Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Cupcake Love-In was off the hook!


Well, I have to say the
Cupcake Love-In at
the Hotel Valley Ho in
Scottsdale, AZ was
FANTASTIC!

This is me and my bff
Sheila (one of the pals
who inspired the cupcake
bakery series) taking a
break from tasting
cupcakes.








The event was inspiring (terrific causes),
and I was delighted to offer up a walk on
part in DEATH BY THE DOZEN
as a raffle item. I can't wait to see who
wins!





I had a great time meeting other cupcake
lovers and talking to some of the chefs
about their truly remarkable creations.
My fave was a Guinness based chocolate
cupcake and Sheila voted for the originality
of a delish cupcake that used ground popcorn
as it's flour base and was topped with a fab
caramel buttercream with homemade
caramel popcorn on top.








Truly, it was cupcakes as
far as the eye could see.
Every flavor imaginable
was represented. Phoenix's
famous Tammie Coe was
there with a lemon cheese-
cake custard cup that was
to die for! And as a murder
mystery author, I think I
can say that and mean it.





The surprise to me was to find cilantro in several of the offerings
when paired with lemon it was quite good. The other thing I had not
seen before was the chicken and waffle cupcake, which was actually
very yummy! So, anyway, I am now in the midst of a sugar crash of
mythic proportions and must finish my post before I pass out!



Oh, they even had cupcake decorating for kids.
I was, of course, partial to this chipper
fellow on the ABC Baking and Cake Decorating
Supplies store table. Big surprise, I know.

And so, since I am feeling the cupcake
love, I am going to share my
Orange Dreamsicle Cupcake
recipe with you. This particular
cupcake will be included in January's
book BUTTERCREAM BUMP OFF
but you get a sneak peek and a chance
to win some cupcake swag! What's life
without swag? And speaking of swag...





NAME MY NEXT CUPCAKE BOOK CONTEST!

Do you have a need for some cool
cupcake swag? I know, who doesn't?
Then simply send me an email with
your idea for a title for my next
cupcake bakery mystery (#4)!
Get your name in the
acknowledgments of the
book and score some "sweet"
swag if your title is picked!
I'll be holding two contests for
Oct and Nov to promote the release
of Buttercream Bump Off!






And now for the recipe...


Orange Dreamsicle Cupcakes: An orange cupcake topped
with vanilla buttercream and
garnished with a candied orange peel
(sadly, I didn't have any for the picture).

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 large eggs, separated and

whites beaten until stiff

1 teaspoon orange extract

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 stick of butter, softened

Candied orange peels (for garnish)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Combine butter, sugar, egg yolks, zest and orange extract in a large mixing bowl. Cream these ingredients together thoroughly. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together in a separate mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients 1/3 at a time alternately with the orange juice. Fold in the beaten egg whites. Spoon batter into cupcake liners until 1/2 full.

Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Makes 18.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:


1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

2-3 tablespoons milk (or whipping cream)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides of bowl often. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. For best results, keep icing in refrigerator when not in use. This icing can be stored up to 2 weeks. Rewhip before using. Makes 3 cups of icing.


Whew! Sorry, I know it was a long post -- I had a lot to share;-) Check the
previous post to see the winner of Kathy Borich's Appetite for Murder!


Jenn McKinlay ~
Sprinkle With Murder ~
Buttercream Bump Off
also writing as:
Lucy Lawrence ~ Stuck on Murder ~ Cut to the Corpse

10 comments:

  1. Wow, Jenn, these look absolutely fabulous! Can't wait to promote this blog all day. Yum!
    ~Avery

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  2. Orange Dreamsicle! Yum! They look amazing and your tour looks like it was a lot of fun! Love the pictures!

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  3. What a fun event! Now I have a monster taste for cupcakes. Hmm... maybe if I make my writing goal today I'll treat myself. Always room for a cupcake (or a dozen), right?

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  4. You'd think I'd be sick of cupcakes after
    eating so many on Sunday...nah!

    ReplyDelete
  5. YUM! what can I say . . .
    YUM!
    The buttercream frosting is the tipper
    YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved dreamsicles!

    You have the best job in the world... all your cupcakes are tax deductible!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Jenn - what a fun day for great causes -- and an amazing array of cupcakes, too. Chicken and waffles flavor - LOL! I bet you're going to get some great entries for your title contest, too.

    Cheers,
    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  8. Everything looks scrumptious! Thanks, Jenn.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am so totally jealous. A cupcake tasting? Could it get much better than that? Your orange cupcakes have just gone onto my must-make list!

    ~ Krista

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hey Jenn, 1st, a bit of bookkeeping for you...

    The link on the left side under your photo takes you to Wendy's website, not yours.

    Next, this recipe got the MYOTG Cul de Sac treatment. IT WAS A HUGE HIT, so orangey!

    I did today's post about you, titled "Frosting and Lingerie"

    ReplyDelete