{Tasty Thursdays} Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

A couple weekends ago I had the pleasure of meeting Melissa of Cupcakes OMG! at Cupcake Camp.  We were both basically pushed up against the same stairway where the crowd would attack the poor Cupcake Camp Volunteers bringing down the baker's creations.  We've kept in contact a bit since through each others blogs and I've asked her to share one of her favorite recipes with me for a Tasty Thursday post.  You can also get a ton of her other recipes (including her Cupcake Camp entries, Funfetti Cupcakes and S'mores Cupcakes) and some great, snarky commentary along the way - In her own words, "I am more the Perez Hilton of cupcakes. You either love me or hate me, but either way, I always tell it like it is."

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes (Magnolia Bakery Chocolate Cupcakes)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for 5-10 minutes (about; stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces remain; remove from heat and let cool 5-15 minutes or until lukewarm.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers; set aside.  In a bowl, sift the flour and baking soda together; set aside.  In a big mixing bowl, cream the butter, using an electric mixer on MEDIUM speed, until smooth.  Add the sugars and beat for about 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beat well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix.  Scrape down the batter from the sides of the bowl, using a rubber spatula, to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon batter into cupcake liners; fill 3/4 full. Bake in a 350° oven for 20-25 minutes or until pick comes out clean.

Cool in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from tins and cool completely on a wire rack.

Peanut Butter Buttercream
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1 box of confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup creamy peanut butter (feel free to add more or less to taste)

Cream the butter with a cup of sugar at a time. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, add vanilla and peanut butter. Top cupcakes with buttercream. If dunking in chocolate, refrigerate for at least 15 minutes (don't rush this--the frosting must be chilled for the chocolate coating to harden).

Homemade Chocolate Shell
1 16 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil

Melt chocolate chips. Add vegetable oil and stir. Allow to cool for a few minutes before dunking chilled cupcakes.

You can see Melissa's original post here!

{Giveaway} Halloween Printables!

I am so excited to be pairing up with Lindi of Love the Day again.  This time it is for a fabulous giveaway...and just in time for Halloween.  She has come up with some amazing Halloween inspired printables which can be all yours!  Take a look at how cute these are!

Here's how to enter:

1. First chance: go to Love the Days Etsy shop check it out come back and tell me what your next party will be after you win your free Halloween party. (please leave email address at the end of your comment)

2. Second chance:  "Like" Rene Takes the Cake and Love the Day on Facebook and come back here to tell me you did so. (please leave email address at the end of your comment)

3. Third chance: facebook, twitter, or blog about this giveaway. Come back here with your linkback. (please leave email address at the end of your comment)

4. Bonus chance: "Follow" Rene Takes the Cake and come back here and leave a comment telling me you did so. (leave me email address at end of comment)

Please one comment per entry.
Winner will be chosen via random.org.
Giveaway closes on Friday, October 1st at Noon.

Best of luck.

Weekend of Weddings - Part 2

So onto part 2 of my crazy weekend of weddings.  This wedding was completely different than the last - NO CAKE!  I've been working on this wedding with my co-worker for months and it was so nice to see it all come together.

She wanted a simple, casual wedding her very lovely Bethesda home.  I absolutely loved the monochromatic theme we used throughout with the decor.  The only thing I wasn't able to find in ivory was the champagne gift bags - but I did find the cutest polka dot with bow bags at the absolute last minute (literally at 8pm the night before).  I am an absolute sucker for polka dots and bows!

For Kari and Matt I went back back to the kitchen and provided them with the following menu for their cocktail reception:

• Oven Roasted Shrimp Cocktail
• Trio of Bruschetta (Three Cheese Artichoke, White Bean, and Classic Tomato)
• Anitpasto Skewers
• Maryland Crab Dip
• Lemon and Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
• Pomagrante Sangria

I also played florist and provided Kari with her bouquet, centerpieces, and boutonnieres/corsages for all the wedding guests. If you ever need flowers in the metro DC area I highly recommend Potomac Floral Wholesale in Silver Spring, MD.  Their selection is great and their prices are fairly reasonable - Great quality flowers.  Although, my hydrangeas did not make it through the night and my local Safeway saved the day the next morning!

