Cupcakes : Take Two

[TangoWedding]

I didn't even take pictures of the first trial because they were so bad. :bblol:

I got premade gumpaste from Michael's and gel colorant to see how much I could play with it. It's fun!!! I'm going to keep this up, for sure. I'm actually taking a fondant/gumpaste class at Michael's next month....so it should be interesting. And my decorations should get much better!


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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/crafts013.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/crafts014.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/crafts015.jpg

[TangoWedding]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/crafts017.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/crafts018.jpg

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[TangoWedding]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/crafts021.jpg

And because this was all WAY too girly for him....I made one for FH:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/crafts016.jpg


:rofl:

[soontobemrs]

WOW!!!!!!! You did a great job!

[SerendipityCrafts]

See? I knew you could do it! Those are really cute and fun!

[miranda]

I told you you'd get better with practice!!! Those look great!

[val24]

Those look so yummy!!!!

You did an awesome job, I love it.

the one you made for your fh is really cool also!!!

[SerendipityCrafts]

I told you you'd get better with practice!!! Those look great!

LOL it just occured to me that with all the practice, they will be eating cupcakes for the next 10 months :)

[rainbowtreat]

Those look awsome. I think they will look great for your day. Love the oen you did for your DH, very cute. And the pictures look like something out of a magazine.

[TangoWedding]

Thanks, everyone!!

I can't wait to do more.

And, no, we don't eat all the stuff I make...if we did, we'd weigh a TON! (I make a lot of cheesecakes, too.) :grinhappy:

I actually just called a neighbor friend of ours and said, "Come over tonight...take away these cupcakes!!" :bblol:

[Danielle9608]

Wow you did a great job ... you are the cup cake queen! :panda:

[firespirit]

Wow, those are amazing.

[KMS]

Those are awesome! So so cute.

[WebLady]

They look great, good job!

I want some cupcakes now :worm:

[TangoWedding]

I want some cupcakes now :worm:


Come over to my house! I have plenty!! :bblol:


(I did just get rid of 6 of them, though...the neighbors are happy. :grinhappy:)

[EarlyBird]

when i did all my trials for my friends wedding i brought them to my brother and to work everyday hehe :)

They look incredible by the way.. who knows, maybe that could be your next profession? I know you have been wondering what your wanted to do (i remember a previous post) - hmm maybe its your calling :)

[domeafavor]

You did such a great job on those cupcakes. I know it must have taken a long time and a whole lotta love to decorate each one differently. Tango your cupcakes remind me of a book I recently got. Its called Crazy About Cupcakes.

http://www.crazyaboutcupcakes.com/candy.htm


This is just some tiered ones she designed. Cute for mini-wedding cakes.
http://www.crazyaboutcupcakes.com/tiered.htm

[Jess]

Omg! Those are so cute!!! It's making me in the mood to try my hand at baking some cupcakes lol.

[TangoWedding]

Chandra! Those tiered cupcakes are waaaaaaaaay cute!!! I LOVE them! Thank you for that link!


Ok....now I have a new task. :bblol:


They look incredible by the way.. who knows, maybe that could be your next profession? I know you have been wondering what your wanted to do (i remember a previous post) - hmm maybe its your calling

Hey! I've actually talked/joked many times throughout my life about opening a bakery. Of course, I'm VERY limited on my bakery knowledge right now (this is only my SECOND time decorating cupcakes...heh.). But I'm working on it. :grinhappy: (I talked to FH about it...and we've already named the future bakery "Tangocakes". Hehee!)

I actually love baking anything. Cheesecakes are my favorite - I've made many....and they actually turn out great! I'm going to start working on figuring out creme brulee this week!

I appreciate the compliment, though! I have a loooooooong way to go before that can become a possibility. :grinhappy:

[Nekochanpurr]

Your cupcakes are so cute!! =D i wish i could bake like that!

[tinkerjew]

OMGOMGOMG! Those are way too adorable! You underestimate yourself! Swear on everything, they look like something out of Martha Stewart Weddings!!! I especially loved the blue swirly one!!! Go you!

[TangoWedding]

Thanks again for all the comments and encouragement, guys!

Tinker, the blue swirly one was my favorite, too!! I was kinda sad when the neighbor friend's 5-year-old picked that one. :bblol:



:grinhappy:


My next batch : red velvet!

