It's Time for a Break

Most of us love the combination of sweet and salty, think about it ... chocolate and peanut butter, chocolate covered peanuts, and chocolate covered pretzels. In fact there are candy bars out there now that pay homage to the sweet and salty combination. And, while there are a couple of different candy bars, I personally like the Take 5. Pretzels, chocolate, and peanut butter. With that combination how could you go wrong? The answer you can't. 


As with any amazing combination of flavors, a candy bar isn't enough, it needs to be a cupcake. So the thought of a Take 5 cupcake was born, but how to get the perfect combination of flavor ... 

To start you need a buttery pretzel crust along the bottom of a rich chocolate cupcake. Adding a hint of that salty flavor to every bite. Then you need to fill the cupcake with a chocolate pretzel ganache. Adding even more chocolate to the equation as well as a wonderful dash of crunchy salt. To top it off you need a creamy peanut butter frosting. That way every bite has a delicious sweet, salty, and rich flavor assaulting your taste buds in the best possible way. 



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Is it a Cake or Cupcake???

As a cupcake baker, I obviously think that cupcakes, well, take the cake. I like the individuality of having my own cupcake. It's mine, it's individual size. Plus there is no concern about cutting the cake. No questions about how big the slices should be, or even who is skilled enough to cut the cake. All those problems are already solved. 


But sometimes an event calls for a cake. The look of a prettily designed cake, fitting the them of the event. For us it was a baby shower. But, the need of a cake to celebrate the birth of a baby girl, could not override the love of cupcakes. So what happened, cupcakes were made, then decorated like a cake. 

The mom-to-be loved red velvet and lemon cake. And the beauty of a cupcake cake is both could be made, giving mom and all the guests the choice cake. 


So the process began, the cupcakes were made. Then the frosting. It was an easy choice, red velvet cake obviously needs cream cheese frosting. And lemon cake taste delicious with cream cheese frosting, so ... cream cheese frosting all around. The frosting was colored with pink, purple, green, and yellow to make the flowers. The cupcakes were properly arranged, and then decorated. Creating the look of a very special cake, and the convenience of cupcakes. Needless to say, it was a hit at the party. 

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Starbucks Inspired Cupcake

I was at Starbucks the other day with a friend of mine, and he wanted something with calories, something most of us avoid, but to each his own. Our barista, looked a little shocked then answered, white chocolate mocha with whipped cream and a caramel drizzle. My instant thought was, OMG I want that, then I ordered my skinny vanilla latte, but my next thought, that was the important one, my next thought was, that should be a cupcake. 


The thought went through my head, and I started planning. Once I started planning, the cupcake was made. And the taste testers confirmed that it was a good, no great idea. May of those that tried it said it was one of their favorites. Of course, some of those guys say that with every cupcake. But this one was good. 


The base, a delicious mocha cupcake, that's chocolate and espresso for those that don't know. Throw in some white chocolate chips, then top with a light whipped cream, and drizzle some homemade caramel sauce. A wonderful, albeit, sticky combination of rich and light, and completely sweet. 

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Super Mario Baby Shower - A New Red Velvet

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of co-hosting a baby shower for my best friend, which of course meant baking. But we needed sweets that went along with trying to maintain a semblance of health (although they are still desserts.) What this meant was reworking one of her favorite cake recipes, making a cookie inspired by fall, and then dressing it 1up style. 

So her favorite cupcake is red velvet, which has oil in it, kinda a lot of oil in it. Which if you are trying to eat healthy at all, oil may be good in small quantities, but in large, not so much. Plus it's easy to replace. Also, whole wheat, it's part of the health craze, so you gotta to try it, and whole wheat and cakes, they don't normally get along. But, that's in part what I had to work with. So I took my red velvet recipe, looked it over, and started to make the changes. Apples sauce, whole white wheat (it exists and is great for baking) and light cream cheese in the frosting. You might be thinking bleh, who would want that, and I can tell you, my guests, each and every one of them. The extras were confiscated by a guest to give to her husband who loves my cupcakes. What also helped is they actually kinda looked like the 1up mushrooms in the video game with white chocolate discs sprinkled on the top. 

