Super{cupcake}bowl

THE ADVENTURE
Find an excellent vanilla/vanilla cupcake recipe and decorate them according to team colors.

PAR-TAY!
Last minute I decided to throw a superbowl party at my house.  Some people already had plans but a good amount said they could come so it was on!  I knew this would be a good audience to taste test and give honest opinions.  *Sidenote-  I was inspired from a fraternity party I attended at FSU to watch the superbowl one year in which they made their couches like stadium seating where one was raised up behind the other.  I bought bed risers and put them under the couch legs of the back couch and it somewhat worked, they weren't quite high enough and eventually gave out and the couch fell off, luckily that was at the end of the game.*

PLAY BY PLAY
I woke up early Sunday morning to make the cupcakes to insure their freshness for my party guests.  I had to be at work at 12:30 so I knew I was on a time crunch.  Everything went smoothly making the batter and I pulled them out of the oven at the right time.  Time for frosting!  I made a large amount and halved it so I could custom decorate for Green Bay and Pittsburgh.  For the Packers I decided to do green and yellow frosting.  I painted the inside of my piping bag with green and yellow food coloring so that when the icing came out it had swirls of the colors {i got that cool idea from youtube and it worked out quite well}.  For the Steelers I turned all of the remaining icing yellow and swirled it on the cupcakes, then took chocolate sprinkles and rolled them along the sides.  Here's how the two teams cupcakes turned out...

FINAL SCORE
On the decorating side I would give myself a 10 out of 10.  I thought it was an inventive way to decorate and the team colors theme was very clear.  Unfortunately on taste I would have to give them a 5 out of 10, gaining points for icing only.  My mother's description after tasting them "it tastes like wedding cake, and I don't like that" ... Goose's response "these are so heavy I think I should be doing curls with them" ... everyone in agreement that the cake was waaay to dense.  The best comparesment of the night came from Zan "they taste very similar to the cookies from Publix with the icing on top" and I agree with that completely.

ON THE HUNT
The cupcakes came up short {like the Steelers} and I am still searching for the best vanilla/vanilla cupcake recipe!  Any recommendations?.. send them my way!

My new cupcake stand!  It's a little too small for my jumbo cupcakes though :(

competition going down the drain.

DRAMA
So my world came crashing down on New Years morning when my aunt saw an article in the local Alpharetta newspaper for a cupcakery opening here!  I was pissed, someone stole my idea to take over Alpharetta with cupcakes.  This cupcakery started putting ads in the paper and I decided I needed to check them out.  After looking at their website I wasn't blown away.  They have the usual set up with everyday flavors and then special flavors that they rotate throughout the week.  The website was fairly basic but they do have a cute cupcake graphic.  Their hours are not spectacular either, I really believe that if you truly want to have a successful dessert business you should be open past dinner (aka when people want a sweet treat).  To really get the best picture I needed to do some taste testing and therefore recruited Zan to go with me and step into the competitors dwelling. 

The shop is still very new and has a clean design, but isn't very inviting.. they need some art on the walls and a couch and tables.  The cupcakes were decorated well, some actually mimicking ones I have made in the past.  Zan tried to ask the girl at the register some questions and either she didn't want to divulge any secrets or had zero social skills because she was awkward as crap, and looked like an elf lol.  We took them back to my house, where my mom decided to join us in the taste testing, and dug in.  Bad idea... they need to go back and revise their recipes because BLAH.  The cake was dry, the icing was waaay to sweet, it felt like wasted calories (which is the worst!)  Zan and my mom both agreed that I have definitely made better cupcakes, and anyone who has tried my pb&j's would probably agree. 

In the end, I was not impressed.  Zan looked online at some of their reviews and left one himself.  I am not going to name this particular cupcakery because I don't want to give them any advertising, but lets just say if you are in Alpharetta and want to purchase some cupcakes don't look for any local store fronts, just call or e-mail me!

THE LATEST ADVENTURE
Chocolate cupcakes with caramel buttercream and sea salt.

PICTURES

Cupcake batter dispenser, squeeze the handle and it pees batter, much easier to dispense in the muffin cups

Jumbo's and mini's, this recipe made so much batter I had to throw some away

My beautiful new stand mixer, and some caramel buttercream

A look inside at the frosting

Finished product!

