Pumpkin Cheesecake

Yes everyone, I DO bake more than just  cupcakes! I make muffins, cookies, tortes, pies, & cheesecakes! This Christmas, I decided to make a Pumpkin Cheesecake to bring over to my sister-in-law's parents' house for our special Christmas feast. It was a lot simpler to make than I had anticipated! I made it from an actual sugar pumpkin & it came out so light & delicious.

Here's a little video that I put together about my Pumpkin Cheesecake baking experience!:)

On Christmas day, I had a small cupcake order for Pumpkin Spice & Peanut Butter Cup Minis! Luckily, I had enough of the pumpkin puree that I had prepared the night before for my Pumpkin Cheesecake. The chocolate peanut butter candy hearts are hand poured by your's truly & are included with the order of a dozen Peanut Butter Cup cupcakes! Handmade, 3-D Fondant Pumpkins are available for order to top the Pumpkin Spice cupcakes for $0.75 a piece!

You all have ONE week left to order ANY of our seasonal flavors! I will be introducing a NEW flavor to add to our menu during the first week of January! I'm so excited about what the New Year may bring for The Cupcake Corner!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

XO
Tara

Osiris Cakes & More

Last week I customized Burgundy Velvet cupcakes for Osiris, a well-known skate shoe company that has been around for a long time. I use to wear Osiris shoes back in my high school years! Check them out at: http://www.osirisshoes.com/.

Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a shot of them before delivering but I was lucky enough to have them take a photo of some of the cupcakes. I also made Peppermint Mocha cupcakes which were of course soo delicious!!

Some of my other orders throughout the past two weeks consisted of TARAmisu, Chambord & Chocolate, When Life Gives You Lemons, Chai Tea Latte, Burgundy Velvet, Root Beer Float, & Peppermint Mocha.

I also had an order for Burgundy Velvet Cupcakes with a request for a Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting. I was excited to make this as I haven't yet created a Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting, but knew this would be rather simple for me to make. They came out soo delicious!

A girlfriend of mine, has been asking me to create a Lavender & Honey cupcake for quite some time now and I finally found the time to do so. I used dried lavender flowers & an organic, clover honey to create this cupcake. The cake turned out very fluffy & light. I topped the frosting with a White Chocolate & Honey-Lavender frosting. I was disappointed with the frosting as it was very potent & overwhelming in taste. It had a very strong Lavender flavor which almost tasted a bit chemically...yuck! I think next time, I will 86 the lavender in the frosting & just top the cupcake with a White Chocolate & Honey Frosting. Unfortunately, this flavor is not yet ready to be added to my cupcake menu, but I will reattempt this flavor in the Spring & reintroduce it! Hopefully it will be up to par by then;)

Well, I better get working on my Pumpkin Cheesecake that I'm making for our Christmas feast tomorrow! I will of course upload a photo of it once it's finished!!:)

Merry Christmas everyone!

XO
Tara

Busy Busy December Weekend!

This past weekend was quite busy! We had several orders, ranging from children's birthday parties to a sampling for a holiday party. I had long nights & early mornings but let me tell you, it was all certainly worth it! My top two favorite orders were both for birthday celebrations.

The first, was for twin girls that I have been babysitting for the past 2 years. Addison & Mya turned 3, and they had a carnival themed birthday party! The weather was great, the decorations and games fit the theme perfectly, and my cupcakes turned out amazing! Unfortunately, I was unable to stay for the blowing out of the cupcakes but was told they were thoroughly enjoyed! Exactly what I wanted to hear!!

That same day I had an order for another children's birthday party. The birthday was for Alex, a little boy I care for weekly. He turned 4, and had a sports themed birthday! I made a 6" round vanilla cake with chocolate fudge frosting & decked it out with stars & different sports balls made from fondant. I also made Burgundy Velvet cupcakes & Vanilla cupcakes with chocolate fudge frosting. Sooo yummy! I think they turned out pretty great & Alex seemed thrilled with his cake!

On Monday, I also had an order for birthday cupcakes, but this time for a half-dozen Jumbo. The client had ordered chocolate with a vanilla buttercream, so simple yet so delicious! I customized a couple of the cupcakes for two separate birthdays, and I thought they turned out great! Although, the imprint design on the white fondant is not as apparant with the "85 Ray" covering it. Definitely will keep that in mind for next time;)

Well, gotta run! Need to start planning for a large order on Saturday! Have a great week everyone!

XO
Tara

Holiday Flavors & New Mixer!!

Hey Everyone! I'm so thrilled to announce our new, holiday flavors! We have been working so hard on creating the perfect flavors for this holiday season and are confident that you will love them just as much as we do!

The first, is Peppermint Mocha, which was inspired by the popular holiday drink! There's just something about coffee, chocolate, peppermint, & cream all combined into one perfect little drink that makes it soo addicting. Our Peppermint Mocha cupcake is topped with our homemade, peppermint bark that we are so proud of! This cupcake is just as yummy as the drink itself!

Our second holiday flavor, Eggnog was inspired by the classic holiday drink! This cupcake is soo light & fluffy. The flavor is very subtle and definitely anything BUT ordinary! Topped with a fondant holly leaf!

Our next holiday flavor, Gingerbread, is definitely one of my favs. Made with premium dark molasses & our special holiday gingerbread blend, this dense cupcake is sure to add warmth & goodness to your holiday season. Topped with a luscious, honey & cinnamon cream cheese frosting! This frosting is by far my favorite!!

The last flavor, Apple Pie, has actually been on our menu for awhile, however what better time to announce this flavor than now? This cupcake is definitely one of my favorites & is so unique in that it is not like any other cupcake! The center of this flaky & fluffy vanilla cupcake is scooped out & filled with fresh apple slices & chunks that were mascerated in our special, apple spice blend for two hours! To top it off? Well, a whipped, amaretto frosting of course! Soo perfect for your Christmas dinner or special holiday party!

