Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Everybody loves cupcakes. They are fun, cute, and endlessly customizable. Cupcakes with beer and hard liquor = even better. Although I  do love a good cupcake like the next person, they are truly the remedial treat of the patisserie world. If you can make cake batter, you can make cupcakes. So it irks me that so many classically trained pastry chefs have settled by just making cupcakes, and only cupcakes day in and day out. We don't even make cupcakes in my patisserie program because they are so simple and many of my chefs have mocked said cupcake makers. So since cupcakes are so simple in nature, but so fun to make, one should thrive for perfection and come up with creative flavor combinations that really can outshine a plain chocolate, vanilla, or red velvet cupcake.

Adam's birthday was on Monday, I offered to make him a birthday treat. I wanted to try something I don't bake often, and then a light switch went off. I thought about chocolate stout and how its used in baking and then remembered Adam's obsession with Guinness and it was settled, my birthday treat was born.

A Guinness cupcake with Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream. And it was delightful.

Sweet holiday treats

 
I absolutely love eggnog and I really only get to have it from November to January. So within that small window of time, I jumped at the chance to make eggnog cupcakes and happened to find a pretty good recipe to go off of [ not to mention I had these really cute cupcake liners I wanted to show off]. It also so happened that Josh's mom was hosting a big holiday party this past weekend and I was in charge of desserts. Along with the cupcakes, I also baked pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting [ which I will be posting about shortly] and the chocolate dipped pecan bars from earlier.

These cupcakes are delicious and I found some adorable edible pearls which added a touch of elegance to their presentation. The original recipe had a cinnamon stick as a garnish, but as I learned in culinary school- all garnishes should be edible and I don't think many people are interested in gnawing on some cinnamon bark.

 

Happy Holidays!!

 

Happy Halloweenie!

Halloween weekend just passed and Roxy threw a little party, so of course I was in charge of baking goodies for everyone. I decided to keep it simple and make classic chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.  Chocolate and vanilla can be pretty plain and boring sometimes, but if you follow a really great recipe they can be quite scrumptious.

Halloween was never my favorite holiday, but instead it always marked that time of year directly following it that makes me so happy. I love "the holidays", and in my life they include Thanksgiving and Hannukah, and New Years Eve. Halloween is always a fun holiday, especially because it lends so much creativity to numerous baked goods. I played it safe, but it was really my first time baking for a halloween party so I didn't want to stray too far out of my comfort zone.

I am super excited however for the next couple months and all the warm sugary treats I will be baking, not just at home but also in culinary school. I start the Le Cordon Bleu Patisserie and Baking Program this coming Monday!!

Recipes and pictures, after the jump!
Enjoy<3