RESULTS
I was very happy with how these came out, looks and taste wise.  If you are a fan of the sweet/salty combo then these are for you!  The bad news.. the next morning when I went to admire my cupcakes they had transformed into something that was not pretty.  The caramel buttercream did not hold its shape, in fact it basically slid off the cupcake.  I'm not sure what the exact reason was but the cupcakes being set in a container at a slant and the caramel topping being heavy were probably contributing factors.

UH OH
I didn't want to give any of these cupcakes away because they didn't look so great so I ended up putting them down the drain, but a major uh oh happened and a cupcake explosion happened under the sink.  Aka, my garbage disposal detached and spewed bits of chocolate cupcake everywhere.  It was sick, but funny so I took a picture...

Oops!

 p.s. we've fixed it and I've cleaned up since then

happy new(tella) year.

THE ADVENTURE
Banana cupcakes with Nutella frosting.  I had decided to do some sort of nutella cupcake as my next project but wasn't sure exactly how I wanted to incorporate it.. should I fill it with nutella, put it on as frosting, add it to the batter??  I did some googling and found a few recipes that paired nutella with banana and decided on this one from another blog.  What made it even more perfect was that I had exactly 3 over ripe bananas like the recipe called for.

HOW IT WENT
I was very excited to make these cupcakes because it was the first time I would get to use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer!  The process went fairly smoothly, I just needed a little time to figure out how to use it properly.  Only twice did I cause the ingredients to poof out of the bowl, due to making the mixer go too fast too soon.  I have only made jumbo cupcakes and decided that as well as my jumbo ones I wanted to do some bite size cupcakes too!  I baked the jumbo ones first and when those were finished put in the mini ones and guesstimated the time for cooking.  I've gotten much better at knowing when things are ready and not over-baking anymore, so yay me!

Over head view

Jumbo up close

Mini up close

Side by side, I think this picture is just too cute, like mommy cupcake and baby cupcake ;)

YUMMYNESS FACTOR
Now I may be a little biased because I LOVE banana bread but I thought these cupcakes turned out tasting real dang good!  The cupcakes were moist and the frosting was an excellent accompanyment.  I loved the minis, they were so cute and the perfect size to clinch your sweet craving without over-doing it.  I will be making lots of these in the future!  I got pretty good reviews, if you aren't a huge banana fan these may not be for you.  Also, they make for a pretty delicious breakfast.

I'm thinking about starting an online ordering form to really try and get this going.  If you have an event coming up for just are really in the mood for cupcakes I'm your girl!  E-mail me at kellymcdonald09@gmail.com for comments, suggestions, or orders :)

AND I hope everyone has a happy new(tella) year!!!

very merry tacky cupcake christmas.

THE ADVENTURE
Four different flavors for my Tacky Christmas Sweater Party

1. Peanut Butter and Jelly
2. S'mores
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
4. Red Velvet

THE PARTY
Around Thanksgiving Zan and I decided to throw a Christmas party which evolved into a Tacky Sweater Christmas Party.  Initially I thought finding a sweater would be no big deal, my first place to look was my mom's closet but she informed me that about two years ago after watching "what not to wear" on tlc she threw out all Christmas sweaters, bummer!  So my next thought was to go to Goodwill, but they had nothing!  At this point I was thinking I'm going to be the host of the Tacky Sweater party and not be wearing a tacky sweater :(  But Stein Mart came to my rescue and for ten dollars I found the perfect tacky sweater!

The party was a blast, everyone looked hilarious (accolades going to Ryan Christopher, aka Christopher Ryan, the grandma jammies girls, and Zan for best outfits in my opinion)!  We played the biggest game of apples to apples I've ever been a part of and had a white elephant gift exchange where the gifts had to be something from home.  I ended up with NFL player bobble head dolls, could have been worse (jean covered babysitter hand book or dolphin ash tray)  Here are some pictures of outfits and people enjoying their white elephant gifts...

Awkward Family Photo

brushing up on their babysitting techniques

HOW IT WENT

So when I decided to take on the task of making four different flavors of cupcakes the thought of it being challenging did not cross my mind, umm am I crazy??  I was like oh yeah I'll just half the recipes and it should be no big deal, I was very very wrong!  Right now I need to give a big shout out to Zan, he was a great helper that day cleaning and helping garnish.  I decided on peanut butter and jelly because to date they had been the best outcome so far and most people's favorite, s'mores per Clay's request, chocolate chip cookie dough per Zan's request, and red velvet with green cream cheese icing to be festive.

