Sunday, August 8, 2010

Cupcake Surprise




In my welcome post, I hinted that you'd see some sweet treats here. I LOVE to bake for special occasions and it so happens that there is a very special occasion coming up next month- a wedding reception that I have been asked to bake for. I'm so excited about doing this, but a bit nervous because I want everything to be perfect. So I decided that I would use every opportunity I could to do some "rehearsing."

For the wedding, I will be making one special dessert (more in a later post about this...) and a few different kinds of cupcakes. I'm not 100% set on the cupcakes yet, so if anyone has seen (or eaten) something really special, I'd appreciate your ideas!

My first cupcake idea was to make a cupcake topped with an oreo ball. For those of you who have not tried oreo balls, they are the most simple little gems to make but they go over so well that they disappear quickly and I get many requests to make them. So then I decided it needed to be an oreo cupcake with a cream cheese frosting (since the oreo balls are made with cream cheese). I looked at several recipes and finally relied on a website I've used for cakes, fillings, frostings, and decorating many times before. They have a white cake recipe that is very special and I figured I could just mix crushed oreos in with the batter. I used the same website for the cream cheese frosting. And here it is: www.easy-cake-ideas.com. As they say on the website, "unleash your inner cake diva!"

Here is where we see why rehearsing a recipe is a good idea. If I make these for the wedding, I think I will use a white frosting instead of the cream cheese which was softer than I would have liked and too yellow.

And here is where the surprise comes in. There is a whole oreo cookie on the bottom of the cupcake that serves as a kind of crust. It is a very cool idea, but not original. I found it on a website called beantownbaker.com. Very simple- just put a whole oreo cookie on the bottom of the cupcake liner before you fill it with the dough. Ingenious!

These practice cupcakes went to Connor and his friends for his birthday party. There are LOTS leftover so I will be giving them away this week. Check back for more wedding recipe rehearsals!

*See website mentioned for a highly recommended white cake recipe. It makes a three layer 10 inch cake. I got 30 cupcakes and one layer out of it!! The cake is light and flaky an the top has a little crunch on it due to the whipped egg whites folded in at the end.

Oreo Ball directions: Put a whole package of oreo cookies in a food processor and process into fine crumbs. Add an 8 oz. package of cream cheese and process until it becomes a dough ball of goodness! Refrigerate until very cold and roll into small balls. Dip each ball in melted "candy melts." Leave on wax paper to dry. Store in a cool place (or fridge).

7 comments:

  1. Sounds fabulous!! I have a yummy recipe for white frosting (not remotely good for you, but very tasty) if you are interested :)

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  2. I AM! Please E-mail me the recipe or send it in a FB message. Thanks Shannon!

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  3. Those look good!
    Last night, along with a big tall tray of lasagna (!!), out come the herb breadsticks that'll instantly melt butter...YUM! I'm so thankful to have a wife who bakes. It makes all the difference to see Tina and Emmy making cookies - something I honestly don't believe moms and daughters do much of like when I was a kid.

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  4. I've got a pretty simple formula for a buttercream icing that isn't too sweet ~ might go nicely with these cupcakes, let me know if you want it. Also, if you're doing the oreo cupcakes for the wedding,,, maybe you have a "theme" already... make all sorts of cupcakes out of cookie ideas... like a coconut macaroon cupcake, a Brookie (that's where you do a half brownie, half chocolate chip cookie in a cupcake/muffin pan), something that might represent a shortbread type of cookie? I'm just sayin........

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  5. Bret- I couldn't agree more. Connor likes cooking and baking too, by the way, so it's a great thing for mothers and sons (and fathers and sons) too!
    Jill- sure, I'll take a peek a your buttercream. I've used the buttercream base recipe from the website I mentioned and I really love it. But again, it seems to come out yellowish instead of white. Great theme idea!

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  6. Hi Maria :)

    Could you pass me that oreo cupcake recipe?? They look great!

    Thanks!
    -Sam

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  7. Sorry Sam- I am just seeing this request for the recipe. I wish I knew a way for the blog to notify me when I get a comment!! Anyway, I am going to send along the recipe to you through Gillian. In case you don't get it, just use a white cake mix or homemade white cake recipe (I used easycakeidea.com- great site!) Add about a cup to a cup and a half of crushed oreos to the batter. Put a whole oreo in the bottom of a cupcake liner, fill about 3/4 of the way. Follow directions in the cake recipe for cupcakes-- I think I did 325 and checked until toothpick came out clean. Frost with any frosting. I used cream cheese-- same site. Thanks for asking!

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