Mixed Berry Lemonade {Sunflower} Cupcakes

I know - the title makes you wonder - but I’m so excited to tell you about these cupcakes! They turned out so perfectly (if I do say so myself) and were such a hit! I can’t tell you how fulfilling it is to ghave an idea that comes together, start to finish, and makes other people happy!!

 I made these for a dear friend of our family whose birthday we were celebrating. This lady and her husband are such a huge part of our lives and we are so thankful to know them! Linda is an awesome woman and a huge encouragement and blessing in our lives. Her husband Jim is like a second dad to us and a really great friend to my dad! She is currently going through her third, yes THIRD, bought with cancer and her attitude is just amazing! She knows that God is in control and, while she certainly has her moments, she takes everything in stride and faces it head on – with God leading the way!! I know she has to be scared, but her faith is what gets her through. I’m just so humbled by her. So, when Jim said he wanted to do something for her birthday, I was in! And I knew exactly what I wanted to try. Her favorite flowers are Sunflowers so here’s where my mind went…

Ah! They're just so pretty...I love them!  

Anybody recognize those liners? I got them from Pick Your Plum and love them!! Check out the link on my side bar under "affiliates" for more of their awesome goodies!

Here's how I made these beauties...

Mixed Berry Lemonade Cake

1 box white cake mix

4 egg whites

1 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup frozen (can use fresh) blueberries

1/2 cup frozen (can use fresh) strawberries

2 tablespoons blackberry jam

Juice and peel of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cupcake pans. Mix all ingredients in mixer until just combined. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full with batter and bake until springy to touch or tester inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool.

Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cold

1 teaspoon vanilla

juice and peel of 1/2 lemon (or more depending on desired taste)

yellow gel food coloring

approx. 4 cups confectioner's sugar

Cream butter, shortening, and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, lemon juice and peel and mix until combined. Add sugar, one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. If you need more than 4 cups for consistency, add extra a little at a time until you get it where you want it. Add enough food coloring to reach desired color and keep icing cool until ready to use.

You'll be happy to know that I actually took pictures of the flower making process! Now you can see what I'm talking about as I explain the procedure....yay me! 

Step 1

Lightly frost cupcake with a small amount of icing and drop about a teaspoonful of blackberry jam in the center. It's ok if the jam runs because you're going to cover this up with the petals. 

Step 2

Around the outside edge of the cupcake, use a star tip to pipe a row of petals all the way around. To make each petal, press on your piping bag so that the icing starts to come out of the tip, stop pressing, and pull away from cupcake. If you're not comfortable with piping, you may want to practice a few times on parchment or wax paper. Once you get it down and feel comfortable, you can scrape the icing up and mix it back into the bowl to use on the cupcakes (waste not, want not). ;)

Step 3

Last, but certainly not least, move in on the cupcake and pipe a second row of petals, making sure to completely cover the edge of the jam so that you have a round center. Try to place this second row in between the petals of the first row. Voila! A beautiful sunflower cupcake!!

Even if you don't make the sunflowers (although I don't know why you wouldn't...they're so perfect for summer) please try this recipe! It's so delicious and refreshing this time of year. My dad said that these are his favorite so far and, even though I started with a box mix, I still feel accomplished because I doctored it up so much. 

Also, two things you may have noticed. First, A Cupcake Love Affair is now accepting sponsorships through Passionfruit Ads. If you're looking for a place to advertise your blog or shop, stop by my Sponsor page and check out all the options! Second, you may have noticed that my followers count is steadily heading toward the big 200 (well, for me, that's big)! Between GFC and Bloglovin', almost 200 readers are following along with us and I have to tell you that that's really exciting for me! I never thought that many people would be interested and, yet, you all just keep on showing up and coming back for more. Thank you! I've decided to do another giveaway when I reach 200 so spread the word. What will I be giving away? Let me just say this...I won't be the only one giving something away and the number of "bloggy" friends who have volunteered to participate...well, you don't want to miss this!! If you're a fellow blogger and would like to participate in the giveaway, shoot me an email on my contact page.

