The project was more of an undertaking than expected as the whole process is 100% time-consuming…but I think you’ll agree that the end result was perfection.

Instructions for Decorating:

1 bag of mini marshmallows;

Variety of colored sugar (or you can DIY by adding food coloring to regular sugar and tossing it together in a Ziplock bag);

Candied Sunflower Seeds (for center);

Kitchen scissors;

…lots of free time!

Cut the mini marshmallows in half on the diagonal and press the sticky side into the sugar. Starting from the outside and working your way in, arrange the marshmallows on top of the frosted cupcakes like petals. In the center of each, place a few candied sunflower seeds and you got yourself some edible flowers!

Creamsicle Cupcakes

Cake Ingredients:
(Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups superfine sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest

Fluff Filling Ingredients:

4 tsp very hot water

¼ tsp salt

1 (7-1/2 oz) jar of Marshmallow Fluff

½ c. shortening

¾ c. confectioners sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

Melt salt in hot water and set aside. Mix marshmallow fluff, shortening, powdered sugar and vanilla with electric mixer, until well blended. Add hot water and salt and mix thoroughly.

Directions:

The date for the 2012 Boston Cupcake Camp has finally been communicated. Sugar High Baking will be there this year featuring our fan favorite from last year “Cookies ‘n’ Cream” as well as our newest addition “Key Lime Cupcakes”

Hope to see you there!

Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

• 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.

2 Wash your hands and use your fingers (or two knives or a pastry cutter) to work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the raisins. I found using my hands results in a much finer texture than trying to wield the two knives.

3 Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust your hands with a little flour and then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead! Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and shaggy. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.

4 Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet). Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an “X” shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks. Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.) Insert a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.

In a large bowl, beat cupcake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.

Bake 19 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling rack. With toothpick or wooden skewer, pierce tops of cupcakes in several places.

In small bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar and enough of the 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice until glaze is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle and spread glaze over cupcakes. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. On low speed, beat in vanilla and 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar until mixed; beat on medium speed until fluffy. Frost cupcakes, mounding and swirling frosting in center. Garnish with lime peel. Store covered in refrigerator.

The answer is…NOTHING.

I just felt like making a really great, kick-butt casserole for breakfast and I wasn’t able to find a recipe that incorporated everything I wanted: eggs, bacon, potatoes O’Brien, cheese AND biscuits. Yep. I didn’t say it was healthy, but it sure is a hearty breakfast that will tide you over into the afternoon. I have made it for 15 and I have made it for 2. You can easily double, triple or heck, even quadruple the recipe as you see fit!

Ingredients (recipe to serve 2-4 people):

Pillsbury Grand Homestyle Biscuits (3 biscuits, halved to make 6)
3 eggs
1/4-1/2 cup of milk (if you want super-fluffy eggs, add more milk)
salt/pepper
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1-2 potatoes, cubed
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 white or yellow onion, chopped
1 ham steak or 6-8 slices of cooked bacon, cubed or chopped
1 tbsp. of olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Oil a small Pyrex pan (with Pam or another cooking spray). Press the biscuit dough into the pan, covering the bottom.

In a frying pan, heat up 1 tbsp. of oil. Add your cubed potatoes, chopped pepper and onions, and ham or bacon to the pan. Cook until the potatoes are browned and heated through.

In a small bowl, whisk your eggs and milk together with salt and pepper. Mix the cheddar cheese into the eggs.

Pour your potato mix (aka Potatoes O’Brien) over the biscuit dough, spreading the mix evenly. Pour the egg, milk and cheese mixture over the top and press down the mix with a spoon to ensure that the eggs seep down through the layers.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes (more if you increase this recipe) or until top is slightly browned and the middle is set.

Ingredients:

1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 cups of cornflakes (fresh!!)

Instructions:

Melt and temper your semi-sweet chocolate chips in a double boiler (see tempering tips in my “Tips & Tricks” section).

In a large bowl, mix the four cups of cornflakes plus half of your tempered chocolate until the cornflakes are coated. Add the rest of your chocolate and mix until evenly coated.

Place heaping tablespoons of the mix onto a wax-paper covered cookie sheet. Place in the fridge to harden until ready to serve. Enjoy this crispy treat!

