Posts Tagged ‘Cupcakes’
Ten Most Viewed Posts of 2010
When we look back over the year, Threaded Together has come a long way. We went from one post in January to posting more than 3 times a week now. We talked my sister-in-law into joining us and Marissa challenged herself to bake an amazing dessert every day for 30 days. We joined the crafting community and have met some amazing people. We found fantastic projects to try and shared a few of our own. We have had lots of people stop by and see what we have to say, leave us awesome comments, and for the that we are thankful. We appreciate you!
I think that the best part of our top ten viewed posts is that all four of us had a post on the top ten list! Here are the ten most viewed posts of 2010:
#10 Clothespin Mirror Makeover
#9 Repurpose – Jewelry Organizer
#8 Personalized Hand Sanitizer
#6 Weekly Menu – Our Family Favorites
#4 A Time to Give Thanks for Family and Friends – Our 100th post
#3 Preggers!
#2 Make Your Own Cupcake Wrappers/Liners
And the #1 MOST VIEWED POST this year?!?!?! Amazingly enough, it is a post that was just posted on December 6! This post also had the most Facebook shares!
#1 Creative Christmas Card Picture Idea
What does the future hold for Threaded Together? Hopefully lots more crafting, cooking, and sewing. We are so excited to share our holiday gift ideas with you over the next few months, tasty new recipes and fun projects!
Tags: Cake Decorating, Cakes, Cupcakes, Debbie, Holidays and Events, In the Kitchen, Jennifer, Marissa, Repurpose, Sewing
Anniversary Cupcakes…Completed!
Yay! The day is here! The cupcakes for my friend are done and they were a big hit at her anniversary party! Today I am going to show you the process of putting them together. This was a super fun project and I cannot wait to try more new things with cupcakes! I definitely stretched the limit with how many different things you can do to one cupcake, but I think they still looked cute! I little busy, but still funky and fun. I was so happy to be able to make these for J on her special day.
First I iced the refrigerated cupcakes (super chocolate with chips recipe…YUM!) with the basic buttercream icing recipe. One batch was enough to cover all of the cupcakes and still have enough to color pink and put the dollop on the top. After I put the white icing on, I dipped the top of the cupcake into white sugar sprinkles. Just make sure to put enough of the sprinkles in a bowl and dip the cupcake top in before the icing hardens.
Next I placed the pink icing I colored into a piping bag with a decorative tip. Anything with a larger opening will do. I made a quick pink swirl on the top of each cupcake. It is so tempting to just swipe those right off with your finger and eat them!
After I put the “cherry on top” I CAREFULLY placed a candy heart in the middle of each cake, gently pushing the long bottom into the cake like a pick. These are incredibly fragile, so be gentle!
I then put each of the “D and J” fondant pieces on each cupcake, making sure it didn’t over crowd the candy hearts too much!
Last, but most certainly not least, came the homemade cupcake wrappers! How FUN! These were such a blast to make and I think they came out so cute! I placed them in a white cake box (with a cardboard piece in the bottom) for transport. The only thing that I really had to learn with this project: make sure your cupcakes aren’t too tall when they are finished! The hearts were already pushing on the top of the box and then when I had to slam on the breaks on my way to dinner….at least 1/3 of the heart pieces broke. The great heartbreak of 2010. So sad…but the ones that were still together were still awesome.
Happy Anniversary D and J!!!
Tags: anniversary, buttercream, Cupcake Toppers, Cupcakes, Hearts, icing, sprinkles
Anniversary Cupcake Toppers
To continue with my posts about the cupcakes I am working on for J for her anniversary, tonight is a quick one about the toppers I am making. I have decided I am going to take this opportunity to try a whole lot of different things that I haven’t done yet. So far, I have made the cupcake wrappers and a candy heart topper. Tonight is an additional topper, made out of rolled fondant. I only 
needed a small amount of fonday so I decided I didn’t want to make my own. I went ahead and bought the Wilton rolled fondant from the store and was incredibly disappointed. That is the first time, to my knowledge I have actually tried pre-made fondant. No wonder everyone always complains about the way fondant tastes! I will stick with my marhsmallow fondant! It is SO worth the effort! In any case, since I was only making little toppers I still used the rolled fondant.