After the cocktail reception the bride and groom along with their family left in a huge limo bus to take photos at various DC monuments and to have dinner at Marcels!  I can't wait to see the photos taken by Nancy from Liz Hough Photography.   In the meantime, here are a few of mine!

The appetizers.

Close up of the shrimp cocktail.

Trio of bruschetta and antipasto skewers.

Cupcakes and custom cupcake wrappers using my Silhouette SD paper cutter - FUN!

Cupcake Tower.

Centerpiece of roses and hydrangeas.

Kari and her bouquet of roses and hydrangeas.

The bar which includes the Pomegranate Sangria and the fabulous gift bags I found.

The bar later transformed into the dessert station.

A smaller centerpiece - embellished with ribbon and pearls - a theme carried throughout.

Another shot of the smaller centerpiece.

Weekend of Weddings - Part 1

I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking when I said yes to 2 weddings in one weekend...except that I um, I like a challenge - Yeah that's it!

First up was a four tiered bridal cake and a grooms cake - destination Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  Luckily, I did not have to deliver these cakes - the task was left in the very capable hands of my friends Kim and Calvin who were attending the wedding - Thanks guys!

The bride and groom wanted their cakes to represent the areas where they have lived.  For the bridal cake we did a four tiered, Tiffany blue cake to represent NYC with cascading cherry blossom branches to represent DC.  Inside the cake was coconut cake (thanks Martha Stewart for a great recipe) with coconut Swiss Meringue buttercream.  Because I had to make the cake ahead of time (was picked up on Friday for a Saturday night wedding) I used a new product I found from King Arthur Flour called cake enhancer.  This product claims to make a cake stay fresher longer - I think it worked (at least from the all the scraps I was able to sample - very moist!)

This is the biggest cake I have ever made.  There was a point when I just wanted to throw in the towel but I couldn't do that!  It was for a WEDDING!  For some reason I thought it would be ok to place a few of the tiers in the freezer - just for a minute.  BAD idea!  When I brought them out they immediately built up condensation making the fondant all sticky.  There was no coming back from that so I had to tear off all the fondant and start over. Much better but during the process I definitely dinged up the cakes - oops!  Once the white ribbon and the cherry blossoms were added it all came together - Thank goodness!

 

For the groom's cake they wanted to represent Memphis, TN with Elvis's iconic "Taking Care of Business" (TCB) emblem.  The cake was red velvet with mascarpone cream cheese filling and caramel Swiss Meringue buttercream. 

Hopefully I'll be able to see what the cakes looked like at the wedding!

{Tasty Thursdays} Guest Post: Megpies!

Hello Everyone! I’m Megan from megpies and I’m so thrilled to be a guest on Rene Takes the Cake!

One year ago, I started a small pie business completely by accident. In fact, this Thanksgiving marks megpies’ 1^st Anniversary! Sharing its Anniversary with Thanksgiving is only fitting since it’s my favorite holiday. The smell of food cooking early in the morning, having people over, getting the linen napkins out…these are the things that make it special. Now that megpies is born, it makes it all the more dear to my heart.

In honor of the Thanksgiving season coming up I would like to share one of my most popular pie recipes – Bourbon-Orange Pecan Pie. It’s not Thanksgiving without pie! In fact, my family is so into pie that traditionally we will eat pie for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. Our reasoning is that we’d rather not wait until we’re too full of dinner to enjoy the pie! So pie is first on Thanksgiving – it’s our favorite part after all! I hope you enjoy it at your Thanksgiving table this year.

Bourbon-Orange Pecan Pie

Photos by www.halliewestcott.com

1 uncooked pie crust

3 eggs

¾ cup light brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

1 tbl – 1 ½ tbl orange zest

2 tbl bourbon

¼ cup melted unsalted butter

2 cups (plus 1 cup for decoration) Pecan halves

1. Place the uncooked pie crust into a 9” pie pan and gently form into the pan. Crimp the edges as desired. Place the pie shell in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Wisk the eggs and add the brown sugar and corn syrup. Wisk again to combine.
4. Add the salt, orange zest and bourbon. Wisk again to combine.
5. Add the melted butter and wisk until combined.
6. Pour in 2 cups Pecan halves and toss.
7. Pour the mixture into the pie crust shell
8. Arrange the remaining cup of Pecan halves around the outer edge of the pie.
9. Place the pie on a baking sheet and wrap the edges in foil to prevent the crust from burning.
10. Bake on the bottom rack of your oven for 40-50 minutes until the top looks dry and starts to rise a bit. Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving.

