Mini Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

These started out as mini chocolate cupcakes, then I made some mint buttercream icing and piped it on with a large round tip. Next step was do I make a circle of chocolate ganache icing or dip them in the icing completely...so I tried both!

Almond Macaroons

My first (yes pathetic) attempt at making those beautiful almond macaroon cookies and cookie sandwiches, and it was a flop. They flattened and cracked.

What's the secret to getting beautiful macaroons like these:

Does anyone have a recipe that turns out well?

Father's Day Cake Creation

This year for Father's Day I decided to try something other than the standard cake, so I went with cupcakes, but not just any cupcakes - Pool Ball cupcakes!

Growing up my dad always enjoyed playing pool, and we even had a pool table for a time, so I thought this would be a fun thing to try.

Surprisingly they weren't hard to make. I used standard vanilla frosting which I warmed to I could dip the cupcakes for a smooth surface, then dipped them into colored sugar or cookie crumbs (for the 8-ball). For the circles with numbers I used fondariffic and edible markers.

Upcoming Baking Review

I plan to try some new combinations as the weather warms up like the following:

1. chocolate egg shells filled with chocolate mousse
2. Yellow cake with lemon pudding filling and lemon icing, topped with shredded coconut
3. Strawberry shortcake cake with whipped topping and blueberries (festive for July 4th)

Stay Tuned...

My Recent Baking Additions

Chocolate Chip Cherry Cake, for my work's holiday pot luck luncheon

Glitter Ball Cookies, for church small group party

Pumpkin spice muffins, just for fun

750 best muffin recipes

Without telling too much about this book, they have muffin recipes you would expect like fruit muffins and bran muffins, but also the unexpected like Collard greens and garlic muffins. I had a chance to try two recipes so far: Apple Cider Cranberry Muffins (below) . . .

. . . AND Pumpkin Spice Muffins (pictured below):

Happy Birthday

Today was actually my 27th birthday, but I didn't make this cake for myself. I made it for my coworker whose birthday is also this week. It's fun for me to bake and decorate, so it's like a gift to myself AND a gift to my coworker :)

Fall Cake Ideas

Here are some cakes I did last Fall, but thought I would re-post them in case you needed inspiration :)

Chocolate Cake Contest

Some of my cakes were featured on "Cakes We Bake" and also entered into the Chocolate Contest:



Please stop by Cakes We Bake and vote for any of the cakes above at: http://www.cakeswebake.com/photo/photo/listFeatured

Thanks!

My Father's Day Cake

While this didn't turn out quite like I had planned, it still tasted pretty good.

I tried a new caramel icing recipe, which didnt stick to the sides of the cake at all, so I had to frost the sides with butter cream, and I tried to make the top resemble a baseball, so this was the end result: