Birthday Cakes 4 Free, Nautical Themed Cupcakes

Nothing fancy, but this was a last minute request for the not for profit I volunteer for, Birthday Cakes 4 Free, Middlesex County, Connecticut.  I got this request from a girl's mom who said her daughter wanted a white cake with blue frosting and something nautical themed.  I only had four days, but I think they came out kind of cute.

I got almost all my supplies off Amazon Prime.  Everything but the ingredients for the cake and frosting, but Amazon Prime saved me so much time and money and stress because all I had to do was go to my local grocery store instead of also going out of my way looking for craft store supplies, which probably would have left me checking multiple stores, while Amazon had everything in one place with free two day shipping.

Anyway, I delivered the cupcakes this morning and the mother who sent in the request was so nice and extremely grateful.  She sent me the sweetest email I just had to screenshot it. 

Hope everyone is having a great Saturday!  Mine's perfect.

Triple Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Cake

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup water

4 1/2 ounces dark melted chocolate

4 1/2 ounces melted butter

1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup ground almonds

4 eggs

2 packets of raspberries

Chocolate Whipped Cream

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

3 ounces melted dark chocolate

Ganache

6 1/2 ounces dark chocolate

1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325F. 

Grease 9 inch round cake pan, set aside.

Blend sifted cocoa powder with water until smooth; stir in chocolate, butter, sugar, ground almonds, and egg yolks.

Beat egg whites in small bowl until soft peaks form, then fold into chocolate mixture.

Pour mixture in pan.  

Bake 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Make chocolate whipped cream by blending heavy cream on high and adding sugar.  Once cream starts to come up add melted chocolate and continue whipping.  Cover and set aside in fridge.

Make ganache by heating heavy cream over low heat on stove until it starts to boil, then pour over chocolate and stir.

Frost cake with whipped cream and place raspberries on top of cake, then drizzle ganache over raspberries.

Breaking Bad: Homemade Rock Candy Recipe

Homemade Rock Candy, you will need:

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup light corn syrup

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons flavoring extract

blue gel food coloring

candy thermometer

Instructions:

Line sheet pan with foil, and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray/spray butter.

In a saucepan combine the water, corn syrup, and granulated sugar. Place the pan over medium-high heat, and stir until the sugar dissolves. 

Bring the mixture to a boil, then stop stirring.  Insert a candy thermometer.

Continue to cook the candy without stirring until it reads 285°F on the thermometer. Do not overcook it, or it will start to take on a caramel color.

Once at 285°F, take the pan off the heat and let it sit for a few moments, until bubbles stop breaking on the surface. Add the flavoring, I used raspberry extract and food coloring, I used Neon blue by McCormick, and stir everything together.

Pour the candy onto the prepared baking sheet; tilt the sheet pan back and forth so it becomes an even, thin layer. Let it sit at room temperature.  If candy starts to melt at room temperature, put it in the freezer.  My house was so hot the candy hardened, and then melted once we turned the air conditioning off.

Once it's set, break it into small pieces with a mallet.

For the cupcakes I just made a homemade chocolate batter with a recipe I found online and I used a homemade vanilla frosting, recipe I found online also, and Nutella for the chocolate frosted ones.

These cupcakes were a HUGE hit for The Breaking Bad premiere get-together I attended; all the guys there were super impressed, and everyone loved the idea, and the fact that they were homemade.  

I know the show already aired, but it's the last season so you could always make these for the air of the last episode and have a  party!

Even if you don't make cupcakes to put them on these candies are still cool.  My boyfriend put the candy in bags and gave them out to people, very drug/meth like, and like I said before, everyone loved it.

Strawberry Hot Chocolate.

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons butter

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Pint Strawberry Ice Cream

4 Cups Water

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

1 Tablespoon Chocolate Sprinkles

Cool Whip

Melt chocolate and dip the top of mugs into it.  Set aside until later.

Mix butter, sugar, and ice cream over medium heat on the stove.  Whisk water, a cup at a time, until the desired texture is reached.  Remember, this is hot chocolate not a milkshake.

Pour into chocolate rimmed mugs and decorate with whipped cream and sprinkles.  (I added a chocolate chip cookie!)

My boyfriend surprised me by having my favorite sandwich from my favorite Italian bakery/deli ready for me when I got out of work.  Afterward though I was really in the mood for something sweet.  We were thinking about going to get frozen yogurt at this new frozen yogurt bar, but traffic was super bad and it was getting late so we stopped at the local grocery store instead and picked up a few items.  This is what we made.  This recipe makes way more than two.  I was able to make five of these for my family and I still had to throw some away sadly.  

This would be a great Valentine's Day dessert.  It's warming, delicious, and sweet.  Great for February.