The peanut butter and jelly came out great and gave me no trouble and the red velvet were much much better this time because I tried a different recipe.  I turned the cream cheese icing green and made them into Christmas trees and garnished them with round sprinkles to look like ornaments.  But then came the s'mores and chocolate chip cookie dough...

Thank goodness I halved the smores recipe because it ended up yielding twelve cupcakes anyways.  I did chocolate cupcakes with crushed graham crackers mixed in, marshmallow icing and garnished each with a graham cracker and a piece of hershey chocolate bar.  I think they turned out cute!

Now at this point I was tired, ready to change for my party, and just not in the mood to make ANOTHER batch of cupcakes!!  But, I promised Zan and therefore I forged ahead..  made yellow cake, dropped the frozen cookie dough into the centers, stuck them in the oven, made chocolate frosting while baking, took them out, didn't let them cool and just slapped the icing on top.  Certainly not my finest work but I was just over it and needed a drink.  Is this a bad sign... I can't handle making four types of cupcakes?  I'm sure my shop would have more than that on the menu... uh oh!

HOW THEY WERE RECIEVED

This had been my biggest crowd of cupcake taste testers and I was slightly nervous for what they would think but... I got glowing remarks!! and only a few were left at the end of the party!  One person even told me that in a year when they make more money they would invest, yippee!!!  I think I'm on the right path :)

our dessert spread

smore cupcake up-close



me and my red velvet christmas tree


CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
Now that I am a professed cupcake shop entrepreneur much of my Christmas list was dedicated to such.  My big present was a stand mixer!  I am soo excited to use this and not a hand mixer anymore, should make the process much easier and cleaner!  I also got cupcake boxes, a carrying case, baking cups, a new apron, and new cupcake recipe books from my mom and Mrs. Patorgis!!  Can't wait to use all my new stuff and make even more cupcakes :)

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Tacky Cupcake Christmas!

breakfast cupcakes yum yum.

THE ADVENTURE
French Toast Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing and Bacon Bits!

THE DISCLAIMER
I swear these are not gross!  I know you are probably thinking "bacon bits.. wtf kelly", but they really do go together.  I mean you have french toast for breakfast, cream cheese on your bagel for breakfast, and bacon for breakfast, so why not incorporate it with a cupcake recipe?  My true inspiration for this cupcake comes from my favorite doughnut shop, Sublime Doughnut, where Zan once ordered a doughnut with maple syrup frosting stuff and bacon bits (delicious).  So please stop making your disgusted face and continue reading with an open mind ;)

HOW IT WENT
Deciding on what recipe to use took a lot of time.  It was hard for me to decide between a french toast cupcake or cinnamon roll.  I feel like they are in the same family, as in the french toast is the younger brother and the cinnamon roll is the older sister.  I guess I picked the younger brother... lol?

Making the batter went well.  I taste tested it before going in the oven, and that caused me to continue taste testing a couple spoonfuls, oops.  While baking the aroma they caused to waft through the house was soo good!  My mom walked in and the first thing out of her mouth was smells like french toast!  Zan stopped by later and said the same thing.

I used a cream cheese frosting recipe that I had used previously for my go at red velvet cupcakes and was pleased with the results.  I think it should be a little thicker and a little less creamy to have the perfect consistency. 

Now for the garnish!  Bacon bits seemed like the perfect salty compliment.  I am such a sweet then salty girl that I knew the richness of the cupcake and frosting would need something to not make it too intense.  Here's some pictures of how they turned out, bacon bit garnish included!

I feel like when I frost the cupcakes using this decorating tip they come out looking like dog poop, literally, like a dog pooped on top of the cupcake in a swirl, agree?

I made 10 total, and had already eaten one at this point

AFTERTHOUGHTS
When I tried one of these cupcakes I thought "yummy" but not quite as WOW as I was hoping for.  My opinion is that the cream cheese icing is too overpowering and you can't really taste the bacon bits :(  I also overcooked the cupcakes by about a minute causing them to be the slightest bit dry.  So I'm still learning and trying to make improvements.

P.S.
I am having a Tacky Sweater Holiday Party soon and am planning to make a variety of cupcakes for my guests, so if you have some suggestions please tell me and I'll add them to the menu!  And donations to the Kelly's Cupcake Bakery are always welcome :)

chocolate blah.

