Cupcake Pops... and Bites!

Well if you all have never been to Bakerella's blog then you may have seen these when she was on Martha! Or you may have seen them in her new cook book that is available at here at Amazon! FYI My birthday is days away and I do not own it yet... *hint hint* Well anyway I have been one of her regular stalkers for years now and I attempted cake balls back in the day and I just was not thrilled with the outcome. However, I constantly see the pops and bites posted at Bakerella's site and see others do it and thing, "hey all these people wouldn't make them if they were gross and if they can all make them look so cute and pretty then damn it I can too!!" So it was round three with cake balls but this time bites and pops! I must say... I AM SO PROUD OF THESE LITTLE SUCKERS!!! I can already feel an addiction to make these again and again!

I had the perfect excuse to make these too, it is my friend Christie's birthday today and what better gift then a bouquet of cupcake pops! cuter and tastier then flowers!!

Now I know you guys are going to be a little upset with me because my pictures are not the best quality and I am lacking some on the process but my camera charger has moved out and I cannot seem to find where it has relocated to! If anyone knows there is a reward for anyone who produces it or the information needed to obtain it! That or you can just buy me a Nikon D40 since as I stated earlier that my birthday is in 3 days and it would look so perfect hanging around my neck!!

So all you need to make these is:
Favorite cake recipe or box mix
Favorite frosting, home made or store bought
Candy melts or almond bark
m&m's and sprinkles for decorating if you want to

I just used what I had which was a Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake mix with some fluffy white frosting.

Once you have the cake made cut it into four sections and crumble it in a big bowl.


Now scoop in a couple scoops of your frosting and mix it around until it is the right consistency not too wet but not too crumbly


Now roll the dough into 1.5" balls and place on a piece of wax paper that is on a cookie sheet.

I also bought this candy mold at Hobby Lobby and I placed a few in the mold for the bites I was going to make that were not on a stick.

Now here is where you are going to to get mad... I don't have any photos of the dipping process!! Eekkk but rest assured because Bakerella does so just go here and see the steps! I had only two hands and the lighting was terrible so the few pictures I did get of the dipping were more like trying to decode a science project therefore they are not posted!!
All you do is melt your candy melts or almost bark. Dunk the bottom of it in the chocolate or whatever color you want, tap off any excess and turn it upside down on the wax paper. Did the tip of your Lolly pop stick in the chocolate and insert it half way into your ball or cupcake shape. Once dry melt the top color and dip the pop into that color. Then decorate while wet and insert into a Styrofoam block to dry.

For the bites do the same thing just omit the step with the stick!


Yum!! Tastes like a brownie!

Once the pops were done and dried I placed a little treat bag over them and tied with a ribbon to give them a finished look.


I also took the bites and put them in a mini liner and then bagged them up too

They are so cute I almost felt bad eating one! But clearly not that bad!
Pardon the photo overload they are just so cute I can't stop taking pictures of them!


Take a bite and enjoy

I just love these and I know you will too!! I am already thinking of some Halloween ideas for how to do them again! I am so glad I gave it another shot. I think it really does just get easier with practice and the key is too not over do on the frosting and test the cake before you roll it so it is the right consistency! Which shouldn't be a problem since it is soooo yummy!!

Hope you all enjoy!

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Snickers Cupcakes!

OK So I imagine you are all starting to wonder if I am ever going to bake again with all the dinners that have been posted here lately. Well to answer your question, yes YES I can and to prove it I made these Snickers Cupcakes! I was looking at All Things Cupcake and they did a post about Restless Chipotle who recently did a post about the top 50 cupcake flavors on the Internet! Well of course I was intrigued and I had to check some out. When I came across Snickers Cupcakes at number 5 I knew this was something that I had to try out it was calling my name! While checking out this site I also stumbled over here to My Baking Addiction and saw that there was her version as well! I opted to go with the My Baking Addiction Cake and the frosting from Homemade by Holman. I was very pleased with how these little cuppies turned out! The frosting is sweet but a nice compliment to the very moist and yummy cake! But the best part is the surprise that waits inside!

