strawberry daiquiri cupcakes

Daiquiris are the quintessential summer cocktail (in this girl's opinion). Combining a summer seasonal fruit (in this case strawberries) and rum, this flavour combination lends itself especially well to cake. For the fourth instalment of cuptails, I give you strawberry daiquiri cupcakes. 

I'd like to take a play from the strawberry's book and find myself some sun and a parasol.

Strawberry Daiquiri 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 cup whole milk

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

4 eggs

1/2 cup chopped or puréed strawberries

2 tsp rum extract

pink 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 strawberries, extract and colour 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.  

Strawberry Buttercream Icing:

recipe yields 2-3 cups

Ingredients:  

2/3 cup egg whites

1 cup white sugar

2 cups butter (4 sticks)

1/2 cup strawberry purée

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 purée and mix until incorporated.

Strawberry is among my favourite flavour (and fruit), so this cuptail is always a sweet treat for me. Now it can be a sweet treat for you too!

-Danielle

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

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

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

blue jays

I love my city and this week's cupcake request was a great chance to show some pride. 

Three dozen chocolate and vanilla cupcakes were topped with white or blue vanilla buttercream. There were six topper designs in total, and the Blue Jays' logo was hand painted with petal dust. I had to channel my inner tenth grade art class artist to accomplish that task.

Let's hope this brings good karma to Toronto's team this season!


-Danielle 

who do you wannabe?

This week Sweet&Splendid was asked to sponsor a charity event; specifically, a fundraiser/awareness campaign for the 519 Church Street Community Centre. They do great work for the community and their members/guests deserve a delicious thanks.

The event was Spice Girls-themed (and featured a Spice Girls tribute band) so to suit the occasion, I constructed a vanilla single-tier round cake and decked it out with a mod union jack design. In the centre I placed a cut-out of the organization's logo.

Around 100 guests were involved so in addition to the main cake, I also prepared some yummy vanilla mini-cupcakes with buttercream of varying colours and flavours. I'm partial to the pink bubble gum, myself.

The fundraiser earned a ton of money and I'm so happy we got to be a part of it! 

-Danielle

the big one

I love cupcakes. There isn't a flavour I've encountered that I haven't enjoyed (my attempt at a chocolate bacon cupcake, while bizarre, was still devoured mercilessly). My only complaint is that one is never enough. Except in this case.

This birthday cake was crafted to celebrate a 29th birthday. The birthday girl also celebrated some other big events, so these were reflected in the cake base too.

Chocolate mud cake (ganache filling, ganache coating) was carved and stacked to create this 20-serving cupcake. The cherry (my favourite part!) and sprinkles were made from gumpaste.

To emphasize the whimsical nature of the cake, the board was covered in a two-tone swirl of pastel blue and purple. A gumpaste diploma and engagement ring finished everything off.


Happy birthday and congratulations to the birthday girl! 


-Danielle

angry birds, king pig

I got a very fun cupcake project this week: turning the popular phone and internet game Angry Birds into delicious cupcake toppers! 

A request was made for Blue Bird, Yellow Bird, Black Bird and King Pig cupcakes. The characters, their platforms (green grass for the birds and wood for the pigs) and their accessories were sculpted from coloured fondant and placed atop chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.

Hopefully the only slingshot these little guys see is straight into hungry and happy mouths.


-Danielle

SS2012 launch

Photograph by Lu Chau, Photagonist.ca

This week sweet&splendid got to be part of the Dr. Martens launch of their spring and summer 2012 collection of footwear! Growing up, the classic black shoes with yellow stitching were a staple of my teenage wardrobe. These days, they've got an array of colours, styles and patterns to choose from but the classic fit and durability are still a hallmark. To commemorate their iconic brand I provided confections for the party guests.

Dozens and dozens of chocolate cupcakes were each covered with a big dollop of vanilla buttercream and topped with an edible logo. 

Photograph by Lu Chau, Photagonist.ca

Also provided were decorated sugar cookes: classic rolled sugar cookies were iced with royal icing to emulate the iconic Dr. Martens shoes and boots. 

