Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Cupcakes

Yes, they truly are what the name says! Fluffy, decadent chocolate truffle cupcakes with swirls of yummy peanut butter buttercream icing topped off by peanut butter cups! Have mercy.

Heavenly Key Lime Pie

I have confessed in the past to Key Lime Pie being one of my absolute favorite desserts of Summer and after making it over the weekend, I thought I'd share what's in my opinion, the best recipe I've yet to come across!

Heavenly Key Lime Pie (as adapted from Southern Living Magazine)

Ingredients:
1-14oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
2 tsp key lime zest (which I omitted for my quick version!)
1/2 cup key lime juice
1-9in. graham cracker pie crust
1 cup whipping cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together condensed milk and next three ingredients until well blended. Pour mixture into pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until pie is set. Cool completely on a wire rack (about an hour). Chill in refrigerator one hour before serving. Beat whipping cream at high speed with an electric mixer 2 to 3 minutes or until soft peaks form, gradually adding powdered sugar. Top pie with whipped cream and garnish with key lime slices if desired.

*So I totally cheated this time around and went the "quick, fast & in a hurry" route with the recipe! I didn't use fresh key limes - we visited A Southern Season yesterday and I picked up more of the same bottled key lime juice that I used in my Key Lime Cupcakes - a brand called "Nellie & Joe's", so I was a little worried about how it might turn out as I'd actually squeezed all those tiny key limes by hand last go-round! Turned out wonderfully!! I couldn't tell any difference in taste and still had use of my hands afterwords, which was also nice to say the least! :)

Hello Kitty Cupcakes

As connoisseurs of Hello Kitty at our household, I have truly been looking forward to this cupcake project for quite some time! And now that the moment has finally arrived...behold the awesome cuteness that is...Hello Kitty in all her pink bowed glory!! (Taking it a bit far, yes I know - I apologize, just got a little carried away there) There were two dozen cupcakes for this Birthday girl - one dozen vanilla, one dozen chocolate both topped with a swirl of pink vanilla buttercream. I then placed toppers formed from gum paste/fondant on top - some even had a sprinkling of edible rainbow shimmer dust for added girly glee! Ah, the cuteness of it all! :)

Simple 60th Birthday

This was a simple request for a Mom who loves both the beach and pound cake with cream cheese icing! Pound cake with cream cheese icing (and filling) edged with crushed graham cracker "sand" and fondant shells. "60" for the top of the cake was cut out of fondant and brushed lightly with bronze shimmer dust - loved the simple elegance of this cake!

Yummiest Chocolate Cupcakes Evah!

Truly, the title says it all...these cupcakes are just wonderful! :) I've been wanting to try my hand at Italian meringue buttercream ever since discovering that was what I enjoyed every time I dined on the heavenly cupcakes at Sugarland, but it just always sounded so complex and honestly anything that involves a candy thermometer just scares the daylights out of me!!! But, after watching a few youtube videos and finally gathering my courage (and the required 7 & 1/2 sticks of butter - yes, you heard correctly!) I finally decided to give it a try! I thought my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, my ultra-moist chocolate espresso would pair nicely with the smooth, creamy buttercream so I started with that as my base. I did burn my first batch of syrup (drats!) and have to move on to batch #2, but other than that, all went very well and out came a beautiful batch of smooth vanilla italian meringue buttercream! Success! I then decided to top it all off with some chocolate shavings - ah, yes - just right!

Army Guy Birthday Cake

This was a Birthday cake for a special little guy turning five who is especially into "army guys" right now! :) Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream icing, topped with a chocolate army helmet cake covered in cammo colored fondant and accented with fondant "dog tags" bearing the Birthday boy's name! (All the green army guys you see on the cake were plastic toy soldiers)

Funky Pink and Black Wedding Cake

I actually had the pleasure of working on this wedding cake back in May, but have been anxiously awaiting the photographer's views of the cake as I was so focused on getting the cake and all my gear to the venue that I forgot my own camera!! I loved, loved, loved the colors, design - just the free spirit that both the Bride-to-be and her cake embodied! :) Bottom tier was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling, next tier was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling, next tier was vanilla buttermilk cake with vanilla buttercream filling and finally the top tier for the Bride and Groom was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling. All layers were covered with white fondant and all the detail work was black or hot pink fondant. The Bride-to-be provided the beautiful brushed metal toppers which couldn't have been designed to match the cake any better or so I thought! :) Many thanks to the talented Stephanie's Creative Photography for the wonderful photos!

