favorite thing about s'mores cupcakes, but not all places do that. The crust was buttery, the cake was moist, and the marshmallow fluff was homemade and toasted. I mean seriously you guys. I'm so picky when it comes to cupcakes and I almost went back to tell her how amazing they were. They even had these super cute Berkeley cupcakes on display!

The blogger in me failed to get a mouth watering picture of our cupcakes unwrapped, but I can assure you, they were gone in 3 bites.

Lemme See Your Grill (Summer Cupcake Idea)

See what I did there? In honor of 4th of July / all your summer time BBQs, I thought I would share some cupcakes that I did awhile back! The pictures are from my old cupcake blog, so excuse the poor photography.

To make these extra easy, use your favorite brownie mix! Scoop the batter into cupcake liners instead of a baking dish.

You Will Need: 

• brownie mix + necessary ingredients
• frosting + black food coloring
• hot tamales 
• chewy caramels
• chewy colored candies - whichever you can find 
• red and yellow sprinkles
• toothpicks
  

What You Do:

• Bake the brownies per the directions on the box and cool
• Dye your frosting black - save a little white for later
• Make diagonal grill marks on each brownie using the black frosting
• Sprinkle red and yellow sprinkles on top of those fresh grill marks - like coals
• Dip a toothpick in black food coloring to make the grill marks on the hot tamales - now you have hot links!
  
• For the kabobs, cut your chewy  caramels and other colored candies into squares and slide them onto the toothpicks
  
• For the chicken, mold a chewy caramel in your hand to the desired shape. Use a toothpick to dab a little white frosting in the center.
  

Aren't these so cute and easy??? Debut these babies at your next BBQ! They're sure to be a hit.

Burnt Almond Cupcake Recipe

It sounds weird, I know. I first tried Burnt Almond Cake at my current job. I work in San Jose and there is a bakery called Dick's nearby. Their Burnt Almond Cake is life changing. It's a vanilla cake, with a yummy frosting, toasted caramelized almonds and by request they will layer the cake with pastry cream! I scoured the online galaxy in hopes to find something to base my recipe off of. With very little luck, I'm assuming it's deliciousness is top secret.

Like usual, you can substitute a homemade cake for a box cake. Like usual, I won't tell. So grab a box of vanilla cake or whip up a batch of your own! Regardless of the cake you decide on, add extra vanilla and almond extract! It's all about the almonds, people!

For the frosting, I used a stick of butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla creamer. I used 3/4 of a bag of powdered sugar and 1/4 cup of vanilla creamer. (I'm still experimenting with different frosting components.) This turned out really good! Make sure you whip it good (lol), so it isn't grainy!

Now for the almonds. I bought a standard bag of sliced almonds from the store - I think it was 6 ounces? This was more than enough for 24 cupcakes. You pour the almonds into a pan. Spread them out, as flat as you can. Sprinkle 1 cup of powdered sugar over the almonds. Use a spatula or rubber scraper to stir the almonds. You don't want to let them sit for too long or they will burn! It takes awhile, so be patient! I was worried that I was doing something wrong, but it is just a slow process. I added a little butter, in hopes that would help the melting process. What can I say? I panicked. Adding the butter is optional. After the cup of powdered sugar is melted, add another half cup! Stir until melted. I put a paper towel on a plate and poured the almonds on that to cool.

Once your cupcakes are cooled and frosted, sprinkle those sugary almonds and enjoy!! I turned the cupcake all the way over and just dipped the frosting into the almonds. I still had extra almonds, so I put them in a Ziploc and my dad has been snacking on them since!

I've decided the real name  for these should be Delicious, Caramelized, Sugary Almond Cupcakes. Burnt just doesn't do them justice. 

Corn On The Cob Cupcakes

I'm taking it back today, guys! I used to have a strictly cupcake blog, back in the day. It was soooo 2010. ;) I decided to look at my old posts and I plan on sharing my favorites over the next couple weeks!

You Will Need:

• 3 cupcakes per cob (any kind will do)
• white frosting
• yellow food coloring
• various yellow and white jelly beans
• yellow Starbursts

These are so easy! A little meticulous, but super easy. You frost your 3 cupcakes together using the yellow frosting. Then arrange your jelly beans in rows. The "butter" is actually a yellow Starburst! Use the heat of your hands to shape it like butter. I sprinkled real salt and pepper for looks, since they weren't going to be eaten. You can always use sprinkles for that! I found the little corn trays at Target in the dollar section.These are perfect for April Fool's Day or those summertime BBQs!

What do you think? Feeling corny? (lol had to)

Ombre Rose Cake Tutorial

Ombre rose cakes are all the rage on Pinterest, if you haven't seen them, you must live in a cave...just kidding...but seriously.

I made my first one for my niece's first birthday party. I made my second one this past weekend for a second birthday! (anyone else notice the numbers?)