I rolled the fondant out on a surface sprinkled with cornstarch. I then cut the fondant into the appropriate sized pieces using a pizza cutter (best way to cut the fondant in my opinion). I used some of my (clean) rubber stamps to stamp the initials D and J for the lovely married couple of 7 years! I wish I had an ampersand stamp to put in the middle, but didn’t, so I used a star.
After I cut and stamped the pieces I laid them on a water bottle covered in a piece of parchment paper so they pieces would dry out in the curved shape I wanted. From beginning to end this only took about 20 – 30 minutes.
Tags: Cupcake Toppers, Cupcakes, Decorating, fondant
30 Days and 30 Bites – Day 27
Tonight is going to be a little difficult to explain folks. If you are looking for something to spice up your life, this will be the dessert for you! If not, well, don’t even go there.
I baked the Chocolate Chili Cupcakes. We tasted the cupcakes. We rolled them around in our mouths and minds a little bit, and came to a few conclusions:
1. This cupcake would be great baked in a mini muffin tin. I was thinking, “chocolate, certainly an extra large muffin tin would be awesome!” If it were only chocolate, yes. But the chili really makes this a recipe that is great in small doses.
2. Chocolate Chili Cupcakes would be best served at a work luncheon (or equivalent) in those mini cupcake tins. Also, best at something like a Mexican Fiesta where the chili taste is expected and welcomed with open arms. Everyone will be astounded by the peculiar flavors and think it is a whimsical addition to the potluck. This is probably not a recipe you are going to make to just serve to your family at home.
3. This is not a typical dessert. The first thing I thought after eating this tonight was “I do not want this to be the last thing I eat tonight.” The chili taste in the cupcake is actually pretty low key. It is the AFTERTASTE that will not leave you! That warm, spicy, chili sensation that works its way around your tongue and inside your cheeks that lasts forever. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Just intense, and like I said, not what I want to relish for the rest of the night.
4. Despite the negativity that appears to be spoken here about these cupcakes, they were EXACTLY what I set out to make. I created a chili cupcake on my own and it tastes precisely like what I set out to achieve. If you want to try chocolate chili cupcakes, I highly recommend this recipe. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but for the first time, I hit the nail right on the head. This recipe is geared toward a small, unique group of you who would appreciate what the cupcakes have to offer.
So, without further ado, I am going to provide you with the recipe, as I baked it this evening:
Chocolate Chili Cupcakes
Chocolate Frosting
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line large muffin pans with paper cups. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Fill muffin cups 2/3 way full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Top with chocolate frosting.
for Chocolate Frosting:
- Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Makes enough frosting for 1 large batch of muffins.
30 Days and 30 Bites – Day 26
A friend once told me that everything is better with bacon. After today, I think he might have known a thing or two. The vanilla-thyme cupcakes were an inspiration and encouraged me to take more of a walk outside the box rather than just a step. I have been reading a blog lately that I think I have fallen in love with, Vanilla Garlic. The man who writes it has quite a history working with some reputable groups. His take on cooking and baking is abstract and brilliant. I have only grazed the surface when it comes to what he has to offer with his mouthwatering fare, but I have many plans to continue tasting his delightful treats and savory wonders.
This adventure began today with a pan of bacon and some maple syrup. It ended with nine incredible Maple Bacon Cupcakes. All along the way my hubbs repeatedly peeked in, first of all to know when breakfast was going to be ready, and second to see what the heck I was doing. His hesitation was markedly more while I was bakin’ with bacon than it was with the thyme cupcakes. My excitement grew with each step of the mixing process, knowing this was either going to be one of the best successes of this month or a complete disaster.
Finally the time came to taste the end result and we simultaneously bit into our cupcakes. I was floored by the marvelous maple and a bit surprised by the lack of bacon taste. Truly, it had all the charming tastes of breakfast rolled into one little cupcake. A party in my mouth. I was pleased that instead of putting salt on top as recommended in the recipe, I had sprinkled more bacon. This justly brought out the essence of bacon I was expecting when I decided to delve into this creation.
This is another fantastic recipe to make and take to a brunch get together. People will be jolted by the taste and demand you share the recipe with them for this different concoction. Just tell them, “everything is better with bacon.”
*HINT* I would have the bacon and drippings cooked the night before if you will be preparing this for breakfast. Without the requirement of cooking the bacon and waiting for the grease to solidfy, my husband wouldn’t have been bothering me about breakfast so much this morning!