To those of you who don’t…this is one of my favorite Jewish holidays. I have fond memories of dressing up like Esther and twirling my gagar in Temple to drown out the sound of the evil Haman’s name!

If you don’t know much about Purim – the short and sweet of it is this. Esther was the most beautiful woman in the land and she had been raised by her Uncle Mordecai. King Ahasuerus gets plastered one night and orders his wife Vashti to show her beauty off to everyone by wearing nothing but her crown. She refuses and Ahasuerus decides to find a new wife. He sees Esther and loves her above everyone else, but what she is keeping secret from him is that she is a Jew. Now enter Haman…he’s appointed the King’s advisor and there is some back story between him and Mordecai but basically, they hate each other. Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman one day and Haman vows to get even. He finds out that Mordecai is a Jew and decides that not only should Mordecai die…but all Jews should as well. Insert some additional back story here and the end result is that Esther fasts for three days in preparation for an audience with the King wherein she tells him of Haman’s plot to kill her people. The King orders Haman to hang on the very gallows he had built for Mordecai instead.

That’s the super short and sweet version, but you get the idea! “Hamantaschen” is a Yiddish word meaning “Haman’s pockets.” One explanation for the triangular shape of these pastries is that Haman wore a three-cornered hat. An alternative explanation is that the three corners represent Queen Esther’s strength and the founders of Judaism: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

However you define it…these are some tasty treats!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar (or 1/2 cup Splenda Sugar Blend)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 orange, zested
• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Your choice of filling: apricot, cherry, raspberry, fig, prune, etc.

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Whisk eggs, 1 cup sugar, oil, lemon zest, and orange zest together in a bowl and set aside.

Sift flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Stir in the egg mixture, kneading with hands until the dough comes together.

 Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch in thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut circles out using a cookie cutter or the rim of a drinking glass.

Place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of the cookie.

Pinch the edges firmly together to create a triangle, leaving the center open to expose the filling. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Feeling slightly ambitious, I decided to try and make basketball cupcakes. A few disclaimers are warranted:

1. My microwave broke. Of course, it’s brand new (purchased in December 2011) and of course, it broke just days after we finally disposed of its predecessor. When I was picking out this particular microwave, my Mom said to me: “Don’t buy electronics right now because there is a rising moon in Mercury…” or something to that effect. She said that it wouldn’t work. I poo-poo’ed her astrological predication. Oops. Guess this means I am metling and tempering all of my chocolate the old fashion way.
2. I only had 1 hour and 30 minutes in which to bake, frost and decorate my cupcakes. I was rushing and they did not come out as clean as I would normally like.
3. Aren’t the first two enough!?

Ok – so for the basketballs. I went out and I purchased glazed donut holes (I couldn’t find original donut holes which would have been loads better). I then dyed a store bought white frosting orange and melted it down over a double-boiler (all the while wishing that I had that dang microwave…). I then double-dipped the glazed donut holes in the orange frosting and then put them in the freezer to harden. After they came out of the freezer (not hard enough, mind you…remember: I only had 90 minutes for this project!) – I popped each one on top of a frosted cupcake. I melted down some dark chocolate and poured it into a piping bag and created the basketball effect with some piped chocolate lines.

This is not my finest work and it is a messy first version, but I think the picture shows that with more time, a microwave and a steadier hand – these could be a really cute addition to any party with a basketball/sports theme! What do you think?

This divine event just so happened to take place the same day that I was trying to figure out what sweet treat to make for my friend Clare’s birthday. I thought, I’ve done cupcakes before…why not cake pops this time around! No one told me that cake pops are flippin’ hard to make! Not the baking part, the decorating part! Oy vey.

I didn’t even think about how to stand them up to dry (on my list: florist foam stands from Michael’s next time I’m there). They were dripping, they were falling all over, they were NOT my favorite project. I’m a bit of a perfectionist so out of 18 pops, I ended up with six viable options. I will take any and all suggestions for easier cake pop decorating!

What kinds of frosting do you use to dip the cake pops? Do you dip in chocolate or frosting? How long do you let the frosting/chocolate set before adding decorations, etc. HELP!

Drum roll, please…

TADA!