First, Happy New Year Everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!! This is it.....2011 is going to be the year for Cupcake A Sugar Boutique !! Let me update you a little bit since we haven't posted since August. Amanda and I have still been baking and she has also had great success in cake making. I am still experimenting in the cupcake department. So far, only our name has been reserved, but I am sending in official papers tomorrow.

I will forge on ahead and begin the buisness from my home this year. I have already started getting everything in place and it is go time. Very exciting......that way things will be established when Amanda and fam. join us here in Ohio.

Keep your fingers and toes crossed and keep craving cupcakes....:) Stay tuned for more post.

Green with Envy!

I decided while examining my red velvet recipe that red velvet could be any color velvet! Purple velvet, orange velvet, pink velvet... You get the idea! When I looked in my pantry at my food coloring selection, I had red and green. Green it was!! Green velvet! Jill was not enthusiastic about my color choice. I am thinking green could work really well in a lot of situations. A child's favorite color, St. Patrick's Day, school colors... There are a lot of reasons we should know how to make a fabulous green cupcake. I am thinking that my next batch of green will probably have a little less food coloring! I was really aiming for a nice lime shade. Oh well! That is was experimentation is for anyway! Anytime I make an experimental batch of cupcakes, I like to practice my decorating skills. It is really easy to just pipe on some icing and it look nice and clean. But fabulous involves more then just nice and clean! There are about a million different types of sprinkles and piping tips, why not use them all! This batch is a little simple, but I think they are pretty enough to make all those other cupcakes green with envy! :)

Tragedy, Triumph and the Almighty Dollar!

I have been baking cupcakes for awhile now! I was beginning to think that I was infallible and then White Velvet Coconut White chocolate chip said "Don't get cocky now! Here comes a reality check!" I concocted the white velvet batter the same way I always do. I folded in coconut and white chocolate chips. This sounded like a nice tropical summer flavor! I placed them in the oven and 10 minutes passed. When I flipped on the light they looked fine to me! At 20 minutes, apparently, all heck broke loose! They oozed over the edges, baked to a hard cookie texture and fell right through the middle when they cooled! I am not going to lie to you... my ego was so crushed, I almost threw in the towel all together! Then, a light shone down on me, I pulled myself together and vowed that I would bake again! No cupcake would defeat me! I let a few days go by and I get my first time real cake baking gig!! A cupCAKE! What?! For money?! This is getting real! I preheated the oven and put on my apron. My first customer wanted white velvet with cream cheese icing. I was allowed to put my personal touch on the designs because her only stipulation was that it had some pink in it. I brainstormed for a bit and got to work! The baking part is when I am the most nervous. It is 9pm (I know it is my fault that I waited until then to start! I know!) and I send the pans into the oven. Thankfully everything baked up nicely! I went with my original flower and leaf motif for this cake. I added some pearls here and there. I really think my first for money order turned out pretty alright! Jon will get some feedback on Monday. This did give me a chance to work on packaging. It is one thing to get some fabulous baked goods, but it is a whole other thing to get those baked good in a fabulous box with bows and ribbons! Every little extra touch makes that much better of an impression! After I got my confidence bake with the cupCAKE, I decided to get back on the flavor train and bake up come cupcake magic for my family! Jill suggested chocolate chips in the dark chocolate batter. I must say, that was a really good idea! My secret is to not fold them into the batter, but to add them to the top of the batter before I put them in the oven. They don't fall to the bottom this way. I topped them with a raspberry butter cream icing. My ego has been totally restored!

Not your typical lunch.....:)

I have started testing flavors. You know I had to do it, so here it is the Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcake !!!!! A moist peanut butter cupcake with a raspberry jelly butter cream, topped with chopped honey roasted peanuts. Much better with a glass of milk than a old samich....don't you think.

Introducing the team that is going to make it all possible!!

Let me start this cupcake tale with a disclaimer. There are many words to describe Jill and I. Some of them being creative, outgoing, honest, funny and, at times, certifiably insane! :) We recently made some big strides in the pursuit of our cupcake dreams! We purchased professional Kitchen Aids!! Very exciting!! I have to give a quick shout out to my wonderful father-in-law for his financial contribution! Without his support of my dreams, I would not have the most fabulous mixing machine in all the land!! But back to the reason for my disclaimer. These machines are large, gray and capable of mixing batter for a small army! Let's be real! Something of this magnitude needs a name! Jill was the first to name her new bundle of steel Helga! I followed suit and named my hard working stand mixer Olga!! I have a feeling we are all going to be very good friends! Once the mixers were out of their boxes and plugged in, the baking began!! Jill made up some ultra fabulous cakes you can read about below. I christened Olga with a batch of, my already world famous, Chocolate Stout Cakes with Chocolate Stout Butter Cream! They were by request of my hubby! Those were followed by an interesting experiment. I had been wanting to bake with fruit. So, I tried a strawberry white velvet batter. Needless to say, they needed twice the amount of strawberries! They were good, don't get me wrong! But they weren't exactly up to my standards! I did top them with pink butter cream with white chocolate chips. That made for a creamy version of butter cream, but this frosting was difficult to pipe onto the cupcakes! I will keep you posted on attempt number two. I have, on the other hand, found a cupcake that I really enjoy making!! Red velvet!! I am beginning to understand why the world is so obsessed with this baked crimson creation! It is such a beautiful color! When they bake up, they have a glossy, rounded top and sometimes I think they just look too fabulous to frost! But what is a red velvet cupcake without cream cheese frosting?! This time I added mini-chocolate chips to the cream cheese frosting!! The little chocolate bits really bring out the subtle chocolate flavor in the cake! It isn't the easiest frosting to pipe out either, but I'm going to make due because it is delicious!! :)

Helga Arrived !!!!!

I got the newest member of the business in the mail yesterday. She arrived late, right before dinner. When the doorbell rang, there she sat, a brand new thirty pound professional Kitchen Aid. We fell in love instantly. How can you not love your own child. I think I will name her Helga.

She went right to work. In anticipation of her arrival, I already had butter, milk and eggs at room temperature. Voila, she delivered, beautiful white velvet almond cupcakes, with a white chocolate almond butter cream !!!!

Even the unsellables are loved ;)

I am waiting on the chocolate batter to rest in the fridge. You know the one I am going to bake....dare I say it....a cake out of. Sometimes you have to give the people what they want, if you get a life long customer that is priceless. While I wait something is calling me from the fridge, cupcakes...dainty little trial cupcakes..the ones you don't want to give people but taste incredible anyway.

I have a lemon curd cupcake with raspberry lemon butter cream and a brownie cupcake, some also frosted with the raspberry. I know Amanda and I try and ignore the calling, the gentle calling...but in the end....cupcakes Win !!!!!!! You should come for coffee.