blue lagoon cupcakes

This popular summer cocktail consists of blue curaçao, vodka and lemonade. Blue curaçao is made from the peels of a citrus fruit native to the island after which it is named; there's no real reason it's blue, and it tastes like oranges. To transform it into a cupcake, I omitted the vodka, but kept the flavours and colour close to the original. Here I present the third instalment of cuptails: blue lagoon cupcakes.

Blue Lagoon Cupcakes
(recipe yields 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup blue curaçao liqueur

3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

4 eggs

2 tsp orange extract

blue food colour gel

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add oil, followed by eggs, one at a time. Mix on high for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, continue mixing. Add liqueur and extract and continue mixing until incorporated. Pour batter into cupcake liners (about 2 large tablespoons per cupcake) and bake for 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  

Blue Lagoon Buttercream Icing:

recipe yields 2-3 cups

Ingredients:  

2/3 cup egg whites

1 cup white sugar

2 cups butter (4 sticks)

zest of two lemons

1 tbsp curaçao

a couple drops blue food gel

Directions:

Heat egg whites in a double boiler stirring frequently so that egg whites do not become cooked. Slowly add sugar and mix thoroughly for about 5 minutes or until mixture reaches 55C. Transfer mixture to mixing bowl and whip on high until stiff peaks form. Switch mixer attachment to paddle and slowly incorporate butter. Turn the speed up until mixture becomes uniform. Add zest, liqueur and food colour and mix until incorporated.

I took the less fanciful approach to frosting this cupcake; given the blue colour, it kind of reminds me of waves. So let's just say I did that on purpose. 

You can add whatever tropical garnish you'd like; I stuck with an orange slice (as this is the dominant flavour), a pineapple wedge and my trusty fondant cherries, because I still don't have maraschinos. Whatever you choose, this cuptail is sure to add a refreshing dash of sweetness to your summer afternoon.

-Danielle

pina colada cupcakes

Now that it's summertime, I'm on a kick of cocktail-inspired cupcakes - which I will refer to as cuptails from here on. It's amazing how you can adapt a simple, tried and true recipe into something novel and outrageously delicious. 

Without a doubt, the pina colada is my favourite patio/beach indulgence. I practically sustain myself on them during all-inclusive Caribbean holidays. The combination of the two tropical and exotic flavours is pretty much perfection. Naturally I wanted to re-interpret that pairing in cake.

Coconut Cupcakes
(recipe yields 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup coconut milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

4 eggs

2 tsp coconut extract

No substitutes for coconut milk.

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add oil, followed by eggs, one at a time. Mix on high for 2 minutes. Slowly add coconut milk, continue mixing. Add extract and mix for 1 minute. Pour batter into cupcake liners (about 2 large tablespoons per cupcake) and bake for 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  

Pineapple Buttercream Icing:

recipe yields 2-3 cups

Ingredients:  

2/3 cup egg whites

1 cup white sugar

2 cups butter (4 sticks)

1 cup pineapple juice

Directions:

Heat egg whites in a double boiler stirring frequently so that egg whites do not become cooked. Slowly add sugar and mix thoroughly for about 5 minutes or until mixture reaches 55C. Transfer mixture to mixing bowl and whip on high until stiff peaks form. Switch mixer attachment to paddle and slowly incorporate butter. Turn the speed up until mixture becomes uniform. Add juice and mix until incorporated.

I garnished these cupcakes with a sprinkling of toasted sweetened coconut flakes (broiled for 2 minutes in the oven) and a cherry made of fondant, because I... no excuses. A maraschino cherry belongs on top of this cupcake. Or a pineapple slice. Or both. 


This recipe can be pretty easily modified if you want pineapple and coconut flavours in both components; simply add 1/2 cup crushed pineapple to the cupcake recipe, or coconut extract or flakes to the buttercream. I, however, find that the coconut cake and pineapple buttercream pair so perfectly together and accurately reflect the cocktail and recommend the recipe(s) as is.


