Cookies&Cream Cake

Using Bakerella's Cookies&Cream Cupcakes recipe, I baked this cake for my friend Sergio's birthday party. Unfortunately I was in a rush and could not take pictures of the making of, but you can trust me when I tell you the bottom bread is chocolate and the top bread is vanilla, both mixed with Oreos cookie pieces.

This is the first time I am completely satisfied with the way I applied the frosting! I used a lot of it, but for once it did not get bread crumbles mixed in it (they are a bit of a pain when it comes to dark bread and light frosting!) And just like the cupcakes, I sprinkled mashed Oreo cookies on top of it.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

This time I tried to make the famous Cookie Monster cupcakes, as shown by this tutorial. I've seen the picture of them around tumblr and the internet a couple times, so I decided to give them a try when my boyfriend asked me if they were difficult to make. 

Once I got around it and watched the tutorial I felt very disappointed when I learned she used purchased muffins instead of cupcakes. I realized the reason to do so makes it easier to fit the cookie inside the bread, since the muffin have bigger tops that the cupcakes. However, I decided I would bake my own cupcakes and in case they were too small, purchase muffins as my back-up plan. 

My first batch of cupcakes were not big enough for a Cookie Monster cupcake. I kept them and figured I could make some 'Cookie Monster' inspired cupcakes with them later. The second batch looked like this:

Then we had the frosting. She is not kidding when she says you need A LOT of blue dye to get the right color. I think mine's still a little too light, but I was about to finish the bottle and had my hands completely tinted in blue.

Now, for the furry-like shape of the Cookie Monster, she used dried coconut and dyed it blue. It seemed fair enough so I did the same thing. Once again, I used a lot of blue dye and actually got it looking more blue than the frosting.

So I took my cupcake and applied the blue frosting making sure to cover all of it. Next step is to dip it in the dried coconut. 

...not quite the result I was looking for. Although it did not look bad, it certainly did not resemble the Cookie Monster! The problem here is that my dried coconut came in stripes, while hers looked more like powder.

After a panic attack, I looked for my handy-dandy pastry bag and star-shaped tip and did my best to give it a furry effect. 

I also decorated the smaller cupcakes with the same blue frosting and added small chocolate chips as if they were some sort of blue cookie. 

Next step was adding the cookie to the cupcake. The gap she makes with a knife in the video is quite big, but I discovered that (since my cupcakes are smaller than a muffin) I did not need to cut that much. Just a small cut will do to make the cookie stay. 

Here's where things did not turn out very successfully. Unfortunately they don't sell Cadbury chocolate in Mexico, so I could not get the white buttons. I found something similar in a local bakery shop, although I discovered quite late they were not big enough for the cupcake. The result is that instead of having the big-googlie-eyes that characterize the Cookie Monster, I got a very reasonable-looking Cookie Monster. I guess he won't steal your cookies.  

Halloween treats

I haven't been able to make something for my friends lately, and since I couldn't want to go to any Halloween parties this year, I decided to bake something for them.

The original idea was to have three kinds of cupcakes: chocolate, vanilla, and orange, with vanilla frosting. All made from scratch, a first in frosting and vanilla for me.

Sadly, the first chocolate cupcakes I made overflowed and dripped in the oven, so I had to take them out and clean everything before they started a fire. I cried in frustration for a while, and after washing everything I moved on to try the vanilla cupcakes. They came out surprising well! (my previews tries had only ended in sunken, raw un-edible things)

I made them green and put them in purple cupcake cups, purple frosting, and green chips to make them the zombie cupcakes. After I finished, I realized they could also be Hulk cupcakes, lol.

Then, while my amazing boyfriend was buying me more butter, trying to make me feel better about the ruined choco-cupcakes, I started to make the orange cupcakes. He arrived and helped me put them in the cupcake pan, we put them in the oven and we were happy.

After 10 minutes in the oven, I realized I forgot to color them! Oh well, I'll color the frosting.

Ok, so I didn't color them, but they're still pretty!

They were supposed to be purple, in green cups, with green frosting and purple chips. To make them the other zombie cupcakes. Or reversed Hulk ones.

I tried again with the chocolate cupcakes, and for some odd reason, they sunk! I was sad, and I was thinking of trying another batch, when my mom said I should make brownies since they always come out right. Plus, the frosting is not too sweet, so I could frost them and they'd still be good. So I listened to my mom.