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

The strawberries really weren't the main reason I wanted to try out this recipe (shocking, I know!) While the hubby loves strawberries, my main draw to this recipe was trying my hand at swiss meringue buttercream which I've never made before. Nervous, yes - but determined! :) Strawberry cupcakes (made with two whole cups of chopped strawberries no less!) topped by strawberry swiss meringue buttercream and fresh strawberry slices! *Side Note - I almost gave up on the icing (!) after adding the butter - I was dismayed that the consistency turned soupy, but decided to put my Kitchen-Aid to good use, kicked up the speed, walked away for a few minutes and when I came back - voila! Perfect consistency swiss meringue buttercream!*

Princess Belle Birthday Cake

Belle Birthday cake for a very special little princess turning 6! Both the square cake on the bottom and Belle's dress (the skirt) were fudge marble cake with vanilla buttercream filling. Square cake was covered with pink fondant imprinted with a pretty vine pattern. Belle's dress was all yellow fondant, set off by a pretty pink gum paste flower! Happy Birthday, Miss Savannah! :)

Little Miss Matched Birthday Cake

Oh, if only Little Miss Matched had been around when I was growing up...I mean we had Lisa Frank, but still! LOVED this cake!! Both layers were yellow vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling. Bottom square cake was covered in blue fondant and black zebra pattern fondant (which I just loved the way it really popped against the blue!) Top round cake was covered in lime green fondant and varying shades of fondant circles, edged in orange fondant ribbon and an orange fondant bow. The whole crazy thing was topped off by fondant/gum paste curly-que's in varying shades! Now that's what I call a cake! :o)

Key Lime Cupcakes

I've done it! I've done it! (Let me point out I feel a bit like an evil Doctor in my laboratory at this point) One of my absolute favorite recipes of Summer is Key Lime Pie - just LOVE it!! The graham cracker crust, the refreshing tartness of the limes, the whipped cream on top - YUM! :) I've been searching high and low to find a cupcake recipe that I was happy with but to no avail, so I decided to work on my own combination until...finally today - SUCCESS!! I started with a brown sugar cupcake, combined that with a key lime curd filling, used a stabilized whipped cream icing, topped that with crushed graham crackers and finally some little beauties I picked up at A Southern Season - key lime flavored jelly candy slices! Voila! My masterpiece was complete! And the best thing - it tastes exactly as I wanted it to - it channels that key lime pie flavor so beautifully! I am a happy girl indeed! :)

Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcake

Honestly, I was a little hesitant about trying out this recipe when I found it...while I love my Coca-Cola, I'm really not that big on cherry. Don't get me wrong - I love cherry airheads, snow cones, jolly ranchers...just not baked things - blech. Not my cup of tea. So, finally got around to trying this out last night...and wow, was I ever proven wrong! The flavor combination is so unexpectedly wonderful - just perfect! And it really does make such a lovely cupcake! :) Chocolate cupcakes infused with Coca-Cola, cherry buttercream icing, drizzled with a thick chocolate sauce (also infused with a little Coca-Cola) topped off nicely with a cherry! I can hear the Monkeys' song in the background "...now I'm a believer!"

Lemon Curd Filled Cupcakes

The great (and sometimes not so great!) thing about being a baker is, if I'm craving something badly enough and I have the ingredients on hand (okay, having the time helps too - I'm a busy Mom) problem solved! Such was the case with these beauties! I'd had lemon curd on my mind - it's been forever since I've fixed it too, so why not brush up on my skills, right? Makes sense? :) I made vanilla butter cupcakes, filled them with my lemon curd and topped them off with this awesome buttercream that's not your traditional buttercream - it's completely smooth and creamy like meringue buttercream but uses all the ingredients of traditional buttercream - SO YUMMY! I piped it in a different pattern than I've used before - it looks like a pretty pink rosette on top of each cupcake - so pretty! Loved how they looked and craving was taken care of - mission accomplished!

Little Prince 1st Birthday

I had the immense pleasure of making this Birthday cake and matching cupcakes for some very good friends of ours who's little guy just turned one! For the main cake, the bottom tier was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling covered in dark blue fondant with a quilting detail. The top tier was chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream filling covered in light blue fondant with some dark blue fondant details. The whole cake was topped off with a regal golden gum paste crown with white fondant around the rim and black painted "fur spots". :) I then made two dozen chocolate cupcakes with dark blue vanilla buttercream swirls which I topped with hand made golden gum paste crowns! Loved how they all looked together when placed on the cake table - so cute! (But I have to admit...not half as cute as the Birthday Boy!)

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcake

Given that he's the huge strawberry addict that he is, the hubby was VERY excited to be the official taste tester on these new cupcakes! Lemon cupcakes topped with a swirl of strawberry buttercream icing - two thumbs up from the official! :)

Carolina Graduation Cake

I sooo enjoyed doing this cake!!! (and really and truly NOT just because I myself am a Carolina fan - honest!) This design is based on a beautiful cake seen by the grad's Mom on the site of one of my absolute favorite bakeries - Sugarland! Bottom tier was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling and icing with dark blue and carolina blue accents made out of fondant. Top tier was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and vanilla buttercream icing and the University symbol cut out of fondant. I then made a tiny chocolate cake and filled it with vanilla buttercream and covered it with carolina blue fondant to make a graduation cap for the topper!

