Archive for November, 2009

Snowman Cupcake Centerpieces

Monday, November 30th, 2009

We know that by 5 am on the Friday after Thanksgiving, you’re thinking about all of the things that you need to do for the Christmas or Hannukah.  Some of us love it and others despise it.  Some of us put it off and others get it all done before December 1. 

Well, we hope to provide you some inspiration for this time.  Regardless of which camp you fall into or if you’re somewhere inbetween. 

Starting off, this Snowman makes a great centerpiece (his scarf and hat shown off by our red foil cups) — which can be surrounded with Twinkling Tree Cupcakes in red or green foil cups to make a fabulously Holiday Winter wonderland. 

10406REY_XMAS

WHAT YOU NEED (for six snowmen)

Cupcakes:
6 chocolate cupcakes baked in Reynolds® Holiday Baking Cups
1 container (16 oz.) vanilla ready-to-spread frosting

Snowmen:
1 package ready-to-use white rolled fondant
1 package toothpicks
Red food coloring or icing color gel
6 chocolate kiss candies, unwrapped
Multicolored sprinkles
Nonpareils, sprinkles and small red candies

INSTRUCTIONS

MAKE 6 SNOWMEN

DIVIDE fondant into two pieces:

- 2/3 will stay white and be used for the snowmen

- 1/3 will be tined and used for the hat and scarf

ROLL white fondant into balls 12 balls (2 per snowman)

- Six to be used for the heads, should be about 2-inches in diameter

- Six, for the bodies, should be slightly bigger

STACK the heads onto the bodies using a toothpick

TINT 1/3 of rolled fondant with food coloring or gel by placing it in a plastic bag and following package directions

MAKE SCARF AND HAT

ROLL OUT red fondant between 2 sheets of Reynolds Cut-Rite Wax Paper until it’s about 1/4-inch thick.

CUT six (6) strips of fondant using a pizza cutter — they should be 5 to 6 ½ inches each, long enough to wrap around the neck of the snowman.  If desired, press small pieces of white fondant into the ends of the scarf.

CUT three (3), 1/2-inch slits on each side of the scarf to make fringe.

PLACE the scarf around the snowman’s neck. Use small dots of frosting and press to affix to snowman.

CUT 6 small triangle pieces of red fondant using the size of chocolate kiss candy as a guide.

WRAP fondant around chocolate kiss candies. Use small dots of frosting to seal fondant to chocolate kiss.

CUT 2-inch strips of red fondant for hat band.

MAKE FINISHING TOUCHES AND ASSEMBLE

DECORATE

- Hat: Coat strip with a thin layer of frosting to hold sprinkles. Press sprinkles into each fondant hat band.  Cut strips of red fondant to make a  tassel for the hat, if desired.  Coat tassel lightly with frosting, press sprinkles into tassel, and attach to hat with frosting.

- Snowman: Use nonpareils and small red candies for eyes and nose; press into fondant.  Cut mouth from red fondant with a pizza cutter; use a small dot of frosting (toothpicks work well) to attach to face.

PLACE  fondant-covered candy hat on snowman’s head (seam in back), using dots of frosting to hold it in place. Wrap sprinkle covered band around hat; attach with dots of frosting.

INSERT toothpick into bottom of snowman. Center snowman on top of frosted cupcake.

National Vanilla Cupcake Day

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Okay.  Maybe it’s a little silly that there’s a National Vanilla Cupcake Day, a National Chocolate Cupcake Day, AND a National Cupcake Day.

But can anybody really complain about a chance to celebrate with cupcakes?  On any day?!

So in honor of National Vanilla Cupcake Day — today — we made Vanilla Cream Cupcakes with Vanilla Glaze.  And what better way to celebrate the simple but beautiful flavor of vanilla than to put the whole thing in a simple white baking cup.  Of course we couldn’t resist the strawberries we saw at the grocery store when we went shopping.

Vanilla Cream Cupcakes with Vanilla GlazeVanilla Cupcake whole_cut

WHAT YOU NEED

French Vanilla Cake Mix (and all required ingredients)
Vanilla Pudding
6 Tablespoons Butter
1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
2 Tablespoons Water
3/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Round decorating tip #230
Optional: Strawberries or Vanilla Chips 

INSTRUCTIONS

BAKE cupcakes according to package directions; set aside

PREPARE pastry bag with vanilla pudding and Round decorating tip #230

INJECT cooled cupcakes with desired amount of pudding by inserting pastry bag tip 1 inch into cupcake and squeezing bag (we found that about 10 seconds of pressure was the right amount)

GLAZE Cupcakes

  1. Sift powdered sugar into medium-sized bowl
  2. Melt butter in saucepan or microwave
  3. Add melted butter to powdered sugar
  4. Add water and vanilla
  5. Beat on low speed until smooth & creamy
  6. Spoon 1 teaspoon of glaze onto cooled, filled cupcakes

TOP with strawberry or vanilla chips, if desired

Pumpkin Centerpiece of Pumpkin Cupcakes

Friday, November 6th, 2009

Some people love Apple Pie.  Okay, a lot of people love Apple Pie.  But a lot of people also really love cupcakes.  And cupcakes can be appropriate for Thanksgiving.  Especially pumpkin cupcakes with maple spice frosting. 

