Lemon Poppy Crumble Cakes

They're crumb-diddly-umptious! So the crumb topping didn't work out as planned (I imagined the entire top would remain covered in crumbs during baking--I was wrong!) and the texture was more 'muffin' than 'cupcake', but who cares? Wait a minute!?!? Have I just invented the cupffin??? Or muffcake?


Lemon Poppy Crumb Cakes

• 18.25 oz. box White Cake Mix (I used Betty Crocker®)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 1 tsp. lemon extract
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• grated zest from one lemon
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• crumb topping, recipe below

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 12-cup muffin pans or place paper liners in pans. Combine all ingredients except poppy seeds and crumb topping and blend on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape bowl down, then increase mixer speed to medium and continue beating for 2 minutes. Blend in poppy seeds. Batter will be very thick.
Portion batter into 20-22 greased or paper-lined muffin cups and top with crumb topping. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, or until cake tests done and topping is lightly golden brown.

• Crumb topping: recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1-3/4 cups flour
• grated zest of one lemon, optional

Combine melted butter, sugars, salt, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Fold in flour. When cool enough to handle, use hands to break into pieces. This looks like a lot of crumbs, but they will cover the cupcakes nicely. (I rolled some of mine into balls but that ended up producing cupcakes that looked like more like something from Katamari Damacy! The cupffin/muffcake you see pictured above is the result of me breaking apart my crumb balls into jagged pieces after watching the first pan bake up very Bumble Ball-esque.)

Milk...please?

Make that a warm milk. Or not. The notion of drinking warm milk is unappealing to me. Cold milk in a Mickey Mouse-style footed cup might be good though :) It's 2:00 a.m. and I am wide awake, perched on the edge of a new work week and unable to get any rest after a week of vacation. Go figure. On the bright side, I can get this post out of the way and kick-start my week!

Choc-Oat-Chip Cookies A combo of this and this, and then some!

• 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 pkg. (4-serving size) instant vanilla pudding
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1-3/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbl. vanilla extract
• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2-1/2 cups oatmeal (I used quick oats)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine flour, pudding powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and stir to evenly distribute ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and both sugars together until fluffy. Blend in applesauce. Add eggs, one a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Slowly incorporate flour mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and oats by hand. Drop by tablespoons (I used a medium-sized cookie scoop) onto ungreased (I line mine with parchment or foil, just in case!) baking sheets and bake at 375°F for 9-11 minutes. Yields 6 dozen.

Tinkering with Sizes

Greetings, dear readers! It just occurred to me that I've been posting entries in an unnecessarily large font size. I'm sorry :( I will be switching over to this new, smaller font for future entries. Attempts to edit previous posts produces mixed results. As in some words are randomly large for no apparent reason. Blogger's been driving me crazy with that!

Bringin' Back the Cupcakes...

... to work, that is. There has been a very noticeable drought in the appearance of home-baked goodies at work--primarily due to my declaration, "I'm not bringing anything in during Lent." Since Lent is over and the glorious Easter season is upon us, I spent yesterday (and some of today) working on something really special to bring in tomorrow. As always, one batch of cupcakes is never enough. Whether that's due to the number of employees we have or to greediness ("well I didn't try that flavor, so I gotta try both"), is unknown. In any case, I am glad to oblige because it presents the perfect opportunity to try out ideas I find on the Interweb.

Red velvet is always a hit around these parts, but I decided to step it up a notch by making a vanilla bean cream cheese icing to top it all off. Did I mention before that I've been working on a bottle of home-brewed vanilla extract? No? Well it's no surprise, because it's taken ONE YEAR to reach perfection. I've seen various sources that call for anywhere from 3 months to a full year. I decided to go whole hog. That's right--I've been keeping a bottle filled with vodka and chopped vanilla beans in my cupboard for that long, taking it out every few days to give it a gentle shake. My patience was definitely worth it. Wanna make your own? Click here. It's where I was inspired!


Now I realize that the background choice probably wasn't the best pick since it's so close to the cupcake color. BUT...this was all about the frosting! Which was deliciously speckled with vanilla bean seeds. That didn't photograph well. *sigh*


Easy Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 box (18.25 oz) Betty Crocker® Milk Chocolate Cake Mix
1.25 cups buttermilk (I used 1 Tbl. vinegar added to half-and-half for richness and extra YUM.)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 oz. liquid red food coloring
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine all ingredients and beat on low speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl, then increase mixer speed to medium and continue beating for 2 minutes. Portion into 24 paper-lined muffin pans and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.

Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Icing Adapted from iheartcuppycakes.com

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1/2 cup salted butter, softened but still cool
4 cups (about 1 lb.) powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
seeds from one vanilla bean (save empty pods to add to homemade extract or make vanilla sugar!)
8 oz. cream cheese, COLD--and not fat-free/low-fat either!

Beat butters on medium speed until blended. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low after each addition, until incorporated. Blend in extract and seeds. Cut cream cheese into 8 pieces and add to butter mixture. Mix on medium speed until smooth and combined. This shouldn't take very long. Don't over beat or the icing will be too soft. Which is fine if you don't plan on piping it.

In addition to the red velvet cupcakes, I decided to try out the popular chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake. Google it, and you'll find many interesting variations. Most recipes call for freezing a ball of cookie dough and plopping into a yellow or vanilla cupcake right before baking. The frozen dough doesn't really cook and stays pleasantly gooey and "cookie dough-y" Since I wasn't sure how well a cookie dough cupcake would go over at my work place, I decided not to freeze the cookie dough so it would bake through. And it worked! The perfect frosting complement? A brown sugar Swiss meringue buttercream using How to Eat a Cupcake's recipe. Absolute heaven!

I won't post a recipe here since I've already taken up too much space (and your time--thank you, loyal readers!). Use your favorite yellow or vanilla cake recipe along with your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Don't tell, but I used a vanilla cake mix for the cupcake part. The cookie recipe came from the back of the yellow chocolate chip bag. You know which one ;) Roll dough into 1" balls and place in batter. I substituted mini chips because I wanted to make mini cookie toppers and regular chips would've been ugly. And we all know there's no room for ugly here at the Fuzzykoala Cake Company.

You Can Has CUTE for Easter Too!

There has been one cake on my "to-bake" list for ages...the classic Betty Crocker Easter Bunny Cake. Every year for the past 5 years or so I eagerly look forward to Easter so that I have an occasion to make this little bugger. Yet for some reason every year I am struck by temporary memory loss when faced with the task of creating the Easter dessert. But not this year! No Sir-ee. It's been baked, decorated, photographed, AND posted. With plenty of time to spare. Now to rest up before Easter Vigil. Have a blessed Easter everyone!

The Original:

My attempt:
And a couple of impostors who look suspiciously like my bunny cake...

You know, I've gotta give my sister a whole mess of credit for me making the bunny cake this year since her Christmas gift of bunny slippers has been a daily reminder that I needed to do so!

Just Couldn't Do It...

Yes, I baked. Even though I was trying my best not to bake during Lent. The craving for baking cannot. be. stopped. :) I decided to put some birthday money to good use and invested in a new Kitchen Aid hand mixer in the limited-edition Martha Stewart Signature Blue. Oh, how I love it! It's amazing the difference between my new hand mixer and my old one, which was acquired somewhere around 15 years ago. Wow, I really hold onto stuff! I am now also the proud owner of a set of jumbo muffin pans, which I hastily tested out in honor of my best friend Shelly's birthday:


Pictured above are jumbo lemon cupcakes with a lemon-vanilla buttercream and a "cherry" on top. It also features sprinkles AND non-pareils. It just doesn't get any more special than that! You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to come by cherry sour candies. Does no one carry these any more? After several fruitless grocery store and gas station searches, I called up my parents to see if their small-town grocery store stocked any. They didn't, but luckily my dad found some at a random gas station one night. My dad is awesome!

While I was at it, I whipped up some vanilla-coconut cupcakes with a lemony cream cheese frosting for my sister's work place. All in all, my first run with the jumbo pans went exceptionally well. Is bigger necessarily better? Maybe not, but I like the novelty of the idea. And I'm greedy. For cake.

*In case you're wondering, I got 12 jumbos where I would normally get 24 standards.

Time for ValentiMes!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day everyone! This post is two weeks late, since I made these cuppies while (not) watching the Super Bowl. *Gasp!* I think something like the History Channel was on in the background. There's something about that narrator's voice that soothes me and puts me in "the zone" for decorating and assembling baked goodies.

So what do you think of my latest cavity-inducing creation? Such an effective use of sugar-on-sugar technology, is it not? Well make that sugar-on-sugar-on-sugar technology, if you count cupcake-frosting-cookie. My plan was to have the cookie on top as a removable edible decoration, but alas-- the cookie stuck so firmly to the frosting that attempts to dislodge it only resulted in the complete removal of frosting from the mini cupcake top. And a bare cupcake is a sad cupcake, so the logical solution to the problem was to take a giant bite of all three components. Sugar buzz, anyone?

