Cupcakes frosted with Italian Meringue Buttercream

Ever wonder how bakeries make those fancy cupcakes? Well you don't have to wonder anymore as I will tell you the secret! It's all about using the right frosting and piping tools. I am going to give you step by step instructions on making the cutest cupcakes.

1. Bake cupcakes (any kind you want) and let them cool for at least 15-20 minutes in the cake pan before releasing them. You don't want them to sit in the pans too long. Allow them to further cool until they are no longer warm to the touch.

2. While your cupcakes are cooling, start to prepare your frosting. I pledge my allegiance to Cake Love's Italian Meringue Buttercream. I was intimidated by this recipe for the longest time and for what reason, I don't know why. PLEASE try it! - I promise you will thank me later! The buttercream is light, not too sweet, stable, super easy to use, and holds it shape for all and any of your creative piping designs. Can I add it's super delicious and easily flavored to your palette's content? Warren Brown has a video on you tube that will take you through the entire process. I've made the buttercream with a handheld mixer and a kitchen aid mixer - either one works and produces equally delicious results! See link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxWmiHRTMz8

Ingredients:

• 5 egg whites
• 4 sticks of butter (softened, room temperature)
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 1/4 cup of sugar (superfine or regular sugar)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Equipment:

• electric mixer (handheld or stand up mixer)
• candy thermometer (worth buying to make this buttercream - you'll use this over and over!)
• saucepan
• rubber spatula
• FAITH - you have to believe you can make this - during the process the buttercream can look curdled but as you continue to mix the buttercream, it will become this wonderfully silky creation that is heavenly. I can't give enough praise can I? :)

3. Once you've made the italian meringue buttercream, you can start frosting your cupcakes. I like to make fancy swirls with the 1M tip. 1M is the size/shape of piping tip from the Wilton cake piping equipment line. I also use Wilton disposable piping bags. A box of 100 disposable piping bags costs $20 at Wilton. But I always buy them using the weekly 40-50% coupon they have online or in their weekly circular. With the coupon, you can easily get a box of them for $10-$12, making each bag cost about 0.10 - $0.12. They are worth every penny.

How to set up a piping bag with the 1M piping tip"

Insert the tip inside the piping bag, with the pointy part of the tip first. Use a scissor to cut around the tip (half way of the tip length). This should expose the tip just enough for the frosting to come out yet not too far out so that the tip stays in place while you are piping.

Fill the piping bag with buttercream about 1/2-2/3 full. Twist the top and hold piping bag with your entire palm and the twist between your thumb and forefinger. Hold the piping bag straight up and down (not on an angle).

Make a swirl starting with the outside edge of the cupcake until you reach the center. As you reach the center, release and pull the piping bag up to make the peak. If you want a more loftier top, you can make another swirl starting further in from the edge and overlapping the frosting below it.

Top the cupcake with pre-made sugar decorations, fondant creations, sprinkles, or whatever you desire. Your decorating options are endless.

Cupcakes are probably one of the most simplest and rewarding desserts to make. They are absolutely versatile and easy to doll up!

Lollipops Anyone?

As I was shopping with my toddler son at CVS, we stumbled upon the most adorable looking lollipops. They looked yummy! (they say we eat with our eyes - so this was a good start for the lollipops). My son was immediately drawn to them - probably because they came in wonderfully whimsical colors and flavors such as cotton candy, banana split, bubble gum, wild cherry, watermelon, and grape.

They were 2 for $1 and I decided to buy 6, one in each available flavor. As I walked around the store, I decided to buy four more - this way my husband could sample them too (so I doubled up on the more unique flavors - cotton candy, bubble gum, banana split and watermelon).

The lollipops are so pleasing to the eye that I had a hard time eating them right away. They are almost too cute to eat! After a few days, I gave in and decided to try the bubble gum flavored lollipop. I was super curious....and to my surprise they were as good as they looked. They tasted creamy and true to its proclaimed flavor. They weren't too sweet, which is a good thing for me ( I don't like anything overly sweet). I couldn't finish the lollipop - it was big and it would have taken many licks to finish.