And especially pumpkin cupcakes with maple spice frosting decorated and assembled to make a three-dimensional, edible pumpkin centerpiece!

Pumpkin Cupcake for blog copy

So this Thanksgiving, use our recipe — a twist on our original “bouquet” recipe — to adorn the table in an unforgettable way.  And I’m sure they won’t be upset if you also serve apple pie!

Oh, and if you are inspired to make something based on this, will you send us pictures?  We’d love to see them and maybe even post them to help further inspire people…with credit to you of course!!

Pumpkin Centerpiece of Pumpkin Cupcakes and Maple Spice Frosting
(using step x step photos of our Bouquet Technique)

WHAT YOU NEED

 For Cake
48-52 cupcakes baked in Reynolds Orange Foil Baking Cups
2 packages (18.25 oz. each) yellow cake mix
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Water, oil and eggs (follow package directions)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract for cake

For Frosting
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract for frosting
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 to 2 packages (16 oz.each ) powdered sugar
Neon orange food coloring
Green food coloring
Optional:  orange sugar crystals

For Creating Centerpiece
1 large platter or tray (at least 12 inches wide)
1 8” Styrofoam ball (purchase at your local craft store)
1 4×4x2″ Styrofoam block  (purchase at your local craft)
4 6″ wooden skewers
1 glue gun and glue sticks
48-52 wooden craft sticks
1 small paring knife

INSTRUCTIONS

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. 

PLACE Reynolds Baking Cups in muffin pans; set aside. 

BEAT cake mixes, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, water, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on lw speed until moistened, about 30 seconds.  Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Spoon batter into baking cups.  If desired, each cake mix can be beaten separately just use half of pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla in each.

BAKE 20 to 23 minutes.  Cool.

MIX cream cheese, maple syrup, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Add powdered sugar gradually until well blended.

DIVIDE frosting, use food coloring to dye 1/2 cup green and the remaining frosting orange.

SET aside two cupcakes for stem.  PIPE or frost remaining cupcakes with orange frosting.  Sprinkle with orange sugar crystals,  if desired.  Very Important: Let frosting stand and harden at least 1 hour.

PREPARE CENTERPIECE

  1. Place Styrofoam block on a platter.  Use hot glue to glue block to platter.  Insert 4 wooden skewers in a square center of block.
    Pumpkin Step 1
  2. Place Styrofoam ball on top of block, sliding ball onto skewers.  Use hot glue to secure in place, if necessary.
    Pumpkin Step 2
  3. Starting at the bottom of the styrofoam ball, insert one wooden craft stick angled 45 degrees up.  Push stick deep into ball so that about 1/2 of it remains sticking out to hold cupcake.Pumpkin Step 3
  4. Use a paring knife to make a thin slit into the bottom of the decorated cupcake.Pumpkin Step 4
  5. Slide decorated cupcake onto wooden craft stick.
    Pumpkin Step 5
  6. Repeat these steps, one row at a time.  Work your way all the way around the bottom of the ball to the top, placing the cupcakes as close together as you can get them.
    Pumpkin Step 6
  7. Leave a 3-inch circle of open space at the top for the stem.  Remove baking cups from the 2 cupcakes that were set aside for stem.  Cut a thin slice from the top of each cupcake to create flat surfaces. Pumpkin Step 7
  8. Frost cut side of one cupcake with green frosting and press bottom of second cupcake on top of it.  Prepare stem by spreading a thin coating of green frosting over all sides of both cupcakes.
    Pumpkin Step 8
  9. Spread a dollop of green frosting in open space at top of ball to serve as “glue” for the stem.  Place frosted green cupcakes upside down on frosting so flat bottom of one of the cupcakes makes the top of the stem.  Spread frosting over stem until completely covered.  Use a fork to make circular lines in the top of the stem and vertical lines on the sides, if desired.
    Pumpkin Step 9A
  10. Optional:  place additional cupcakes on platter around bottom of Pumpkin.

Fall Fabulous

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

Did you buy orange & black foil or ghost-shaped baking cups this Halloween? 

Turn your leftover cups from Halloween ghoulish to Fall Festive.  Get inspired by our visual renditions (below) of some of the many ideas from the great followers of Cupcakes Take the Cake!

Make a Turkey or a Cornucopia using the ghost-shaped cups.
All you need is chocolate frosting, chocolate candy kisses (or marzipan vegetables for cornucopia), candy corn, and red & orange decorator frosting.cornucopia & Turkey copy

Make pumpkins and fall leaves with the orange or black foil.
Use the shell tip to make the pumpkin patch, or simply buy pumpkin candies and leaf sprinkles!

Orange and Black cupcakes

A Reynolds Halloween Retrospective

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Halloween cupcakes homemade by some of our employees (or their kids).
They did a great job, didn’t they?!

Colin Molly pirates

Elisa Halloween Cupcakes

jessica ghosts

Elisa pumpkin cupcakes