This month’s theme was Music!

Be sure to head over and vote for your favorite 3 cupcake creations! Just a refresher (in case you missed ‘em), here are my two entries for this month.

There’s only a few more days to vote so hurry on over! Click on the banner below.

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© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Iron Cupcake, IronCupcake:Earth

My second cupcake for this month’s IronCupcake challenge is based on the song “Heart of Glass” by Blondie. It’s one of those songs that always manages to make its way in to my brain and get stuck there for hours.

The cupcake is a blondie cupcake with mascarpone frosting, topped with a sugar “Heart of Glass”.

I’ve mentioned before that I am addicted to music. Well, I think I might have understated it just a bit. I have over 1200 songs in my library at the moment. That number is constantly growing as I discover new artists or songs. The genres range all the way from rock to classical and everything in between.

Some people have gone as far as to call me obsessed. That’s such a harsh word; I prefer the term extremely fascinated. Plus, there are people that have way more songs than I do. So, in other words, I’m not alone. Check out just a few of my current favorite songs.

Anyway, while I’m not a massive fan of Blondie (the group), I am however a massive fan of blondies (the dessert). Put them in cupcake form and I’m not sure life could get any better. The combo of butterscotch and toffee bits make these cupcakes amazing. I was imagining them to come out a with the texture of a cupcake but no, these are like actual blondie bars. Perfection!

Okay, back to the point of this whole post… the cupcakes!!

Blondie Cupcakes – Makes about 12 cupcakes
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup toffee bits (or chopped Heath or Skor chocolate covered toffee bars)
1/3 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder together.

Cream butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add flour mixture; beat until just incorporated. Fold in the toffee bits and butterscotch chips by hand.

Divide the batter into the lined cup, filling each three-quarters full. Bake at 350°F for 23-25 minutes until golden brown. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before removing them from the pan.

To make the sugar hard candy, I combined 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup water and 3/8 teaspoon cream of tartar in a saucepan over medium heat.

Stir until sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes. Without stirring, let the mixture come to a boil (about 5 minutes). Raise the heat to high and let it continue to boil until the temperature on your candy thermometer reaches 300°F. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool just until it stops boiling (it will still be very hot). Add 4-5 drops of red food coloring and mix quickly. Pour the mixture onto a greased cookie sheet.

Allow it to cool a minute and press the greased cookie cutter into the mixture (it should be set enough to hold the shape). Once it’s almost cool, break apart the hearts. Don’t worry if you break a few. I started with 16 and ended with 12.

I used a Wilton cookie cutter for the shape.

Mascarpone Frosting – Makes about 2 cups
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temp
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer, whisk heavy cream on medium speed until stiff peaks form. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.

Voting for IronCupcake begins Friday, October 30th at 8 p.m. (cst) and will be open through Thursday, November 5th. You can use the icon below or go here to VOTE.

The awesome IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers are:

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne
• Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House
• Sweet Cuppin’ Cakes Bakery & Cupcakey Supply

Check out all things IronCupcake:Earth!

I’m curious, what are some of your favorite songs/artists/genres?

Don’t miss a bite! Subscribe via RSS, e-mail or follow me on Twitter!

© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blondie Cupcakes, Blondies, Cupcake, Heart of Glass, Iron Cupcake, IronCupcake:Earth, mascarpone

IronCupcake:Earth is back! After taking a brief hiatus, this year’s first monthly challenge is Music! I’m excited to participate, considering I’m completely addicted to music.

The inspiration for this cupcake comes from one of the most famous songs in history, Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland.

I, like many other kids, grew up watching The Wizard of Oz. It is such a whimsical movie and I always had a soft spot for Toto. I really wanted a pair of ruby slippers, too. One of my favorite quotes comes from The Wizard of Oz; “A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.”

2009 marks the 70th anniversary of this classic movie. To celebrate, Warner Bros. has released a digitally remastered, high definition version.

Now on to the cupcakes!

The cupcake itself is a rainbow lemon cupcake with bits of lemon drops (hard candies) mixed in the batter. Why lemon drops you ask?

“Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops…”

They are topped off with a “cloud” of marshmallow frosting. I’m pretty sure if you could taste a cloud it would be made of marshmallows. It just has to be.

I searched for real lemon drops in my local grocery store but the only ones they carried had never seen actual lemons. So I ordered some old-fashioned, 100% naturally flavored lemon drops made by Claeys Candies (since 1919).

To crush the lemon drops, I double bagged them in zip top bags and took a hammer to them, on a cutting board of course. It was very therapeutic. Once they were a manageable size, I put them in my 4-cup chopper and chopped/ground them until they were 1/8″ or smaller. When the lemon drops bake in the cupcakes, they melt and leave behind little bursts of lemony goodness.

Lemon Drop Rainbow Cupcakes – Makes about 2 dozen
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes (originally Lemon Meringue recipe)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (about 3 medium lemons)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup crushed lemon drops

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line standard cupcake tins with liners.

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside.

With an electric mixer on medium-high, cream the butter and sugar (using the paddle attachment) until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each one. Scrape down the sides of bowl if needed. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Combine the buttermilk and lemon juice in small bowl or measuring cup. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with two additions of the buttermilk/lemon juice mixture. Beat until just barely combined after each addition.

Gently fold in the crushed lemon drops. To avoid the batter getting too stiff, try not to overmix when adding the lemon drops. It will be mixed even more when you add the colors.

Divide the batter into 1 cup increments and put into 5 separate small bowls (if doing 5 colors). Gradually add food coloring to each bowl, until you get to your desired colors. Stir gently to make sure there aren’t any remaining streaks of color.

To measure the coloring I dipped a toothpick about 3/4″ into each jar of color (with the exception of the green, see below), swirled it through the batter and mixed throughly.

Here are the colors and amount of coloring I used from the bottom of the cupcake to the top:

• Orange – Wilton Creamy Peach – 1 toothpick plus a tiny bit more.
• Yellow – Wilton Buttercup Yellow – 1 toothpick
• Green – AmeriColor Avacado – 5 drops
• Blue – Wilton Cornflower Blue – 2-3 toothpicks
• Violet – Wilton Violet – 1 toothpick

Put 1 teaspoon (slightly heaped) batter of your first color in each of the cupcake cups. I gently smoothed out only the first color, just to get an even bottom. Repeat with the other colors.

Bake at 325°F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Decorate!

Marshmallow Frosting
adapted from MarthaStewart.com

8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a heatproof bowl of an electric mixer, place egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar. Set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk the mixture constantly until the egg whites are warm to the touch and the sugar is dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes.

Transfer the bowl to electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, beat until the mixture is stiff and glossy peaks form (5 to 7 minutes). Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Use immediately, as the marshmallow frosting will continue to stiffen.

Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes.

Voting for IronCupcake begins Friday, October 30th at 8 p.m. (cst) and will be open through Thursday, November 5th. You can use the icon below or go here to VOTE.

The awesome IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers are:

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne
• Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House
• Sweet Cuppin’ Cakes Bakery & Cupcakey Supply

Check out all things IronCupcake:Earth!

Don’t miss a bite! Subscribe via RSS, e-mail or follow me on Twitter!

© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Iron Cupcake, iron cupcake earth, lemon, lemon cupcakes, lemon drop cupcakes, lemon drops, rainbow cupcakes, the wizard of oz

Everybody has their favorites when it comes to cupcake flavors and lemon is definitely one of mine. With that being said, I was super excited when I found an awesome recipe for Lemon and Lavender cake. I had never tasted the two flavors together so I was eager to try it for my second IronCupcake Herbs entry this month.

Now, I know lemon and lavender is a popular combo but there is a reason… It’s because they are outstanding together. In this recipe, the lemon taste hits you first, followed closely by a subtle hint of lavender.

To top it all off, these cupcakes were a breeze to make. Just dump all the ingredients in the bowl, mix and bake. How simple.

While they were still warm, I drizzled some lemon-sugar syrup on each cupcake (recipe below). It kept them extra moist and added a bit more lemon flavor. So if you aren’t really crazy about that much lemon you could skip this step.

