Summertime Stuffing Shots

If you had asked me about stuffing last summer, I would have assumed that you were speaking of teddy bear innards and told you about my stuffing-related run in with the law (I'll share that at the end of this post).  This summer, however, my focus is on the edible kind of stuffing - savory bread pudding loaded with farm-fresh vegetables.


Serve summertime stuffing shots in snazzy shot glasses at your next dinner party.  Call the course an amuse-bouche rather than an appetizer for added hip points. Or, if you are a purist - someone who believes that stuffing must literally be stuffed in something - stay tuned for my next post.

Hemp Tarts - Cupcake Style

When it comes to crust, graham is good, Oreo is outstanding, and hemp is hearty and homey.  What?  You've never had a hemp crust?  I only feign surprise.  Most people haven't tried hemp crust or a hemp milk custard like the one that fills my hemp tarts in cupcake wrappers.  The reason why stems back to a misunderstanding about hemp that I addressed in my post on hemp seeds. 

These hemp cupcakes will not get you high.

Stefani P's on the back up

Drug free, so put the crack up

No need for speed

I'm the anti D-R-U-G-G-I-E my

Body is healthy

My cupcakes make me wealthy (not quite)

And J. Pollack Photo helps me

To bring you cupcakes with no intoxication

Come on feel the vibration

(If you don't get this reference, see the bottom of this post for the video of the song I spoofed)

 

What Do Hemp Tarts Taste Like?

Raspberry, Oatmeal, and Hemp Seed Cobbler

While cupcakes require precise care (each small cake treated individually, coddled like a tiny babe in a bonnet of frosting), cobbler is a grandpa who still uses an old typewriter and gardens with a rusty shovel that shows its age.  Cobbler doesn't try to impress and doesn't take special care to prepare, but the wisdom of its simplicity wins the hearts of all who encounter it.

Tart raspberries, sweet brown sugar, the rustic appeal of oats, and the unique and earthy surprise of hemp seeds (if you've never baked with hemp seeds, read about baking with hemp seeds to learn more) makes this the cobbler to try as fresh berries make their first appearance at this summer's farmers' markets. 

Hemp Seed - What You Should Know and Tips for Baking With It

 
Hemp seed is misunderstood.  While hemp has been accepted for use as a fabric (I love my hemp sheets), hemp products - like hemp seed - have yet to become mainstream in our kitchens.  Certain assumptions are made about hemp seed simply because it comes from the cannabis plant.  The most frequent question that I received when I mentioned my hemp seed cupcakes was, "Are those like pot brownies?"  The question was typically followed by a devilish looking smirk. 

Let's clear one thing up about hemp seed right away: Hemp seed is produced from a different variety of cannabis than marijuana, one that won't chill you out and give you the munchies.  If you were expecting a recipe for getting high - sorry.

What Does Hemp Seed Taste Like?

Cupcake Push Pops - Another Fun Way to Ship Cupcakes

I had never heard of cupcake push pops until I saw a post about Easter cupcake push pops on Love From the Oven.  Those cupcake push pops were just about the most adorable thing I've ever seen (well, except for any photo of my son).

Here's my son in his happy place (the washing machine).

Although I knew my cupcake push pops could never compete in cuteness with the Peep-topped ones from Love From the Oven, I had to try making some.  Besides, it's hard to screw up with a push pop.  No matter how ugly they turned out, my tasters were bound to be excited by them! 

I contacted CupKatesEventDesign and she sent me some push pop holders to review.  These push pop holders have been such a huge seller for her that she regularly sells out of them.  If you don't see any in her shop right now, check back soon.  If you're a Cupcake Project fan on Facebook, you'll also have a chance to win some (I'll be posting those details soon on the Facebook page!). 

Announcing the 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest

It's time again for the Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious Ice Cream Cupcake Contest - your opportunity to showcase your amazing ice cream cupcake creations just in time for Summer!

What's an Ice Cream Cupcake?

