Category Archives: Cupcakes

Vanilla-Cotton Candy Birthday Cupcake: Ballerina-Fairy Cupcake with Fairy Icing

Posted in Breakfast, Cupcakes, Dessert by

This year, my daughter wanted a Ballerina and Fairy theme for her birthday. So, I made vanilla-cotton candy cupcakes for her. I used the exact recipe I used to make the pirate cupcakes for my son’s pirate birthday last year. For my daughter’s birthday, I bought a ballerina cupcake kit but it only came with 24 liners and 24 toppers. I had to make 3 dozens of cupcakes so I made cupcake toppers for the rest of the cupcakes and used store-bought sugar flowers and leaves and marzipan flowers to decorate the rest of the cupcakes. Everybody loved the cupcakes especially the birthday girl!

fairy cupcake

For the cupcakes, you will need:

225 grams unsalted butter, cut in cubes, room temperature

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsps vanilla extract

1-2 drops cotton candy aroma (optional)

pink food coloring (optional)

250 ml milk, room temperature (I use semi-skimmed milk)

360 grams granulated white sugar

150 grams all-purpose flour

180 grams cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 170 degrees C. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.

2. Sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter cubes, in three additions, and beat it low-medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.

3. In a small bowl, lightly beat together the vanilla extract, milk and aroma.

4. Add the milk mixture to the flour+egg mixture in two additions, scraping the sides after each addition, and mizing just until incorporated.

5. Fill the cupcake liners (only 2/3 full), bake for 15-18 minutes or until cupcake is done.

6. Let cool on a rack.

For the Vanilla-Cotton Candy Fairy Icing, you will need:

450 grams sifted confectioner’s sugar

30 grams meringue powder

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract

1-2 drops cotton candy aroma (optional)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix and beat cream of tartar, meringue powder, water, vanilla extract and aroma. Beat for 1-2 minutes.

2. Gradually add the icing sugar, beating on low speed for 7-8 minutes.

3. The icing is ready when you lift the beaters and the icing falls back to the bowl in a continuous, ribbon-like swirls. Cover with cling wrap until it’s ready to use.

birthday angel 020

Frost the cupcake with 1 tablespoonful of the icing.

birthday angel 021

Decorate with sprinkles of your choice.

birthday angel 022

Decorate with cupcake topper.

marzipan flower

Some were decorated with handmade cupcake toppers, sprinkles and marzipan flower.

sugar flower

Some cupcakes were decorated with sugar flowers and leaves.

birthday angel 032

Try not to move the cupcakes until the frosting has hardened.

birthday angel 051

These turned out delicious!

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Strawberry-Cotton Candy and Chocolate-Marshmallow Cake Pops

Posted in Breakfast, Cake, Cake Pops, Cupcakes, Dessert by

I made these cake pops for my daughter’s birthday. It would have been easier and equally delicious to use crushed oreo cookies for the cake pops but I wanted a strawberry flavored cake pops and chocolate cake pops. So, I ended up baking a strawberry-cotton candy cake and chocolate-marshmallow cake for the cake pops.

birthday cake pops

I also made cupcake cake pops as party favors for my daughter’s birthday. I made it using a cupcake cake pop mold.

cupcake cake pops

Chocolate-Marshmallow Cupcake Cake Pops

I made a ballerina cake pop stand for the cupcake cake pops favor. If you’d like to see how I made it, go HERE.

cake pops in a ballerina cake pop stand

Now, let’s proceed to the recipes. For the Strawberry-Cotton Candy Cake, you will need:

4 large eggs, room temperature

250 grams cake flour

125 grams strawberry yogurt, room temperature

90 ml refined olive oil

300 grams caster sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1-2 drops cotton candy aroma (optional)

strawberry cake pops

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven at 170 degrees C. Grease baking pan. Set aside.

2. Sift together the cake flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

3. In a bowl, cream the eggs and sugar until fluffy and creamy. Add the aroma drops and olive oil. Beat until incorporated. Add the strawberry yogurt and beat until well incorporated. Scrape the sides and gradually beat in the flour mixture. Pour in the baking pan and bake in the center of the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool on a rack.

strawberry and chocolate cake

For the Chocolate-Marshmallow Cake Pops, you will need:

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 drops marshmallow aroma

225 grams granulated white sugar

50 grams defatted sugar-free cocoa powder

50 grams melted unsalted butter

200 grams all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

150 ml lukewarm water

150 ml buttermilk, room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 175 degrees C. Grease baking pan.

2. Sift together cocoa powder, salt, sugar, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and set aside.

3. In a bowl, beat together the buttermilk, butter, water, eggs, vanilla extract and marshmallow aroma.

4. Gradually add the flour mixture to the buttermilk and egg mixture. Beat until well incorporated. Pour into baking pan.