Enjoy summer. Have a cuptail. I did.

-Danielle

beachy, wedding edition

Last year I made a beach-themed cake for a couple's engagement party (check it out here). This year, I applied the same design to a scaled up cake for their wedding reception. 

Like the engagement cake, all three tiers (12", 9" and 6") were made from a rich chocolate cake with mint flavoured swiss meringue buttercream. The outside of the cake was covered in vanilla buttercream. It's notoriously difficult to get a non-crusting buttercream smooth as glass and I had to make a few passes to get it looking sharp, but overall I'm very happy with how the finished turned out! Even more so when the dark chocolate interior is considered. Totally covered.

The details were the most fun. Buttercream was piped to create corals, gumpaste was used to create pearls and frangipanis, and the shells are made from white chocolate. To finish everything off a turquoise satin ribbon was wrapped around the base of each tier.


Congratulations to the newly married couple!


-Danielle

margarita cupcakes

It's summer time, and that calls for cocktails. Cupcake cocktails.

This is a simple re-work of a vanilla cake recipe that captures the flavour of an iconic summer beverage.


Margarita Cupcakes
(recipe yields 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

4 eggs

1 tsp lime zest

1 tsp key lime extract

2 tsp tequila

Directions:

Heat oven to 350F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add oil, followed by eggs, one at a time. Mix on high for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, continue mixing. Add zest, extract and tequila and mix for 1 minute. Pour batter into cupcake liners (about 2 large tablespoons per cupcake) and bake for 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  

Margarita Buttercream Icing:

recipe yields 2-3 cups

Ingredients:  

2/3 cup egg whites

1 cup white sugar

2 cups butter (4 sticks)

2 tbsp tequila

1 tsp lime zest

Directions:

Heat egg whites in a double boiler stirring frequently so that egg whites do not become cooked. Slowly add sugar and mix thoroughly for about 5 minutes or until mixture reaches 55C. Transfer mixture to mixing bowl and whip on high until stiff peaks form. Switch mixer attachment to paddle and slowly incorporate butter. Turn the speed up until mixture becomes uniform. Add tequila and lime zest and mix until incorporated.

You can garnish the cupcakes with grated lime peel or lime zest, or you can emulate the salted rim of the real cocktail. For this batch, I tinted course granulated sugar a lime green and mixed in course grain salt at a 3:1 ratio. Then I simply sprinkled it on top and stuck a straw in the side.

A sweet and splendid summer treat!


-Danielle

greatest hits

I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, and this week I finally got the opportunity. 

Vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream were sculpted to create this replica Gibson Casino guitar. The body was covered in yellow fondant and a wood grain was painted on. Black petal dust was then applied along the edges in a gradient. 

The neck and head were sculpted from the same cake and decorate with fondant and silver gumpaste details (and some bits of dried pasta). The strings were actually pulled taught and threaded like real strings through the body and through machine heads at the top. I haven't tried, but I don't think you could actually play it.

The birthday boy is a musician and as an added personal touch, a Billboard Top 10 chart was printed on rice paper and placed on the cake board. All the songs are his. And boy do they seem popular.


Happy birthday, and rock on.


-Danielle

metamorphosis

The butterfly gets its name from the texture of its wing: soft and buttery. Which suits them well as decorations atop a cupcake's buttercream finish. These chocolate engagement cupcakes were prepared for an engagement party and the symbolism of the butterfly's metamorphosis couldn't be more fitting. 

Dark chocolate cupcakes were topped with tinted chocolate buttercream and light grey butterflies and white flowers made from fondant. Of the five dozen in total, approximately one dozen were reserved and topped with white buttercream with a coral butterfly. 

A very big congratulations to the happy couple.


-Danielle

doll

This almond and vanilla birthday cake was decorated with a contemporary take on an Asian doll. The pearl necklace and border (coupled with a bob hair style) make it extra chic.

Happy birthday to a very classy lady. 


- Danielle