Mickey & Minnie mouse cupcakes

Which cartoon characters do you grow up with?  Which ones do you like the most?  Mickey and Minnie are probably the most recognizable icon of Disney.  They've been around for years!  A co-worker for mine invited me to her son's first birthday party.  The theme she uses is going to be Mickey mouse :) So I thought, it would be nice to bake some Mickey and Minnie mouse cupcakes to celebrate Nicolai's first birthday!  So I searched and searched for some ideas, finally I found something that is super cute!  The original recipe calls for toothpicks to hold the mini oreos together, but I'm afraid that someone will bite on the toothpick and poke their mouth!  So I found an alternative to toothpick that is edible and it works like a charm :)

Mickey & Minnie Mouse Cupcakes
(24 Servings ~ 182 calories each)
Recipe adapted from sweet tooth

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Croker's SuperMoist vanilla cake mix
1 cup of water
4 egg whites
1/3 unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 package of Super thin chocolate pocky sticks
6-8 Reduced fat Oreo cookies
48 pieces mini Oreo cookies
4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 cups Confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened coco powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp nonfat milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325F, line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners (I used red with white polka dots for Mickey, and white with red polka dots for Minnie), set aside.

2. Prepare cake mix by mixing cake mix, water, egg whites, applesauce and sour cream.  Beat mixture on slow speed for 30 seconds then switch to medium speed for 2 minutes.

3. Pour batter into muffin tin 3/4 full and bake for 20-22 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

4. Prepare frosting: in a medium bowl, cream butter with an electric hand mixer, add Confectioner's sugar, coco powder, vanilla extract and milk, beat until it is the right consistency for frosting.

5. Frost cupcakes, try to make a dome shape.

6. Remove the cream filling from Oreo cookies, crash the cookies in a food processor, then dip the frosted cupcakes into Oreo cookie crumbs.

7. Prepare the "ears": cut each super thin pocky chocolate stick in half, set aside.  Halve the mini Oreo cookies, stick one pocky chocolate stick on the cream, then smear some cupcake frosting on top.  Then sandwich the other half of the mini Oreo cookie and hold everything together. 

8. Insert the "ears" into the cupcakes.

9. Prepare fondant bows: basic marshmallow fondant recipe is here, roll out small pieces of fondant.  Squeeze both ends, fold it in the middle, then use another piece to wrap it together. 

N for Nicolai :)

Ready for the P-A-R-T-Y!

Minnie tastes sweet :)

Forth of July Mini Fruit Tarts

Happy Independence Day America!  This year forth of July falls on a Wednesday, right in the middle of the week!  What a bummer!  Most of us still have to work the next day, so no heavy drinking or partying, but that wouldn't stop me from baking :)  What's the best way to celebrate forth of July?  Something blue, white, and red of course! 

Forth of July Mini Fruit Tarts
(21 servings ~ 136 calories each)

Ingredients:
Pastry cream:
(recipe adapted from here )

2 cups nonfat milk

1/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup white sugar                  

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mini Tart Shells:
(recipe adapted from here )

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup Confectioner's sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 cup cake flour

Directions:

1. In a heavy saucepan, stir together the milk and 1/4 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch; then stir them into the egg until smooth. When the milk comes to a boil, drizzle it into the bowl in a thin stream while mixing so that you do not cook the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don' t curdle or scorch on the bottom.

3. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is completely blended in. Pour into a heat-proof container and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled before using.
4. While the pastry cream is chilling in the fridge, prepare mini tart shells.
5. Preheat the oven to 355 F (180 C).
6. Using your electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar until fluffy.
7. Add the egg and mix to combine.
8. Then add about 2/3 of the flour and continue mixing.
9. Finally, add the rest of the flour and working with your hands, form a nice smooth dough ball.
10. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into about 1/10-inch (2 mm) thickness.
11. Using a cutter or a glass with a diameter of 3 inches (7.5 cm) or slightly more, cut out circles.







12. Mold the dough into tart shell molds.
13. Bake at 355 F (180 C) for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

14. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

15. Then fill your shells with pastry cream and fresh fruits.



Made a vanilla parfait with leftover fruits, yummy!

Blueberry Mousse Cake

It's my baby Blaze's birthday yesterday!  Blaze is turning 6 years young and she loves blueberries.  My parents have a blueberry tree in their backyard and Blaze has got caught many times eating the fresh blueberries off the tree!  Since it's her birthday, I decided to bake her a blueberry mousse cake.  Well, it's for all of us actually, who doesn't love cake?

Blueberry Mousse Cake

Recipe adapted from here and here

Ingredients:

(for sponge cake)

1 cup plus 1 tbsp cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
6 eggs, separated (room temperature)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

(for blueberry mousse)

1 cup blueberry puree

2 tbs sugar
1 packet gelatine powder
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream

(for stablized whipped cream)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp Confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp gelatine powder
4 tsp water

(for raspberry whipped cream)
Reserve about 1/2-1 cup of stablized whipped cream)
2 tbsp of raspbery puree

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 340F degrees.
2. Line a 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper, set aside.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder together 3 times. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine the egg yolks, salt, vanilla extract, and 4 tablespoons of the sugar (reserve the rest for later). Whisk for several minutes, until the mixture turns pale yellow and thick ribbons fall from the whisk.
5. Stir in the water and the oil, and whisk well between each addition. Fold in the flour mixture and whisk until well blended, but don't overmix.
6. In another large, clean bowl, combine the egg whites, cream of tartar and reserved sugar, and beat with a clean whisk until stiff. You may use an electric whisk or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment; make sure neither the bowl nor the whisk have any trace of fat, or the eggs will not rise and cake will be of flat variety and not of sponge decent.
7. Fold a third of the beaten egg whites into the batter and mix gently until blended. Fold in the rest of the egg whites, gently lifting the batter up and over the egg whites with a rubber spatula until just blended.
8. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Bake until set and golden brown (about 35-40 minutes)
9. Invert the baking pan onto a cooling rack so the cake will not collapse, and let cool completely.

While waiting for the cake to cool, prepare the blueberry mousse and whipped cream:

(for blueberry mousse)
1. In a blender, puree the blueberries and then add sugar. Continue blending for a few seconds to make sure that all the sugar dissolves.
2.  Sprinkle the gelatine powder over the water and let it bloom for about 5 minutes. Heat the gelatine for 15 seconds at 50% power in the microwave. Once the gelatine is melted, pour it slowly to the puree while stirring it continuously.
3. Whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the puree.

(for stablized whipped cream)
1.  Put the cold water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface of the water and let stand for 5 minutes (do not stir). Place the saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon just until the gelatin dissolves. Remove the saucepan from the heat and cool to room temperature.
2.In a mixing bowl, combine the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla and beat until slightly thickened. Then, while beating slowly, gradually pour the gelatin into the whipped cream mixture. Then whip the mixture at high speed until stiff.

(for raspberry whipped cream)
1. Reserve about 1/2-1 cup of stablized whipped cream and mix with 2 tbsp of raspberry puree

To assemble cake:

Once the cake is cooled, cut it into 3 equal pieces.

Cut two parts in half to make squares, then cut 1/4 of the cake out of these squares, like so:

Round up the edges













Cut the cake in half horizontally then spread the blueberry mousse on top

Spread statablized whipped cream on top of the cake










Decorate with fruits and raspberry whipped cream

A piece of cake for the birthday girl Blaze :)

Mommy loves you!

Spongy cake with blueberry mousse

A little sketch the night before baking this cake :)

Fresh blueberry tree from my parent's backyard

Blaze stealing the blueberries!

Here baby Blaze, you don't have to steal, mommy feeds you! 

Enjoy!