The Winner Is....

"AngelaM said...

oooh I love any icing with cream cheese in it! How creative and talented you are. Can't wait for your dreams to come true. It would not hurt knowing a famous cupcake chef."

Congratulations! You won the cook book! Please contact me at KitschyGirl@hotmail.com so we can get all the details hammered out!
Thank you everyone who entered!

Cinco De Mayo Cupcakes!

I decided to have some of the girls over for Cinco De Mayo. There was a new cupcake recipe I wanted to try out and since I was having a party, I had to make cupcakes and since it was Cinco De Mayo they had to be Mexican inspired. So this post is three cupcake recipes of the Mexican persuasion. I made miniature cupcakes and some regular sized with the left overs. When I have a party with more than one type of cupcake being served I like to make minis. This allows guests to try them all without over doing it. Nothing is worse than being at a party and having to chose which desert you will try if you only have room for one.


Recipe numero uno is the Horchata Cupcake

I've posted this recipe before, so just click on the link to see the original. I did want to mention that since this was an adult party, I substituted horchata for rumchata in the frosting and it was a huge hit. If you want to make these as mini cupcakes everything is the same except the bake time will be 10 to 12 minutes. Enjoy



Recipe dos
Quezacotl Cupcakes with Cinnamon Dolce Butter Cream

2 sticks of room temp butter
4 eggs room temp
2 1/2 cups of sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons cinnamon
                                                      1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
                                                      1/2 teaspoon  ground chipoltle pepper
                                                       1 cup milk
                                                       1 teaspoon vanilla
In a medium bowl combine Flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and chipoltle with a whisk. Set to the side. Measure out milk and add vanilla, set aside.
Cream butter and sugar for 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing between each. Add 1/3 of you dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add 1/3 of your vanilla milk and mix. Continue to add dry and wet in thirds mixing between each and alternating until done.
Scoop in to cupcake forms, fill them 3/4 of the way to the top. Bake for 20-22 minutes at 350. For minis bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Cinnamon Dolce Butter Cream
1 1/2 stick of softened butter
4-5 cups confectionery sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
Cream butter with 1 cup of the sugar until blended. Add milk and vanilla and mix. Add 2 cups more of sugar and mix until smooth. Add cinnamon and 1-2 cups more sugar depending on desired sweetness.


Recipe tres
Tres Leche Cake with Whipped Cream

I've never made tres leche cake before, infact I had never tried it so I used the recipe on The Pioneer Women. I've rewritten the recipe out and added my own pictures here, also I've changed the baking instructions for cupcakes. Also you will need "Wilton Nut and Party Cups" to bake these in. They come in different sizes so if you want to make mini cupcakes like I did, simply by the smallest size. You can find them at Micheal's and Jo-Ann Fabrics.










1 cup All-purpose Flour
1-1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
5 whole Eggs
1 cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/3 cup Milk
1 can Evaporated Milk
1 can Sweetened, Condensed Milk
1/4 cup Heavy Cream

In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.  Separate egg put the whites in the refrigeration for later and mix the yoke with 3/4 cup of sugar and mix until the yokes are buttery in color and twice the volume.

Pour your egg in to the flour mix and gently stir.

Pull your egg whites out of the fridge and mix them on med until foamy, then switch to high speed and beat until soft peeks. Add 1/4 sugar and mix until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites in to your batter, gently fold and stir until no white streaks are left.
Fill nut and party cups 3/4 full. Bake in the oven 17-20 minutes for regular sized cupcakes 10 minutes for minis.
Let the cupcakes cool.
In a small pitcher whisk together the cream, condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Measure out 1 cup and discard the rest. Once the cupcakes are cool, pull the pleats of the nut and party cups all the way around so they look like this.


Spoon the mixture over each cupcake allowing it to soak up the mixture. Go over each cupcake with one spoonful to start and give the cake 4 or 5 minutes to soak up the milks. You should be able to use the whole cup by the time you are done.
Whipped Cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whip cream on med and add sugar while the mixer is going. Once bubbles start to form add vanilla and switch on to high. Beat until fluffy.

Assembly
Once the cupcakes have soaked up there milks place them on a new cupcake liner, pipe whipped cream on to the top and top with a maraschino cherry.
Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

When I found a recipe on Pinterest for homemade Oreo cookies I was very excited. I love cookies and cream ice cream and always wanted to do a cupcake inspired by cookies and cream and mint. When I tried the recipe as seen here, I thought they were very good, but not very Oreo like and probably wouldn't work the way I needed them to work, so I modified it. The recipe in the link is a little cakey, the cookie is crisp on the outside but a little chewy. I didn't try the cream filling as I have an aversion to cooking with shortening. I have modified the cookie so it is crispy and not cakey at all, and the filling doesn't use shortening. So this recipe will be in two parts, the cookie and the cupcake. In the end I nixed the idea of the mint but I'm still very happy with how it all turned out. Before you freak out, know that these cookies are super easy to make, take no time to bake and can be made the day before if you want.

Contest Giveaway!

So if you read my previous post you know I've been working on my cook book which will be available for sale this summer. First of course, I'm going to give one away. The book is filled with step by step instruction, some beginning recipes along with more complex ones, lots of pictures and all my tips and tricks. How do I win such an amazing book you ask?

• First go to this link and watch the video if you haven't already.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BPYD6E96ME&feature=g-all-u&context=G25b37daFAAAAAAAAAAA

• Next click the like button for the video
• Share it on your FB page

And last but not least, possibly the most important step.....I left the following comment on the Youtube video "I really enjoyed this project and working with Cafemom. The film crew was phenomenal and I'm very impressed with the editing. I'd love to work with Cafemom Studios again and I hope you think of me when going over ideas for new shows. I think that show would fit perfectly with your programming. "The Kitschy Kitchen" with famous cupcake blogger, Nicki Navarro ;)

For anyone watching who doesn't have access to Cafemom and my recipes, you can find them all at kitschygirlsguide.blogspot.com"

Like this particular comment.

• When you have done all that, check back here and leave a comment!

I will pick one person at random, and send you the book.....autographed if you would like. :)

Official Rules

Contest winner will be announced May 8th. The winner will be drawn at random. If the winner does not reply by May 15, 2012 a new winner will be selected. Contest is limited to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Book may not be returned for cash value.

My Cafemom Episode has Aired! And I Wrote a Cook Book!

I had such a great time filming this, and I'm really pleased with the editing and how it came out.
In the mean time I've been working on a cook book for beginning bakers. In fact it's titled "Kitschy Girl's Guide to Making Cupcakes for the Beginning Baker"
In the book I share all my tips, and tricks. I share several recipes and break them down a bit more than in the blog. I will have it available to buy very soon, but I was thinking a little giveaway might be fun. What do you think?
I'll make a separate post with the contest rules. Stay tuned.

Chicago Style Pizza

Living in the Chicagoland area my whole like, pizza is something I took for granted until I moved out of state. I was so sad when I learned that when someone not from Chicago says pizza, they don't mean the same thing I mean when I say pizza. Now there is thin crust, deep dish. I'm going to show you how I make deep dish.

Gluten Free Bumble Bee Cupcakes for Spring! (or gluten filled)

Lemon, Chocolate, and Cream Cheese Oh My!

I made these gluten free, but if you would like to make them gluten filled, just leave out the ingredients in bold type, and replace them with 2 3/4 cups of regular flour.