megpies Tips:

1. While forming the crust to the pan, be careful not to stretch your dough. Any stretching you do now, will shrink as it bakes.
2. I use several pieces of tin foil to wrap the edges of the pie while it bakes. There are other methods such as the metal pie baking rings, etc. but I’ve found that good ‘ol tin foil works best. It’s a little harder to get it in place, but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make sure the shiny side of the foil is facing the outside.

Thank you all for spending some time with me today. I would love to hear about your Thanksgiving traditions in the comments below! Happy Holidays!

Butterfly and Rose Cake

In addition to Cupcake Camp DC this weekend, I had a cake to make for my collaboration with Lindi from Love the Day designs.  When I dropped the cake off for her party I only got a small snapshot of what the whole thing was going to look like  - and oh my was it ever cute.  As we were pulling out to get on our way to Cupcake Camp, she walked out with these two tiny little butterfly costumes - and the cutest little girl - must have been the guest of honor =)

A month or so ago Lindi sent me her color palette and some pictures of cakes for inspiration.  I really liked this one cake she sent over that had this eyelet kind of lace on it.  I immediately went to my fave online cake supply shop (Global Sugar Art) to see what I needed to buy.

The cake was vanilla with orange cream filling (top tier) and strawberry with chocolate ganache filling (bottom tier).  I made the the big sugar rose and butterflies from gumpaste a few days ahead of time so they would have time to dry.  This was the first time I tried to make the eyelet cut outs...I should have practiced in advance because it didn't come out as nice as I would have liked - the fondant was sooo soft.

Here are a few pics of the cake - I can't wait to see the whole event!

CupcakeCamp DC 2010

On Saturday I attended the first annual CupcakeCamp DC event.  I heard about this event from my friend Cara of Cara Lee Cakes and Cupcakes a few months ago and signed right up - An event all about cupcakes - who could resist that?  At the time of signing up my two favorite cupcakes were my newly created Orange Dreamsicle (a vanilla orange cupcake filled with orange cream and topped with orange vanilla Swiss Meringue frosting) and the always popular, kitchen aid winner Chocolate Covered Strawberry (chocolate cupcake with rich ganche filling topped with strawberry Swiss Meringue frosting and a huge chocolate covered strawberry.)

There were so many people at this event - the cupcake fad is certainly not going anywhere that's for sure.  My best guess is that they served at least 50 different cupcakes during the 2 and half hours.  They were sent down to the crowd in 8 different rounds.  After the first few I was done...way too many cupcakes and I felt bad only taking a bit and leaving the rest.  I'm really not sure how the four judges did it.

The most exciting news is that I won first place by the judges vote for the Chocolate Covered Strawberry!  I'm thinking I would have had a good shot at crowd favorite, but when they brought my box down to share with the crowd there were only 4 left!

Here are some pics from the event that I took - Hopefully there was someone at the event who will publish their pics and I can put a link in this entry. You can check out more pics from the event here!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry

Orange Dreamsicle

Cara and I with our winnings!

The crowd!

Many half eaten cupcakes =(

{Tasty Thursdays} Fall Flavors

I am absolutely loving the weather in DC right now.  In the mornings when I leave for work it is in the 60's - the air is so crisp and refreshing.  This morning I even noticed a few trees turning colors which means my favorite season of the year is almost here - FALL!

One of my favorite recipes I go to when Fall arrives are these fabulous Harvest Muffins by the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.  I discovered this recipe about 5 years ago and have been making them ever since.  They take a bit of prep time but are well worth it in the end.  At first I had a hard time finding Calimyrna figs - I find them in the dried fruit section at Trader Joes and Whole Foods - I've never tried fresh figs in this recipe, only the dried version.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup medium-diced Calimyrna figs
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the milk, eggs, and melted butter. Stir quickly just to combine. Add the cranberries, figs, hazelnuts, and both sugars and stir just to distribute the fruits, nuts, and sugar evenly throughout the batter.

