Raspberry Oatmeal Muffins - Recipe

For the muffins:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup wheat bran
1/3 cup rolled oats
pinch of salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 lightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup dried raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a spoon. In a large bowl, beat the buttermilk, eggs, and oil with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until combined. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until almost blended. Fold in the raspberries with a large spoon or spatula until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes.

Makes approximately 12 muffins

Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins - Recipe

For the muffins:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup wheat bran
1/3 cup rolled oats
pinch of salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 lightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped almonds
Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a spoon. In a large bowl, beat the buttermilk, eggs, and oil with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until combined. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until almost blended. Fold in the cranberries and almonds with a large spoon or spatula until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes.

Makes approximately 12 muffins

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins - Recipe

For the muffins:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup wheat bran
1/3 cup rolled oats
pinch of salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 lightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a spoon. In a large bowl, beat the buttermilk, eggs, and oil with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until combined. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until almost blended. Fold in the raisins with a large spoon or spatula until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes.

Makes approximately 12 muffins

>>>Remember to check the bottom of the page for dairy free substitutions of buttermilk, and gluten free substitutions for all purpose flour and baking powder!<<<

Raisin Yogurt Cupcakes - Recipe

For the cupcakes:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners/icing sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup yogurt covered raisins

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place all ingredients (except for the raisins) in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low-medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the yogurt covered raisins (if there are some really large ones in the mix, you can cut them in half, or chop them up to make smaller chunks). Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes.

For the frosting:
16 oz your favorite yogurt

2. That's right, all you need to finish off these cupcakes is some yogurt. Simple, right!? Top each cupcake with a dollop of about 2 tablespoons of any yogurt you like.

Makes approximately 18 cupcakes

Saffron Cupcakes - Recipe

For the cupcakes:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners/icing sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of saffron
2 tbsp water

1. Boil a small amount of water. Add a pinch of saffron to 2 tbsp of boiling water and infuse with the saffron for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the remaining ingredients on low-medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the saffron water and beat for an additional 30-60 seconds. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes.

For the frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners/icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp meringue powder
1-2 tbsp milk (or water)
a few drops yellow food coloring

2. Beat the butter and vanilla extract with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add in the icing sugar 1/2 a cup at a time. Beat in the meringue powder, milk/water and food coloring until well combined. Frost each cupcake with a beveled spatula or piping bag. Sprinkle each cupcake with a small dusting of ground saffron, if desired.

Makes approximately 18 cupcakes

Almond Cupcakes - Recipe

For the cupcakes:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners/icing sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
3 tbsp. ground almonds
1 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place all ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low-medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes.

For the frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 1/2 cups confectioners/icing sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
6-7 tsp almond milk

2. Beat butter and extracts with an electric mixer on low-medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in icing sugar 1 cup at a time, alternating with adding splashes of milk until all ingredients are incorporated and icing is light and fluffy. Frost each cupcake. Top with a whole almond, or use a combination of different types of almonds to make flowers, butterflies, dragonflies and more!

Makes approximately 18 cupcakes

PS Don't forget to check the substitutions at the bottom of the page for gluten-free and dairy-free baking!

Kitchen Creations - April

Hello there sweeties,

Spring has definitely sprung in my kitchen. I didn't even realize, until I was pulling together a collection of some things I've been up to this month, that I realized there is a bit of a floral theme. And by a bit, I mean, almost everything has some kind of flower on it. So I think I'll start first with probably my favorite cake this month, which by coincidence, also happens to have the most flowers on it...by far.

This beautiful 3 tier cake was made for a special couple's baby shower. They found out that they are having a girl, so the grandma to be decided on this soft green background covered in pink flowers. When I say covered, I mean covered, there were approximately 130 flowers of varying sizes on this cake. All hand made and decorated, and of course, edible. Two tiers of this cake were everyone's favorite - triple chocolate - and for the non chocoholics, the centre layer was a delish french vanilla. Congratulations to this lovely couple and the upcoming birth of their first child!