Butterfly Birthday

This was a fun one to work on! Running joke between Mom and Daughter because the Daughter would always buy Mom something with a butterfly for her Birthday every year - so for the Daughter's 30th, Mom turned the theme on her! :) Chocolate sheet cake with vanilla buttercream icing decorated to match napkins for the party. Butterfly wings were made using gelatin - another new process for me! Fun to do and very pleased with the look! Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing swirls topped with a gum paste/fondant butterfly and a sprinkle of white nonpareils - absolutely loved the look of the cupcakes! :)

Hunter's Birthday

This was a hunter's themed Birthday all the way! First off, the main Birthday cake: a yellow vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling, covered in blaze orange fondant and edged with green fondant grass. Then topped off with a deer, hand formed using rice krispie treats and fondant, which was then painted using gel coloring and lemon flavoring. One dozen chocolate truffle cupcakes topped with a swirl of hunter green vanilla buttercream icing and hand formed fondant shotgun shells! Second dozen cupcakes was chocolate chip, topped with a swirl of hunter green vanilla buttercream icing and hand formed fondant blaze orange hunter caps!

Minnie Mouse Birthday Cake

Had fun doing this all buttercream cake! Yellow vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream icing. I loved the way the pink, white and black looked together - especially on the trim around the bottom! :)

Sleeping Bag/Sleepover Birthday Cake

This was a fun request! Birthday girl was having a sleepover for her Birthday, so Mom and Dad wanted a cake fashioned after a sleeping bag! Vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream icing and some fondant cutouts for details.

Basketball Jersey Cake

This Birthday guy is a big Miami Heat fan, so I decorated the jersey using the Heat's colors! Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream crumb coat covered in white fondant. All the details you see are fondant as well. Put the Birthday guy's name on the back of the jersey and his age - "10"! :)

Zebra Print Sweet 16

I've definitely been looking forward to this one - zebra print, hot pink and lime green? Oh, yeah! Bottom tier was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling, top tier was chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream filling, both topped with white fondant and black fondant zebra stripes. Bottom tier was edged with lime green fondant balls, top tier was edged with hot pink fondant ribbon and a large bow at the back of the cake. The finishing touch was the hot pink and lime green plaque bearing the all-important "16"! :o)

Cherry Blossom Birthday Cake

This cake was requested as a smaller, one tier version of the Cherry Blossom Bridal Shower Cake I'd done in the past for a Birthday cake! Chocolate cake, chocolate ganache filling, vanilla buttercream crumb coat topped with white fondant and edged by a brown grosgrain ribbon. Decorated with a brown fondant tree and pink gum paste cherry blossoms!

Pink and White First Birthday

I do have a girly girl side at heart, so I really enjoyed making these pink and white cupcakes and tiny smash cake for a special little girl's first Birthday! One dozen cupcakes were lemon cake with white vanilla buttercream icing topped with pink fondant flowers and a white fondant "1", the other dozen were chocolate and vanilla marble cupcakes with pink vanilla buttercream icing topped with white fondant flowers and a pink fondant "1". I made a vanilla "smash" cake for the Birthday girl and topped it with pink and white vanilla buttercream! :)

Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes

Coffee buzz wrapped up in a cupcake - that's how I'd describe these - oh, and indescribably yummy too! Chocolate espresso cupcakes topped with mocha buttercream and garnished with a chocolate covered espresso bean! :o)

Fireman's Helmet Birthday Cake

This was quite the challenge, albeit a fun one (as always!) Someone wanted to re-create her Fiance's helmet out of cake to celebrate his Birthday so that's what we did! She sent me pictures of his helmet for me to go by (taken in secret of course!) The cake was red velvet with vanilla buttercream filling and crumb coat covered in black fondant to match his helmet and all the details are fondant as well. I used a little yellow luster dust to try to match the reflective patches on his helmet and even added the Tarheel sticker on the back of his helmet as well! Hope this cake made his Birthday an especially memorable one! :o)

Fender Stratocaster Cake

What a fun challenge this was - my first guitar cake! This cake was requested for a band member's Birthday - a replica of the guitar he owns and plays. The cake was my lemon pound cake topped with a vanilla buttercream crumb coat and varying shades of fondant. For the details, I used fondant pieces painted with silver luster dust mixed with a little lemon flavoring. All in all, pretty happy with my first attempt at making a Fender! Would love to have a crack at a full size replica with all the bells and whistles though! :o)

March Madness Cupcakes

Here in central North Carolina March can mean one thing and one thing only...March Madness is upon us full force! Okay, so these cupcakes weren't actually for college basketball but for basketball on a somewhat smaller scale (my 9 year old son's basketball team pizza party) but they'd fit the time of year nicely, no? :) Yellow cupcakes with swirls of decadent chocolate buttercream topped off by fondant basketballs!