Tie Dye Frosting

Mom discovered a new piping technique, so I decided to test it out!What you're supposed to do is take a little bit of gel food coloring, and 'paint' it onto the inside of the piping bag. You can see the tutorial that mom found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHxMvKb8dSoOn the tutorial, she gets a really pretty two-toned frosting, where just the edges of the frosting are a different color. Mine are...not like that. Obviously! The first batch, I put too much coloring in and it just made the frosting bright pink. The second batch, I put in too little and it literally added no color. The third batch, I still put a little too much, but not as much. It created a weird tye die effect! Definitely try this some day if you're bored. But it takes a lot to perfect, I'm sure. Mom likes these more than I do. Tie Dye Frosting Recipe

• 1-2 lbs buttercream frosting, white



• Gel food coloring, any color



• A small paint brush

Preparation

• Snip off the end of a piping bag and fit it with the tip of your choice (preferably something with ridges)



• Use a paint brush to brush some food coloring onto the inside of the piping bag. Use the link above to watch the official tutorial!



• Pipe onto the cupcakes!

(There's something wrong with the formatting tonight. Sorry if it looks weird!)

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Happy birthday, Alex!!

My friend's birthday was recently, and he's also in my writing group, so I thought it'd be fun to bake cupcakes so we could all enjoy them together! I asked him what his favorite cake was, and with his reply of "Carrot cake" I set out on a mission-- to perfect my cream cheese frosting recipe! ...And to bake him birthday cupcakes. ;)

Admittedly, I didn't make the carrot cake from scratch. (And by that, I mean I rarely make ANY cakes from scratch.) But it suuure tasted like it! I didn't know this secret until I started baking much more often with my mom: If you put a cup (one 8-oz container) of sour cream into any box cake mix you're making, it'll add an incredible amount of moisture. It also adds just a bit of denseness, so unless you really over beat them, they'll be more level.I also finally got the cream cheese recipe right! It's the perfect balance between the tartness of the cream cheese, and the sweetness of the powdered sugar. I was tempted to go through the cabinets and find other stuff to put it on!Carrot Cake Recipe

• 1 box carrot cake mix
• Eggs (varies depending on brand)
• Vegetable oil (varies depending on brand)
• 1- 8oz container sour cream

Preparation

• Preheat oven according to box.
• Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners.
• Combine the ingredients.
• Blend on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
• Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, fill the 24 liners.
• Bake according to box.
• Remove from oven, let cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

• 2- 8oz packages cream cheese
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 5.5 c powdered sugar

Preparation

• Cream together cream cheese and butter.
• Scrape sides, add vanilla, and quickly mix in.
• Add powdered sugar 1-2 cups at a time.
• Note: If you're frosting these with a knife, you'll probably only need about 1/2 of the recipe. This is larger for piping purposes.

And to toot my own horn (Toot toot!) I had more than one person say that these were the best carrot cake cupcakes they'd ever eaten. YAY!!

Brownie Bites

My writing group had a holiday party on Monday, so I (obviously) decided to make some treats!
I did the cinnamon pinwheels that I love so much, but also made brownie bites and a chocolate buttercream to go on top!
It was the frosting that made these things! The brownie was your typical brownie, and the frosting was your typical chocolate frosting, but together.. I may start drooling just typing this up!
These can either be really good for you, or really bad. You can grab one and it's rich enough for you to be able to walk away. But then..you might walk back a dozen times to get more.
Brownie Bite Recipe

• One package box brownie mix
• Eggs (varies)
• Vegetable oil (varies)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix brownies according to directions on back of box.
• Grease a mini-muffin pan, fill 3/4 way full with brownie mix.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, and check with a toothpick. Be careful not to overcook, because they'll become dry and crumble.
• Let them completely cool before removing them from the pan.

Chocolate Buttercream Recipe

• 11 tbsp butter (1 stick + 3 tbsp), softened
• 1 - 2lb bag powdered sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 c milk
• 3 tbsp cocoa

Preparation

• Combine butter, vanilla, salt, 3/4 of the powdered sugar and 3/4 of the milk.
• Blend until well combined, adding more powdered sugar or more milk when needed.
• Once you reach the consistency you desire, add in 3 tbsp cocoa (mix on low speed to avoid cocoa-fying your clothes!)