To round out the middle of this month, there were plenty of cake pops. To celebrate some birthdays, I made some red and purple chocolate peanut butter pops and some chocolate caramel pops dipped in skor bits, can you say YUM-O!

Ok, more flowers... mini M&Ms make the sweet little red flowers, in a matching red container, and easter M&Ms make the larger purple flowers in the matching purple container. Not only did these cake pops look adorable, they smelled like heaven! (No, I didn't eat any, they weren't MY birthday present).

Feeling a little bright and springy, I made these rainbow and chocolate caramel pops dipped in yellow chocolate and of course, in a matching yellow container.

Then I was asked to make a cake for an extremely special and rare occasion... a 65th anniversary! That's right I said 65th!!! The husband loves chocolate and the wife loves vanilla, so I created a sweet heart to please each of their palettes.

Each heart was covered in white fondant and had a border of white fondant balls. Each cake was adorned with a ribbon of shimmering sugar pearls and this lovely flower arrangement including calla lilies (which the bride carried on her wedding day 65 years ago). The couple loved their cake. I was so proud to be a small part of such an incredible occasion. I don't think I've heard of anyone else having a 65th anniversary in my lifetime. Congratulations again Ed and Yvonne!

On my matchy matchy bent, I took some cake pops to a whole new level. I made some oh so delicious orange creamsicle cake pops, dipped in orange chocolate and arranged in an orange container.

I also made some triple chocolate cake pops dipped in a rainbow coating and sprinkled with some chocolate jimmies. I'm not really sure why, but I love the way the jimmies look. It makes me think a little of zebra print or something...
but in a rainbow...
imagine a tie-dyed zebra...
whoa....
And I'm back.

Around mid month, I was asked to make a birthday cake for a very big soccer fan. You know, maybe I have a few themes this month. Flowers, birthdays, and 65. Oh, it was his 65th birthday. So for this super fan I created the cake version of his favorite team's jersey.

Mr. Medeiros loved his chocolate vanilla marble cake. I hope that his 65th birthday party was a smash hit! (But with a daughter sweet enough to order an awesome cake like this one, I can't imagine the rest of the party wasn't just as amazing)!!!

Now, it's time for my little tribute to how much I love Bakerella. The minute I tried cake pops I fell in love. But there are so many more things that can be done with a cake ball. So first was the pop, second was the ball (or cake truffle, for those with dirty minds, or a case of the giggles), and now, the cupcake bite.

Cupcake bites are cake balls sitting in a candy shell (sort of like a peanut butter cup, without the peanut butter) and dipped in candy coating. Just like everything else Bakerella has come up with, these little cuties are so delicious. You can't eat just one. They're also a fun treat because they look a lot like mini cupcakes, but when you bite into them they're like a truffle brownie chocolate bar all wrapped into one tiny little wonderful goodness. I'm drooling on my keyboard again... And of course, I had to make these in spring colours and sprinkle them with easter non-pareils and top them off with easter M&Ms. Sweet!

Lastly, just as a little treat for my cake lovin' nieces, I made some simple little Easter cupcakes. I must have done a pretty good job, because a bunny just happened to stop by my backyard today...he didn't leave any eggs behind though :(

I baked up these April exclusives, Sweet and Spicy Pineapple mini cupcakes in the adorable hop n tweet baking cups by Wilton. They have a cute little pattern of grass adorned with pink and orange tulips. So sweet, even my little easter bunny would love a taste!

That's all for this month. I can't wait until May 29th, I will have a lot in store for you, including some fun treats for a big corporate event, Mothers Day and many more! Remember to check back daily for great muffin and cupcake recipes. Also scroll to the bottom of this page for great gluten free and lactose free substitutes to use in your home baking!

Until next time,
Happy baking, caking, and tasting!
Love and sprinkles, xoxo

PS Hoppy Easter everyone!!!