Strawberry & Walnut Friands - Recipe

1 3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup ground almonds
6 egg whites
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fresh strawberries, chopped1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup confectioners/icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease 12 wells of 1 or 2 friand pans with butter or shortening. Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the batter into the pans. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden and firm. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Turn the friands out of the pan onto a wire rack and cool for an additional 45-55 minutes. Serve dusted with icing sugar, fruits, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Makes approximately 12 Friands

Pecan & Chocolate Chip Friands - Recipe

1 3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup ground almonds
6 egg whites
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup pecans, chopped1/2 cup confectioners/icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease 12 wells of 1 or 2 friand pans with butter or shortening. Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the batter into the pans. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden and firm. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Turn the friands out of the pan onto a wire rack and cool for an additional 45-55 minutes. Serve dusted with icing sugar, fruits, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Makes approximately 12 Friands



*These delicious treats are reminiscent of one of my favorite cookies. Chesapeake cookies are like chocolate chip cookies, except they have pecans in them. Sounds simple, but the combination of chocolate chips (or chunks) and chopped pecans is just sensational!*

Almond & Raspberry Friands - Recipe

1 3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
1 cup ground almonds
6 egg whites
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup confectioners/icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease 12 wells of 1 or 2 friand pans with butter or shortening. Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl, reserving half of the raspberries, until just combined. Pour the batter into the pans and scatter the remaining raspberries on top. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden and firm. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Turn the friands out of the pan onto a wire rack and cool for an additional 45-55 minutes. Serve dusted with icing sugar, fruits, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Makes approximately 12 Friands

*These treats naturally contain a small amount of flour. Try substituting for the flour mix at the bottom of the page to make gluten-free friands.*

Rhubarb, Ginger & Pear Cupcakes - Recipe

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

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup finely chopped pears
1 cup cooked rhubarb, chopped into small pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine all cupcake ingredients (except for the rhubarb and pears), in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. Fold in the pears until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes. Using a melon baller, apple corer, or cupcake corer, make a small well in the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a heaping teaspoon of rhubarb.

For the frosting:
1 cup cream cheese, softened
(or try tofutti 'better than cream cheese' for a dairy free alternative to cream cheese)
1 1/2 cups confectioners/icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. pear OR orange juice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tbsp roughly chopped candied ginger

2. Combine the cream cheese and confectioners sugar in a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Add the juice, and ground ginger, and mix well. Frost each cupcake with a beveled spatula or knife. Sprinkle with a little chopped candied ginger.

Makes approximately 18 cupcakes

Strawberry, Rhubarb & Custard Cupcakes - Recipe

For the cupcakes:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners/icing sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup cooked rhubarb, chopped into small pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine all cupcake ingredients (except for the rhubarb), in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes. Using a melon baller, apple corer, or cupcake corer, make a small well in the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a heaping teaspoon of rhubarb.


For the topping:
2 1/2 cups custard (or vanilla pudding)
18 strawberries, hulled


2. Scoop two tablespoons of custard on top of the rhubarb filling and up over the edges of the hole and over the top of each cupcake. Finish with a strawberry. 


Makes approximately 18 cupcakes

Rhubarb, Peach & Ginger Cupcakes - Recipe

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

1/4 cup finely chopped peaches
1 cup cooked rhubarb, chopped into small pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine all cupcake ingredients (except for the rhubarb and peaches), in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. Fold in the peaches until evenly dispersed. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with baking cups. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack for an additional 25 minutes. Using a melon baller, apple corer, or cupcake corer, make a small well in the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a heaping teaspoon of rhubarb.

For the frosting:
1 cup cream cheese, softened
(or try tofutti 'better than cream cheese' for a dairy free alternative to cream cheese)
1 1/2 cups confectioners/icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp. peach juice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tbsp roughly chopped candied ginger

2. Combine the cream cheese and confectioners sugar in a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Add the peach juice, and ground ginger, and mix well. Frost each cupcake with a beveled spatula or knife. Sprinkle with a little chopped candied ginger.

Makes approximately 18 cupcakes

Feedback Wanted!

Hello again my friends!

Today, just a quick posting that I would love your feedback on. Who better to give me feedback... after all, you are my friends, my followers and my customers. And, I love to hear your opinions and ideas!

So, a few things I'm rolling around in my brain, and I would like to know what you like best, what you want to see, what you have interest in.

First thing, I'm looking at setting up some party packages, such as 1st Birthday, Elmo, Mickey Mouse, Diva, Princesses, and Pirates. These party packs would include your choice of a 12 serving cake, cake pops, brownie pops, cupcakes and a cupcake stand all within the given theme. Each item is within a price per dozen category so it would be easy for party plannin' mammas to pull together all the treats they need to suit their party (like the main cake, loot bag treats, and displays), as well as easily being able to add up the total cost of their treats without requiring a quote or customization.

Second thing, I LOVE making cupcakes... obviously. Yes, I do really enjoy creating new and different cakes and rolling up cake pops, but I have a passion for cupcakes... and I would like to expand on that. That being said, if I were to expand my website and break it down into cupcake categories that make it easier to find the kind of cupcake you would like to try while still offering a greater variety of cupcakes, would that be of interest? I'm already working on cuptails (cocktail inspired cupcake flavors), cupfakes (savory cupcakes that are more like a dinner than a dessert), berry blossoms (vanilla base cupcakes filled and topped with different fruit and berry combinations) as well as a line of cupcakes that are masquerading as another treat, such as pie cupcakes, pancake cupcakes, cookie cupcakes, and brownie cupcakes.

Lastly, I'm thinking about opening a shop on etsy. I love etsy! Everyone on there is so creative, and so nice, I just think it would be fun to be a part of. Now, what would be in my shop, you might ask? I'm thinking again about party packs. I know there are a lot of moms, dads, aunts, uncles and cousins out there who love to bake things for their family, but maybe they don't have the time to decorate something fancy, they don't have the money to buy the zillions of tools required, or they're just not sure how to make what the birthday boy or girl would like. That's where I'd come in, offering packs with themed and coordinating baking cups, sprinkles, and custom made fondant/frosting sheet cupcake and cake toppers. These elements would make it easy for that ambitious baker to bake and frost their favorite cake and finish it beautifully with an elmo cake topper... or bake up some awesome cupcakes in pink and purple baking cups, top them off mini princess accents and sprinkle on some matching custom mix sprinkles. This way, you can still be the great baker in the family, and be a star by creating something beautiful.

So, what do you think? I would love to hear what idea strikes you, what idea you hate, what idea you love, what idea you would like to see me pursue first. Please comment below!!!

Until next time,
Happy baking, caking and decorating!

Love and sprinkles, xoxo