Quinoa Chocolate Cake

Quinoa in a cake? Yes.  You'd never know it.  It is certainly not sugar free, but with the quinoa added in at least you get a good dose of protein, too!

Ingredients:
-2 c cooked quinoa
-1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/2 c earth balance butter
-1/4 c melted coconut oil
-1 c sugar in the raw
-1 c unsweetened cocoa powder (we like Navitas)
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt

-2 batches of coconut cream whipped frosting

1.  Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 round cake pans with parchment paper.
2.  In a food processor, combine the eggs, milk, and vanilla.  Blend for 10 seconds to combine.
3.  Add the cooked (and cooled!) quinoa, the melted (and cooled!) coconut oil and butter.  Then blend until completely smooth, 1-3 minutes.
4.  Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the wet ingredient and mix together until well combined.
5.  Divide the batter between two pans and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool.
6.  Once cooled, you can flip out one cake onto the serving platter and top with frosting.  Then flip the second cake on top of the first and cover top and sides with remaining frosting.
7.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Credit:  Making Thyme for Health

Flower Cupcakes

My new found discovery is the super thin and stiff painting canvases from Micheals.  Super cheap and they make GREAT reusable cake boards.  For this munchin's second birthday, I just painted the canvas blue, added the decorated cupcakes, wrote the message in permanent marker, and painted on stems and voila - a cutie cake!  I can prime over the paint and start over for the next project :)

Cupcakes, Caterpillar Style

For my son's first birthday I chose to incorporate an Eric Carle theme, specifically, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. His baby book follows the same theme so I thought this was appropriate.

This was a super easy to execute and it turned out so cute! (If I do say so myself.)

The Head:
Frost 1 cupcake with red frosting. Dab 2 white dot for eyes and insert mini chocolate chips to complete them. Frost on a white smile. I made our antenna out of a purple pipe cleaner that I found in our craft drawer. You could also use construction paper and toothpicks if that is what you happen to have.

The Body:
Frost with green frosting. I let my color not quite mix all the way to create the gradient look you see in the green.

The Board:
I purchased a white foam core board from my local office supply store, cut and glued on colored tissue paper dots and frosted "Carver is One!" with white frosting.

Really, that's it. Fun!

Cupcakes, Princess and the Frog

Frog Cupcake Toppers

You'll need:
-Green frosting
-White frosting
-Green dots candies, halved
-Yellow starburst candies
-Toothpicks
-Mini chocolate chips

1. Make the eyes: Place a dot of white frosting on the inside side of a halved green dot and then push a mini chocolate chip into the frosting, point side in.
2. Make crowns: Cut 2 triangles out of the top of a yellow starburst candy (see photo), then stick a toothpick into the bottom of the crown.
3. Frost your cupcakes green.
4. Place the eyes and crown.
5. Use white frosting to make a big smile.**

**I am not all that artistic, and I find Pampered Chef Decorate Set to be super easy to use and clean. Highly recommend!

Crown Cupcakes

Print this cupcake wrapper template and modify it to add crown peaks. Frost cupcakes with white frosting, add sprinkles, and cupcake wrappers.

Cupcakes, Baby Dedication

As I'm preparing for my son's 1st birthday, I've been getting lots of questions about my history with cupcakes. I have a huge phobia of baking cakes - they never turn out right. And then when I go to decorate, I much too much of a perfectionist to nail the ENTIRE cake surface without making mistakes that would bug me to no end. I know, it's not normal. But it is what it is and I have found my freedom in cupcakes! Easy to bake, fun to decorate, and if you make an uncorrectable mistake you've only lost one cupcake!

These are the cupcakes I made for my son's dedication at our church. The idea was a flock of sheep, but I still kind of think they look more like sheep dogs :)

Sheep Cupcake Tops

You'll need:
-Large marshmallows, quartered
-Large marshmallows, halved
-Mini marshmallows, halved
-White frosting
-Black frosting

1. Frost the cupcake with white frosting.
2. Stick half a large marshmallow in the middle of the cup cake top.
3. Then, cover the remaining top of cupcake with halved mini marshmallows.
4. Stick 2 quartered pieces of a large marshmallow on for ears (the stick on the inside of the marshmallow should be enough to hold them on, but you can always use a little white frosting as glue, if needed.)
5. Stick 2 halved mini marshmallows on top of the large marshmallow, but behind the ears.
6. Place small black dots for eyes and nose.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Tomorrow is my hubby's birthday and tonight we celebrated at dinner with our neighbors! My awesome neighbor hosted, so I got the night off from cooking. Instead my preschooler and I spent the afternoon constructing a cupcake course, golf course, that is.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl:
-3/4c. unsweetened cocoa
-2c. sugar
-2c. flour
-1 tsp. baking soda
-pinch of salt

In another bowl, mix:
-1 bottle of stout beer*
-1 stick of butter, melted
-1 Tbs. vanilla
-3 large adds (add one at a time)
-3/4c. sour cream

Gradually, add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

Lightly grease muffin tins, or drop in wrappers.
Fill cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 12 minutes, rotate pan and then bake for another 12 minutes.

*My hubby brews his own beer and currently has a coffee/chocolate stout on hand. I used this and it was delicious. The original recipe recommends Guinness.