Snickers Cupcakes
Recipe from My Baking Addiction
For the cake:

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs; lightly beaten
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon of vanilla
24-30 frozen Snickers Miniatures

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line (2) 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, vanilla and water.
4. Evenly divide the batter amongst the prepared pans. {I use a large ice cream scooper it holds 3 tablespoons of batter}.
Here they are ready to have a lovely frozen treat buried inside like treasure!!

5. Gently push a frozen Snickers Miniature bar into the center of the batter and smooth the surface making sure to cover the candy bar with batter.
I love this photo! Hee Hee I love when something is hidden inside! It is like a little bonus like a free gift with purchase! Ohhh who doesn't love that? (If you don't I think you are crazy and should seek professional help!)

The deed is done! You can't even tell there is an amazing chocolate nougat surprise in there ready to be married to a gorgeous chocolate cupcake!

6. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. ( Yes it will come out clean even though there is Snickers in the middle! I too doubted this and mine were done at 18 minutes)
7. Cool cupcakes thoroughly on wire rack.

Frosting:

by Homemade by Holman
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb powdered sugar
8 mini Snickers bar and Carmel sauce for garnish

Beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add caramel sauce, heavy cream and vanilla and mix to incorporate. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated to reach the right consistency. Increase speed to medium-high and whip about one minute until light and fluffy. Fill a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes or frost as desired.


Garnish with chopped Snickers bars and a drizzle of caramel of caramel syrup.
Here they are naked just frosting!

And here with their snickers garnish

Ta Da!!

And here is a look at the center! This is what I am always curious to see. Sorry I had to use the flash I could not get the lighting to work with me at all!

And here is a little closer!


Ok so lets get real for a minute... these little suckers are pretty damn good. The frosting is a bit sweet and there were some that almost cringed at it but then kept hoarkig it down. When I asked for feedback and said "SO is the frosting too sweet?" The answer was always "NO. It is sweet but not too sweet it all goes together." I do think that these would be amazing with a Carmel Swiss meringue butter cream and next time I make them that is just what I will use! I think if you like snickers you will love these and they are fun and when someone asks you "what kind of cupcakes are those?" and you respond "snickers cupcakes!" with a proud grin you will see their eyes light up with curiosity!Then you could stalk them and watch them eat it without their knowledge to get what you think is a more real and honest opinion on the goods.... or maybe that is just what I do! LOL

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White chocolate cupcakes!

Well I told you all that I made a cupcake version of the birthday cake I had made. It seems that I was so obsessed that I had to make up a reason to make the Swiss Meringue Butter Cream again! If you are looking for the recipe here is the original post!I took a couple pictures of them and I thought I would share them with you here. I have got to say this is the lightest, yet sweet and most wonderful cupcake I have had in a long time!

Here are a few pictures for you!




Some of them I filled with a fresh strawberry or a surprise inside!

