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Some of the best shots from this weekend

What a great weekend!

I created and baked 7 dozen cupcakes in 6 different varieties in less than 8 hours!

Here are some of the best photos from the shoot (all photos courtesy of Ronda Sells)

Comments from Co-workers

So my co-workers got a chance to try some of the cupcakes I made for the shoot yesterday and the reviews have been great - I thought I'd share them with you:

• Renae, that cupcake was heaven! If you don't get that audition, they are crazy over there at the food network - good luck and thank you for the yummy goody :o)
• Renae, thank you, I loved the cupcake, the butterscotch and everything else you made it with!
• Hi Renae, Not only are your cupcakes beautiful, they are very yummy! Thanks for sharing!
• Omg. This cupcake is amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing! Delicious!!
• Y u m! thank you!

What a nice way to spend the day! :)

I blame it on Food Network

When I read the post on my favorite cupcake blog Cupcakes Take the Cake, I got really excited - I immediately forwarded the post to my hubby and a few friends and I started planning how I was going to spend my long weekend baking some creations to photograph.

I "designed" last night and selected 6 creations to bake and decorate today and tomorrow. My friend Ronda Sells is going to take the photos for me tomorrow and I'll get my packet together to send in.

So what cupcakes am I creating?

• candied sunflower and honey
• chocolate covered kirsch
• mojito
• butter, scotch and rum
• coffee, kahlua and cream
• champagne dream mini wedding cakes

and there might be a surprise 7th item, but well see...

Stay posted for some pictures and notes and get ready to cheer me on!!!

Did you miss me?

I could fill this post with a ton of apologies for neglecting this blog for the last little while, and while I have some good reasons, I don't think it would serve either you , nor I, dear reader.

So with that in mind...HI! Good to see you again :)

I have some exciting new things cooking and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you soon.

This weekend's cupcake plans

I'm taking on the "dried cherry soaked in kirsch" challenge this weekend. I have two designs of a "Chocolate Covered Cherry Kisses" cupcake. They each have the same cake, but have different fillings and toppings.

More on this later!

Cupcakes for a Cause

I have to say that I don't think that there could be a better cancer research fund-raiser EVER than the Cupcake for a Cause. If you are in the Los Angeles area, and are interested in participating in a bake sale this early fall to raise funds to raise money to benefit CancerCare for Kids, please post your name, what area of LA you are in and your e-mail below (use the function "renaemd (at) gmail (dot) com" if you are concerned about spam) so we can organize a meeting and planning team.

Cupcake Challenge #2

Okay y'all! We had some interesting suggestions (listed below) for the 1st Cupcake Challenge , so I'm working on these and will let you know how they turn out.

In the meantime, I need a challenge for next month, so think about your favorite cocktail(s) and post in the comments section - I'll pick three to work on and those who had a selected recipe will receive a special delivery of their own crunkycake. You can post as many times as you want, so reach back into those hazy memories and send me the best.

Last month's suggestions:

• Scotch. Hopefully Oban 14 yr.
• Absinthe
• Mojito. Yup, all the ingredients (or at least the flavors) in one nice little cupcake package
• Kahlua with crushed coffee beans
  
• Dried cherries soaked in kirsch
• Something with Ouzo but I can't think of an appropriate filling. Maybe a white chocolate ganache infused with ouzo?
• Kahlua and baileys irish creme
• Lemon drop
• Beer
• Pomegranate Martini
  

Happy posting - can't wait to see what you came up with!!!

Cupcake Frosting

What is your favorite type of cupcake frosting? Buttercream, whipped cream, ganache, etc?

When I was in Jr. High, I used Crisco exclusively for frosting the cakes I used to make my classmates on an almost weekly basis (I think my parents didn't want to spend that much money on butter), which I have a terribly hard time believing, but I was raised on more of a margarine diet for part of my life and it stuck until I discovered the real deal. Now, I'm almost a buttercream snob...but I'm working on branching out for these experiments.

So tell me, what do YOU like?

The top 3 challenges - coming to a kitchen near you!

Okay, we've got three great challenges and we're going to start working on them this weekend.

1. Mojito - there are 4 (count them, four) designs currently in the mix, although one of them is not testing well with the author. I will probably only attempt two of them this weekend.
2. Kahlua and Coffee - we have a design that is probably going to work right out of the gate, so this one will probably be the first to be attempted.
3. Cherries and Kirsch - well, there are two designs, both equally interesting, both with chocolate (which is another reason that I need you tasters to sign up below) and I think these are going to be some of the more popular

I'll post pictures, feedback and thoughts this week/weekend.

Feel like you are missing out on the fun? Sign-up to be a tester and/or taster and come get your cupcake on!