TIME TO VOTE!!!

Yep, its time to vote again! And I think i did a REALLY good job this month. The cupcake was flavorful yet not overly sweet. It was fresh and light just light Basil in the Summer time. So, what are you waiting for?? GO VOTE ALREADY!!

Vote at No one puts Cupcake in a Corner. Find the balot on the right hand side of the screen and select "Bakingu p Chaos".

Thank you!!!

Summers End Peach 'N Basil Cream Cakes

Olive Oil Almond Polenta Cupcakes with Peaches in Honey-Basil Syrup

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup polenta – finely ground

¼ cup sliced almonds

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup olive oil

½ teaspoon pure almond extract

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

Poached Peaches in Basil-Honey Syrup:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons honey

2 sprigs fresh basil

2 large firm unpeeled ripe peaches, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and flour a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, polenta and baking powder. It is important to sift these so that the polenta gets fully incorporated into the flour. Stir in the salt and almonds.In a large bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs, egg yolk, milk, olive oil and lemon zest until frothy. Add the sugar, honey, almond and vanilla extracts and mix to combine. Add the dry ingredients, about ¼ cup at a time and beat until the batter is smooth. Pour into the prepared cupcake liners and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. To prepare the syrup:In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water and honey and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Do not allow it to boil as it will harden as it cools and become unusable for this recipe. Add the basil, and simmer until thick and fragrant, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the peaches. Cook until just tender, about 5 minutes.Remove from the heat and let cool. Remove the basil.

To prepare homemade whip cream: Pour 8 ounces of heavy whipping cream, 1 TBS confectioner’s sugar and a splash of pure vanilla extract into your mixer. Start whipping it at a low speed and as it thickens crank it up all the way. Whip until it is the consistency you like. I added a little extra powdered sugar so the cream would hold up well under the peaches.

To serve, slice and top each cupcake with whip cream, a few poached peaches and their syrup! Serve the peaches with the syrup warm or at room temperature.

Receipe compliments of the LeftOver Queen

Iron Cupcake Earth: Basil

September's Iron Cupcake Earth ~

Sandy over at No One Puts Cupcakes In A Corner is hosting a phenominal blog event that is as much fun as it sounds. Last month was great and if you missed your chance, here it is again.

Details: On the first of every month, a 'secret ingredient' will be posted for all Iron Cupcake participants. The object is to come up with the most creative and delicious cupcake involving the secret ingredient.

Secret Ingredient: This month's secret ingredient: Basil! What a perfect ingredient to end a funfilled summer!

How to Join: The contest is open to everyone. Email IronCupcakeEarth@wi.rr.com with the following information to join:

Name
City, State, Country
Blog Address
Flickr Name
Referral: Baking up Chaos (That's me!)

This months prizes are provided by:

METAL SUGAR is an amazing ETSY artists with some of the most fantastic cupcake goods online. This month's winner gets the infamous CUPCAKE SIGNET RING.

In addition tot he following prizes: .

The Cupcake Courier; Jessie Steele Aprons; Taste of Home Books; Fiesta Products Head Chefs; Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. That's over $225 retail value!

IDEA CONTEST: Baptism

So I was sitting here thinking, what a great way to end my dilema and give some very derserving person a nice treat.

So here is the deal...

Baby boy #3 is getting baptised this month. We are putting on a reception for those attending the baptism. I plan on doing something simple for lunch but really want to wow them with dessert. In the past, we've done cakes and had them ordered. Well i've gotten good enough, I dont order cakes any more. I've also been dabbling in cupcakes, hense why we had cupcakes at the niece and nephew's baptisms.

So my delima, what can I make to wow them? I'm looking for you to tell me. Give me your creative ideas. Show me your blog entries of you creating said idea. Receipes and decorating ideas are a must. Pictures a HUGE plus.

Deadline for submissions is Monday Sept 22nd at noon CST. All ideas should be submitted via the comment section. Make sure your profile is set to public or add me as a viewer so I can properly award the winner their prize. As soon as I've decided what it will be, I'll post the prize here as well. :)

Thanks for your help! I really want to show off my creative talents with this dessert.

Edited (09/25): I didn't get a response but I did find a cupcake i'm willing to try, Cherry Limeade Cupcakes. I'll post next week with the results. :)

VOTE NOW!!

You heard me, go vote. Voting is open until noon on Sept 4th. Read the descriptions here and place your vote in the column to the left. Of Course, I'd like you to vote for me. But lets be fair and vote for the one you find the most amazingly photographed and described.

Every baker worked very hard and deserves to be rewarded!! I applaud them all!