For a brief introduction to ice cream cupcakes, check out my post on ice cream cupcakes. For tons of inspiration, check out the drool-worthy entries from 2008, 2009, and 2010.


Prizes

This year's winner will receive a whole library of baking cookbooks!!  For the complete list of prizes, see the end of this post.

Judges

This year, we are doing things a bit differently.  We've asked three of our favorite dessert bloggers to help us judge the contest.  If you have not checked out these amazing blogs, now is a good time to head over there, try to figure out what flavors they like and don't like browse their recipes, and leave bribes say, "Hi!"

• Nicole Weston from Baking Bites
• Jessie Oleson from CakeSpy
• Naomi Robinson from Bakers Royale

Each of these judges will be writing a post on their own blogs about their top three ice cream cupcakes - giving you a chance for your cupcake and your blog to get even more exposure!  

Official Rules:

Share Our Stength Bake Sale Tales and a Note on Technical Difficulties

Let's get the lame stuff out of the way first, and then we can move on to awesomeness.  Blogger (where this blog is hosted) has been having some technical difficulties.  Many of you were unable to enter the contest to win a reusable cupcake wrapper.  The good news is that it's now working - so go enter!  The bad news is that the early comments were removed and still haven't returned.  If you entered already and do not see your comment there, do not despair and do not re-enter.  I have all of the comments saved in my email and I will be sure that you are counted.

Now, onto the Share Our Strength Bake Sale.  The bake sale today was a HUGE success! We raised over $800, not including the amount donated by Sappington Farmers' Market (we are still waiting for an exact number from them).

While I loved the warm fuzzies from helping a worthy cause, perhaps my favorite part of the event was the opportunity to gather, schmooze, and put movement and voices to photos I'd seen of other St. Louis food bloggers.  Andrew Veety said it best when he commented, "If someone had dropped a bomb on the market at drop-off time, we would have lost a huge percentage of St. Louis food writers."  We all decided that we'd have to get together more often (I think we're going to do a potluck next).  If you are a food blogger and haven't met other food bloggers in your area, I highly encourage you to do so (even if you're not a social type, don't you want to try their food?). 

Reusable Cupcake Wrapper Giveaway

Photo from Cupcakewrappers.com

Update, 5/17/11:  The giveaway is now over.  The winners are  Lindsay (linzcoupons) and Amanda (cake making mom of 5).  Congrats to both of you!

Cupcake wrappers (the kind that encase an already baked cupcake) can make any cupcake look more elegant (see my Key lime cupcakes), but in addition to the added expense of buying a wrappers plus liners, more paper means a greater environmental impact.  The wrappers from cupcakewrappers.com feel like a nice compromise.  You still get the sophisticated look of a wrapper, but because they are reusable (just wash and save them for the next time), you can feel better about using them.

A second advantage of the Maisie Fantasie wrappers over others on the market is that they are greaseproof.  Often, cupcake wrappers start to look oily if they sit on the cupcakes too long - they absorb the moisture from the cake.  Not so, here!

The only downside that I've found to the Maisie Fantasie reusable wrappers is the trouble you'll have making sure that your guests don't throw them out.  One thing that you could do to alleviate this problem is to display cupcakes with wrappers, but personally remove them prior to serving.

Maisie Fantasie has been kind enough to offer two Cupcake Project readers the chance to win a dozen wrappers.  Simply head over to cupcakewrappers.com and take a look at all of the wrapper options, then return to this post and leave a comment telling me which style you would like if you win. 

The Fine Print

• Your comment must include the wrapper style you would like if you win and a way to contact you.
• Only comments on this blog post are valid - not comments on Facebook, Twitter, or by email.
• All entries must be in by 11:59 CDT Monday, May 16.
• I will randomly pick and reveal the winners on this post on Tuesday, May 17, and personally contact them.  If I do not hear back from a winner within seven days, I will draw a new winner.
• Both U.S. and international readers are eligible for this giveaway!

