Ay, mate!

Hey bakerdines.

It's me.

Here's pictures of the delicious sizzlin' fresh salted caramels. goodness.

the deliciously delicious mixture of organic heavy cream, corn syrup and white sugar, boilin' it up.

cutting up the hardened caramel of the heavy cream, corn syrup, sugar, vanilla, fleur de sel salt and butter.

chopping up the hardened caramels into little rectangles.

twisting the parchment paper on the caramels to make little wrappers.

pan filled with delicious salted caramels wrapped in parchment paper.

 some tasty valentines day themed cupcakes

with yummy pink vanilla buttercream and edible hearts

valentines day themed cupcakes 

 chocolate ganache

covered yellow vanilla cake with a pink fondant flower

the inside of the vanilla cake with ganache

a tasty chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream I made

 me eating the yellow cake with chocolate ganache

see all you cupcake lovers soon!

sweetly yours,

Rosie

Hellllloooo!

Bakas!
Hello all! Sorry it has been so long, I have been very busy with school, sports, homework, all that jazz...
Don't worry, I've been baking! I recently made delicious and fudgey Baked Brownies, gluten free chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, and much more! 
I will be back very soon to give some recipes and stuff!
Sweetly Yours,
Rosie 

Cupcakes, Cookies, Cupcakes, Cookies........

Bonjour Bakersnaps,


I have a lot to tell you fellas! Last week, I went to visit my grandma again, in Oregon! We went to the Oregon Coast, and to one of the baked good centers...
SEATTLE! 
Which also has the best place ever in the whole entirety of the universe...
Cakespy! Which as you know is the shop of Jessie Oleson, my favorite blogger and rolemodel! Her blog has the same name of her shop, Cakespy! DUH!
Here is the link to
CAKESPY CAKESPPPPYYY CAAAKKEEEESSSPPPPPYYYY 
I got a cute original painting by Jessie, of baked goods buying baked goods at a bakery (ha) and another picture by a different woman who's name escapes me... of three jars of jelly rolling down a hill, one with its cap off and all of it's jelly pouring out. It is colorful and cute! (I am a fan of art along with cupcakes)
Anyways, I also went to Trophy Cupcakes, a cute cupcake shop and boutique in Seattle with yummy cupcakes- Trophy Cupcakes! 
The cake was moist and fluffy on the chocolate cupcake with salted caramel buttercream. The frosting was wonderful, a little salty but sweet too. There was a little too much frosting for the cupcake, and as I have said before, I like a frosting ratio of approx. 2/3 cake 1/3 frosting!
I purchased another cupcake, chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream, which had great moist cake, but the frosting was a little too sweet and was a little too much on there. (Remember my ratio rule)
I will return about the other cupcake bakeries and pictures... stay tuned!
XO!
Sweetly Yours,
Rosie

A Not-So-Disasterous Disastrous Cupcake Disaster

Bakerettes,
Hello, my dear friends! Today, I made some cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, with DELICIOUS vanilla buttercream.......
The cupcakes were not so good...
AND HERE IS WHY.
I have a theory. I used a recipe book, called The Hummingbird Bakery Cupcakes and Muffins. This bakery, in London, makes cupcakes that seem to be popular. They most likely want to keep their recipe secret, as do most bakeries. In their book, they most likely change their recipe a little so no one can get the  flavor and consistency that their cupcakes have. Bakers who try the recipes will think it is their fault that the cupcakes aren't coming out well, but it is really the recipe. This way, people will have to continue to purchase cupcakes from the bakery, because they can't make them as good at home.
Not to say I haven't made some delicious cupcakes from recipe books in my day... 
Anyways...
Today I made chocolate cupcakes from this book, and they were dry and VERY unflavorful.

In my opinion, the recipe should have called for more chocolate, to make the cupcakes have delicious flavor and milk and butter to make the cupcakes softer and fluffier.

These cupcakes were nice to look at and the frosting was delicious! The frosting is my own recipe which is still being perfected... so I will share the recipe with you when it is absolutely amazing!

Here are some pictures of the gorgeous, but not so good cupcakes.

Good looking cupcakes but not so very tasty.


Sweetly Yours,
Rosie

Salted Caramels!

Bakerzillas!

   

   I am so sorry it has been so long, I have been busy.... and a little lazy :P.... a few weeks ago, I made DELICIOUS SALTED CARAMELS! They are melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious bites of goodness.

