Mint Julep Cupcakes

I love to try new and unusual recipes in the kitchen, but I particularly love a task that allows me to tweak and customize techniques to achieve a specific flavor combination. These cupcakes were made for a coworker of mine, a native Kentuckian and fan of the derby. We started discussing them in March after the success of the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes....

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Brown and Blue Baby Shower Cupcakes

There is nothing more joyful than celebrating a new life. I made these baby shower cupcakes for one of my coworkers who is expecting a son. The blue and brown combination is quite popular for little boy nurseries at the moment, and I was excited to get a chance to try my hand at putting together a simple treat that reflects that trend. I used a basic...

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High Hat Cupcakes

You may notice that I am calling them high hat cupcakes rather than hi-hat cupcakes. This is simply because the English teacher in me refuses to cut corners. I made two batches of these cupcakes for Easter gatherings this past weekend. This was my first attempt at mastering this impressive form. I think I pulled off an okay final product. It...

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Yummy Fondant 101

I like to use fondant because it gives any cake a polished look. Unfortunately, traditional fondants can be offensive to the taste buds. My cake philosophy is that if it is not edible, it's cheating. I don't want to think about accidentally swallowing a mouthful of styrofoam or plastic. If they could make it edible hundreds of years ago, I should be...

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Sesame Street Cupcakes

I made two batches of these cupcakes for birthday parties. They were a whole lot of fun to make but rather labor intensive. After about six hours, these cupcakes turned into a labor of love. I was listening to my local top 40 radio station as I was working on them, and I now feel I have a firm grasp of the hits of the moment. I can even sing along...

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Baby Shower Cupcakes

I wanted to share these cupcakes with all of you because, I must say, I am pretty darn proud of them. I spent the day working on these cupcakes for a baby shower. The order was a bit last minute, but I was not thwarted as several forces in the universe seemed to be conspiring to turn this into an excellent opportunity to try new techniques and patronize...

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St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

I'm finally returning after a brief, busy, hiatus. My day job has been keeping me occupied planning for next year's students. It's an exciting time to be a high school teacher, but it has kept me away from a kitchen longer than I would have liked.  Now- on to the cupcakes. These cupcakes were a great deal easier to make than the previous ones....

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Martha Stewart's Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

 I both love and envy Martha Stewart in that Stepford Wives kind of way. It seems that everything she produces is perpetually picture perfect. I know that most of this is an illusion created for print and television, but I am certain that, given the opportunity to meet the woman herself, I would discover she can, on the first try, successfully...

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Chocolate Bacon and Toffee Cupcakes

 Thanks to the suggestion of a coworker and at the request of my husband, I decided to venture into the unknown and explore bacon cupcakes. The idea of any meat in a dessert is admittedly more than a tiny bit disturbing.  Of course, if one were forced to select a meat that might enhance a dessert, it would have to be bacon. Bacon is simply...

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Caramel Cupcakes

Be sure to enjoy these cupcakes with a big glass of milk because they are incredibly decadent. I've always loved the flavor of chewy caramel. I remember going to my local Ingles as a child and paying a nickle for a sample of a individually wrapped caramel candy. I would never chew it; I would let it melt, so I could enjoy the flavor as my mom shopped...

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Chocolate Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon Almond Frosting

 I had the good fortune of getting a long weekend due to snow in my area, so I decided to try another recipe, meeting my two recipe a month goal for January. I absolutely love Starbuck's Chai Tea Lattes, and these cupcakes were inspired by that beverage. There are myriad recipes out there for various types of chai cakes, but I ended up using one...

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Some of my creations...

I dabble in cakes from time to time as well as cupcakes. This first one if of my sister's wedding cupcake tree. This was the first time I worked with fondant. We kept it simple and used a marshmallow fondant recipe. This one is of my wedding cupcake tree. We had a destination wedding with an informal reception when we got back home. We decided that...

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Vanilla Cupcake with Blueberry Cream Cheese Butter Cream

I made these cupcakes for my high school's open house. It's usually a very long day for the teachers, so I decided that it might be nice to have a sweet treat before the parents arrived. I've been wanting to work with fresh fruit for a while now. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. I started by culling the internet for a cupcake recipe that...

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