(White) Chocolate Rain!

Gosh, life is getting so busy already this summer! Between getting my yard ready, flowers planted, work, two cats, a dog, and a hubby, I find that I hardly have time to bake right now. Like, only a couple treats a week ;) So I'm delving into the Cupcakery archives for an old favorite. Chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and strawberry filling. Mmmmmmmmm....*drool*. Even better, this recipe works great with just about any fruit, cherries, raspberries, blueberries. Basically anything you would pair with a cheesecake :D Perfect for summer time and all of this fresh produce I have!

White chocolate cream cheese frosting and strawberry filling! Yum!

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 box chocolate cake mix (and any eggs/oil/water called for on the box)

Prepare the cake according to the directions on the box and let cool.

Strawberry Filling
1 lb fresh strawberries
1/2 C white sugar (or 1/4 C honey/agave nectar for you healthier people)
1/4 C water

OR
2 C fresh strawberry jam

Wash, dry, and hull strawberries. In a large pot on the stove on medium high heat, mash strawberries with a potato masher. Add sugar/honey/agave and water. Bring to a boil and boil for five minutes or until you reach a jelly consistency. Be careful to keep stirring otherwise the bottom will scorch. Ew.
Let cool.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz softened cream cheese (that's two bricks)
8 oz white chocolate (melted)
2-3 C powdered sugar
1 T vanilla
Cocoa powder


In a large mixing bowl combine the softened cream cheese and melted white chocolate. Add vanilla. Clear vanilla is best as it won't alter the color of this white frosting, but regular brown vanilla is totally cool too. I like to use Madagascar or Tahitian for frostings. Slowly add the powdered sugar. The amount depends on how stiff you need the frosting. As you can see in the picture above, I kept mine fairly soft.

Put the cupcakes together:
Take the unfrosted cupcakes and poke a decent sized hole in the top, just not all the way down to the liner. Using a spoon, bag or piping bag fill the holes with the strawberry deliciousness. Now either spread the frosting on with a knife or pipe it on. I used a large round tip for these ones since the frosting was too soft to hold the edges of a star tip. I dusted mine with cocoa powder. A slice of fresh strawberry on top would be awesome too!

What's your favorite fruit to use with cakes?

A Good Walk Ruined

"I have a tip that can take five strokes off anyone's golf game:  it's called an eraser."  ~Arnold Palmer

Golf Course Cupcake Cake

For those of us that are lucky enough to have golfers in our lives, we have the perfect (cup)cake for you! The best part of this cupcake cake is that it can be modeled after your favorite golfer's favorite hole, can be used with however many cupcakes you want, and can be made out of cupcakes, or a sheet cake! 
Father's day, birthday, anniversary, Tuesday, Boss's Day, the opportunities to impress with this treat are endless.


For this recipe, I'm going to assume that you already have your cake/cupcakes made and cooled. It's just easier for me that way. So, since you have your favorite flavor of cupcakes ready to go on your counter, do me a favor and grab whatever you're going to serve the cake on (cake display board, platter, etc). Play around with the cupcakes and arrange them in the shape of the particular hole that you want. Now that you have the cupcakes arranged, get together the following:


3 C white buttercream frosting (all amounts will be for 24 cupcakes which should = ~ 1/4 sheet cake)
Green food coloring gel
'Spaghetti' or 'grass' piping tip (it looks somewhat like a thimble) 
Piping tip
One chocolate chip
1/4 C crushed graham crackers (for a sand trap)
Blue food coloring gel (if you want a water hazard)


"Glue" your cupcakes in place on the serving apparatus with a small dot of the white buttercream. If you are going to include a sand trap, first frost those cupcakes with white frosting, then sprinkle the tops with graham crackers. Do this before you frost the rest of the cake! It will save you from having sand all over your grass. 

If you don't want a water hazard tint all but a tablespoon or two of the white buttercream a grassy green color (the reserved white is for the golf balls). If you do want a water hazard, separate about 1/4 of the white frosting to tint blue, color the rest green but still reserve some white for the golf balls. With an angled spatula frost the 'green' with the green buttercream. At this time, if you want a water hazard you should use an angled spatula and put that any darn place you want.


Now that you have the green and the hazards out of the way, start piping in the rough using the grass tip. *Warning* Your hand is probably going to get really sore if there is a lot of grass to pipe. Either recruit someone to tap in when your hand gets tired, or make sure there is room in the fridge where you can keep the cake while you take a break. 


Use the piping tip and white frosting to place the golf balls where you want them (in the sand trap and rough for a 'realistic' look). For the hole, take the chocolate chip and place it pointy end down into the green. 


For a large writing space (for "Happy Birthday" sentiments or "You're the Best Boss Ever, Can I Have a Raise?" adulations) make sure that the green, water hazard, or sand trap is large enough for the message. It is incredibly difficult to write a legible message on the grass, just sayin'. 


As always, happy cupcaking, and make sure to send in pictures when you attempt these recipes!