Something You Should Know

Although I was sent some wrappers to review, this is not a paid post.  If it sounds particularly glowing, it's only because I really liked the product.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes - Upside-Down Key Lime Pies

These key lime pie cupcakes are like upside-down key lime pies.  The cake (the bottom part) is moist and intensely key lime-flavored (prepare to pucker your lips) and the frosting (the top part) is packed with crushed graham crackers so you feel like you're eating a graham cracker crust on top of the cake.  

Share Our Strength Bake Sale is This Saturday!

Pineapple meringue cake, cheese danish, coconut fudge, cardamom muffins, goat milk caramels with sea salt, bourbon-vanilla bean caramels, banana split cupcakes, mandel bread, apple pie, fresh-baked bread, banana cake, peanut butter banana cupcakes with Butterfinger buttercream, brown sugar cupcakes with salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream, chocolate avalanche and vanilla avalanche cookies, gooey butter cake cookies, brown butter brownies, spring tulip cookies, homemade pretzels, key lime pie cupcakes, peach cobbler cupcakes, wine and cheese cupcakes, and much, much more will be available at...

...the Share Our Strength Food Blogger Bake Sale this Saturday!

If you live in the St. Louis area, stop by Sappington Farmers' Market from 10am-2pm, say, "Hi!", buy some baked goods, and do your grocery shopping (Sappington will be donating a portion of the proceeds of Saturday's sales to Share Our Strength)!  Get all of the details and share the event with your friends on our Facebook event page.

If you don't live in St. Louis, you can participate in your city.  Check out the map of bake sales going on around the country. 

Easy Key Lime Pie Push Pops

I made these key lime pie push pops using a recipe for key lime pie ice cream found on Sugar Cooking (adapted from Cooking Light).  This recipe is EASY!  Dump all of the ingredients into one bowl, transfer to push pop molds, and freeze!  The best part is that the result tastes just like key lime pie!  It's tart, not overly sweet, and has bits of graham cracker mixed throughout.  While the recipe is enjoyable as ice cream (I tried it that way, too), and it would be fantastic as a popsicle, making the recipe as push pops adds a whole other level of fun.  Push pops (like cupcakes) make you feel like a kid, ready to jump in the air and click your heels together screaming, "Yabadabadoo!"   Why, at 35, am I just now discovering the joy of push pops? 

Where To Get Push Pop Molds

Bellini Cupcakes

The folks at PaulaDeen.com asked if I could come up with a fabulous cupcake for Mother's Day.  The first thing that came to mind was a mimosa cupcake - but I've already written about mimosa cupcakes.  I decided to create a Bellini cupcake.  (For the uninitiated, a Bellini is similar to a mimosa - only it's made with peach instead of orange.)

Here's my description of the bellini cupcakes from Paula Deen's site:

To make the Bellini cupcakes, start with light champagne cupcakes (with a full cup of champagne in the batter), fill them with burnt peach puree, and top them with a burnt peach buttercream.  Sprinkle sparkly sanding sugar over the cupcakes to give them the festive feel of the fizz of a freshly opened bottle of champagne. The only thing missing from the experience will be the pop of the cork. 

For the recipe, head over to PaulaDeen.com!

Lime, Pineapple, and Mascarpone Breakfast Soufflé with Dulce de Leche

I've never made a soufflé before.  Soufflés sounded like scary, fancy French food - something that Julia Child would have futzed over for months trying to perfect.  I learned, however, that a soufflé (which means "puff up" in French) is just a cake with separated eggs. The beaten egg whites are used to give the cake lift - not so frightening.   My soufflé is even less imposing since it's made in a cast iron skillet.  Breakfast in a skillet is like a man in a cowboy hat. It doesn't matter how handsome the dish actually is; sticking it in the skillet gives it instant appeal.

Each bite of this lime, pineapple, and mascarpone soufflé is like eating warm lime clouds, pineapple sunshine, and a soft dulche de leche breeze.  I see more soufflés in my future.