Lovin' From the Oven

Cake Pops & a Giveaway

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Cake pops. The baking world just can’t get enough of them.

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(excuse the phone picture quality in this photo)

I was asked to bake something for a birthday; how could I say no? Baking really is my passion. From the little decorating details to the labor of love put into each treat, I can’t get enough.

You can see my previous cupcake pops and bouquets here, here, and here.

Because it’s Friday, because I love you guys, and because it’s my birthday, I’m doing a giveaway.

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You’ll be getting all this goodness from Crate & Barrel. I went shopping on my birthday just to pick out these treats for you guys: A vibrant apron, the cookbook Giada at Home, an individual cupcake to-go container, and burger basket liners (that I normally use for cookies and picture taking). Don’t you feel special? We can learn how to cook together!

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What, a giveaway on my birthday? That doesn’t even make sense.

Of course it does! You see… I’m too old to be receiving gifts, so I figured that I’d give a gift away instead. On my birthday, it’s everyone’s birthday; We all get to share in the love.

My blog would be nothing without word of mouth. Especially in these last few weeks, I’ve never felt more grateful for you guys and for your support. Thank you!!

To enter this giveaway, I want you to spread the word. Tell a stranger, post it on Facebook, tweet about it, write an email… however you choose do it, tell others about this giveaway or my blog. Leave a comment telling me how you chose to spread the word and an email address for me to reach you at. A link to your status update is a plus! Giveaway ends a week from today, Friday, September 2nd, 2011 at 11:59 PM Pacific time and a winner will be chosen via random.org. Open to US residents only, sorry!


Good luck!

Happy 4th of July:: From Scratch Funfetti Cupcakes & Vanilla Buttercream

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Sprinkles!! Can you guess what I did with them?

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Cupcakes, of course!
First, you have to get some festive sprinkles for the holidays (I found these at Homegoods).

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Bake your cupcakes and then whip up some frosting!

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Here’s how I chose to frost mine: Using an offset spatula, throw a slab of frosting onto your cupcake.

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Then spread it to the rim. Don’t worry if it gets all over the place, you just need to cover your top.

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Holding your offset spatula at an angle against your frosting, spin the cupcake around so you get a slanted side, as so:

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Dump some sprinkles out onto a plate (make sure they don’t jump all over the place!)

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And roll the side of the cupcake in the plate:

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Voi-la! A much easier decorating method than piping (maybe not as pretty, but oh well, they all end up in the same place).

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Peel and eat!

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Happy 4th of July, everyone! I’ll be spending mine bbq’ing by the pool in my red, white, and blue. What do you guys have planned?

With any party/get together, I’m expected to bake something. I decided to go all out and do what I hate doing… decorate cupcakes. Plus, I saw these sprinkles at HomeGoods and needed an excuse to buy them. I used jimmies to throw into the batter and nonpareils to decorate the tops. I decorated the cupcakes the lazy way, and provided a step by step on what to do (Is that something you guys would like more of— step by step photos?). Hopefully that helps the decorator haters out there like me!

The cupcake itself was extremely moist and fluffy. It was a little on the sweet side for me, so I’d reduce the amount of sugar next time I make them. The buttercream frosting was actually good— and I don’t normally like buttercream. Though, I must admit that I added probably another 2 tablespoons of milk or so to tone down the powdered sugar taste. Frosting’s forgiving.. add a little more milk and balance out with a little more powdered sugar until you get the taste you desire.

This recipe is slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is, which makes approximately 12 cupcakes. Have a safe 4th, everyone!

  • 1/2 cup softened butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup assorted brightly colored sprinkles + more for top of frosting
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
  3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Fold in assorted sprinkles.
  4. Pour into cupcake tins and fill 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream

  • 2 sticks of butter, softened
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon of milk, if needed
  1. Cream butter until it is completely smooth. 
  2. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.
  3. Beat in the vanilla for 2-3 minutes.
  4. If the frosting is too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If it’s too thin, add a little more sugar until it thickens.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

by 11 Comments

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First… you bake your cupcakes. Then, you cut out a dome shaped chunk from the middle:
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And stuff with cookie dough!
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Frost and decorate:
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It’s that time of the year. The time of the year where I always deny that I’m sick. I never get sick. I worked at the Boys & Girls Club for six years; my immune system is immaculate. There’s no way that I can get sick. The truth of the matter is that I’m congested, I can’t sleep comfortably, my throat is swollen shut, and my nose won’t stop dripping. Sorry for the visual… I know they don’t go well with baked goods.
It just so happens that this sick time conveniently meshes with the one week where I’m supposed to work the most days in a row. Am I complaining? A little bit. But I have no reason to complain… I’ll be in San Francisco in 6 days, Paris in 19, and Hawaii in 59. It’s better to be sick now than then, right?
Okay no more complaining. Suck it up, Kim. Just one look at these cupcakes and they’ll make anyone feel better. Cookie dough filling, cookie dough frosting, and a cupcake?! I’ll just knock myself into a sugar coma and sleep it off like a champ.
I used a yellow cake box mix for the cupcakes since these involved enough work as it is, but feel free to use your own from-scratch recipe. The mini cookies that I topped the cupcakes off with were made from Nestle cookie dough (The huge tub from Costco). Ahhh, now that’s a cupcake.
Cookie dough filling from Quick Dish

  • 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • 6 Tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour
  • 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for decorating
  1. Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
  2. Gradually mix in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until combined.
  3. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 15 minutes or until slightly firm.
Cookie dough frosting from The Family Kitchen

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  1. Beat together butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
  2. Gradually mix in the powdered sugar, flour and salt. and mix until combined. Add milk and vanilla until frosting is smooth.

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