This week we are linking up to:
and 
30 Days and 30 Bites – Day 25
I am stepping outside of the box a little for today’s baking. Have I mentioned yet that I am kind of tired of this baking thing? I have completely lost all desire to taste a bite of any of my goods, let alone eat an entire creation. The banana muffins yesterday were fantastic though and I ate FAR too many of those! I do have to let you know, those are a make ‘em and eat ‘em recipe. I had one of the muffins for breakfast this morning and it wasn’t NEARLY as good as it was yesterday morning.
To stick with the idea of flavorful foods, today I made Vanilla-thyme cupcakes. I have been convincing myself all month to make these and finally got up the guts to do it. When I read about thyme cupcakes my first thought was “are you kidding me?” My husband was also skeptical and not too eager to try them.
We were both proven wrong. These were a delightful sur
prise and what I often refer to as a “party in my mouth.” I want every food to be like that, though it often isn’t the case. They were different to say the least, but in a great way. This would be the type of recipe I would make to bring somewhere to share because I know everyone would be asking for the recipe after they tried them.
I had a few changes when I made them. I used 1 c. granulated sugar and 2/3 c. brown sugar instead of all granulated. I also didn’t have any vanilla bean on hand…do any of you? Nope, didn’t think so. Instead I just put 2 tsp. vanilla in the batter. I also didn’t put the icing on top because I really have not been in the mood for icing. I really enjoyed these as more of a muffin than a cupcake anyway. This would be a fantastic brunch food! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
30 Days and 30 Bites – Day 24
The theme for today was muffin madness! I made the most delicious muffins ever! Unfortunately, if I share the recipe with you, I have to kill you. No, really. I am sorry to say that due to the proprietary nature of this recipe (came from a friend who manages a wonderful brunchery) I can’t divulge its secrets. I did, however use it to bake today and still felt it was necessary to share its amazingness! I added bananas to my recipe, but next time I make it I will most certainly be adding mangos, as we originally ate them at the restaurant. I will say that it takes more vanilla then you would probably think and I am sure this is what does the trick. The vanilla does a fantastic job of bringing out the delicate tastes of the fruit. So good luck finding a muffin recipe this good…I don’t know if its possible! Sorry I can’t share it!
30 Days and 30 Bites – Day 21
The Great Chocolate Melt of 2010! Today was what I would pretty much call a dud. I wanted to continue with my “technique” work. Turns out it didn’t work so well. For the sake of ease and productivity, I used the cupcakes I had previously frozen from the pink and green day. After I defrosted them I covered them with store bought cream cheese icing. 
Tough, I know!
The special part of today was supposed to be the toppers for the cupcakes. I thought I would practice free form chocolate melting. I went online and found a bunch of typical clipart pictures. Things like shells, hearts, animals, stars, etc. I printed the pictures out on a couple pieces of paper and taped them to a cookie sheet. Over the top of the pictures I taped a piece of wax paper. The idea was that I would trace the outlines of the shapes with a piping bag filled with chocolate, creating the shape to put on the cupcake. Easy enough, right?
Well, the chocolate melting went fine. The tracing even went fine after I practiced a bit (I do not have the steadiest hand for details like that). I chilled the chocolates and took them out to put on the cupcakes. I literally could not get more than one on a cupcake before they all started melting!!! I tried sticking my hands in ice to keep them cold. I put the spatula on ice that I was pulling them up with. It didn’t matter. Even when I perfected the method to get them off the cookie sheet and onto the cupcake, they still continued to melt.
I think the best thing to do to try to remedy this would be put the ICED cupcakes in the fridge before ever putting the chocolate on. That way, the chocolate will stay cold as soon as it touches the cupcake. But still, doesn’t that mean the cupcakes will ALWAYS have to be cold? Won’t the chocolate still melt as soon as you take it out to sit for an event? Anyone have the answers for me?
I am also attributing the melting to the fact that the chocolate is so thin. But that is the whole point of the free form melting. Oh well. As you can see in the pics, the chocolate pieces I tried to stand on their ends melted and kind of flopped over. If I laid them flat on the cupcake it seemed to work better…for the most part!
Tags: Baking, Cake Decorating, Cakes, chocolate, Cupcakes, frosting, icing, Marissa
