Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Jazz It Up - Store-Bought Cupcakes

We all lead busy lives, and there's not always time to make elaborate baked goods.  This cute little kitty is a perfect way to jazz up store-bought cupcakes:


I took a vanilla/vanilla store-bought cupcake, and added strawberry slices for the ears and nose, red hearts for the eyes, and licorice for the whiskers.  I think they are so adorable!

These cupcakes would be fun for kid's birthday parties or for the cat lovers in your life.  Children can easily make these, and lots of other animals - make a lion with a shredded carrot mane, or a monkey with banana slice ears.  Just have fun with the supplies you have on hand!

Hope you like these sweet kitties,
- Sugar Baby

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Blueberry Crumble Muffins


I made the most glorious blueberry muffins today!  I had some giant Canadian blueberries, and was searching online for a good recipe.  I found one on the Food & Wine website that looked intriguing, and the resulting muffins are incredible.  Here's the recipe:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and put liners in your muffin pan.

The Crumble Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Combine everything but the butter in a medium bowl, and break up any large pieces of brown sugar.

Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until crumbly.  [At first, the mixture will seem the farthest thing from crumbly, but keep stirring and incorporating the flour from the bottom of the bowl, and you will end up with crumbs the size of peas.  You can also do this with your fingers.]

Set aside.

The Muffins:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil  [I used vegetable oil.]
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup blueberries

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and stir with a fork.

In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) combine the sugar, eggs and oil.  Beat on low speed until combined, and add in the whole milk and vanilla.

While your mixer off, add ALL of the flour mixture, then mix at slow speed until the batter is smooth.

Stir in the blueberries with a rubber spatula.

The Baking:

Spoon the muffin batter into the liners, about 3/4 full.

Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the batter, and pop them into the oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for ten minutes before serving.

******

You will love these moist, crumbly muffins...you can warm them up and spread them with butter, or drizzle them with a glaze made with confectioners sugar and milk.  Any which way you serve these beauties, people will love them!

Enjoy,
- Sugar Baby

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Frosting

I think I'm in the minority when it comes to spice cakes - I love the flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and coriander together in a cake.  Yummmm.  But when I asked my friends, everyone said that it was okay, but not their favorite.  Well, maybe this version will bring people over to my side!

I saw this recipe on the side of a box of spice cake mix, and I knew I had to try it.  Adding apple pie filling is genius, because it makes the cupcakes incredibly moist and delicious...and the cinnamon frosting is crazy good!


Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Homade Vanilla Ice Cream with Caramel Swirl

I have wanted to make ice cream for so long, but I just never got around to it - well, yesterday, I decided it was time!



It was super easy and I recommend it to anyone who wants to do it but hasn't yet.