by Brandie Randolph

I met my neighbor the other day and discovered that she sold Scentsy products. I’ve seen Scentsy at many events and at many people’s homes over the years and, though they smelled good, assumed that they were yet another candle company. There are tons of those, right? Wrong! She gave me a brochure, so I obliged and began flipping through when, what to my wandering eyes should appear? A Scentsy cupcake burner! Yes, follow cupcake lovers, it is a big, fat, juicy, fabulous cupcake! It’s a three part warmer and the top is the frosting. It isn’t painted with cupcakes, it IS a cupcake. Of course, I had to have it. I purchased the Birthday scent to go along with it to get the entire cake feel. Unfortunately, I discovered that it didn’t smell so much like cake once I actually burned it. The cheesecake and citrus scent bars are a delight, though! This burner will add an adorable touch any place in your house because you can never go wrong with a cupcake!

Contact Scentsy rep, Bridget Bee Bryant at 832.577.6507 to place your order, or visit her site at www.WaitingToInhale.com. Enjoy!

To go along with this fabulous find, I found a deliciously beautiful cupcake recipe from Preston Bailey. Let me know how they turn out!

Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes with White Frosting

Makes 12
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
1 ½ cups milk chocolate morsels
White Frosting:
½ unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 to 3 tbsp. milk

1. Sift together cocoa and next 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until well blended. Stir in vanilla.
2. Add cocoa mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with cocoa mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in morsels.
3. Place 12 paper baking cups in a muffin pan; spoon batter evenly into cups, filling completely full. Bake at 350º F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack, and cool 30 minutes.
4. For frosting, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla and 2 tbsp. milk, adding additional milk, if necessary, for desired consistency. Spread cupcakes evenly with white frosting.

I attended a fabulous event this weekend put on by All Twisted by Design, titled Cupcakes and Cocktails. The event was designed to bring awareness to Breast Cancer Awareness and kick off their Total Beauty and Empowerment event in January. Guess who stole the show? The cupcakes, of course!

All Twisted by Design Owner

The spread was gorgeous. It was pink, with beautiful sprays of roses and splendid, textured cloths. The entire dessert table looked like it was spread with buttercream icing. Don’t worry, I didn’t lick it. The cupcakes were made by Epiphanie’s here in Houston, ALL FROM SCRATCH. Since the theme was Cupcakes and Cocktails, they were served on teeny, chic cocktail glasses. The flavors were vanilla, chocolate chip, and red velvet. Yes, red velvet-my favorite. I love all cupcakes, but I am the harshest critic for red velvet cupcakes. I was not disappointed. The cupcakes literally melted in my mouth. They didn’t even need the icing; that was an added bonus. There’s a certain southern warmth and love that goes into custom cooking and Epiphanie’s is proving that baking is no different.

Visit their website for more information: http://epiphaniesdesserts.webs.com
Contact Information: Email: lakisha_rg@yahoo.com
Phone: 1 832.258.2584

by Brandie Randolph

I am so excited about this contest. It has now come to an end and it’s time to announce the winner! A couple of years ago, Opal Hue created a scent especially for me-Brandie’s Cupcake Obsession. Their products are 99% natural and the scent smells exactly like cupcakes. Literally. You’ll want to lick your elbow. The winner is receiving a sugar scrub, body oil, and spray in my signature fragrance! Below, you will find my very favorite kind of cupcake (red velvet with cream cheese icing) recipe from Paula Deen! Enjoy it as you will smell better in your new scent. The winner is Mocha Kia!!! Please visit Opal Hue at www.OpalHue.com for more yumminess! I stand firmly by all of their fabulous products!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Cook’s Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.

It’s one thing when you hear of a Bride-zilla, but when you factor in the Mom-zilla and Big Sister-zilla- you get an entirely new ordeal. My sister got married this past April and she had absolutely no need to bring out the Zilla because my mom and I had it covered. Our first assignment was the bridal shower. My sister chose the colors black, white, and red (how were we supposed to work with that?) and we had to make it fabulous.

To be fabulous, we were, of course, in need of a cupcake cake. It couldn’t be just any cupcake cake; it had to be damasked cupcakes with my sister’s initial, T, on them. They could not fall anything short of perfection. Armed with a vision and an attitude, my mom and I ventured into a hip little spot in Houston called Sugarbaby’s. Of course, I was tweeting on my phone the entire time, so when I looked up and we were parked in the back of a warehouse, the Sister-zilla automatically came out.

As I rounded the corner, I was overwhelmed by the smell of freshly baking cupcakes and visually enticed by the pink, black, and white color scheme of the front of the building. Inside, everything was in theme from the pictures to the aprons to the cheerily dressed bakery employees. I was a kid in a candy…er, cupcake store, picking up everything from the vintage aprons to fawning over the dress molds. We treated ourselves to a cupcake while there and it was heaven, melting in my mouth. The cupcakes were perfect-exactly what we’d asked for-and eaten quickly. I highly recommend Sugarbaby’s and their wares…they even offer hosting for small events.

Find them at www.ilovesugarbabys.com. They are located at 310 S. Shepherd, Houston, TX 77098. The phone number is 713.527.8427. Let them know I sent you! I’ll always take a free cupcake!

WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!

Reviewed by: Brandie

Rating:

Visit the website at www.ilovesugarbabys.com

by Brandie Randolph

Take two cupcakes and call me in the morning…

The Holiday season has snuck upon us! Along with gifts and good times comes in laws and stress. I’ve found the perfect solution to a little bit of self-medicating. I’m sure you have all heard of the cupcakes and cocktails craze, but Trista Sutter is starting a new trend with Betty Crocker with wine actually baked into the cupcakes! They are calling them Boxed Wine cupcakes. The recipe below is for Zinfandel cupcakes, but you can substitute for whatever wine suits your fab tastes. So, the next time someone starts an argument over where Grandma is going to stay, just tell them to, “keep calm and have a cupcake!”

Zinfandel Cupcakes

Batter
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist devil’s food cake mix
¾ cup water
½ cup Zinfandel wine
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting
6 cups powdered sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup unsweetened baking cocoa
½ tsp salt
½ cup Zinfandel wine

Garnish
Chocolate curls

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box, using cake mix, water, ½ cup wine, oil and eggs. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about ½ full).

2. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

3. In large bowl, beat powdered sugar, butter, cocoa and salt with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Beat in ½ cup wine. If frosting is too thick, beat in more wine a few drops at a time. Frost cupcakes. Garnish with chocolate curls.