These cakes look intimidating, but they are pretty simple! If you haven't already, check out my crusting buttercream recipe. It's the only frosting I will use for this cake! The frosting stiffens and will not move or slide or anything! Perffff.

What You Need:

• a cake  (obvi)
• that crusting buttercream I keep raving about
• a 1M Wilton piping tip
• a piping bag
• a frosting spreader
• food coloring of your choice

What You Do: 

1) Make sure you are using the 1M Wilton tip. It's like it was made for this or something!

 Here's a tip! No pun intended. For mess free piping bag filling - put the piping bag in a cup! 

 

2) Make sure you leave a little white frosting in the bowl, for crumb coating! Crumb coating is when you spread a thin layer of frosting around your cake to seal in the crumbs. It's sort of a hassle, but needs to be done! 

3) For this cake I did shades of purple. Decided what  color or colors you want and how ombre you want your cake to be. I did three shades of purple. Separate some frosting into different bowls for each color. Dye and mix!

4) Ready?? Make sure your piping bag is full of frosting goodness! You are ready for your first flower. You can practice on wax paper beforehand if you want. I just start in the center and make a counterclockwise circle. You can decide which way you want to do it! Let it flow! I started with the darkest purple on bottom.

5) Continue the same way all around the bottom of your cake. This is row one.

6) I went with the middle shade of purple for the next row. Do the same thing as the first row. If you want your cake to look uniform, make sure you are starting and stopping in the same place each time. 

Tip #2! If you have gaps in between your flowers, make little swoops to fill them! You can also apply a little pressure for a star shape filler.

7) I think the top is my favorite part to do! I just start in one spot and fill the gaps. I used little purple accents for the centers of the flowers on top of the cake. (It was a Princess party, after all)

That's it!!!!!! I really hope you guys attempt this! Honestly, the hardest part for me is making sure the cake layers are even! This is a small cake. Ombre styles will vary depending on the size cake you are working on! 

Here's a few pictures of the party. I made the cake pops as well :) 

The birthday girl loved her smash cake!!!

Here's a picture of my first smash cake - in case you missed it!

The Perfect Buttercream Frosting

I am not lying when I say PERFECT. You know the yummy bakery frosting that is always so smooth and delicious? It took me awhile to figure out how to get that. No matter what I tried, it just wasn't the same.

Too sweet. Too grainy. Too separated. Blah blah baking fails.

The trick is shortening. It's totes healthy, don't worry.

It's a one bowl frosting. You toss everything in, set a timer and walk away. It's also a "crusting" buttercream. It works great for decorating! You'll be like a real bakery in no time!

You will need:

• 1/2 cup (one stick) of butter
• 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 bag powdered sugar (2 pounds)
• a dash of vanilla if you want (your frosting won't be stark white)

What to do:

• add your stick of butter to the bowl

• add shortening to the bowl - I usually do 3/4 cup

• add the whole bag of powdered sugar on top of that

• if you are using vanilla, add it now (I don't)
• pour your milk all over the powdered sugar (it's fun)

• it's mixing time! use SLOW speed. I usually pulse it until it stops sending powdered sugar up into the air

• once you've got it under control, high speed baby! set a timer for 3-4 minutes and go do your thang

• come back when the timer goes off and marvel at the deliciousness you have just made

So. Lovely.

*This makes a lot of frosting!*

Coming this week...ombre rose cakes featuring this frosting!

Creme Brulee Cupcakes

I loooove creme brulee and I know I am not alone.

Today, I'm sharing my creme brulee cupcakes with you guys. BUT! I'm sharing the super easy version for all you non-bakers.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of vanilla cake mix - I usually grab French Vanilla
• 1 box of creme brulee mix -
• + the ingredients listed on both of those boxes - eggs, oil, water, milk, heavy whipping cream
• brown sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

• Bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the box of  cake mix - usually yields about 16
• Make the creme brulee according to the mix - it sounds scary, but it's easy

• Once cupcakes are cool and creme brulee is cooled and set (about one hour), core out the centers of your cupcakes - use a cupcake core if you have one, if not a spoon or knife will work just fine
• Spoon a small amount of creme brulee into the center of the cupcake. I usually over fill and then smear some of the creme brulee on the top

• Sprinkle small amounts of brown sugar over the visible creme brulee
• If you have a culinary torch, use that to brown the sugar. If not, you can broil the cupcakes in the oven until the tops are golden brown. (I know I pulled an Ina Garten with the whole culinary torch thing, sorry)

Tip : Don't close the oven door all the way while broiling - and keep a CLOSE eye on them.

YOU ARE DONE! So easy! I usually make the cupcakes and creme brulee from scratch, but figured I would spare you the hours of intense labor.

Tip #2 : I keep these in the fridge. The whole dairy thing sitting out creeps me out.

Happy baking!! :)