Sweet Me Up: Desserts by miVi

Okay, aside from not actually updating this site in a while, sometime over the holiday, the server deleted some of the last few posts. Here’s what you missed (or rather what was deleted):

• CupcakeCamp.ca launched! It was awesome.
• I wished you Happy Holidays
• I posted a recipe for a Pastry Lasagna - I will likely post it again (God bless the Facebook RSS feed - who knew Facebook would actually serve some sort of purpose?)
• I bitched about self-rising flour and provided how to make your own (will also re-post since it’s pretty useful)

What I failed to update you guys on:

• CUPCAKECAMP TORONTO! January 25 was an exhausting, chaotic, yet amazing day. Met some GREAT people and learned quite a bit on how to make the next one better. Looking forward to it. Here’s the play-by-play!
• I made Watchmen Cookies - I’ll post pics later

That’s all me these few months, baking-wise. I’ll do my best to keep on top on my baking shenanigans.

Out.
Michelle

Through no fault of my own, the Internet seemed to have found me. Actually, that’s not true: I spend most of my time on the Internet; it really doesn’t take a lot of effort to find me. Anyway, word got around via Twitter that Cupcake Camp (which originated in San Francisco) was a novel idea and that Toronto needed one. Luckily me and my friends had aspirations to make this happen but needed the right kick in the a$$ (more accurately - need to find a good venue!).

Enter BlogTO! This is fantastic - before it was just a neat idea but now I know the amount of interest outside my circle of friends. I’ve gotten so much support and offers to help from cupcakers and bakers alike. The Cupcake Camp Facebook group got so many new members just over night. Thanks goes out to all  who have emailed, PM’d or Twittered (tee-hee) me about it! Cupcake Camp is all about community and we’re gonna make this happen, stay tuned!

As my second baking pet peeve (a part from my lack of blogging), I hate when frosting warms in your hand as you’re piping and thus losing its pipeable consistency. I was using the leaf tip once and after a few minutes, it started looking like a random blobby strip on my cupcakes. Le sigh… 

A month ago, I did my first engagement party where the theme was fashion! Also, my apologies for not updating for a while.

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For some odd reason, I never consider my icing sugar inventory when I start a baking project. I just assume my cupboard has an infinite supply of icing sugar. So nothing grinds my gears more than it being way past midnight (me thinking that’s an ideal time to start the frosting) and discovering I do not have enough icing to make a crumb coat let alone icing the whole thing. What sucks more is I purposely made an ingredient run to the grocery store that day and still disregarded adding icing sugar to the list. 

Solution? Make my own!

What you need: blender or processor, granulated sugar (or regular sugar for you n00bs) and corn starch (1 cup of sugar : 1 tbsp. corn starch). Grind the sugar into a powder then add the corn starch. The corn starch acts as a binding agent so that the formerly known sugar can react properly with the other ingredients in your frosting recipe. 

Chocolate cake with meringue frosting.

And who doesn’t know who this is?

So Iron Cupcake: Earth is underway. The challenge? Chili peppers. My personal challenge? I very seldom cook with chili peppers let alone bake with them! Regardless, I love playing with flavour combinations and bombarding my co-workers for their opinion. Will bake for feedback and compliments.

**VOTING ENDS SEPTEMBER 4! VOTE NOW AT No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner!**

Before I get into the nitty-gritty and the seductive descriptions of what became my end product, let’s give it up for the prize donors:
Cakespy, Jessie Steele Aprons, The Cupcake Courier, Taste of Home, Fiesta Products and Hello, Cupcake.

Orange Chocolate Cupcake w/ Mango-Chili Frosting

This is a light and moist chocolate cupcake dancing in orange juice and tip-toeing in spices. I didn’t want to make this cake kick you in the mouth for the sake of kicking you in the mouth. The mango frosting is a marriage of citrus and fire providing some heat and cool down.

Orange Chocolate Cupcake w/ Mango-Chili Frosting (makes 24)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 ¾ cups flour
• ¾ cup cocoa
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup orange juice
• ¼ tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground cloves
• Mango-Chili Frosting (recipe below)
• Orange slices (I used red naval oranges for the colour)
• Crushed red pepper flakes

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two muffin tins.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and beat on medium. Slowly stir in the orange juice until it’s fully absorbed. Add chili powder, ground cinnamon and ground cloves and stir into the mixture. Spoon the batter a little over half-way full into the cupcake wells and bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool completely.
3. Prepare the frosting (recipe below). Place the red pepper flakes into a saucer. Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cooled cupcake and delicately roll the edge of the cupcake into the crushed flakes. Top the cupcake with an orange slice.

Mango-Chili Frosting

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter; softened
• ½ cup mango purée (one ripe mango through a food processor does the trick)
• Zest and juice of one lime
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 4-5 cups of icing sugar (varied to desired spreading consistency)
• ½ tsp. chili pepper
• Drops of tabasco sauce

1. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add mango, lime zest and juice and honey and beat well. Mix in icing sugar one cup at a time. Mix in chili pepper and tabasco sauce to your liking.

There’s a mini cake under that mini skirt!

This is actually a prototype for an engagement party I’m doing in October and so far… FAIL:
1. The top part made of fondant kept flopping over (solution: use chocolate?)
2. The skirt shape is a bit off (solution: will shave it a bit for an A-line skirt)
3. Turns out that Wilton’s ready to use black frosting tastes like licorice (solution: use dark chocolate instead?)
4. Not crazy about the dress design (solution: go with simple… and don’t think about creating designs at midnight)

I’m open to suggestions and criticism. Thanks!

When DID cupcakes jump the shark?…

Right about now.