I hope you're all having a fantastic summer! Until next time, happy reading and more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

Cupcakes for dinner? April Fools!

It's kinda funny to me how many changes this blog has made in my life. I'm busier, always making notes on flavor combinations and decoration ideas, and celebrating holidays that used to pass without mention. Thus, today's post. April Fools cupcakes. Now, I'm sure that I'm not the first person to have this idea. I know that people have made these before and probably have served them for April Fools Day. However, I can honestly say that I came up with the idea on my own and, while it may not be original, I don't personally know of anyone who does these on this particular day. What are they, you ask? No, those are not chocolate cupcakes with a buttercream and fruit glaze. They're actually meatloaf cupcakes, some cooked with a ketchup "ganache" and some without, topped with mashed potato "icing", and drizzled with a ketchup glaze.

Fun, right? Oh, not to mention, delicious! For those of you who are aware that my oven is broken, you'll be happy to know that our countertop convection oven worked just fine for these babies. I had to bake them in three batches since they wouldn't fit more than 9 at a time but it worked out just fine!

I've told you before about my maternal grandmother and how she is the reason I'm a baker today. Well, the unbelievably easy and delicious meatloaf recipe I always use came from her and I am going to share it with you. Yep. You read that correctly. You're getting my Grandma Tommie Jean's meatloaf recipe. You're welcome! ;)

A Baker, a Blog, and No Oven? It's time for a giveaway!

It is a sad day, indeed, when a pastry chef and author of a cupcake blog has no oven! Yes, folks, it's true. My oven is out of commission and I don't know when it's gonna be fixed. Seriously, I'm at a loss. I'm like a singer without a song, a doctor without medicine, or an author without a pen. How am I supposed to entertain you lovely folks or bring smiles to hungry faces? Well, I'm hosting a giveaway! That's right. For the next week you can enter to win a $10 gift card to Michaels! I don't know about you but I can spend hours in this store without noting the passing of time!! One of you lucky readers will win this fun prize by following the instructions below. What would you spend it on? Here are a few of my favorites:

Adorable Spring liners!

Daisies are my favorite and these sprinkles are just too cute!

LOVE this pan!

*These pictures are all taken from Michaels.com


Alright. Follow the steps below and good luck! I'll notify the winner next Tuesday and announce it here on the blog! *Update: The winner of this giveaway is Cari from twosasters.com, chosen by random.org! Congrats, Cari, and thank you to everyone who entered!

Luck o' the Irish Month o' Cupcakes #1 - Green Velvet!

This is the first in a series of green cupcakes for St. Patty's Day in honor of the Irish and my heritage - not sure how much, but I am part Irish - and to start, I'm going to confess something to you. I could have dedicated an entire blog to my love affair with red velvet cake. I don't know what it is about the stuff but I LOVE it! Is that terrible of me to admit? I know the red food coloring isn't the best thing for me and recently I've been thinking about trying more natural ways of making the batter red without all the yuck, but I just can't get enough of this cake. There's just something about the tartness of the buttermilk and vinegar in the cake combined with the sweet creaminess of the cream cheese icing - oh, I'm drooling now! I've made it red (standard), blue (for a winter wonderland wedding), and now I'm gonna go green! Everyone else is, why not me too? :)

Can someone please explain to me why, 5 days before St. Patty's Day, I couldn't find cupcake liners or sprinkles to go with the theme anywhere?? I looked at Publix, Sweetbay, Target, and Walmart. Today I went to Michaels (where I probably should've started in the first place) and finally found some. Even Michaels was almost out so I stocked up for next year!

My cute little liners I found at Michaels - Standard and Mini :)

So, here it is - the best red velvet cake recipe I have ever tried, adapted for St. Patty's Day and made into a slightly healthier version of the original. I filled the cupcakes with a light green cream cheese filling and iced them with a FABULOUS whipped cream cheese icing - best ever! Then I freehand piped some 3 leaf clovers with white chocolate (dyed green, of course) and voila! Green Velvet Cupcakes for St. Patty's Day!

