Collar Cupcakes

Well I heard you.

Batter photos make you lick your monitor.

What about this one?

Vanilla Cupcakes
Recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
(Makes about 36 mini cupcakes)

1 cup of all-purpose flour
3/4 cups of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of whole milk
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have all ingredients at room temperature. Also have your cupcake liners ready.
2. With your electric mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter on low speed until everything is combined.
3. Gradually pour in half the milk and mix.
4. Whisk the egg, vanilla extract, and remaining milk together. Then pour into the mixture.
5. Scrape and continue mixing until the batter is smooth.
6. Divide your batter evenly into the paper cups, about 2/3 full, and bake for 20-25 minutes. Or until a cake tester comes out clean.
7. Let the cupcakes cool before frosting.
   

I wanted to make little collars. To do these, before you pour the cupcake batter in, take a pair of clean scissors and make a small cut. Then, fold down the left and right side to make a collar.
Don't you think these would be great for Father's Day, a corporate look, or as shirts? I think I'll add a bow tie next time!


Pink Grapefruit Buttercream

1 stick of unsalted butter
2 cups of confectioner's sugar
2 tablespoons of honey
1/4 cup of grapefruit juice

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together.
2. Add in the honey and mix until combined.
3. Slowly add in the grapefruit juice until buttercream is smooth.
4. Optional: add one tiny drop of red food colouring or pink gel paste to dye the buttercream pink.
   

Bonus tip: The collars make it easier to rip off the shirt, err, I mean peel the liner from the cupcakes. Easier access! ;)

Sweet Gifts

Don't you love having a "thing" or hobby? I love it when co-workers and friends tell me about cupcake and baking things they've seen. Honestly, there are trip photos from friends where I get tagged as cupcakes or bakeries on facebook. So, I wanted to share some of the baking-related gifts I received this year! (Click here for last year's edition.) Maybe you'll spot something that you would like to put on your wishlist.

1. From the holidays, I got bubble bath cupcakes (thank you Pamela)! They come in these yummy scents: lemon meringue, apple strudel, orange chiffon, strawberry shortcake, blueberry cheesecake, and toasted coconut!

2. Howard found another set of flannel pajamas from La Senza! This year they had lots of cupcake patterns, we picked the pink and white set (the pattern is called "Sugar Spice" on the website).

3. The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf was on my wish list this year (recommended by Trilby). I want to thank Secret Santa Kurt for ordering a copy for me! I am looking forward to baking from this cookbook, recipe pages have already been tagged and noted. Thing to note, beautiful photography (by Peter Cassidy) and the recipes are very easy to follow. I really like how the recipes yield a dozen cupcakes. The cookbook includes lots of classic American favourites, so I think this would be the perfect nostalgic gift. If you have a copy, don't forget to read these tips from the publisher before baking. One day... we will visit the bakery in London!

4. This drool-worthy Cakes calendar was a birthday present. It boasts a year of scrumptious recipes. What a great way to start each month! Thank you to Kurt and Diana!

5. This book, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, was also a part of my Secret Santa bundle, so thanks again Kurt! It is written by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, photographs by Tina Rupp. This is such a beautiful cookbook - well done production and design! I really like the clean and simple ways their cakes and cupcakes are decorated. I am really looking forward to their next cookbook! My next trip to New York will have to include a stop at this bakery!
PS: Where do you get the little deer cupcake toppers on page 72??

6. For my birthday, we went to get mini cupcakes from Life is Sweet. I picked out earl grey with orange, butterscotch, lemon drop, white chocolate, double chocolate, and mango and lime. Sigh! While we were there, there was another couple taste-testing for an event (a wedding perhaps?).

7. Cute mini cupcake spatula/spoon! This mini set will be perfect for scraping the mixer's blade and for filling my smaller piping bags with frosting!

8. Cupcake cookie cutters from Howard's Secret Santa! Thank you to Megan for including these for me! =P

9. You see that small vintage pedestal holding the mini cupcakes? Birthday present from my brother, so thank you little brother! I know he doesn't understand ("What's wrong with regular plates?"), so even more gratitude for getting it for me. =)

10. My very sweet birthday card, thank you Howard. =)

On a random side note, after picking up my mini cupcakes on my birthday, we passed The Pie Shack/The Paw Shack. I had read about The Pie Shack in a bakery roundup from blogTO, so we quickly parked and went inside! Howard and I tried a slice of the apple cinnamon pie. Yummy pie crust! Howard also picked up the AAA Angus Beef Pie for later. We both want to let Tim know that we love the setup, decor, and the feel of the bakery, oh and Campbell? Such a well behaved collie!

Well now I'm curious, what kind of sweet gifts did you get over the holidays? Feel free to share links to the item or links to your blog in the comments below!