Bake Sale for Carrie

Sweet Bliss Cupcakes is grateful to be a part of raising money for a great cause. My good friends at PangCakes are putting on a bake sale to raise money for Carrie, who is preparing for chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant this summer.

Available for pre-order are the following

Carrot Cake Cupcakes w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Devil's Food cupcakes w/Brown Butter Buttercream

Apple Cupcakes w/Caramel Buttercream

Coconut Cupcakes w/Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Lemon Cupcakes w/Raspberry Buttercream

Pricing

1/2 dozen - $12

1 dozen - $20

2 dozen - $38

Get your sugar fix. Do it for a good cause. Put your positive healing energy into the universe and let's get this girl a bone marrow transplant. Whadd'ya say? April 18th (flyer says it starts at 7pm, but we will be selling starting at 6pm). Be there...and if you're still thinking about it, let me give you 9 more reasons you should go: Salty Tart, La Belle Vie, Chez Arnaud - French Bakery, Cafe Latte, Key's at the Foshay, Nadia Cakes, Sweet Bliss Cupcakes, Sun Street Breads, & PangCakes.

Ooey-Gooey Brownie Cookies

I've had a lot going on in my world over the past few months. Unfortunately, this means I've had a lot LESS time to post my goodies on my blog. Today, though I baked some ooey-gooey Brownie Cookies that begged to be shared. My new camera kind of sucks (it's a video that takes stills, so it's not ideal, but you get the general idea!)

Ooey-Gooey Brownie Cookies

Ingredients

16 oz at least 60% cacao chocolate baking chips
4 oz butter
4 lg eggs at room temp
1 T + 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 C sugar
2/3 C all-purpouse flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
11 oz white chocolate chips

Method

Preheat oven to 350 F and line cookie sheet with parchment paper

In a small-medium sized sauce pan, melt butter over low heat. Add 16oz 60% cacao chocoalte baking chips. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool until just warm to the touch. (if it's too hot, you'll be more likely to scramble your egg mixture)

Whisk flour, salt and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside.

Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla together in a small bowl. Once the chocolate mixture has cooled a bit, slowly add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture. You can temper them if you like, but as long as the chocolate cool enough (I measured the temp at about 135o F), you'll be fine.

Once the egg and chocolate mixtures are fully incorporated, mix in the flour mixture and then fold in the white chocolate chips.

Scoop onto prepared cookie sheet, leaving at least two inches between each dollop to account for spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for several minutes before transferring to wire racks to finish cooling.

Enjoy! :)

Adapted from Taste of Home magazine, Feb/Mar 2013

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling, Raspberry-Vanilla Bean Buttercream, Dusted with Dark Chocolate Shavings

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling, Raspberry-Vanilla Bean Buttercream, Dusted with Dark Chocolate Shavings

...a long name, but a very tasty treat!

I was finally able to participate in one of the cooking/baking competitions at work (as an SEO gal...my "day job"). As someone who is incredibly competitive, I've found it interesting that when it comes to baking and cooking, I just want to feed people tasty food and am completely fulfilled when they truly enjoy what I make. It's the first time in my life I've truly not cared about the competition, but only that what I put forth makes others happy. (Or at least makes their mouths happy!)

The competition was stiff, though, and I wasn't sure if I could beat the chocolaty goodness of Haley's Chocolate Red Hot cupcakes. Her cake was moist and rich and very well done. I do admit, however, that it was a nice feeling when the vote went my way and I came out on top in yesterday's Valentine's Day cupcake bake-off. The best part, though was seeing my FL peeps and sharing some tasty goodness with them!

Sadly, my camera is broken, so I only have two pictures - both taken with phones. Something is better than nothing, though, right? :)

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy New Year! Ok, ok...it's the middle of January, but the holidays were busy with baking and then being sick and then my camera broke (sob!) and then...and then...

Alright, I've been a bit neglectful in posting to my blog, so this post will be a short catch-up and I will try to do a better job going forward. I still need a new camera, but that will come soon!


The last photos I managed to capture were of the Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese frosting that I baked for my friend and co-worker, PJ's Christmas party. I am not a huge fan of coconut, myself...or at least I didn't think I was - until I baked these tasty babies. I think now that my aversion to coconut had more to do with the fact that it always seems to be either toasted or smothered in chocolate...which, for some strange reason, makes it less appealing to my palate. These cupcakes are light, fluffy, rich and sweet, but not overly so. I will bake them again (and again!) in the months to come. 