THE ADVENTURE
Dark Chocolate Peppermint cupcakes, I think with Christmas being around the corner these are the perfect seasonal treat!

THE PROBLEM
I HATE chocolate :(  well, hate is a strong word, but if I had my pick every cupcake I made would be vanilla or something along those lines.  And yes, I do ultimately pick the cupcake flavors I make right now but since I'm not the one who ends up eating all of them I have to please a variety of people with a variety of taste buds.  The same goes for nuts, I personally think they are gross in any type of dessert, but my mom says if I want to open a cupcake shop and please a wide range of customers I must give in and use nuts on some.  The nut battle I am still fighting!

HOW IT WENT
When I want to make cupcakes I'll do some research when it comes to the recipe.  I like when they have a lot of positive reviews because if its worked out for someone else then it should more than likely work for me.  It's also helpful when reviewers post tips on making the cupcakes even better.  For this cupcake I used this recipe for the cake part and this recipe for the frosting.

The dark chocolate batter ended up looking for like chocolate soup.. very very thin.  The recipe said it would be though, but still a little odd looking.  I poured the batter into the muffin cups and got a little batter happy because when I went to check on them in the oven 5 or 6 of them were spilling over and two had dripped all the way to the bottom of the oven, eek!  It started to burn so I had to scrape the stuff off real fast and put out a couple sparks??  Luckily the firefighters were not needed!  There was plenty of batter left over so I put in a second batch and tried to salvage the overspilling cupcakes.

I made a total of 18, but one was a runt, so I took him out of the picture

The frosting went smoothly.  A little bit of peppermint extract goes a long way and comes out of the bottle very fast!  Thank goodness I watched some you tube video that recommended measuring your liquid ingredients over a different bowl in case you over pour.

A tip I saw: put your piping bag in a glass when you're filling it, keeps mess to a minimum

Frosting the cupcakes, I'm a pro!

Finished product, with sugar peppermint sprinkles!

nom nom nom

AFTER THOUGHTS

All in all I was pleased.  I think they turned out pretty.  Not sure this is going to be my go to chocolate cupcake recipe though.  My mom, our pest control guy, and Clay have eaten one so far and said they're yummy and even if you aren't a huge peppermint fan it's subtle enough to where you would enjoy it as well.

So who wants to invest in my shop?!?

and so the journey begins.

CUPCAKES!!!

How can you not like them? They've been around since 1796, thanks wikipedia, and have been satisfying people's sweet tooth ever since. Cupcakes are your own little personal treat that come in countless flavors and are great no matter the time of year, they really are the perfect dessert!

ME!!!

I graduated from The Florida State University in May 2009 with a degree in Communications and with no real plans or job offers I moved back to Alpharetta, GA to live with my mom and younger brother, they make pretty good roomies. Currently I'm a part time gymnastics coach at Gymnastics World of Georgia and have been looking for a full time position with lots of interviews but little luck.

THE IDEA!!!
One morning my mom and I went to breakfast and were discussing our plans for the future and she told me that the people who really make it in life are those that are in business for themselves, and then she threw out the idea of opening a cupcake shop. That idea really struck a cord with me and thats when I began to fantasize of opening my own cupcake shop.
I came home from that meal and started googling immediately.. how to open a cupcake shop, cupcake franchises, cupcake shops in Alpharetta, etc. The results I found were very interesting... cupcake shops are seemingly recession proof because they are an inexpensive comfort food, franchises are not the way to go, and there is not a single cupcake shop, let alone decent bakery, in Alpharetta!

THE PLAN!!!

If I really want to make this happen the first thing I decided I needed to do was figure out if I was actually any good at making cupcakes and if it was something I enjoyed. So I bought a recipe book and got to baking! Pink Lemonade, cookies and cream, boston cream pie, red velvet, chocolate chocolate, and peanut butter and jelly! Progressively they have gotten better and I've watched some youtube videos to help me learn how to frost them. PB&J is my best to date and gave me the cupcake confidence to start this blog. Here's some pictures of how they turned out...

So my plan for this blog is to continue updating on my adventure of opening my very own cupcake shop and to show all my failures and successes on the way. Leave comments if you have any cupcake flavor suggestions or want me to bake any sweet treats for your special event!