Michelle's Baby Shower Cake, April 2009

I’m semi-satisfied with the results. I was COMPLETELY overwhelmed by this project. Being preggo definitely didn’t make it any easier. I can’t tell you how many times I broke down and cried, LOL!

Michelle’s Baby Shower Cake consists of:

A three layer red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting covered in homemade marshmallow fondant. “It’s A Girl”, hearts, baby clothing and button Fondant cut-outs.

I also made 2 dozen yellow and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Baby Shower Cupcake Tree (2 dozen)

The color scheme was lavender, mint green and yellow.

There’s been two major chages since the last time i’ve blogged.

First off, I moved to a much BIGGER apartment…that’s a big plus. I have graduated from my Easy Bake oven-sized kitchen to a true adult sized space.

Secondly, I’m having a BABY…YAY!!! I am almost 7 months now. I am completely happy, nervous, emotional…you name it, I feel it! LOL!

I’ve finally got a little bit of energy to write…I know, I know… what a sorry excuse

However, I plan to pick up from where I left off. I have a huge project to post (it was a HUGE hassle but totally worth the challenge). So sorry for the delay folks but I’m back

As requested (Hi Molly), I have posted my I.M. Chocolate Cupcake recipe. It is also used for my Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes (only substitute the vanilla extract for pure mint extract). Frozen York Peppermint Patty pieces can be added to the center of the cupcake batter right before they go in the oven for a cool surprise.

As far as the icing, here’s what I do:

Mint Frosting

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon pure mint extract (You can use more if you prefer a stronger mint flavor like I do)

1 or 2 teaspoons milk (use sparingly)

Wilton Icing Gel – Kelly Green (use sparingly)

Preparation:

1. Cream room temperature butter in a mixing bowl
2. Add confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time (Honestly,I’m not sure how much sugar I really use. I kind of eyeball it.)
3. Add mint extract and a teaspoon of milk. Continue mixing.
4. Using a toothpick, add icing gel. Depending on the color you are trying to achieve, add a little bit at a time (Wilton’s icing gels are concentrated so you do not need much). Continue mixing.
5. If icing is too stiff, add another teaspoon of milk

I’m so excited about my new banner designed by Metagee Studio.

I was able to incorporate my favorite pic of me and my grandmother. The pic was taken at my High School graduation….I choose not to disclose the actual year, lol. Metagee will also design my packaging, business cards, flyers, etc… Stay tuned for pics in the near future.They are an amazing full service design studio based in Brooklyn, NY.

Check them out if you are interested and tell them that Ilene Miriam sent you

I.M. Chocolate Cake

I’m not sure if anyone has had a problem with chocolate cake recipes like i have. I’m constantly trying to perfect a recipe. I believe I have finally achieved it!

My “secret” ingredients are a dash of cinnamon and a splash of Amaretto liqueur in my chocolate mixture. Not everyone likes Amaretto, so use @ your own discretion. I must admit, I’m not as precise with measurements as I would like to be. I gave a rough estimate of the cocoa mix. I like chocolate so I may go a little overboard.

I also use this recipe for my Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes. I substitute the vanilla extract for pure mint extract.

I.M. Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

DRY MIX

• 2 1/2 cups Cake Flour
• 1 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Fine Salt
• a dash of Cinnamon

COCOA MIX

• 3/4 cup Semisweet (or Milk Chocolate) Chips
• 1/4 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1-2 tablespoons Amaretto Liqueur OR
• 1-2 tablespoons Milk

WET MIX

• 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 eggs

Prep:

Pre-heat oven @ 350 degrees. Sift together all of the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Set aside. In a double broiler (or you can use a glass bowl over a pot of water brought to a boil) add all of the cocoa mix ingredients. Stir until all is melted & smooth. Set aside bowl to cool (be careful, its going to be hot!). Add all wet ingredients to a mixing bowl. Blend until thoroughly mixed. Add dry mix ingredients a couple of spoonfuls at a time. Finally add the cocoa mix and blend well.

This is a wet batter so I suggest that you transfer the batter to a large measuring cup (its much easier to handle while filling the cupcake liners). Bake until toothpick comes out clean. I usually check them after 12-15 minutes in the oven.

Once the cupcakes are done, let them sit in the pan for 10 minutes. After, transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting them.

ENJOY!

I made these for my brother Darnell. He loves chocolate, so I went all out. Semisweet Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake w/ Semisweet Chocolate Frosting Garnished with Mini Semisweet Morsels.

For Chocolate Lovers only! Sinfully good and addictive!

Not your Mama's Jell-O!

Yes, I know Jell-O is not baked but it makes one hell of a shot!