The decorations are all hand-crafted fondant, dusted with edible luster dust. The bows are made from white chocolate. All-in-all, I was very happy with the way they turned out. The reviews from PJ were outstanding as well, so for this project, I'd say "success"!

Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 20 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 C cake flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2/3 C coconut cream (or whole fat coconut milk)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

¾ tsp coconut extract

6 oz (1 ½ sticks) real butter

1 1/3 C caster sugar

1.5 oz (2) egg whites

1 large egg

Mise en place

Allow cold ingredients to come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two, 12-count cupcake pans with liners.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together coconut milk, vanilla and coconut extracts and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg whites and egg and set aside.

Method

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Gradually add egg whites and the egg and mix until well combined. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Add the coconut cream/extract mixture and then add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool and frost as you like.

adapted from

Turtle Cookies with Homemade Caramel & Hot Fudge Topping & White Chocolate Dipped Ginger Cookies

Tonight is my son's holiday choir concert at East Ridge High School (go Raptors!). The parents of every child are supposed to bring two dozen cookies as treats for after the concert. I couldn't decide what to make, so I baked both Turtle Cookies & White Chocolate Dipped Ginger Cookies. 

For the Turtle Cookies, I adapted the recipe from a post on PixelatedCrumb, forgoing store bought caramels and making my own, as well as adding hot fudge sauce drizzled on top. I only used about half of the pecans called for, so now I have to figure out what to put them on or in! The caramel recipe is one I've adapted from The Joy of Baking. 

I've been wanting to try dipping my ginger cookies in white chocolate for awhile and figured this was as good of an opportunity as any. They are very tasty and a bit more holiday-y with the white chocolate. 

Turtle Cookies with Homemade Caramel & Hot Fudge Topping

Turtle Cookies with Homemade Caramel & Hot Fudge Topping

Ingredients

1 C all-purpose flour

1/3 C cocoa powder

½ tsp salt

8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 C sugar

1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white

2 T heavy cream

½ T vanilla extract

1 ¼ C pecans, chopped fine (I only used ¾ C)

Caramel sauce (recipe to follow)

Hot fudge sauce (recipe to follow)

Instructions

Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, and then roll in pecans. If you don’t want to get your hands all egg-y, you can use candy dipping tools to move the dough from the egg whites to the pecans.  

Place each ball about two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using a round half-teaspoon measuring spoon, lightly press to create a small crater in the center of each ball.

Bake until set, about 10-12 minutes. When you remove the cookies from the oven, use a one-teaspoon measuring spoon to re-crater the craters in your cookies. (they will puff up during baking, so they my need a bit of love once they’re cooked)

Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Bzzzzzzz!! Nope, now you set the cookies aside and make your caramels.

Caramels

Makes about 48 pieces. Preparation time, about 40 minutes.

Ingredients

1 ½ C heavy cream

1 C granulated sugar

1 C light brown sugar, packed

1 T kosher salt

1 T pure vanilla extract

Method

In a medium sized, heavy, stainless steel saucepan, whisk together the cream, sugars, and the salt. Bring to a boil at medium-high/high heat, whisking constantly with a solid stainless steel whisk. Allow the mixture to come to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium/medium high (just enough to keep a low-rolling boil going, but not so hot that it will boil over). Insert a candy thermometer into the pan and allow the mixture to boil without stirring until it reaches 245^o F.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the caramel into your prepared pan and let cool, until cool to the touch. Once you the caramels are at about room temp, use a knife or pizza cutter (I find the pizza cutter works the best) lightly coated in tasteless vegetable oil (don’t use olive oil – yuck). Cut into desired shape and size and you’re good to go.

These caramels can be stored at room temperature, between layers of wax paper, for several days. Caramels make a nice gift, especially when wrapped in wax paper or cellophane.

Hot Fudge Sauce

From browneyedbaker.com

Yield: a heaping 2 cups

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2/3 cup heavy cream

½ cup Lyle's Golden Syrup, or light corn syrup

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided in half

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream, syrup, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt and half of the chocolate to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low (enough to maintain a low simmer), and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate, the butter, and the vanilla extract, stirring until smooth. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before using (it will thicken as it cools). Store in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. To reheat, microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until it's pourable but still thick.