Speaking of cavities, I just got the sweetest set of sparkly tooth earrings in from the talented Komodokat, a Houston-based artist. Check out her Etsy Store and buy something!

P.S. This was also the perfect opportunity to use up some of the mini cupcake liners my aunt so generously sent me. Thanks, Aunt B.! Love ya! :)

Purists Beware...

Alright boys and girls, repeat after me: "There is nothing wrong with using boxed mix and canned frosting." That is, if done correctly. (You can stop scoffing at me now) Case in point: the coconut cupcake.

Could I have made this from scratch? Sure. But why take a chance on some recipe "from the Internet" when good ole' Betty has stood the test of time? From-scratch baking can produce (for some people, myself included) wonderful but sometimes unexpected results. Baking is, after all, an exact science. Do you only bake from scratch and love it? And never experience epic FAIL? Good for you. I envy you. 1,000 points and a high-five for ya! :)


Coconut Cupcakes
(Yields 21-24, depending on how generous you are. I was greedy with my batter scoop and only got 21. 24 can easily be had though.)

• Cupcake:
• 1 box Betty Crocker® White Cake Mix
• 1-1/4 cups coconut milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp. coconut extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut bits*
• Frosting:
• 1 tub Betty Crocker® Whipped Cream cheese icing
• 8 oz. block cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Sweetened Coconut flakes for top, if desired

* I used some I found in the natural snacks section of my local grocer, but frozen varieties are also available. You can also use the sweetened flaked kind, but keep in mind the texture will be coarser.

Preheat oven to 325°F and place paper baking cups into muffin tins. Combine all cupcake ingredients and blend on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape bowl down, then turn mixer to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Portion batter into muffin tins Bake for 20-24 minutes, or until lightly golden brown and tests done. Cool completely before frosting.

For frosting, blend softened cream cheese with vanilla until well incorporated. Fold in tub of icing until combined. Frost cupcakes (you'll probably have some leftover), then top with coconut flakes if desired. And trust me, you DO desire. How much coconut? I started with a 7 oz. bag which claims to be 2-2/3 cups, and after topping 20 cupcakes I had maybe 2/3 cup left. You may use the whole bag if you make 24 cupcakes.

Preparing for Global Domination...

...one cupcake at at time. Once again inspired by Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I converted their basic chocolate cupcake recipe into a mini version for a take-along for last Sunday's Youth Group meeting. I used cake flour instead of all-purpose to give these sweeties a nice, soft crumb (minis can tend towards the dry side)--and these were perfect. Throw 1/4 cup of crushed Oreos® into a half-batch of their fluffy vegan buttercream, frost, then top with a mini cookie! Portable fun guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone's face! If the sight of a mini Oreo® cupcake doesn't make you happy, then you should go hug a puppy or a chubby baby :) No one deserves to be sad!

Stuck in a Magical Forest

It's a good thing I have some friends to keep me company :) My new-found obsession with sugar cookies prompted me to go on an online cookie cutter shopping spree, resulting in much joy and anticipation of putting them to good use. Where might one find such cutters, you ask? There are tons of online shops selling them, but I'm drawn to the smaller Mom and Pop operations. Check them out:

H.O. Foose Tinsmithing Co.

The Little Fox Factory

Country Kitchen Sweet Art (everything you could imagine for baking and decorating. My most favoritest place for supplies! Also where I purchased the ridiculously cute sugar eyes and jumbo heart sprinkles you see on the cookies above.)

I am deeply indebted to the Little Fox Factory for finally ending my 3-year long search for the classic, foot-free gingerbread boy cookie cutter! (you know, like "Gingey" from Shrek? ) I was so happy when I saw it for sale online that I stared at the computer screen in disbelief for a few minutes, but I was even more delighted when he arrived in my mail box. So cute! Straight legs AND a big head? Perfection. I can die in peace now. And stop lopping off the feet from the cookies made using my usual cutter.

"Hoo" Could Resist? Guess "Owl" Never Know!