Piped 3 leaf clover

Green Velvet Cupcakes: (original recipe found here)


2 cups sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

A Lemon & Raspberry Friendship

As promised, this post is all about lemons and raspberries. When I started this blog I wondered if I would have a hard time coming up with ideas for cupcakes or interesting topics to write about. Silly me. I should have known that my life, by nature, is crazy and quite interesting so how could I possibly have any problems with this? Case in point - my friend, Michal, when I told her about the blog, immediately asked me to start working on Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes to practice for her future wedding. No, she's not engaged but, as any woman knows, you can never start planning your wedding too early!

First, let me tell you a little about what this girl means to me. I believe that God literally made her to be my friend. Truly. Our dads are both Baptist preachers and actually, my dad assists hers as the Associate Pastor at the church we both attend. They both have four daughters, look uncannily alike, get along way too well, have the same birthday, and are probably brothers separated at birth. Michal and I met in 2005 when we started working at the same ministry in central Florida. We got to know each other at work and through our church and discovered that we're basically the same person. So many things about each of us are mirrored in the other. There are few people in this world that I consider a kindred spirit and she is most definitely one of them. You could say that she's the yin to my yang, the pea to my pod, or the raspberry to my lemon. :)

Me and Michal - an oldie but a goodie :)

Now, the reason you're here - the cupcakes. I decided to do these a couple of different ways to give her options. The first is a lemon cake - light and moist - filled with a thick raspberry sauce. Second, a raspberry cake (a tweaked version of my Sweet & Sour Strawberry Cake) filled with a tangy lemon curd filling. The icings are a Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream and a Raspberry Buttercream. I mixed and matched these cakes, fillings, and icings in order to find the combination that best reflects our friendship - sweet & lovely with just a little bit of sass!

These cupcakes aren't for the faint of heart! For me, they're a little too strong in taste. I think I'd prefer to have a neutral flavor mixed in with all the lemon and raspberry. Maybe next time I'll try a vanilla cupcake with lemon and raspberry fillings and icings or the fruity cakes but with a vanilla icing with the sauces on top. I'm definitely not a fan of the result of adapting my S&S cake to raspberry. I don't know what got lost in translation but something definitely did! My coworkers agreed that the cupcake combination they liked was the lemon cake, raspberry filling, raspberry buttercream, and lemon drizzle - Michal really liked that one. So, it's back to the drawing board for the perfect raspberry cake.

The good cupcake :)

Here are the recipes:

Lemon Yogurt Cake ( adapted from  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-yogurt-cake-recipe/index.html ):

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared liners and bake until a cake tester placed in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cupcakes are done, allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While they're is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over each cupcake and allow it to soak in. Cool.

*Makes about 20 standard size cupcakes.

Cupcake This & That...Oh, and These Too!

I'm writing this post just to give you a few bits of information and to share a few of my favorite things. First up - a friend asked me today, "How DO you eat a cupcake?" Such a funny question and one I never thought about before! How DO I eat a cupcake? Well, I suppose this is like the "favorite way to eat an Oreo" question or "how many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop" question. I know some people lick the icing off first then eat the cake. Some save the icing for last and eat the cake first. My sister gets rid of most of the icing *sigh* because she's not much of an icing fan. My answer? I take a bite from top to bottom first in order to taste all of the flavors together as they were meant to be. If it's a new cupcake flavor combo or someone asks me to taste something that they baked, the pastry chef in me cannot help but take a bite of each element (cake, filling, frosting, topper...) by itself to truly know if I love it! Baking is a science, people, and so the eating can be as well! 

Next, I wanted to let you know that my cupcake liners from papermart.com (see "Cupcake Liners At a Steal") came in last night and I couldn't be more pleased! So worth the effort (all of 30 seconds) to find them online. I received all 900 liners in good condition and as promised. The striped ones are so cute! This company has made a loyal customer of this blogger!


