Puppy Cupcakes

My daughter is turning eight today- and I wanted to find some cute puppy cupcake ideas- what do you think? I scoured the internet and these were my favorites...

Are you a Gamer?

I haven't played these games in fifteen years- but how cool are these cupcakes? I would have to say that I would prefer eating light blue over black... but I was more of a pac man girl than Mario Bros. :)

Made by Naomi- check out her other work- she is amazing.

Summer Cupcakes

Nicky Grant is an Artist

I love her style- to check out her wedding cakes- (which are amazing)- go to nickygrant.com. Too bad she lives in the UK :( Too far to order for me.

Precious

Don't these cupcakes make you want a friend to get pregnant- just so you can throw them a shower? From Martha Stewart- I love it! And it doesn't look like you'd need to be a pro for them to turn out professional looking!

Cool New Source

I am loving these polk a dotted cup cake liners! Aren't they great? From Confectionary House- as is the cake pan below- I think I could maybe make a Herbie car with this- what do you think?

Herbie

My son's birthday is coming up and he wants a Herbie party- so I have been looking around for cup cake ideas- this cake is beyond my abilities- and the location is beyond my boarders- but isn't it amazing! From Lise's Bakery.

The Clone Wars

My friends Michal and Allison made these cupcakes for their son's (nephew's) birthday- I loved them~! Cool huh?

Cute Cottontails

A great idea from Good Housekeeping:

Step 1
Take a solid-colored square napkin, and starch it for optimal workability. Thinner napkins work better, so choose a linen napkin over a thick cotton one.

Step 2
Fold the napkin in half.

Step 3
Fold the napkin in half again, to form a long rectangle

Step 4
Fold the right and left sides up to meet in the center, forming a point at one end.

Step 5
Repeat with the opposite corners

Step 6
Fold the side corners in so they meet in the center, but don't fold exactly straight. Pull up above the center point, and you'll start to see the ears shape up. The napkin will form a kite shape.

Step 7
Gently turn your napkin over.

Step 8
Fold the bottom point up, so that it is roughly 1” above the center of the napkin.

Step 9
Carefully, turn the napkin over again.

Step 10
Roll the left side over, slightly past the center of the napkin.

Step 11
Fold the right side over, tucking the end into the pocket you created on the left side, holding your napkin together.

Step 12
Turn the napkin upright, separating the bottom to form a base. Fluff your bunny’s ears.

Step 13
Cut three pieces of string; knot together in the middle. Slide a safety pin through the back of the folded napkin, through the center of the knot, through the button's opening, then back into the napkin; clasp.

Happy Easter

Hope you had a great Easter!

Cool New Source

The busier I get, the more I like to shop from home. With a business and four young children- I am shopping online more and more. Plus- It's so fun to get packages in the mail :) I found a cool site for sprinkles. Yes- you heard me right- sprinkles. Here are some of their St. Patrick's Day looks:

(this one has a mint flavor)

I like the idea of sticking a chocolate shamrock in my cupcakes also.Or some cute St. Patrick's Day picks.It's called Shopbakersnook.com. What a find!

Land that I Love

The Blue and Gold banquet for the boy scouts is this evening- so my friend is working on a cupcake collection shaped like a flag. I wanted to show him this similar look from my cupcake book, Hello, Cupcake.

Mmmmmm Molten!

Warm Chocolate Cupcakes with Molten Centers

Chocolate ganache (recipe follows), chilled at least one hour
Vegetable oil spray for misting the pans
All-purpose flour for dusting the pans
1
(18.25-ounce) package plain, no-pudding devil's food cake mix
1
cup water
½
cup vegetable oil
3
large eggs
1
teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½
teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼
cup powdered sugar, for dusting
Whipped cream (optional)
At least one hour before baking (or a day ahead of time), prepare the chocolate ganache; cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill and firm up.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 F.
Lightly mist 24 cupcake cups (two pans holding a dozen cakes each) with vegetable oil spray and dust them with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pans aside.
Place the cake mix, water, oil, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and blend 1 ½ to 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well-combined and thickened.
Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each prepared cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes.) Drop a heaping teaspoonful of ganache onto the top of the batter in each cup. Place the pans in the oven. Bake until the cake bakes up around the ganache, the tops are domed and the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 12 to 14 minutes.
Remove pans from the oven and place them on wire racks for 1 minute. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake cups. Lift the cupcakes from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. (Cupcakes may be made up to a day ahead and stored, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to a day.)
To reheat so the centers are molten once again, place the cupcakes on a microwave-safe plate and cover with paper towels. Heat on High (100 percent power) for 10 seconds; carefully remove. Sift powdered sugar over the tops of the cakes. Place each cupcake on a dessert plate. If desired, serve with a small dollop of whipped cream. Serve immediately. Makes 22 to 24 cupcakes

Chocolate Ganache: Place 3/4 cup heavy cream in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a boil, stirring. Meanwhile, place 11/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (such as Ghirardelli double-chocolate baking chips) in a large, stainless-steel mixing bowl. Remove cream from the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate has melted. If desired, stir in 1 tablespoon of your choice of liqueur, such as crème de cacao (or 1 teaspoon of vanilla). Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour (or up to 24 hours) so that the mixture thickens.