I had to post about the lollipops because I thought they were such a value at 50cents/each. They would make a great "just because" present. Go randomly cheer someone up with one of these tasty lollipops. Go crazy and buy a few of them! The response will be well worth it!

Edible Prints/Cake Topper: The Elvis Cake

I had a request to make a birthday cake for a friend's mother who loves Elvis Presley and red velvet cake. I was stumped at first as to how I would make an Elvis Presley cake. So I searched the web for ideas. For some reason, there aren't many Elvis themed cakes out there. The ones I found were either tacky, too complicated or just plain silly. Aren't there a ton of Elvis fans out there? Maybe they don't eat cake! :P

During my search, I stumbled upon Elvis Presley Edible Prints. I've seen cakes made with custom printed designs before but I didn't know how they were created. It's really not as complicated as I thought. Basically the cake topper is an image printed with edible inks and edible paper. All you have to do is to peel and attach the edible print on a freshly frosted cake and BAM-WOW...you instantly have a decorated cake! It was super easy! I thought the edible image would be very delicate and hard to work with but it was just the opposite. Perhaps I had beginner's luck? :)

I bought my edible print from an online company called cakeservice through www.offeritem.com. The price includes a customized message on the print. I didn't know what to expect but was very satisfied with the quality and quick response/delivery of my edible print. Below is the link to where I bought the edible cake topper. The cake topper includes easy to follow directions. If I was able to do this, so can anyone else! It was harder to ice the cake than it was to decorate it. Although I did place the image slightly crooked - my shaky nervous hands were probably to blame!

http://www.offeritem.com/elvis-presley-custom-stamp-photo-cake-edible-birthday-topper-description-60812.html

Now for the more serious stuff - how did the cake taste? The feedback I received was glowing (thank goodness!). Red velvet cake is hard to handle - it is delicate and crumbles easily. I had to chill my cake layers for a couple of hours before handling them.

If you are looking for a moist red velvet cake recipe and a tasty/easy- to-make cream cheese frosting, check out the recipes from Apple a Day blog:

http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/2008/12/red-velvet-cake-with-cream-cheese.html

Happy Baking and Decorating!

ps. Note that the image of the edible print dictates the size of the cake. I had to bake a 10x7 cake to support the size of the cake topper. According to the instructions provided with the image, you can cut the image before placing it on the cake. I was too nervous so I made a cake to fit the image!

Golfing in Style: Nike Gold Golf Shoes for a Bargain!

I may not be the best golf player but I am sure going to look "GOLDEN" with the new pair of NIKE golf shoes I scored this past weekend at the NJ Golf Show. They had one pair left in my size - 7M for $19.99. What a deal! The suggested retail value for the shoes were $155! They may be last seasons but who cares. I haven't worn them on the course yet, so the verdict is still out there regarding how great the shoe may be. But they are waterproof, leather, and GOLD!

There were a number of bargains at the NJ Golf Show. I was also able to get 3 - 1 dozen lady noodle+ golf balls for $25. That means it cost me about $8/per dozen golf balls. That is half of what I normally pay for them at Wal-Mart, Target, and wherever I can find my golf balls. If you are in the market for new clubs, outerwear, gloves and other golf accessories and don't care to have the latest and greatest, check out the Golf Show for great deals. Despite the image, golf can be an affordable sport. By playing public courses (and there are many out there) and twilight hours, you can easily get hooked on this game without making a huge dent in your bank account.

It looks like the Golf show is hosted in a number of cities on the North Coast. The NJ Golf Show was part of a tour called the North Coast Golf Shows. According to the website below, the tour is ending soon, with their next and last show during the weekend of March 12-14th in Pittsburgh, PA.

http://northcoastgolfshows.com/

If you are lucky to be in the Pittsburgh area when they are hosting the next Golf Show, check it out. There is a $10 entrance fee (which includes a year subscription to Golf Magazine).

Note: Before you go, just be prepared that it may be a bit chaotic, with stall after stall selling golf clubs, golf accessories, and golf vacations. Besides shopping, you can grab a free 10 minute lesson with a pro-golf instructor (I didn't get a chance to as the wait was 2 hours!) or hit a few balls to check out the latest golf clubs (again, there was a long wait - the line was about 20 people deep, so I stuck to the shopping).