*groan* :) These owl cupcakes are probably among the cutest things to ever emerge from my kitchen, no? My sister and I joined forces to bring these owls to life as both blondes and brunettes. It's only fair after all. Wanna make some? Find the instructions in the Hello, Cupcake! book I've ALREADY TOLD YOU TO GO BUY (see previous post). Do it now! You'll have a hoot! Sorry. ^_^Okay... one more, I promise. A word to the "wise": seek out other brands of chocolate sandwich cookies (as in, maybe not Oreos®), because the brand name ones, delicious though they may be, can be too fragile to separate successfully. The cookie is just too delicate and crumbly to remove in one piece! The Golden version of that same cookie? A dream to work with! Oh and go ahead and follow the book's recommendation of using Junior Mints® for the eye part. We used Milk Duds®, which were unfortunately kinda lumpy and misshapen. Which is fine if you're going for the crazy-eye look, but we weren't.

* If you really love owls and cheesy puns, go to Target and seek out a particular set of towels in their bed & bath section. They're hot pink, valentine-themed towels with owls appliqued on them. And the phrase "Owl love you forever" Awesome!

King Cake Season has Arrived!

Okay so they're not exactly king cakes...or even king cake flavored, but with their festive gold wrappers and drizzle, I think these cupcakes are perfect for ushering in the season. The icing base coat is made from (gasp!) canned frosting, which I zapped in the microwave for 15 seconds, transforming it into a luxuriously shiny glaze perfect for dipping. It's actually quite a neat trick I learned from the book Hello, Cupcake! Go pick up a copy, especially if you have kids. Or if you're a big kid at heart (like me!).

A Holiday Wedding

Exactly one month ago, I delivered this (my second actual wedding cake ever!) cake to my co-worker's house, where her sister's wedding ceremony and reception were held. I somehow managed to forget my camera that day, so this photo is courtesy of the bride! Being December 20th, the house was splendidly decorated for Christmas, and the wedding colors coordinated perfectly. The flavor? Red velvet, of course! The icing job didn't turn out as smooth as I would have liked, owing mostly to the crazy 90% humidity we had in Louisiana that weekend. Definitely not a white Christmas. But now, one month later, we're going to have a dry 30°F night. Go figure.

Oh, Baby!

Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion, but it seems like everyone I know is expecting. Is it something in the water? Or have I reached the age (yikes!) where the vast majority of my peers are getting married and starting families? Yeah...that's it. I'm still lovin' the cookie making, so this weekend I whipped up a batch to divide up and give out. The cookie itself is the same recipe as the chocolate cream cheese cookies I made earlier, except I used a total of 3.5 cups flour instead of flour and cocoa. Adjust flavorings to taste--this time I used vanilla and almond extracts, but lemon or coconut would be good too. If you haven't already, try out the recipe. It's a soft and creamy, not-too-sweet cookie with a cream cheese background. YuM!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009, everyone! It's been a busy but wonderful year, hasn't it? Made/broken your resolutions yet? How about "eat more cookies?" That sounds like a good idea to me! Cookie making has made its way to the top of my interests as of late, and I am all the more happier for it. I had been waiting for my new Christmas cookie cutters to come in the mail, but sadly they did not arrive on my doorstep until December 26th. No worries, though--the Christmas season isn't really over until after Epiphany! Our church choir had a holiday party this past week, which gave me the perfect opportunity to test out my new cutters. Cute!


Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
* 1.5 cups sugar
* 0.5 tsp. salt
* 1 egg yolk
* 1 tsp. vanilla
* 2.75 cups flour
* 0.75 cups cocoa

Cream butter and cream cheese together, then slowly stream in sugar with mixer running. Beat until light and fluffy, then mix in salt, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add flour and cocoa to creamed mixture in batches, beating just until combined after each addition. Divide dough into halves or thirds and roll out to 0.25" thickness between sheets of parchment or waxed paper (dough may be sticky). Refrigerate at least 2 hours (I do mine overnight) or until dough sheet is firm and easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut out shapes with a floured cookie cutter, and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets at least one inch apart. (Dough holds its shape very well and will not spread into unrecognizable blobs) Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies. Cool on wire racks, then ice and decorate as desired.


