Starbucks at town & country is sporting cupcakes!

In case you haven't noticed, the Starbucks at memorial and beltway 8 is now serving up cupcakes. And let me just add that not only are they pretty to look at, they are more than equally tastey.
Pardon the picture... It was spur of the moment and with the camera phone.
Sherra Ogden
281-642-4313
Sherra.ogden@gmail.com

ICE_006: Wine - Mimosa Sunrise Cupcakes

To start the New year off with a BANG, Sandy announced the first 2009 Iron Cupcake Earth challenge ingredient as Wine. It could be sweet, savory, red, white, bubbly...it didn't matter as long as it was wine.

So I chose Champagne...and paired it with oranges for a nice Mimosa Cupcake. Start off the day with a good Mimosa and start off the year with a great Mimosa Cupcake!

Happy New Year!

My recipe is a modification from a post on the Cupcake Project. The original receipe was a modification from one of my favorite blogs, Ooh You Tastey Little Things.

Mimosa Sunrise Cupcake Recipe

3 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp frozen orange concentrate
3 eggs
3/4 cup plain yogurt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and powder and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter until smooth then add the sugar and cream together. Once the butter and sugar are creamed add in the orange juice concentrate. Mix in one egg at a time. Add in flour mixture 1/3 at a time. When flour is thoroughly mixed, mix in the yogurt. Batter will be slightly lumpy, but should be smooth kind of like pancake batter. Divide the batter evenly into lined cupcake tins and bake for about 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool.

Poke about 4-5 holes in the top of every cupcake, but not quite all the way to the bottom. You also might want to place the cupcakes on wax paper or a platter as the next step can run over a little.

Champagne Syrup (my modification)
2 cups champagne
2 cup powdered sugar

1pkg of Orange Jello

Bring the champagne, powdered sugar & Jello to a boil and let them reduce about half way. It will thicken up some but will still be liquidy when you are done. Drizzle the syrup over the top of each cupcake. Let it absorb into the cupcake and add more. Keep adding to taste.

Champagne Frosting

It was recommended to use champagne flavoring instead of real champagne, but I didn't have the chance and wanted to make these right away. So I modified this as well but am posting both receipes.

The problem with champagne frosting is that you have to add way too much champagne in order to get a strong champagne flavor. This ends up making your frosting runny.You can buy some champagne flavor from LorAnn Gourmet.

1 cup chilled whipping cream
8 oz mascarpone
2 to 3 cups confectioner's sugar (depending upon how thick you prefer frosting)
8 drops of champagne flavor (use an eye dropper)

Whip up whipping cream in mixer until soft peaks begin to form. Fold in mascarpone. Then, while mixing over low speed, slowly add the confectioner's sugar one cup at a time, being careful not to over whip frosting. Mix in the champagne flavor.

My Modified version:

1 cup chilled whipping cream

4 oz cream cheese, softened

4 oz sour cream

4 Tbl Champagne

3-5 Cups of confectioner's sugar

Cream the sour cream and cream cheese together until well mixed. Whip the whipping cream in mixer until soft peaks form. Add the cream mixture and the champagne. Then slowly add the confectioner's sugar until desired stiffness is acheived.

The frosting didn't set up quite like I wanted, so I will be trying the Champagne flavoring next time.

But regardless, the cupcakes are by far one of my favorites! They are moist, flavorful and just down right Yummy!!!

Special thanks for the amazing prizes this month!!

Our January ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
DOGBONE ART - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=22042
as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

As an added bonus for January, our friend at SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in another treat as well, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; the CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com. NEW, BEGINNING IN JANUARY; our new friends at UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/ will be providing our winner with one of their cute cupcake attitue t's! Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

What is Cake Flour?

Last night while working on a new cupcake (I'll share shortly), I was asked "what is cake flour?"

Um?! I don't really know. I know Alton Brown has a pretty good explanation but I don't recall. So on the google search I went...

According to WiseGeek, Cake Flour "is made from the endosperm of soft wheat. The endosperm is the softest part of the wheat kernel, making cake flour the finest flour available. As cake flour is milled, it is heavily bleached, not only to make it white but to break down the protein in the flour. Typically, cake flour is around seven percent protein, much lower than other flours; bread flour, for example, has twice that amount of protein.

The delicate, fine texture of cake flour is accomplished by heavy milling. The fine grain absorbs fat readily, ensuring that butter and other fats in cakes are well distributed throughout the batter. Cake flour can also carry a high volume of sugar when compared to higher protein flours. Since cake flour is a high-starch flour, it is extremely well suited for certain baking tasks. Cake flour is also lighter than conventional flour, which is why the substitution above falls short of a full cup."

So in basic english, Cake flour has a less protein, finer grain and a lighter, fluffier finish.

As a good rule of thumb, don't use Cake flour for breads or too many savory items, but do use it for cookies, cakes and of course, cupcakes!

Photo catch up from Christmas...

I owe you some promised cupcakes from the Christmas holidays. SO here are the pictures for your enjoyment!

These were the Astros Baseball cupcakes made for a client as a Christmas present. The frosting was amazing!!

And these are my Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes mentioned here. :)

Cupcake Pocket Mirror Winners!!

We have three very lucky ladies that have won themselves a very cool Cupcake Pocket Mirror. Lets give it up for Clara from I ♥ Cuppycakes, Bridget of Bake at 350, and Brooke of Cupcakeand.

Congratulations Ladies!! May all your resolutions come to fruition!

ICE_006: Wine!!

Iron Cupcake Earth: Wine was just announced by Sandy. What a great way to ring in the New Year!

Sweet, dry, bubbly...it idoesn't matter, its all game!!

Here's the post from the ICE website:

006_Wine! Toast the New Year!!
The IronCupcake:Earth challenge for January is Wine! Red or White, Sweet or Dry, Bubbly or Still. What can you do with a bottle of wine and a sweet little cupcake? WINE is the challenge for January 2009.

FINAL POSTING DAY is the 24th of every month: SATURDAY, JANUARY 24 at 12 noon. All times are CENTRAL time.

TAKE NOTE:
• Photograph your baking experience and then post about it on your blog.
• Posting your recipe on your blog is optional.
• New creations only, please. No previously submitted cupcakes.
• In your post, please be sure mention that you are competing to win the following prizes, be sure to include reference and an active link to our prize providers and sponsors:

Our January ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
DOGBONE ART - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=22042
as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.

PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

As an added bonus for January, our friend at SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in another treat as well, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; the CUPCAKE COURIER http://www.cupcakecourier.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

If you are interested in Joining the excitement of Iron Cupcake Earth, please click here to learn how.

Happy New Year 2009!!! (give-a-way)

Happy New Year!!

May this year be filled with savory sauces and sweet frosting!

























I'm kicking off the new year with a give-a-way. I know, we just had Christmas but who doesn't love a give-a-way??

Katie Barker of Posh Totty Designs has made some of the cutest pocket mirrors I've ever seen. What makes them so cute?? Why the cupcake design of course!

So you could be 1 of 3 lucky readers to be gifted you own personal Cupcake Pocket Mirror to start 2009 looking HOT!


The Rules:
1) You have to be in the US to qualify (Sorry everyone else).
2) You can only enter once.
3) Entries start now and Stop Jan. 5th at 12 midnight (CST).
4) Mr Random Generator will pick our winner. (I heard he doens't take bribes.)

Enter by leaving a comment with good contact information and answer a few questions.


1) What is one of your resolutions this year?

2) How do you plan to keep this year's resolutions?

3) What flavor combination would you like to see "tested" this year?