Maverick Digital Candy Thermometer Giveaway

I have patience in some areas of my life.  In one of my pre-cupcake jobs, I trained computer neophytes, walking them through such basics as how to use the arrow keys to navigate in a document and when to double-click vs. right click (making sure to clarify that right click does not mean to write the word "click" in Notepad).  These days, I can sing Itsy Bitsy Spider to my toddler and still enjoy his wide mouthed grin on the twentieth rendition.  However, when it comes to standing by a stove watching the number go up on a candy thermometer, I have zero patience.  I tend to walk away and come back just in time to see my caramel/candy/anything in my pot burnt and inedible.  I always set a timer that beeps to tell me when my cupcakes are done, but I had never seen a candy thermometer with any kind of alert feature.

Twitter to the rescue:


I asked my tweeps if anyone had heard of a candy thermometer that beeped when it reached the correct temperature.  Gesine Bullock-Prado, author of Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker, responded right away to tell me about the Maverick!  This was the thermometer of my dreams (if I were to dream about thermometers).

Good Ship Lollipop - Homemade Shirley Temple Lollipops

The Good Ship Lollipop sails the open seas bringing joy to everyone except her photographer (Jonathan balked at taking the photo above: "So cheesy!").  The Good Ship Lollipop's passengers are two homemade Shirley Temple lollipops made with grenadine and lemon. 

The Good Ship Lollipop's passengers were my very first homemade lollipops.  Believe me, it's much easier than you might think.  You can do it!  I was prepared to have to make multiple batches before getting it right, but the lollipops worked swimmingly on the first try (Well, technically it was the second try.  During the first try, I forgot to take the plastic wrapping off of my new candy thermometer before putting it in the hot candy - oops!).

Piña Colada Cupcakes

Groom 4.0 (read the back story for more details) has selected these Piña Colada cupcakes as his pick for one of their wedding cupcake flavors (he gets one and Bride 4.0 gets one).  "Is there anything you would change about these Piña Colada cupcakes?" I asked him after he'd finished it.  "I just want there to be lots more of them," he replied with a grin.  His wish will be granted because there will be over 100 Piña Colada cupcakes at his wedding!

As my friend Andrew (of Church of Burger/Pizza fame) notes, these cupcakes aren't just moist, the inside is almost wet due to the juicy pineapple bites scattered throughout the cake.  These Piña Colada cupcakes are so close to the real deal that Andrew pointed out that the Piña Colada cupcakes would be the perfect cupcake to eat poolside in Las Vegas.  

Goodbye, Scary Cupcake and a Snap Stories Giveaway

While a few of you, like my mom, thought this cupcake was cute...

...most of you seemed to find her frightening.  I could blame the designer of Ms. Cupcake (who shall remain nameless - but it's someone in my household). However, since it was designed based on a sketch that I drew, I can only blame myself. 

Luckily, I recently renewed a friendship with an incredibly talented illustrator, Emma Hand of Snap Stories.  Emma agreed to make my blog look pretty (bye bye, scary cupcake) in exchange for some commercial and family photo work from J. Pollack Photography.  Win win!!

I LOVE the illustrations that Emma did for my blog (the RSS button is my favorite - how about you?), and I'm also really excited about our plans to work together on some projects down the road (no hints yet).  But, despite all of the work that she did for my blog, the best thing that she's done for our household may be designing my son's favorite board book.

Chocolate Coconut Rum Cupcakes and an Announcement

After Wedding 3.0, I did not plan to do another wedding.  In fact, Jonathan STRONGLY encouraged me not to.  Baking 300 cupcakes in a home kitchen is extreme - and even more of a task with a young child underfoot.  One person who definitely understands the challenges involved is this woman...

Valentine's Day Cupcakes for Two in Under Ten Minutes

Sometimes you don't want a dozen cupcakes.  This chocolate spice cupcake recipe that I created for Paula Deen makes just two cupcakes.  However, the best part is that the cupcakes can be made in the microwave and the whole thing takes under ten minutes.  Enjoy them warm with fresh whipped cream and sprinkles.

Head over to Paula Deen's website for the recipe.

Anti-Valentine's Day Cupcakes

"Anti-Valentine's Day - why would anyone be anti Valentine's Day?" asked my befuddled mother.  "Valentine's Day is about love.  Why would someone be opposed to love?"  I'm not actually anti Valentine's Day. I have some extremely fond Valentine's Day memories.  I still recall reading "The Tasty Pasty Valentine" as a child - a short story about mice making Valentine's cards and eating the paste.  In more recent years, I've celebrated with sushi-filled Valentine's Day hotel room stays, heart-shaped balloons, and even personalized romance novels.  In fact, as I put the red "X" over the heart-shaped cupcakes, I had a moment of superstitious fear that Aphrodite would spite me. 

However, I do understand why people are anti Valentine's Day.  Couples face pressure to buy gifts, pressure to make the day special, and jacked up prices at every restaurant.  Singles must contend with the constant reminder that others are happily coupled. 

Anti-Valentine's Day parties have become a commonplace way to deal with the hype.  Some are for singles only and some allow couples as long as they aren't all smoochy and romantic.  Any excuse to party sounds good to me, but the question is ...

What Kind of Cupcake Should You Bring to An Anti-Valentine's Day Party?

Re-Inventing the Lamington - The Best Three Lamingtons of 2011

Last year, I discovered the lamington - an Aussie sponge cake or butter cake cut into cubes, dipped in chocolate, and then dipped in dessicated coconut (see the Lamington Wikipedia article for a more detailed description).  At the request of Mr. P. from DeliciousDeliciousDelicious, I entered his 2010 Re-Inventing the Lamington contest and created lamington cupcakes.

Bride and Groom 3.0 (read my about page if you have no clue who these people are) enjoyed the lamingtons so much that after declaring "Lamington Love-ington," they selected the frosting from the lamingtons to grace their wedding cupcakes.

This year, I am participating in the Re-Inventing the Lamington contest in a different capacity - I'm a judge!  Mr. P. warned me that it was going to be hard.  Boy, was that an understatement.  As you can see in the 2011 Round-Up, the entries ran the gamut of styles, from simple and whimsical to elegant gourmet concoctions.  Some entries had compelling stories to go with them and some even featured prehistoric animals.  Mr. P. said that I should pick my favorite three.  After much internal debate (the voices in my head convened for hours), here are my selections:

Malted Milk Pancakes

I had a lot of leftover malted milk powder from my nougat and Milky Way cupcakes.  I could obviously use it to make malted milkshakes, but I found a recipe for pancakes with malted milk powder and I had to try it.  I've prepared many pancake recipes over the years.  As you might guess, I'm not the type to find one recipe that I like and stick with it.  These malted milk pancakes were among the best that I've sampled - not surprising since the recipe came from a very trusted (and regal) source, King Arthur Flour.

The malted milk pancakes had the obligatory fluffiness and were just the right amount of sweet so that the extra sugar from the pure maple syrup didn't give them the sugar content of birthday cake.  Despite the presence of the malted milk powder, I couldn't really taste malt in the end product (Jonathan says that he could taste it - perhaps he's a super-taster), but this didn't stop me from adding this recipe to the list of pancakes that I would make again - if I made things more than once.

Malted Milk Pancake Recipe

In a rare Cupcake Project move, I'm not going to reprint the recipe here.  I have nothing to add to the expert and photo-filled description of these pancakes on King Arthur Flour's site.  My only advice is to not wait until breakfast to make them and to ALWAYS use real maple syrup.