Rather than pairing them with a fancy frosting, I opted for a plain cream cheese icing. I didn’t want to do anything that would detract from the lemon and lavender.

Also, I had a bit of batter left over, but not enough for another pan of regular size cupcakes, so I made some mini cupcakes. I actually wish I would have made more mini sized cupcakes because they were just so darn adorable!

Voting for the IronCupcake:Earth Herbs challenge begins Tuesday, July 28th and will be open through Wednesday, August 5th. You can use the icon on the right side of the page or the link below to vote for your 3 favorite cupcakes.

VOTE!

Also see my first entry for the Herbs challenge, Peach-Rosemary Filled Pound Cupcakes.

Etsy Prize-Pack:

• A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by insanejellyfish
• A delicious treat from circlemonkey
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin’ Cakes Cupcakery
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend CAKESPY who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice – sweet!

Corporate Prize Providers:

• Head Chefs by Fiesta Products
• Hello Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
• Jessie Steele Aprons
• Taste of Home books
• A t-shirt from Upwithcupcakes.com
• Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

Learn more about IronCupcake:Earth and join the fun at www.ironcupcakeearth.com

Lemon & Lavender Cupcakes:
adapted from here.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes

Don’t miss a bite! Subscribe via RSS, e-mail or follow me on Twitter!

© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cupcakes, ICE_012, Iron Cupcake, Iron Cupcake Herbs, IronCupcake:Earth, lavender, lemon, mini cupcake

I am competing in my first IronCupcake:Earth challenge! This months ingredient is herbs. After some thinking I came up with a Peach-Rosemary Filled Pound Cake Cupcake.

A classic pound cake cupcake filled with homemade Rosemary-Peach jam and topped with cream cheese frosting and garnished with fresh peaches.

I had never baked with rosemary, much less herbs before so I wanted to try something unique. The pound cake cupcakes were super moist and not too sweet so it really let the jam do the talking. I adapted the Southwest Georgia Pound Cake recipe from Paula Deen into cupcakes. (Jump to the recipes)

This is really all there is to it. A simple, no frills recipe.

I filled each cupcake with 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of jam depending on the hole size. Here are some great step-by-step instructions on how to fill a cupcake.

Look at all that yummy goodness!

Another first for me, was making the jam. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I had envisioned some big ordeal, with sticky jam everywhere. Counters, floor, ceiling, the works. But I’m happy to say, no such mess. You just toss the ingredients together and let it sit for 4 hours, tossing every hour. Cook and mash the jam then process the jars. (recipe)

Mmmm… The rosemary flavor works so well paired with the peaches. I gave a few jars to friends and family but I stocked back a couple for later. Not to be stingy or anything…

The jam would also be really good over ice cream or spread on crackers or breakfast toast.

In case you’ve never heard of IronCupcake:Earth before, it is a world-wide baking challenge with not so normal baking ingredients.

Voting begins Tuesday, July 28th and will be open through Wednesday, August 5th. You can use the icon on the right side of the page or go here.

I’ve never been one of those “Vote for Me!!” people so, head on over once the voting begins and vote for your 3 favorites from all of the wonderful entries. Maybe my Peach-Rosemary Filled Cupcakes will be one of them.

Oh and… There are prizes! Loads of ‘em…

Etsy Prize-Pack:

• A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by insanejellyfish
• A delicious treat from circlemonkey
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin’ Cakes Cupcakery
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend CAKESPY who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice – sweet!

Corporate Prize Providers:

• Head Chefs by Fiesta Products
• Hello Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
• Jessie Steele Aprons
• Taste of Home books
• A t-shirt from Upwithcupcakes.com
• Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers

Learn more about IronCupcake:Earth and get in on the fun at www.ironcupcakeearth.com

Now… On to the recipes!

Pound Cake Cupcakes:
adapted from The Lady & Sons Just Desserts

Rosemary-Peach Jam Filling:
adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Don’t miss a bite! Subscribe via RSS, e-mail or follow me on Twitter!

© Stormie for BiteSizeBaker.com, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Cupcakes, ICE_012, Iron Cupcake, IronCupcake:Earth, peach jam, Peach-Rosemary