I made black cupcakes and put them in orange cups, with orange frosting and black chips!

I am VERY satisfied with the results!

The vanilla cupcakes that were moist and delicious and just sweet enough. The orange cupcakes with their tangy flavor and subtle maple hints. The brownies to which I added a bit of baking powder so they would rise a bit and come out fluffier. AND my first ever frosting from a Paula Deen recipe! It came out so velvety and flavor neutral, you can use it on everything! Plus, it makes a crust after a while, so it stays put.

I now have one mixed dozen for work, and two mixed dozens for my friends, plus some left overs of each for my family. I am happy (and hyper) camper. :D

Brownie experiments

A few weeks ago I decided to make some brownies for snacks.

I made a pan of brownies with cranberries, and another one that was half plain - half with marshmallow. I cut them into different shapes and used the scraps to make brownie pops!

Cranberry Brownies

Marshmallow and plain Brownies

Brownie pops!

Celebration Cupcakes

I started looking for a new job a few months ago, and I was so sure I would get one that I bought a Strawberry Supreme cake mix to make something once I got a job. Sadly, job openings were pretty scarce, and I ended up bombing most of my interviews.

Last week, I got an email from an agency. They had a job opening, and I was in the top 6 of 70 applicants, and the only woman. Needless to say, I was excited!

On the day of the interview I was way more nervous than I was in other interviews: cold sweaty palms, nervous chatter, and smiling like an idiot. I don't know why I felt the way I did, but it was a great coincidence the interviewer (also owner of the agency) was a huge Disney fan like me. So we spoke about my experience, portfolio and a bit about Disney, then we talked about the agency and the job itself. Sadly, I didn't get the job because of my lack of experience, BUT he offered me ANOTHER job in which I could fit in nicely!

Time to open my cake mix box!

I decided to make cupcakes with two different cupcake cups, and different decoration.

First, I added a little sugar on top of three cupcakes, but the batter ate it all when it poof-ed up, so I sprinkled a bit of sugar after they were done.

Since the new job is at a design agency, I decided to try my hand and make some CMYK multicolored frosting. I thought it would be great now that autumn is starting and we're getting our first fresh days of the season.

I was wrong. It's still too hot for anything to stay put, so the frosting melted a bit. Of course, this being my first time with multicolored frosting doesn't help.

I must admit I regret using frosting for this, since I don't like it so much and I usually only use a tiny bit of it. Whatever, I can scrape it off, I suppose.

So, as a conclusion: The cupcakes are delicious but I wish I would've only gone with the sprinkled sugar.

EDIT: Now that the frosting is dry and shiny, they look and taste A LOT better. I'm sorry cupcakes, for ever doubting your awesomeness.

Raspberry Cream Pops

Since I've had so much trouble keeping frosting in place lately, I decided to do something different. This time, a refreshing dessert, Raspberry Cream Pops from this recipe.

I must say, I've never made cream pops before, and these came out delicious! The tartness of the yogurt, combined with the sweetness of the raspberry puree and soft raspberry cream is lovely. Plus, you could make pops with any of those mixes! Personally, I think I'll be making raspberry puree pops sometime soon.

The recipe uses vanilla yogurt, but I couldn't find any at the stores so I used sweetened, natural yogurt and added a few spoons of vanilla extract.

My ice-pop molds are very small, so I ended up with 8 tiny pops, a very big one using a plastic cup, and 6 tiny pops with the left overs of the raspberry cream mix.

Cookies&Cream Cupcakes

A couple days ago Carola introduced me to the amazing blog Bakerella and I instantly fell in love with it. One of the most recent entries was about making Cookies & Cream cupcakes with Oreo cookies. The recipe seemed simple enough, so I though I'd give it a shot.

I got my Oreos and broke them into small pieces.

Then, I placed them in the baking cups.

I decided to make half a dozen cupcakes with a whole Oreo cookie within them.

In the end, the cookies didn't go up as Bakerella's did, they stayed at the bottom of the baking cup (maybe it was my Betty Crocker ready-made cake mix?), so there really wasn't a visible difference between the whole Oreo and the broken ones (which is a shame, Bakerella's broken Oreo cupcakes looked so pretty)

This time I actually wanted to try and make the frosting myself, since it was a special cookies & cream one, but unfortunately I didn't have shortening at hand so I had to settle with good ol' Betty Crocker's vanilla frosting.

I smashed the broken cookies I had left and sprinkled them over the vanilla frosting.