From a wonderful book, Sugarbaby, by Gesine Bullock-Prado, these caramels are a perfect treat to give to your friends at school, and to make you even a little more popular...

Salted Caramels!

*Note- these caramels are tough to chew. They are delicious when left to sit in your mouth and melt. 

Well since your begging.... heres the recipe...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (I prefer to be organic) heavy cream

2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cups butter (cut into small pieces)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 teaspoons fleur de sel sea salt, divided

(I found this type of salt at William-Sonoma....)

Prepare an 8-by-8 inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the heavy cream, sugar and corn syrup. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has melted. Raise the heat to medium and continue to stir the mixture until it begins to boil. Stop stirring and cook the mixture until it reaches 257 degrees F or 125 degrees C on a candy thermometer. Immediately remove the mixture from the heat and stir until evenly distributed in the small pieces of butter, 2 teaspoons of the salt and the vanilla. The butter should be melted in the caramel. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and immediately sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of the salt. Let it sit until the caramel is firm enough to cut. Cut the caramels in small strips with a chef's knife. Wrap each individually in wax paper. They stay fresh for up to a week in a cool and dry place. 

I had a great experience making them and they were delicious! I hope you try them!

Sweetly yours,

Rosie

The Key to a Yummy Buttercream...

Hello, Bakersnaps!
The other night, I was reading my Primrose Bakery Cookbook, Primrose Bakery Website, you know, just to gather some tips on my baking excursions. And... here are some  helpful tips I learned from this book on making some yummy buttercreams!
1. Always make sure that your ingredients are the highest quality to ensure the tastyness of the buttercream- such as farm fresh butter and pure madagascar bourbon vanilla extract! With citrusy buttercreams, always use the freshest and most juicy fruits.
 
2. Always make sure your ingredients are at room temperature.


3. Whip the frosting for several minutes- longer than you think it needs- until it is very creamy and at the perfect consistency.


4. Before each time you apply frosting to a cupcake, mix the frosting a little first so that it remains the perfect consistency.


5. To store the buttercream, you should keep the frosting in an airtight container at room temperature. You should never refridgerate the buttercream. Buttercreams stay good for up to 3 days stored this way. The next time you use the buttercream, beat the frosting again to get the right consistency first.


I'd like to thank the writers of this book and owners of the Primrose Bakery, Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas, for the great tips and wonderful recipes!


Sweetly Yours,
Rosie

Bonjour, bakerinas!

Hey everyone!
So, during my winter break from school, I went to Washington D.C. I am excited to say that they have many cupcakeries that I visited so I can  share with you that latest and greatest in cupcake innovation!
On the first day, my mom went to Sprinkles Cupcakes, http://www.sprinkles.com/, and came back to the hotel with  some cupcakes for my sisters and I. 
 For my sister, Emma, and I, she  brought  chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream on top. I liked this cupcake, but it had way too much frosting and was too sweet. The cake was nice and moist and crumbly. This cupcake didn't have an even cake-to-frosting ratio. There was too much frosting for the cake. My mom also brought back 2 gluten free cupcakes for my other  two sisters, Halle and Sarah as they sadly do not eat wheat. These cupcakes were red velvet, because that was the only gluten free flavor they had that day. 


Here is my gluten free mom's opinion on the red velvet cupcake:


My mom said, "I am not a huge fan of red velvet cupcakes,  but these were very good, as confirmed by one of my daughters who loves them and is also newly gluten free. She said they were just as good as any regular red velvet cupcake she had ever had, although she would have preferred a little less frosting. " 


My other sister, Sarah, enjoyed the gluten free cupcake very much and said so far, it was the best gluten free cupcake she had ever had.