Now for a few of my favorite things. I wouldn't be the baker that I am without my KitchenAid stand mixer. Seriously, folks, if you don't have one of these, invest! You will NOT be sorry. Yes, I still have my trusty hand mixer (see below about how I got started with baking because of one of these things) and I use it when it's convenient, but the majority of my mixing is done in my gorgeous stand mixer. Well, to be honest, I'm using my mom's and mine is safely tucked away in storage, just waiting to make its debut someday! My parents bought mine for me - shiny, black, beautiful - a few years ago for Christmas. We were in Kansas visiting family and dad ordered it online so that it was waiting for me when I got home. About a week or two after our vacation, mom and dad went garage sale shopping and, lo and behold, a green KitchenAid mixer, hardly used, was for sale at a steal! All parts included!! Its home is on our kitchen counter and it gets lots of love and attention! 


Another favorite of mine is my apron that my Grandma, Tommie Jean Welch, gave me a few years ago. This lady was the epitome of the baking grandma people talk about growing up knowing. Most of my memories of my grandma involve her in the kitchen, up to her elbows in butter and flour. I can't smell biscuits and pork tenderloin without thinking of Saturday morning breakfasts at her house. She bought me my first hand mixer and taught me her basics in the kitchen. When I finished culinary school in '08, I took a cross-country drive from Florida to Maine where I spent 3 months on my externship before graduation. On the way up, I stayed with my Aunt and her family in Virginia and my grandma and her husband were living with them at the time. Grandma told me that she was taking credit for all of my future success because of that hand mixer and she just knew big things were in store! Seeing the pride on her face was enough success for me and the memory of her, waving me off as I headed to new places with a big smile on her face...priceless! After my externship was over my family headed up to VA for a big family Thanksgiving and I remember Grandma standing in the kitchen watching me do what she had done my whole life. By this time her health was failing and we knew it was probably her last Thanksgiving with us. Sure enough, her suffering ended and she went home to be with her Lord about 2 months later. Every time I'm in the kitchen I think of her. She was right. She is the reason I love the kitchen and I'll never forget the impact she made on my life!


My all-time favorite chocolate cake recipe is next. Some of you are gonna laugh. It seems so simple. I was introduced to this cake by my dear friend, Tina, a fellow baker and lover of all things cake! One bite and I was hooked. Truly, if you love decadent dark chocolate like I do, you MUST try this cake. Are you ready? It's the Hershey's Deep Dark Chocolate Cake and it is to die for! No joke. Moist, heavenly, rich, chocolate cake that just melts in your mouth!



Hershey's Deep Dark Chocolate Cake Recipe:


Ingredients - 


2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa or HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Photo courtesy of hersheys.com

1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water


Directions - 


1. Heat oven to 350uF. Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs,
milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water
(batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick
inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool
completely. (Cake may be left in rectangular pan, if desired.)


Divine!


Well, there you have it. A few odds and ends about cupcakes, baking, and me. Here's a look at the upcoming posts:


Strawberry Lemonade Birthday Cake
A Lemon & Raspberry Friendship
Samoas, Thin Mints, & Girl Scouts, Oh My!
A Luck o' the Irish Month o' Cupcakes

And, on it goes....

As always, happy reading and, most importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

Cupcake Liners At a Steal!

I'm gonna take a quick break from the sweet side of things and talk about the practical side for a minute - cupcake liners! I'm sure that by now most of you cupcake bakers out there are aware of how ridiculously expensive these little pieces of crinkly paper are. I spend around $3- $3.50 for a package of 50 and let me tell you, for a cupcake blogger and pastry chef, that adds up quick! The couponer in me just couldn't accept that. Enter google. That's right. My trusty search engine of choice. Let me tell you, the 30 seconds it took me to google "cupcake liners" paid off! I found a site that sells all kinds of equipment for people like me and, if they had a storefront, I would be there for days! The site is www.papermart.com and they are my new BFF. I ordered 900 cupcake liners for for a third of what they would've cost me at the grocery store or specialty craft store!! Woohoo for saving money! Now if I could just find a way to make these tasty little treats as good for my hips as they are on my lips! :) Stay tuned for this weekend's post. The cupcake of choice? Coffee and A Doughnut Cupcakes!!

*The opinions in this post are 100% mine and no merchandise or services were rendered in exchange for this post.