[tinkerjew]

Rock on, Sister!

[Jacklynn]

Those look soooo great... and yummy!

[Doglover]

i love those little flowers. I want a cupcake!!!!

[NicksBride]

THose look fantastic.. YUMMY!!!

[bichonlvr]

OH MY GOODNESS....I am going to copy some of yours! I'll give you credit ;)

[exoduslaughin]

Great job! Those look delicious!

Coworkers are also good for eating yummy treats. Anytime I bake something, I bring most of it to work so they'll eat it.

[domeafavor]

I'm glad you liked the link Tango. Red velvet sounds great. I hope you show us how those turn out.

[Trillian]

Ooooo! Red velvet is SO tasty! It's my cake flavor. Your cupcakes look gorgeous, I wish I could reach into my monitor and eat one!

[TangoWedding]

Ok, so I made the red velvet cupcakes last night. They didn't end up as red as I'd have liked them. When they baked, the red kinda faded. Next time, I'll put more food coloring in. Heh.

This is the first time I've ever tried fondant, too. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, though I guess it's different when you're working with a cupcake-sized circle. LOL

Here are my first creations....I only decorated until 11:30pm. Didn't have the energy to finish. I have 14 still left to play with...and I'll post those pics later.

Wooooooo! This is TOO much fun!!


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cup001.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cup002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cup005.jpg
(I tried for a quilt look....it didn't turn out like I wanted. LOL)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cup004.jpg

[TangoWedding]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cup003.jpg



And my favorite...green tea roses!:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cup006.jpg
(it was still wet from the water to attach the stem. Looks slimey! LOL)

[Doglover]

i LOVE the rose one!!! The one with pink sprinkles looks so freaking delicious!!!!!!!! YUMM!!! You did a fantastic job!

[TangoWedding]

BTW, this is the first time I've tried everything from scratch.

I didn't use box mix and I made my own cream cheese icing. YUM! (It's just 1 pkg cream cheese, 1 stick butter, 4 c. confectioner's sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla!)

Look out, Martha Stewart. :grinhappy:

[Nik54545]

Wow! Awesome job!!!

[val24]

ohmygosh those look so yummy!

I can feel myself gaining weight just looking at your cupcakes!!!!

Awesome job

if you ever open that bakery shop I want some cake!

[Bradsgirl]

WOW!!! Those look amazing, tasty and fun! The bight colors are great...kepp it up!!!:bun::bun::bun:( let's pretend those are cupcakes!):D

[domeafavor]

Those look great. Are you sure you haven't done this before.:D They look like something you would pay a lot for at the bakery. Great designs once again.

[TangoWedding]

Thanks again, everyone!!


Hey, domeafavor....I tried the two-tiered cupcake thing. HA! Yeah...not pretty in the least. I have to practice that one, for sure. Heheh!



And, I finished the rest of the cuppies. No more fondant and I just made two shades of blue gumpaste flowers. Here are a couple. There were more, but they all start looking the same after awhile, so I won't bore yas with them all. Heh.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cuppies004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cuppies005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cuppies006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/cuppies002.jpg

[domeafavor]

Hey, domeafavor....I tried the two-tiered cupcake thing. HA! Yeah...not pretty in the least. I have to practice that one, for sure. Heheh!


I just buy cupcake books haven't made any yet.:D I really just bought the book for the designs. Once I saw the tiered ones I thought that is so different and I just had to have the book. I can imagine that the tiered cupcake would be something that you would have to practice a few times to get the feel for doing it.

Once again, your designs are all amazing.

[gennymac]

My daughter is doing my cakes for rehearsal, wedding, etc. We are doing cupcakes for the rehearsal. She is using examples from www.wilton.com to get ideas and we found the tiers already - can't find that link but will post it again when I do.

They are soooo beautiful and you have had so much fun making them ! Thanks so much for sharing this with us !

Gen

[bichonlvr]

Okay...HOW did you figure out how to cute the flowers etc. Where can I go to learn?????

I am hungry for pupcakes :)

[bichonlvr]

PS...do you also practice phtotgrapher, because your pics are just about perfect of the cupcakes!!!