Cookie Glaze

* 3 cups powdered sugar
* 4 Tbl. milk
* 4 Tbl. light corn syrup
* 0.5 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring, if desired

Mix powdered sugar and milk together until smooth and creamy (may take a few minutes). Blend in corn syrup and flavoring, then cover bowl with plastic wrap and let glaze sit for at least 15 minutes. During this time, the glaze will form small bubbles due to the mixing. These will slowly surface to the top, at which point you can gently stir them out. Stirring vigorously now will only make more bubbles... and you'll be sorry! Use an offset spatula to glaze cookies, or you can hold the cookie by its edges and dip them in glaze. Let set until dry and firm, which may take several hours depending on humidity.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Ah, Christmas...the joy, the time spent with family and friends, and THE BAKING. Holiday baking has got to be one of my all-time favorite past times (big surprise), and this year is no exception. Typically the Christmas season inspires me to make a multitude of cookie varieties, for the holidays are the perfect excuse to try out new recipes I've been eyeing. Still revved up from my sugar cookie-making high, I decided that decorated sugar cookies must be on my list this year. That and my favorite "top secret" gingerbread cookie recipe. I honestly thought I would save time by not doing my traditional cookie glaze/piped decorations, opting to go the buttercream and colored sugar sprinkles route. Wrong. The time commitment ended up being pretty much the same, with the added benefit (some might say downfall) of the cookies being a tad on the sweet side. Frosting AND sugar? Can we say overkill?

In keeping with the sugar-sprinkled theme, I topped my gingey boys with coarse sparkling sugar. This of course had nothing to do with the fact that I inadvertently omitted the brown sugar from the recipe, as evidenced by the discovery of my unopened carton of sugar while cleaning up :( They still turned out pretty good though, but not exactly like everyone remembered.

And last but certainly not least...FRUITCAKE. There seems to be two distinct camps regarding this much-maligned holiday treat: adore or detest, and no one on either side can comprehend how anyone can possibly stand on the other side of the fence. As for our family, we fall into the "adore it" category. This is my second crack at fruitcake, the first was using Alton Brown's recipe which calls for dried fruits in lieu of candied. Good? Yes. But not what we were looking for, so this year I happened upon a recipe in our local newspaper, and it was a hit at our family gathering. So there you have it, in all its rum-soaked, glowing neon fruity glory.

"Mmm...Tastes Like Chicken Christmas"

You know, for a blog that's supposedly "Powered by Cupcakes" I sure haven't delivered on any as of late. But don't worry--I took care of that today:

May I present to you my "Rudolph Red Velvet Cupcake," complete with festive sprinkles and a handy mascot. Yes, I realize the picture's a bit blurry. And yes, I realize that's actually a plush moose with a BROWN nose...but you get the point. :) Perfect holiday flavor + best Christmas show ever = awesome!

Also making an appearance today are Eggnog Cupcakes, adorned with snow-capped candy Christmas trees (in homage to the rare bit of snowfall we got last week in Louisiana). Is it weird that while not a fan of actual eggnog, I absolutely adore all things eggnog-flavored? 'Cause these are delicious and pack a rummy-nutmeggy punch to boot!

Ummm... will you just look at those insane penguin toes up there?!?! Beyond cute.

Mexico Bound

Our Church is holding a bake sale this weekend to help raise funds for our Easter mission trip to General Cepeda, Mexico...and of course I had to join in on the fun! I don't know about you, but I just love--no, make that LOVE--bake sales :) Pictured above are: (clockwise, from upper left) Brownie bites, Neapolitan Bundt cake, Marshmallow Krispie Treats, Pretzel Kisses, Lemon Bundts, Pretzel Hugs, and Eggnog Bundts. Yum!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Anyone who's ever been to my house between the months of November and January has seen the ridiculous spectacle of Christmas decorations my folks enjoy setting up. "Over the top" doesn't even begin to describe it, but thankfully this year my dad decided against putting up the colorful blinking light display on the exterior. Let's just say that we've become known as "the people with that Christmas House." Anyway, to help me get into the holiday mood, I decided to start some Christmas cookie baking. Above you'll see cranberry orange cookies, made with fresh cranberries that didn't make into the Thanksgiving sauce. Below are Rainbow Cookies (a.k.a. Spumoni Cookies), which sport maraschino cherry, chocolate, and pistachio layers. Very Christmasey :)

A Thanksgiving Feast...For the Eyes!

Holidays at my house usually means we'll be feasting an unusual mix of Vietnamese and classically American dishes. After all, what's Thanksgiving without my mom's crab & asparagus soup nestled against plates full of green bean casserole and cranberries? Most people eagerly look forward to trying to fit in that teeny little slice of pumpkin pie after stuffing themselves to the brim on the main meal--but us? We're Jell-O® folks through and through. Usually it's the "Crown Jewel" dessert (a spectacular mix of gelatin cubes suspended in a gelatin and Cool Whip® mousse, all encased in a ring of pound cake slices), but this year I decided to go with the "Rainbow Ribbon." Is it the shimmering layers of color or the mesmerizing soft wobbliness that intrigues me so? I think it's both.