Daycare Christmas Party

I did an order for one of my favorite little girls:)  Miss Abigail is 2 years old and LOVES cupcakes!  Her mom ordered a variety so I stuck to chocolate and vanilla (with vanilla and chocolate cream cheese buttercream).

Holiday Office Party Cupcakes

These are some of the pics from an order I did for a holiday party on a unit at the United Nations.  4 flavors: Chocolate with Swiss Meringue frosting, Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Buttercream frosting, Coconut with Malibu Cream Cheese Buttercream and Vanilla Buttermilk with Caramel Icing.

Billie's Black Open Mic

Last night I did giveaways at Billies Black open mic.  It was veeeerrry SEXY;) Everyone was so friendly and cool and the owner was also very nice.  I had some fried chicken and fish-DELISH!  I put Red Velvet and Chocolate mini cupcakes under their Christmas tree.  I packaged them individually so they'd be easier to give out.  A couple more pics from the night:

Mini White Chocolate Amaretto Cupcakes

I did a "recipe remix" using one of my favorite alcohols and my love of chocolate.  Some people do not like white chocolate but I do not discriminate when it comes to chocolate. I have love for ALL of them:). Searched online for some and nothing seemed like it would work so I took the recipe from the Caramel Cupcakes, followed pretty much the same exact steps but made a few ingredient changes and stirred in the melted white chocolate right before baking.  Overall, I thought these were just OK. Kinda too sweet and not moist enough for my taste.  I got good feedback about them but not so sure about making these again.

INGREDIENTS (makes about 36 minis)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp amaretto
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp milk
3/4 cake flour ( make my own sifting cornstarch and AP flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 stick butter
5 oz melted white chocolate (cooled)

I did these for a graduation (nursing) celebration so I made cupcake picks to liven them up a bit.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

It's officially FREEZING in NY so I've ben craving soup. My daughter loves Panera's Broccoli Cheddar bread bowl so I made this tonight since I had most of the ingredients on hand.

Cook 1/4 cup flour in 1/4 butter for about 5 minutes.

Add 2 cups half and half and 2 cups chicken broth. Cook on low for about 25 minutes

Add fresh broccoli or thawed frozen broccoli. Cook 6-8 minutes

Puree in blender or food processor. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Add grated cheddar cheese (I used white) and season to taste. Pour into serving bowls, top with shredded cheese (preferably a contrasting color. I used yellow). Lastly, top with croutons.

Networking Event

Friday night I supplied cupcakes for Rosa's Resources' Customer Appreciation and Networking Party at Harlem Lanes.  I had a great time and Rosa is truly a beautiful person. There was great music, great food, a very funny MC (DJ Mario), "interesting" prizes and a runway walk competition.  Some pics from the night.

Rosa working the room and serving my cupcakes.

All gone!

Enjoying that Red Velvet!

Thanks Rosa! You're the BEST!

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

I've had a can of Organic Pumpkin Puree since Halloween and kept talking about making Pumpkin Bread. Since my daughter is not into big breakfasts, I thought this would be a good choice for her.  I searched the Internet for "the perfect recipe." I wanted something a little more special than just regular pumpkin bread or muffins.  Then, I found this recipe on Joy of Baking.  I halved it and modified it a bit (see end of post for recipe).  I did this at 4:30 AM!  It came out very moist with the perfect amount of sweetness.  My daughter loved it!

Dry ingredients- flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice

Wet ingredients- Organic pumpkin puree, milk, melted butter, vanilla extract; brown sugar and cane sugar

Add half of batter, layer with cream cheese filling then top with remaining batter

Bake for about 1 hour and let cool for 10 minutes.