Happy Birthday! (to me)

Wow, as I told me Twitter peeps today, I woke up this morning 28 years old. Well Hellooo. A very special Thank You to everyone for the wonderful Birthday wishes! I had a very fabulous day. Thanks to my BF & crew, I even got to eat cupcakes that I didn't have to make!!
*Can I get a "what!" "what!"*

The BF also surprised me a very cool gift. An officially "licensed" TuTu Cupcakes t-shirt! Sweet! I've got gear! ;-)

Thanks again everyone!

Until my next cupdate,
Linds

Happy Valentines Day! Cupcakes Made With Love

Even though I'm not much for this Hallmark inspired holiday, I couldn't help but get in the spirit of love, hearts, and Valentines with a traditional Chocolate/Vanilla cupcake. I made these cupcakes for a Superbowl party this weekend, but I thought the traditional pairing of flavors made them an excellent Valentine's Day special as well.

These vegan chocolate cupcakes are a great (almost healthy?) way to indulge your chocolate fantasy. I was very interested to try out a vegan chocolate cake recipe to see the difference in taste. Let me tell you--these dairy-less wonders were FANTASTIC! The cake was surprisingly delicious, and had a strong chocolate taste that wasn't too bitter or too sweet.

The texture was not too thick or chewy, or so thin that it crumbled away as you ate it. The texture was just right!
I paired the vegan chocolate cake with an unlikely dairy companion--fluffy buttercream. The Fluffy Buttercream recipe called to sift the confectioner's sugar before mixing together with the butter. I creamed the butter and added the sifted mixture in small intervals at a medium-high speed. The process added some air to the frosting and gave it a fluffy composition. The fluffiness maintained well and really did it's job as a frosting!

To order this or other Valentine inspired cupcakes, please email me directly at: tutucupcakes@gmail.com
Happy Valentines Day!
Until my next cupdate,
Linds

Lab #2: Martha Experiment--Snickerdoodle

How can you really tell from a blog post if a cupcake is delicious? The reaction on a person's face as they eat it! Yep, that's me. In all my pajamaed glory. And, I am going to town on one delicious ass cupcake! ;-)

SNIKERDOODLE!!!! Yuummmmm.

Traditionally, the Snickerdoodle is a type of sugar cookie that is rolled in cinnamon sugar. It usually has a cracked crisp surface and is tender in the middle. But, because this is a cupcake blog, Snickerdoodle is a cupcake!My second experiment from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes proved to be a second success! The cinnamon cake was rich in flavor and matched the characteristics of a Snickerdoodle cookie perfectly. My favorite part of the eating experience was the top of the cupcake. It had the cracked crisp texture just like the cookie. Martha's recipe (which you can find here) called for 2 types of flour; cake & all purpose. I felt the cake flour gave the cupcake a thicker more dense texture that I really enjoyed.
The seven-minute frosting was the perfect compliment to the cinnamon taste. I've used a variation of seven-minute frosting before with my Snoball cupcakes. What I love about this frosting is it's light fluffy appeal. It's soft and sticky like a marshmellow, and has just the right amount of sweetness. Most importantly, it doesn't take away from the flavor of the cake.

Last, but certainly not least, what really gave this cupcake it's magic was the dusting of cinnamon sugar! Absolute heaven! I love love the texture of crunchy little sugar grains rubbing against your teeth! (Yeah, I'm weird! You're just now figuring this out?)
See how pretty & yummy it looks !-------------------------------->

Snikerdoodle Cupcakes. Highly recommend it!

Until my next cupdate,
Linds