Also, something I am soo excited to share with you all is my NEW Kitchenaid PRO mixer that I ordered. I received it last week, just in time for Thanksgiving. The first thing I made with my mixer was not cupcakes, but mashed potatoes!! They turned out soooo yummy & delish!

This is truly my dream mixer! I had to order it online in order to get it in the color I wanted...Cinnamon Spice (Burgundy) and it just fits me so perfectly! I am one happy girl!!:)

Well, that's pretty much it for Cupcake Corner news! Be sure to check back weekly for updates, pictures, and specials! Have a great week & Happy Cupcaking!!

XO
Tara

24th Birthday Celebration

Last week, one of my close girlfriends, turned 24! She had her birthday dinner at a reeeeaaallllyyy yummy Thai restaurant in Point Loma, off of Rosecrans. I decided to make her a dozen Red Velvet cupcakes as a gift since she's never tried them before. I customized them with some fun, fondant decorations, edible dragees, and chocolate hearts. I was pretty thrilled with how they turned out & all that mattered to me was how much she enjoyed them! Che has been one of my closest, and most dearest girlfriends for 8 years & counting, and I wanted to make her birthday extra special!

                                                                                              



Look out for our ad in the 92129 magazine, which just came out yesterday!! Woo hoo! A few specials with mention of the ad are included, so be sure to pick up a copy at a local coffee shop if you are not located in the 92129 zip code.

Exciting News!!

Over the past two weeks ago, we were extremely busy with orders, meetings with magazine editors, and re-designing our logo! We also received our first ever, international order...all the way from the UK! The order was for the 40th Birthday of a friend of their's, that lived here, in San Diego. Since The Cupcake Corner is still quite new, I was more than thrilled to receive an international order, especially so early on.

We also had an order from my good friend, Che, whose niece turned four! Her niece, Renoah, is the most adorable little thing i've ever seen & her birthday party was a "Fairy Tale" theme, so I wanted to do something special! They left the decorations up to me, and since there was going to be a mixture of adults & children at the party, I wanted to make a variety of different decorations. The order, was for Red Velvet & Cookies & Cream! I had not made Cookies & Cream in quite awhile, so I was thrilled they had ordered some. Our Cookies & Cream cupcakes are so delish!  A rich chocolate cake, filled with chopped up Newman O's, aka: oreos, and topped with an ultra, silky "oreo" cream cheese frosting! I was more than satisfied with how both, the Cookies & Cream AND Red Velvet cupcakes turned out:)

For those of you located in the 92129 zip code, or just feel like stopping by in a local coffee shop or grocery store, be sure to look out for our ad in the December/January issue of 92129 magazine, coming out on December 1st! The ad will also include a couple different specials and since the holidays are just around the corner, now is the perfect time to pre-order for your special holiday party! Our newest flavors will be coming out the day after Thanksgiving, so be sure to check back soon!

Cakes, Cupcakes, & Fondant!

Last week, I had the opportunity to explore my creative abilities with fondant!

Wednesday, I had a last minute order for a 6" Chocolate Cake with Mexican Vanilla Bean frosting. I rarely take last minute orders, but I happened to be free that afternoon, so it worked out perfectly:) I decided to jazz up the cake a little bit with some simple, fondant decorations. The cake looked modern & classic in my opinion:) Please note that those ARE NOT crumbs in the frosting, lol! They are REAL Mexican Vanilla Beans!:)

Friday, I had an order for a dozen, standard Peanut Butter Cup cupcakes! It has been awhile since I made these, so it was definitely fun to do:) Especially since they were customized for Halloween & three birthdays! I especially love the little ghosts:)

On Saturday, I created a "pond" out of fondant & a 6" round cake. It was a gift for a friend of mine on his 24th birthday this past Saturday! I think it came out pretty great considering I am still new to the "fondant world." It did not take me as long as I had anticipated, and was a lot simpler to do than it looked! The fish was fun to sculpt, and I thought it needed a bit of a shimmer & a silvery sheen, so I painted on an edible shimmer dust. The red "tackle box" was fairly easy to make & initially I had wanted to make a fondant person, fishing from the canoe but ran out of time! I did attempt to make a fishing rod, with the hook attached to the fish's mouth, but it was soo heavy & kept falling over, so I decided to 86 the rod. Since the cake was only a 6" I did not want to overcrowd  it & thought less would be better:) Anyway, The flavor was my Mexican Vanilla Bean Cake & I frosted it with a simple vanilla buttercream, dyed blue, for the "water."
                                                              

My friend Raina, ordered three dozen mini cupcakes for her boyfriend's birthday, in addition to the cake above. She choose Pumpkin Spice, Tiramisu, & Green Tea. It was nice to get an order of Green Tea cupcakes, since all I have really been making lately are the Fall cupcakes and of course red velvet, Chocolate, & Vanilla. The cupcakes turned out great (with the exception of a minor overflow of some of the Green Tea cupcakes)...oops! It was an easy fix though, and they ended up turning out great! I also, decided to add some 3-D fondant pumpkins, as they look so adorable on top of the Pumpkin Spice cupcakes and I know that in another month or so, I will have to wait a whole year until I will get a chance to make them again:(

I also had an order for a dozen, standard Chocolate cupcakes with Mexican Vanilla Bean frosting, customized for a baby shower! I looove doing baby showers:) I have a little more experience with them now & have so many fun ideas that I want to put to work! This order took a little more time to make, as some of the fondant decorations have quite a bit of detail, however, it was definitely worth the time!:)

As you can see, it was a very busy, yet productive & successful week in baking & decorating:)

Night-Night!!