I was thrilled because the next day I was able to go to Georgetown Cupcake, http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/, which has a TV show on TLC called DC Cupcakes and the long lines to prove it!
I hoped to meet the two owners, who are sisters, named Katherine and Sophie LaMontagne. 
But just as well because I was quite disappointed in the cupcakes, and so were my sisters and my mom. To my mind, they are way overrated.  The vanilla buttercream tasted slightly like cream cheese and there was a little to much of the frosting on the cupcake. The frosting was a bit too sweet and buttery. I like frosting that is sweet and a teensy bit salty, with a hint of vanilla. The cake was yummy, it was nice and moist and not too sweet. As I say, there was not an even cake-to-frosting ratio. There was too much frosting for the cake. My mom liked the gluten free cupcake, she said it had a yummy chocolate pudding filling and it didn't disappoint the way other gluten free baked goods often do. She said the cupcake was flavorful and had the texture of a regular cupcake. She thought the frosting was good, too. She said it was a yummy treat that she wasn't able to eat often because most gluten free cupcakes aren't very good. On the other hand, my two gluten free sisters didn't like this cupcake as much. My sister, Sarah, thought the vanilla buttercream tasted too much like cream cheese. Niether she or Halle seemed to like the gluten free cupcake as much as my mom. 


And now for Baked and Wired, http://bakedandwired.com/, my favorite bakery out of all I have been to so far, ever! The cupcake I ate, called "Karen's Birthday", which was a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream. It was delicious. The cupcake was wrapped in paper, and had the perfect cake-to-frosting ratio. There was more cake than frosting, which is the way cupcakes always should be. The cake was moist and very fresh. It tasted like it was just baked. The cake was chocolatey, but not too chocolatey. The frosting was a medium layer, just the PERFECT amount I have been looking for! The frosting was sweet, but not too sweet, had a nice flavor of vanilla, a very tasty buttercream. I was excited to get to go to this bakery. Emma liked the cupcake she had, a chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache, but didn't love the  ganache. Sarah and my mom ate a chocolate gluten free cupcake with strawberry frosting. (Halle didn't try a cupcake because she was full from all the other cupcakes :P). They loved them. My sister and mom thought the cupcakes were delicious and the frosting only had a subtle taste of strawberry frosting. I don't get why this place didn't have as much publicity as Georgetown Cupcake. Their cupcakes were much better! I wish them the best, and I hope more people find out about them. They deserve it, there cupcakes are delicious, and from what I heard from Halle, they had the best vanilla latte she had ever had!
And pictures!

 Sprinkles!

 Me at Georgetown Cupcake!

 Me in front of the recipe book of Georgetown Cupcake!

 Baked and Wired!

Baked and Wired! If you can see, one of the cupcakes is chocolate with vanilla buttercream and is the one I ate! YUM!
I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope it guides you if you happen to go to any of these bakeries.


Sweetly Yours, 
Rosie

Christmas!

Hello, Bakerellas!
Merry Christmas, everyone! I am very excited to be here with my family and I got many great presents, such as the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and the Primrose Bakery Cookbook! I am going to try the recipes ASAP!
I plan on making Brownie Pudding, from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, for Christmas dinner!
Again, merry Christmas!

Sweetly Yours,
Rosie

ATTENTION ALL BAKERS!

Dear Bakerinas,


OMG! I JUST FOUND THE MOST DELICIOUS BRAND FOR JUST BAKE COOKIES. 
IMMACULATE BAKING CO. MAKES THE MOST DELICIOUS COOKIE DOUGH EVER, IF YOU'RE EVER FEELING LIKE FRESH COOKIES ON A BUSY DAY WITH NO TIME TO BAKE! Today, I made their all natural chocolate chip cookies. They use a lot of organic ingredients and their cookie dough is delicious! I think you should try it! Look for the brand at your local market!
Here's the link to their site: https://www.immaculatebaking.com/
Sweetly Yours,
Rosie

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Bakerellas!


In honor of my sister's 20th birthday, I made a flourless chocolate cake. Since she is gluten intolerant, this was a way for her to be able to enjoy chocolate cake again.
Here's the recipe which I found online! It's delicious and rich!

• 12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• Confectioners' sugar and/or cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions

Serving suggestion: Really Vanilly Whipped Cream, recipe follows, or ice cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 2-inch spring form pan.

Put the chocolate, butter, and salt in a large microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted.

Beat the eggs and sugar with a standing or handheld mixer until light and thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Fold the melted chocolate into the whipped eggs until evenly combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out wet but not gooey, about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and cool on a rack.

When ready to serve remove ring from spring form mold. Dust cake with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

If you try it, tell me what you think in the comments!

Saint Cupcake Rating!

