Monthly Archives: April 2011

Strawberry Fields Forever… Strawberry Cupcakes + Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

Posted on by Abigail

I made Strawberry Cupcakes with a Strawberry Meringue Buttercream for a friend’s birthday.

This was my first time using Martha’s recipe for Strawberry Cupcakes. They turned out fabulously. Very light and refreshing. Although, I’ll admit… while they were baking I had my reservations. They didn’t seem to be rising appropriately. However, the recipe prevailed and they were divine.

I had attempted the Strawberry Meringue Buttercream previously, but used frozen strawberries and was disappointed with the consistency.This time I swapped out the frozen fruit for big fat fresh berries and added powdered sugar to stiffen up the frosting. Despite my skepticism, they turned out to be a success.

I garnished with drizzled white chocolate and strawberry slices.

Happy Birthday Thomas! Don’t worry, I saved a cupcake for you. :)

Parting song…

Carrot Cupcakes

Posted on by Abigail

Carrot Cake is one of my weaknesses. For some reason it always reminds me of spring, Easter and general happiness. Maybe it’s because my Mom always left carrots out for that sneaky Easter Bunny… who knows. (another story, for another time.)

Moving on, to celebrate my boss’s 3-year anniversary at LC, I volunteered to make cupcakes. When I heard through the grapevine that he too was a fan of carrot cake, I jumped at the challenge to whip up his favorite treat.

So, I did what I always do… refer to Martha. I used her Carrot Cupcakes recipe and added my own Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese frosting. To play off of the spice of the cupcake I added some Ceylon “True” Cinnamon from the Milwaukee Spice House to the frosting.

Happy 3-year Anniversary to Dennis! We’re “glad you stuck around.”

Earth Week Dirt Cake (in a jar)

Posted on by Abigail

To celebrate our lovely Mother Earth and help raise funds for Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis I decided to bring Dirt Cake into work. Of course, I used a recipe from my favorite… Martha, and to make them unique, I prepared each dirt cake individually in a baby mason jar and topped them off with ant-laden gingham ribbon.

Dig in LC folk!

These cakes were part of my Cupcakes for a Cure mission. Now through July 17th, all my baking proceeds will be benefiting my goal to raise $4,000 for Crohn’s and Colitis research. To donate to my Crohn’s and Colitis fund please visit my Running for a Reason website.

Chocolate + Chocolate + Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted on by Abigail

Chocolate lovers, step right up! This recipe’s for you.

A last-minute birthday cupcake order had me whipping up some delicious cupcakes tonight.

There was one important ingredient in tonight’s batch of cupcakes… you guessed it, chocolate (what gave it away?!)

Ladies and gentleman, I give you Devil’s Food Cupcakes with a Dark Chocolate Ganache Frosting and White Chocolate Drizzle.

Here’s the recipe, straight from my favorite baketress, Martha: http://bit.ly/hao5NM

This was my first time playing with ganache. It was messy, and took me a lil bit to figure out the right consistency (I ended up adding powdered sugar), but in the end it worked out.

First time ganache maker, here’s my tip. Start your ganache before your cupcakes. The cooling process took awhile, especially with a double batch.

Happy Birthday to chocolate fiend, Nikki! I hope these mega-chocolate cupcakes are right up your alley.

These cupcakes were part of my Cupcakes for a Cure mission. Now through July 17th, all my baking proceeds will be benefiting my goal to raise $4,000 for Crohn’s and Colitis research. To donate to my Crohn’s and Colitis fund please visit my Running for a Reason website.

Snickerdoodle + Red Velvet Cupcakes

Posted on by Abigail

Today I felt like experimenting a little and testing out a new cupcake recipe. I’ve always been a cinnamon fanatic. I admittedly sneak it into the strangest of things… you’d be surprised what a little cinnamon in your chili can do. ;) (don’t knock it until you try it.) So it should come as no surprise that Martha’s recipe for Snickerdoodle Cupcakes has been beckoning me since I first flipped through the Cupcake Cookbook.

The recipe was uber-easy. Plus, all of the ingredients were simple staples that I already had in the cabinets. I did swap out the “Seven Minute Frosting,” that Martha’s recipe called for, with a vanilla bean frosting… and yes, I sprinkled a little cinnamon in that too.

Turned out delish! Spence even said that they made his top 5 favorite cupcakes! (A huge compliment, since he’s boarder-line addicted to chocolate.)

One batch of cupcakes is never enough for me, so I whipped up a batch of Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate curls. I made these earlier this week for Kirby’s Birthday. They were so easy, and went over well with my taste testers, so I tried my hand at them again.

Result… a scrumdidiliumptious success!

I’m sending these cupcakes to work with my dad and Spencer with hopes of raising more Cupcakes for a Cure funds.


To donate to my Crohn’s and Colitis fund please visit my Running for a Reason website.


Birthday Cupcakes for Kirby!

Posted on by Abigail

For my second Cupcakes for a Cure endeavor, I was asked to make birthday cupcakes for a coworker’s sister’s birthday party. We decided on Red Velvet + Cream Cheese Frosting and Devil’s Food + Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Frosting. (All courtesy of the Martha Stewart Cupcakes Cookbook, of course.)

I’m told the birthday girl, Kirby, likes all things girly (my kinda girl!), so I made cutesy fondant flowers to top the Devil’s Food Cupcakes and white chocolate stilettos and tiarras to top the Red Velvet cupcakes.

This was my first time concocting Martha’s recipe for Red Velvet. It was fairly easy, and even included somewhat of a science experiment (baking soda + vinegar = foamy fun.)

The recipe for Devil’s Food cupcakes is quite similar to the one I used for the Iron Cupcake competition back in February. So needless to say, I had some practice whipping that up.

Happy Birthday, Kirby!! I hope you enjoy them. ;)

To donate to my Crohn’s and Colitis fund please visit my Running for a Reason website.

Opening Day Brewers Cupcakes.

Posted on by Abigail

Batter-up!!! I’m a born and bred Milwaukee gal, so I can attest to the excitement of the Brewer’s Home Opener Game. Although some folks are busy finding ways to effectively call in sick to work and catch the first pitch at Miller Park, others find ways to celebrate at the office. At Laughlin, employees gathered for a lunch-time tailgate party, complete with hot-dogs, crackerjacks and … cupcakes!

I made both devils food and yell0w-buttermilk cupcakes topped with a simple butter-cream. The cherry on top was a home-made baseball sugar cookie. This was my first time outlining and flooding sugar cookies with royal icing. I found a really helpful video online that explained the process step-by-step.

I might add that this was my first Cupcakes for a Cure fundraiser. I asked coworkers to make a donation to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America for their cupcake. I was ecstatic to raise $65!

To donate to my Crohn’s and Colitis fund please visit my Running for a Reason website.

1st Birthday Cupcakes

Posted on by Abigail

My darling nephew, Landon, turned 1-year old in March. Being the baker in the family, I was asked to make the birthday cake.


I opted for cupcakes, not because they’re my current obsession (wink, wink) but because I thought they would be a convenient option for the youngsters. I made a devils food cupcake and yellow cupcake with vanilla bean. Both were topped with colorful fondant discs with engraved L’s for Landon. ;) I got this idea from the lovely Ms. Martha Stewart. It was my first fondant experience, and it was surprisingly easy!

The cupcakes turned out to be a huge hit… Even though more of the birthday boy’s cake ended up on his face, high chair and those brave enough to stand near him. ;)