HAPPY HOUR will be a monthly post featuring different cocktails. September’s post is devoted to the Jell-O shot. I’ll be making them this Saturday for a fight party (Mosley vs. Mayorga…Hey Mel, my money’s on Sugar Shane! )

Regular Jell-O shots are so…well, regular! I’ve decided to turn it up a notch. The Nutcracker is a favorite drink among my friends and fam. It’s one of those drinks that sneaks up on you. My sister can make nutcrackers so potent yet sweet at the same time! Here’s my own Jell-O shot version. The Drunk Cherries are just an added kick!

Drunk Cherries

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. jar stemless maraschino cherries
• Vodka or Rum of your choice

Preparation:

Pour out 3/4 of the juice inside of the jar. Fill jar up far enough to cover just above the cherries. Let the cherries soak in the jar overnight.

For stronger cherries, I would suggest filling the entire jar with liquor and/or soaking the cherries for a few days.

For less potency, remove less juice from the jar. (ex. 3/4 juice, 1/4 liquor)

Someone had a rough night...

I filled the entire jar with liquor, 0% juice! Hey, my people like to drink!

Nutcracker Jell-O Shots

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. Bacardi 151 Rum
• 6 oz. Pineapple Jell-O
• 16 oz. Boiling water
• 8 oz. Cold water
• 4 oz. Amaretto
• 1 Drunk Cherry (2 if you can handle it)

3 Key Items for your Jell-O Shot

Preparation:

Mix the jello with 16 oz. of boiling water. Make sure the powder is fully dissolved then add the rest of the water and the alcohol. Pour mixture into small disposable shot cups. Drop one Drunk Cherry into each cup. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm.

Stay tuned for photos of the finished product and really drunk happy people

ALWAYS DRINK EAT RESPONSIBLY & ENJOY!

Lemons and almonds?! Who knew they would work so well together?!

My “SECRET” – Basic lemon cupcake recipes usually call for regular milk. I like to use buttermilk. I also use lemon zest as well as fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Lemon Sunshine Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3 cups cake flour (I use Swans Down)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract (I use Organic Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 medium lemon (for juice)

lemon Zest of 1/2 medium lemon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven @ 350 degrees
2. Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Add sugar, beaten eggs, vanilla and oil in a mixing bowl. Beat until throughly incorporated.
4. Add flour to mixture alternating with buttermilk. Mix well.
5. Add lemon zest and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Continue beating one minute.
6. Pour batter into prepared cupcake pans
7. Bake 20-25 minutes or until inserted cake tester comes out clean. (I like my cupcakes moist so, i’ll check them around 15 minutes)
8. Cool 10 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack; Remove cupcakes from pan and let them cool completely before decorating.

*** Vegetable oil can be substituted with butter ***

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Many people love my Lemon frosting. Too bad it isn’t really lemon, lol! I guess the lemony flavor from the cupcakes tricks your brain into believing its lemon flavored frosting. Maybe it’s the Wilton Icing Gel? Either way, I accept all compliments : )

Almond Frosting

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract (I use Wilton No Color Artificial Almond Extract though I’m 100% sure that pure extract will be much better)

1 or 2 teaspoons milk (use sparingly)

Wilton Icing Gel - Lemon Yellow (use sparingly)

Preparation:

1. Cream room temperature butter in a mixing bowl
2. Add confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time (Honestly,I’m not sure how much sugar I really use. I kind of eyeball it.)
3. Add almond extract and a teaspoon of milk. Continue mixing.
4. Using a toothpick, add icing gel. Depending on the color you are trying to achieve, add a little bit at a time (Wilton’s icing gels are concentrated so you do not need much). Continue mixing.
5. If icing is too stiff, add another teaspoon of milk

***If you want lemon flavored icing, try adding fresh squeezed juice from 1/2 of a small lemon at the very end of the mixing process***

GOOD LUCK & ENJOY!

My Equipment

Don’t I look official? I finally got a chance to get rid of my kitchen table and purchase a stainless steel countertop from IKEA. Actually Shamel got it for me (Thanks Mel). Lord knows I needed it. My kitchen is beyond small! I had virtually no counter space, so it was hard to bake comfortably. Now I have all the room I need to make perfect (well, as close to perfect that I can get with my mini-me stove) cupcakes! For more pics, click here.

Actually, its been back for a while but I have been too lazy busy to upload any photos. Now that I have the time, I’ve added a bunch of new posts. I also discovered a lazy easy way to blog from my Flickr account. 

Now I can officially launch my blog…Welcome friends and family! Please pass this on! I need all of the exposure that I can get, lol!