Saint Cupcake


(rated out of 1-10)
1. Texture- 8 
The texture was luscious and soft, with a chewier top and fluffier bottom.
2. Appearance- 7.5 
The appearance was nice. They could have done a nicer job with the frosting, however, because they just placed it in a circular form on top, with no specific style. The sprinkles did make them prettier, though. 
3. Flavor- 8.5 
The flavor was rich and chocolatey (as it was a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream), and sweet.
4. Frosting- 6 
The frosting was yummy, but a little to thick and rich. They could make it with a little less butter, and a little softer than it was. 
I hereby give the cupcakes of Saint Cupcake an 8!

Cupcakeries of Oregon and Washington!

Hey, fellow bakers!
Last weekend, I went to visit my grandparents in Oregon. While I was there, I basically went on a cupcake tour (of course)! 
Here are the places I went to! 
First, I went to Saint Cupcake, http://www.saintcupcake.com/ and the cupcakes were very good!
Second, I went to Hello, Cupcake, http://hellocupcake.com/, in Tacoma, Washington, and the cupcakes were fine, but not great. 

Me at Hello Cupcake!

Not only was Hello Cupcake a cupcakery, it was a cupcake boutique!

I got an adorable picture by Jessie Oleson, who is an awesome baker, artist, and gallery owner. Here's her blog link! http://www.cakespy.com/

I also got her new book at Saint Cupcake. Look for it on her blog!

Sweetly Yours,

Rosie

Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello, Bakers!

Today I made delicious chocolate chip cookies. They were from the cookbook, "Barefoot Contessa Parties!".  When I was about to make them, I got a great idea, one inspired by the chocolate chip cookies from The Cake Box bakery. This bakery has wonderful cupcakes and baked goods, and it is in Ridgefield, CT. My idea was, that after the cookies were done baking, I would sprinkle fleur de sel salt on them, like the cookies from the bakery. This makes them sweet yet slightly salty, a wonderful flavor caused by the combination of the gooey chocolate chips and the salt. 

Try this out, I am sure you will  think they're to die for!

Sweetly Yours,

Rosie

New York City Cupcake Bakeries

Hey everyone!
I am back from Fire Island, and school has started, so it seems that baking excursions will now begin again!
Also, during the course of the year, I am going to make it my goal to go all of the best cupcake bakeries in New York City. After going to each bakery, I am going to grade the cupcakes they make on a scale of 1 to 10, using the following standards-
1. Texture
2. Appearance
3. Flavor
4. Frosting
So, if you know of any great cupcakeries, I would appreciate if you would inform me in a comment.
I also must inform you that after having another cake from Rachel's bakery, I can tell you the frosting had less of a chemical flavor. Maybe they saw my post!
I will begin baking more cupcakes very soon.


Sweetly Yours,
Rosie

Cupcake Critic

Since I have not been home, I have not had the equipment to make my own baked goods. So, instead, I am going to try baked goods while on vacation. The other day, in Fire Island, my friend Tatiana and I went to Rachel's Bakery, a small bakery in town. We bought the chocolate cake with cream cheese infused vanilla buttercream. We tried it, and the cake was very bland. Though it was moist, which is a good thing, there was little to no taste. The frosting was also mediocre. It had a slight chemical taste, like what you would find in a tin of Betty Crocker frosting. In homemade vanilla buttercream, which uses little ingredients, you can really taste the butter and confectionary sugar. Overall, out of 10, I would give the cake a 3. This is because the frosting made the cake have slightly more flavor. 
I will return soon!


Sweetly Yours,
Rosie

Errors, Errors, Errors!

For my birthday, I picked out a new cookbook which my parent's bought for me. I love it, and I read it all the time. I read it even when I am not in a place where I can bake, but just to learn new tips for future times. The book is called Miette. When I was making one of the recipes in the book, european style vanilla buttercream frosting, I was very confused by the directions. I was disappointed when I saw on the website that the book did actually have some errors. The website also said that a new version of the book would be coming out in the fall. Since I just bought the book, I do not want to have to spend money on the new version. I will be back soon!

Sweetly Yours,

Rosie

A Baker's Blog

Hi!
I'm Rosie, a baker who is crazy for cupcakes. I love to experiment with different kinds, go to cupcake bakeries, collect equipment and make my own recipes. I hope to open my own bakery some day, filled with beautiful cupcakes and confections of all different colors and flavors. I want to inspire other bakers with my baking wisdom, which will grow as I continue to experiment with recipes and share them with you. I hope you grow as a baker along with me.


Sweetly Yours,
Rosie