But cupcakes was definitely not enough, so I made some cookies too, pumpkin spice cookies. And these were made with very little butter, a lot of pumpkin spice, and pumpkin puree instead of oil. They were soft, light, and fluffy rolled in sugar and pumpkin spice. They reminded everyone of snickerdoodles, with just a hint of pumpkin. 


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Roasted Cherry Brownie Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

The title does really say it all here. This is a brownie and a cupcake all in one. Which means the rich denseness of a brownie, in the single serving paper with nummy frosting topping it. But to make it even better, the brownie has roasted cherries in it. Who can pass up cherries and chocolate, it's like a combination made, well, made to be thoroughly enjoyed. And the individuals that had the privilege of taste testing these cupcakes definitely enjoyed that privilege. 


The brownies were a dark chocolate brownie. Rich, rich, rich. But the sweetness of the cherries lightened the flavor, making the richness of the dark chocolate something to be savoured and enjoyed, and not overpowering. 

Just in case you were wondering, a batch of brownies was also made with this recipe. Those went just as fast as the cupcakes. 

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An Actual Cake

By now you've read a lot of entries about cupcakes, but that's pretty much it. You are probably thinking that's all we do, alas it's not, but there is one dessert that I have struggled with, and finally was able to make, and that's cake. Yeah, cake, just a normal cake, not miniature or individual, but a full size decorated cake. And my struggles are in no way new, I've spent a lot of time struggling to make cakes. I've tried for birthdays, baby showers, even promotions to make a celebratory cake, and they never look pretty. They taste great, even if they are falling apart and shamefully decorated. 

But recently, very recently I finally succeeded. This is definitely a case of if at first you don't succeed try, try again. Back in September it was one of my close friend's birthday, and she loves my cupcakes, but I really wanted her to have a birthday cake. We were going out for dinner, and I thought it would be a nice treat. Her favorite cake is the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake, but I had just made those, and she like most anything I bake, so I decided on another combination that involved raspberries. A lemon cake, with a lemon cream cheese and fresh raspberry filling, and raspberry buttercream frosting.


The three-layer cake was moist and lemony, as was the filling. The combination of lemon and raspberry is one of the bests, so the filling with the fresh raspberries was sweet and tangy, neither fruit being overly sweet. The frosting continued the wonderful flavor of the raspberries, tying every bite together. 

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Mmmm Mmmm Good - White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

What can I say, baking has been happening, and if you follow us on Facebook then you have still been seeing pictures of yummy treats, but if not, then you have been wondering what has happened? Where has Criminal Cakes gone? Where are all my goodies? Things have been hectic, but now I'm back, with delicious photos, of scrumptious sweets. 

The first of the comeback posts is White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake cupcakes. This cupcake is inspired by the wonderful dessert that everyone loves at the Cheesecake Factory, for me it's even better because it's a cupcake. Who doesn't love cupcakes?  Be honest, I know everyone does. So imagine a raspberry cupcake, but not just any cupcake one that's moist, with just the right combination of sweet and tart, made from fresh raspberries, with white chocolate chips mixed in. Every bite is a burst of flavor, and at the bottom of that cupcake is half of an Oreo cookie. Like a pie crust, it's there, overlooked, until you take of the paper and bite into it, the flavor fully complimenting the raspberry and white chocolate. 


At this point you might be thinking, that sounds delicious, but where, I say, where is the cheesecake? All I see is cake, and to a point you are right, but ... the flavor of cheesecake comes in with the white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Yep, you read it right, White Chocolate cream cheese, mmmmm ... it is light, but with the right amount of sweetness. Sooooo goooood. Then, just because the cupcake wasn't enough, drizzle the top with a raspberry syrup made from fresh raspberries. What you end up with is a cupcake worthy enough to be considered perfect. 

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