Photograph by Lu Chau, Photagonist.ca

It's not everyday sweet&splendid gets to be a part of a high-profile event (guests included TV and media personalities, fashion writers and amateur cupcake connoisseurs)  and I can't wait to see what we get involved with next.

Photograph by Lu Chau, Photagonist.ca

-Danielle

new year, new beginning

Happy new year, everyone! It's the time of year for resolutions; some of us resolve to lose weight, eat healthier, run a marathon, travel more... and others resolve to get married! This weekend Haley and Ian tied the knot and celebrated their new year and new lives together. The guests got to celebrate with them and enjoy some scrumptious cupcakes too.

Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate cupcakes were covered with vanilla, strawberry and chocolate buttercream (and mix and matched) and placed on a hand-made, 6 tier cupcake stand.

A small white cutting cake served as the topper and was embellished with a simple yet elegant quilted pattern. 

Of the 150 cupcakes in total, about 30 were decorated with silver fondant with the bride's and groom's initials. They were randomly scattered throughout the cupcake stand.

Congratulations to the happy couple, what a fantastic way to ring in the new year! 


-Danielle

gingerbread everything

Now that we've entered the official countdown to the holidays it's time to start some festive baking projects. This week I took the opportunity to use my favourite holiday flavour in many different recipes: gingerbread.

Even though I used half of the recipe that I usually use, I still ended up with almost 200 of these little gingerbread men. The next thought was to use the extras as cupcake toppers which gave me the excuse to make some gingerbread cupcakes. 

Cupcakes were baked with molasses, ground ginger, allspice and cinnamon - just like the cookies - and covered with a generous swirl of cinnamon buttercream. I think the smiles on the gingerbread men cookies just got bigger.

The last baking endeavour involved my favourite confections: macarons. I simply added the ground spices (ginger, cinnamon and allspice) to the dry ingredients before folding. Once cooled they were filled with a fragrant ginger-orange buttercream. 

As much as I enjoy the Christmas season for all it represents: time spent with family and good friends, gift-giving, a much-needed break from studying/research, I'm pretty certain the best aspect is the food. Let the holiday baking begin!

-Danielle

rubi

A short while ago I celebrated my anniversary with the better half; he gave me a beautiful bouquet of yellow and pink gerbera daisies (one of my favourites) that I later wanted to emulate as cupcakes. I happened to pick up blackberries and golden raspberries from the store one day and knew they would be perfect. 

I've baked with blackberries before; they're tart and sweet and oh so pretty. The golden raspberries were something new. Until I'd bought them I had no idea they existed. They're a rarer variety of raspberry that's slightly sweeter and milder than their traditional red counterpart. 

 To cut the tartness of the berries, I paired them with a not-too-sweet buttermilk chocolate cupcake base. 

Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes
(recipe yields 18 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

Directions:

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

 The buttercream topping is a standard Swiss meringue buttercream using this recipe. The berries were then (separately) pureed with a little bit of boiling water and added to the buttercream once cooled. 

And then the cupcakes were promptly eaten.

-Danielle

i'm thankful for...

Thanksgiving: historically a holiday to celebrate and give thanks for a good harvest, and for a community to come together and rejoice after a season of hard work. Well, I didn't sow my own grains or mill my own flour but that doesn't mean a lot of hard work hasn't been done this year. This Thanksgiving I'm grateful for family. And friends. And wonderful opportunities. And pumpkin puree. And gumpaste.

Many pansy species bloom in the fall and with such rich colours I thought they would make a lovely topping to some fall-inspired pumpkin spice cupcakes.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:
recipe yields ~24 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp all spice or ground cloves

2 tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together eggs and both brown and white sugar. Add eggs and vanilla extract and continue mixing. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice in separate bowl. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until incorporated. Mix on high for additional 2 minutes. Line baking tray with cupcake inserts. Carefully place batter into inserts and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cupcakes comes out clean. 

 
Cream Cheese Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing:

recipe yields 2-3 cups

Ingredients: 

2/3 cup egg whites

1 cup white sugar

2 cups butter (4 sticks)

1/2 cup cream cheese

2 tsp vanilla extract

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 vanilla and cream cheese and continue to mix until incorporated and mixture is creamy.

Don't forget to give thanks at your dinner table this Sunday! Happy Thanksgiving!

-Danielle