[TangoWedding]

I know I'm on cupcake overload, but I had to share this. OH. MY. GOSH. Soooooooooo amazing! You all have to make a batch!!!

Chocolate Kahlua Cupcakes (recipes below)!


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/kahlua001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v257/zennymountain/kahlua002.jpg

Cupcakes :

12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, seperated and at room temperature
1/2 c. cold water
2/3 c. Kahlua
2 1/4 c. flour
3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Cream together butter, cocoa, sugar and vanilla for 3-5 minutes. Add egg yolks and beat for 4 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix water and Kahlua. In large bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt.

Alternate adding dry ingredient mixture and Kahlua mixture into batter. Mix between each addition.

With clean beaters, mix egg whites on high until soft peaks form. Fold egg white meringue into batter.

Pour to half full in cupcake pan lined with cupcake papers. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

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I did half Kahlua icing and half cream cheese icing. Both are amazing. I prefer the cream cheese icing because I'm such a cream cheese whore. :grinhappy: Here are both recipes for ya:

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Cream Cheese Icing:

1 package Philidelphia cream cheese (not low fat!)
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all together!

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Chocolate Kahlua Whipped Cream

1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp Kahluah

Sift cocoa and sugar together. Beat cream until slightly thickened. Add Kahlua, cocoa and sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. (Make sure you don't overbeat it)


YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMM!!!!


(Original recipe from howtoeatacupcake (http://howtoeatacupcake.blogspot.com/). I added a little more Kahlua to mine than she had in hers)

[TangoWedding]

Okay...HOW did you figure out how to cute the flowers etc. Where can I go to learn?????


I have gumpaste/fondant cutters. They're like cookie cutters, but tiny. :grinhappy: I LOVE them. And have bought way too many of them already. Just got some butterfly cutters today!!! WOOOOO!

And yes, I do a little photography. Love taking pictures. Thanks for noticing! :D

[bichonlvr]

So you just went to Michaels and bought some stuff and followed the directions???

I love my cupcakes super BIG, I guess that wont work for the wedding! HEE HEE!

So maybe you should just fly yourself to Hawaii on 12/30 and do my wedding HEE HEE since I have no photographer :(

[TangoWedding]

So you just went to Michaels and bought some stuff and followed the directions???

Well, kinda.

As far as the cupcakes go, I just find recipes that sound good and try them out. I can cook just about anything if I have a recipe. I add and subtract here and there based on my gut feeling. I have a list of places that have killer recipes, if you're interested.

For the sugarcrafting and decorating stuff... I did a lot of online research. I found out how to make my own stuff, where to go to get the premade stuff, how to color it, dust it, fold it, shape it, etc. Then I went to Michael's and bought the necessary items (foam pads, shaping tools, cutting tools, etc) and went to a bakery supply store and bought other stuff (decorations, decorator bags and tips, etc) and just started playing around with it.

I've been a painter for 13 years, so I know how to mix and play with colors...so that helps in the decorating bit. :grinhappy:

So maybe you should just fly yourself to Hawaii on 12/30 and do my wedding HEE HEE since I have no photographer

Awwww!! If I could afford to, I certainly would!! Buy me a plane ticket and I'll shoot it for free. :winktongue:

FH is in the kitchen right now telling me how good HE is at taking pictures and that he needs to be my assistant photog when I come shoot your wedding. :rofl: Goober.

[bichonlvr]

That is actually what we think we are going to do with a friend of mine, he does phototgraphy on the side of teaching.... I figure since it is going to be a shoot in the dark about picking one, I might as well has someone whose work I like!! I want fun stuff (see the post in pics and add some FUN ones)....

Tell FH sure he is ;)

[bichonlvr]

Have you checked out Ebay's fondant stuff, they have TONS!!!! Ewwwwww you have got me thinking!!!!

[TangoWedding]

Have you checked out Ebay's fondant stuff, they have TONS!!!! Ewwwwww you have got me thinking!!!!

Oh my gosh, YES! I looooove shopping for stuff on eBay....I've bought several things already. :grinhappy: The hard thing is STOPPING!

:bblol:

[theweddinghelper]

All of those cupcakes look very scrumptious and very pretty! :) LOL!
The Kaluhah ones sound and look very good too. (I copied the recipe. :grinhappy: )
Thanks 4 sharing.