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Sunflower cupcakes

Last week I got a call for an order for a birthday cake and some cupcakes. I was so excited as I have not had many "official" orders and even though I have not had many I just knew this was going to be great! I have so many recipes I want to try and decoration ideas to test out but I am sure that my butt would be as big as a house if I decided to try one recipe a week! I know what you are thinking "Heather, just give them away" yea ok! That is a great idea in theory but we all know how that would go. Taste of the batter here.... lick of the frosting there... and before you know it your stomach hurts there is frosting from your nose to your chin and you are surrounded by little paper cup holders that have now been torn to shreds all around you. Then you think well I was just going to have one.... Well I try to not even tempt myself by trying to not bake all the time unless I have a purpose or a place to send the goods! SOOO my point being, it was AWESOME to get this order as it gave me cause to try a cake recipe I had wanted to try for so long as well as decorate some cupcakes and try another cake recipe! The only problems was I got the call Wednesday night and they needed the goods by Saturday morning... So that meant I needed to get my ducks in a row Thursday so that Friday after work I could everything baked! I decided that since last Saturday was the first day of spring that I would do some cheerful sunflower decorated cupcakes! For the cake they had requested something with with fresh fruit and it made me think of a recipe I have been dying to try that Cassie from How To Eat A Cupcake made a while ago! The recipe is here!!! And let me tell you folks.... this cake got rave reviews. I ended up making a cupcake version of it Monday, but that's another blog! The most amazing part I have got to say is the Swiss Meringue Butter Cream frosting!! I made it the way that Cassie made it with her tweaks from the original. I have watched her make SMBC for years and always wanted to try it out but to be perfectly honest... I was scared!! Yes YES I have admitted it! I was afraid of frosting! NOT ANYMORE KIDS!! I have made this frosting now 3 times. I can't seem to make it without the white chocolate though! That is probably because once I realized how easy it was to quest and conquer the amazing silky smoothness that is the Swiss Meringue Butter Cream I have gone on a bit of a binge! It is like suddenly realizing you like something that you never knew existed. You can't get it out of your head, you think about it all the time, and often realize that anything that you are eating could most definitely be made better by putting this new found magical item on it! I swear I am currently having an affair with Swiss Meringue Butter Cream!! For the cupcakes I made SMBC (without the white chocolate amazingly enough) and tinted it! It was great! I used a cake recipe I found here. The cake complimented the frosting quite nicely! Of course the touch that made the cupcakes in my opinion is the ladybugs!!!!
SO now lets get to some pictures!
Here is the center of the cupcakes before they bloomed into beautiful yellow sunflowers!


Well I have to say I think they look quite good but it just seems like something is missing!!


Tada!!! Ok how cute are the ladybugs?


Here is the birthday cake! I decided to top it with a strawberry garnish and some freshly grated white chocolate. As we can see I cant seem to frost a cake to save my life so thank god I was saved by the wonderful flavor of the cake!




Here it is in the box ready to go!


I just have to show you these cupcakes again! I felt so proud and although my pipping skills are lacking you have to start some where and I was pretty happy with the end result!


I just don't know how I will ever made baked goods again that do not have Swiss Meringue Butter Cream frosting and ladybugs!

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Jack-O-Lantern Cuppies!

As I was driving home the other day I got this great idea for a Halloween cupcake that I had never seen before. I got the idea of carving a cupcake just like you would a pumpkin! Fill the pumpkin with yellow frosting a.k.a the candle light! and then draw the face on the front. So I decided to try it out. I grabbed a box yellow cake mix and added some food coloring to get an orange color. I then cut into the top to carve out the center. I filled it with yellow icing and then put the top on. I placed a piece of pretzel in for the stem and then proceeded to draw on the jack-o-lantern face!


Now not every single one turned out like my vision I must say! So I experimented with the decorating just for fun! I also added some orange sparkles to the tops of some of the jack-o-lanterns and that gave them that extra something that they seemed to be missing!

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Hamburger Cupcakes... Yes I too made them!

Well when I came across the hamburger cupcakes on Bakerella and Flicker I just knew that I had to try them out. They are so cute and fun! So I decided to do just that! I just used cake mix and a brownie mix as it was quick and easy!

I started by making the brownies and letting them cool. While the brownies were cooling I made the cupcakes. Once the cupcakes had cooled I cut them open and started to make the hamburgers! I used green frosting for the lettuce and then red and yellow for the ketchup and mustard.




After I had the burgers made I did slightly tap a cloth with water on it on the top of the cupcake and shake on some sesame seeds



I then took Bakerella's idea and made sugar cookie french french fries to complete the dessert!!



I took the extra brownie bits and cut them into bite size pieces and served them on a plate. The extra cup cakes I frosted and put out on a plate. I planned to just use the extra frosting and make them Halloween-ish however I feel they look more like Marti graw! haha OH WELL!


Maximus begged me to let him help but he had to sit this one out! He was not thrilled about it either! LOL


Here they are just one more time!! Soooo Cute!! Thanks for the idea Bakerella!!

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