5. Bake until cake is done. Let cool on a rack.

cake pops

To make the cake pops, you will need:

1 package Mascarpone cheese (or Cream cheese) divide in 2 – room temperature

melted chocolate (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate) or candy melts

Directions:

1. When the cake has already cooled down, using a wooden spoon, crumble the cake into pieces. Add in the softened mascarpone (or cream cheese) cheese and mix until well incorporated. Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.

2. Form into balls with the use of a cake pops mold, a rice/sushi mold (there are lots of them available with shapes like fish, bear, star, etc.) or a small ice cream scoop. Chill for 30 minutes so it will hold its form.

3. Melt the chocolate (I used milk chocolate), dip the tip of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and stick into the cake pop. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes until the chocolate has set.

cake pops
 4. Dip the cake pop on a stick into the melted chocolate. Shake (or just let drip freely) excess chocolate. Decorate with sprinkles, jimmies or sugar confettis. I wanted to go for contrast not just in texture (crunchy chocolate outside, soft cake inside) but also in color so I dipped the chocolate cake pops in white chocolate and dipped the strawberry cake pops in milk chocolate. For the cupcake cake pops you see at the beginning of the post, I added pink food coloring (in gel) to the milk chocolate.

cake pops

8. Serve and enjoy!

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Almond-Coconut Macaroons

Posted in Cookies, Cupcakes, Dessert by

It was a lazy, rainy afternoon and we were craving for something sweet but easy to make. I looked in my pantry and found a pack of ground almond and dessicated coconut. Just perfect to make almond-coconut macaroons! It’s quick and easy to make. The almond-coconut-vanilla combinations is delicious. Outside, the crust has the right crunch while inside, it is soft and chewy!

almond coconut macaroons

You will need:

125 grams softened butter

100 grams (minus 1 tbsp) granulated white sugar

1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

4 medium-sized eggs

1 cup condensed milk

125 grams ground almonds

125 grams dessicated coconut

3 grams baking soda

Directions:

1.Pre-heat oven at 177 º C. Line cupcake tins. In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda and 1 tbsp of sugar. Set aside.

2. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy and light (2-3 minutes). Scrape the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

3. Scrape the sides. Add the egg one at a time, beating and scraping the sides after every addition.

4. Add the condensed milk and beat until well mixed.

5. Add the ground almonds and coconut. Beat just until incorporated.

6. Add the baking soda-sugar and mix without overbeating.

7. With an ice cream scoop, place 1 scoop of the mixture into the cupcake liners. For the small truffles liners, I use just 1 tsp of the mixture.

8. Bake just until the top is golden brown. Test if the macaroons is done by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the macaroons are done. Cool in a rack.

9. Serve and enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Glaze Icing

Posted in Cupcakes, Dessert by

My kids love cupcakes. They actually look for every possible excuses so we could make some. Their most favorite is the vanilla cupcake. They would eat it on its own and sometimes, frosted. The day before their last day in school before their Christmas vacation started, they brought frosted vanilla cupcakes and cookies in their respective classes. Their classmates and teachers loved them.

Frosted vanilla cupcakes

the tray of cupcakes my daughter brought to school

You could, of course, frost the cupcakes with vanilla buttercream. But the confectioner’s sugar glaze icing was easier for transport and was mess-free.

frosted vanilla cupcakes icing

the tray of cupcakes my son brought to school

My piping bag got torn in the middle of frosting the first batch of cupcakes so I finally used a freezer bag to frost the cupcakes. The kids helped me decorate the cupcakes with the sugar confetti and sprinkles.

You will need:

VANILLA CUPCAKE:

3 large eggs

120 grams unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

100 grams granulated white sugar

70 ml milk

200 grams all-purpose flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

VANILLA GLAZE ICING:

20 grams softened butter

1-2 tsp hot water

1-2 tsp milk

1 /2 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 – 2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar

food coloring, as needed: Coral (5 drops red, 5 drops yellow), Pistachio Green (9 drops yellow, 2 drops blue)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 170º C. Line the muffin cups with liners.

2. In a bowl, whisk and combine together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a different bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well in each addition of the egg. Add the vanilla. Beat well. Scrape down the sides.

4. On low speed, add the flour and milk in three additions. Make sure to start and end with the flour.

5. Fill the cups with the batter, about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Test the cupcake by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cupcake are set. Do not overbake. You don’t want dry cupcakes.

6. Cool on a rack.

7. In a bowl, beat with a whisk the butter, vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. I always start with 1 1/2 cups of confectioner’s sugar. Add just one tsp of the hot water and milk. Add more confectioner’s sugar for a thicker glaze. Add more water and milk for a thinner glaze. Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, add the food coloring as necessary. Pour the glaze in a piping bag and frost the cupcakes. Decorate as desired.

8. Serve and enjoy. Although the cupcakes are best eaten the day they were baked, they would also store well. But they really does not last that long in my household ^^)

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