Spoon the batter into the paper liners, filling each one to the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until browned on the top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Coming next week: My first guest post!  

First Birthday: Retro Robot Cake Topper

A couple weeks ago I was asked if I would be able to help with a cake topper for a first birthday.  Mom planned an entire Retro Robot themed party and had a specific cake in mind to top her cupcake tower.  She sent me over a pic of what she was thinking and this morning at 5am I got to work!

The cake was vanilla and I used my "tooth ache" buttercream frosting so I could achieve a brighter color (Swiss Meringue does not like to take on vivid colors).  Each piece of the robot was cut out of fondant which took the longest.  I had some left over fondant from the colors I mixed so I included a few fondant cupcake toppers.  I can't wait to see how it all came together!

{Friday Feature} The Power of Collaboration

I thought it would be fitting to make the topic of my Friday Feature about collaboration since in just a couple weeks I will be collaborating on an event with the very creative Lindi of Love the Day Designs!

For some time now, I have been following 2 FABULOUS blogs from 2 very CREATIVE women.  Kim from the TomKat Studio has a huge line of themed party printables and Glory of Glorious Treats is a phenomenal baker and party blogger - All things I just happen to be in love with.

The two women recently joined forces to create this amazing Halloween spread.  With Halloween just around the corner this post from the TomKat Studio offers great inspiration to all us party planners! Here are just a few colorful highlights!

{Tasty Thursdays} The Perfect Vanilla Frosting

I am on a personal mission to get everyone who makes cupcakes/cake from scratch to stop using powdered sugar!  (Well OK, I'll let the cream cheese frosting slide since it is so yummy).With just a little extra effort you can whip up the most delicious, smooth, and creamy buttercream frosting ever.  Here is my favorite Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe - Don't be nervous to try it out!

Ingredients
Makes enough for 36-48 cupcakes (depending on how much frosting you like)
6 egg whites (room temperature)
1 and 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 and 1/2 pounds room temperature butter (cut into one inch pieces)
1 T plus 1 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste

Method
In your (kitchen aid) bowl whisk together the egg whites and sugar.
Place your bowl over simmering water and continue to whisk making sure the egg white mixture does not harden on the sides of the bowl.
Insert a candy thermometer and continue whisking making sure the temperature of your mixture reaches 140 degrees F.
After the mixture reaches 140 degrees, move the bowl to your stand mixer with the whisk attachment.
Whip hot mixture on high until cool.  Egg white should start to look lighter in color.
Add your butter in small pieces on low to medium speed.  Once all the butter is added, bring the mixture back up to a high speed.
Turn off mixer and add your flavoring.  Continue to whisk until incorporated.

Swiss Meringue frosting is shelf stable for up to 2 days.  You can make it ahead of time and refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze up to a month.  Just bring it back to room temperature and beat again with whisk attachment.

This frosting is extremely versatile. You can add any extracts, melted chocolate, liquor, juices, or fresh fruit.  If I am making a fresh fruit frosting, I wait until the day I want to use it to add my fruit.

The only down side - if this really is a down side, is that Swiss Meringue does not take on color very well.  I like to keep my frosting white and add colorful decorations. (Who wants frosting that tastes like gel color anyway?)

Try this recipe out and let me know how it goes!

{Friday Feature} The Fabulous Stylings of Bobbette & Belle

When I was perusing my favorite blogs earlier this week, I came across this fabulous post on Sweet Designs, a Blog by Amy Atlas. Pretty much anything on her blog is amazing but there was something about the photos of these cakes and dessert table - I just had to make it my first "Friday Feature".  Check out these beautiful cakes and desserts.

These gorgeous creations are the work of Bobbette & Belle out of Canada. I just love the sophisticated, simple design of each cake - especially the one on the right with the huge flower on it.  And the cake with the ribbon flowers is to die for.  I will absolutely be adding Bobbette & Belle to my list of favorite sites for inspiration - Their work is absolutely fabulous!  See Amy Atlas's full post here.