New Blog!

We have Moved!!! Check us out at www.shortcakessonoma.blogspot.com

Thanks!

XOXO
Amanda

SOLD!

I am waiting for a few better pictures but I wanted to post my "SOLD" cupcakes. Chocolate buttermilk cake was the basis of these cupcakes made for the newest member of the Pacific Union family in Sonoma, Cheryl! Handmade out of chocolate, I had a great time coming up with this idea. Not wanting to do my classic cakes, I wanted to show that PU was "SOLD" with their new Boss!

XOXO

Amanda

More Whoopie pies!!

Tested new flavors today! Butter Pecan Cream Cheese, Chocolate Peanut Butter and a Cinnamon spice with a Brown Sugar carmel cream. They were all so tasty!

xoxo

Amanda

Whoopie Pie!

A whoopie pie is a traditionally made of two small, chocolate, disk-shaped cakes with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them. For Valentines day, I decided to make red velvet whoopie pies! I first tasted a whoopie pie at the Tea Cake Bakery in Emeryville CA. My version is just as good! I love how the red coloring contrasts against the white frosting between. I made 20 of these for book club...only 11 made it..SO GOOD!!!

XOXO

Amanda

New Logo!

I got the new logo up!! How does it look???

XOXO
Amanda

Vanilla Chiffon

I tested out a new recipe last night and came up with a winner! The cake is light and airy with a delicate vanilla flavor. I topped it with with a creamy chocolate frosting. I've eaten 5 already...I need to get these out of the house! Come get them!

XOXO

Amanda

Magnolia Bakery!!

I spent a few days in New York with my childhood friends, Natalie and Janet, and had a blast! One of my had to stops, was the Magnolia Bakery to see where the cupcake craze started!! We didn't go to the original store front, but I was Ok with that.

Every time I do to a new cupcake place the first kind I try is always a very simple Vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting. Just a basic cupcake to get the idea of the bake shop. This one was very good. The cake had crunchy top, which I have not seen before. I liked it and am thinking of trying it myself. The frosting was good, not great, but a strong chocolate flavor, which I like and a creamy texture! I really like they way they frosted it. it was an "upside down" swirl. The frosting was built up on the outside instead of the inside and was topped with a sweet white flower. Overall a VERY good cupcake!

I was sad they didn't have any red velvet cakes made while I was there, but I guess that means I will just have to go back!!! :-)

Well I feel a baking day coming on so maybe there will be another post today or tomorrow!

XOXO

Amanda

The Basic!

So I spent my last trip coming up with ideas and names for the cupcakes I make. My friend Jessica had some great ideas and I owe her some credit for some of the ideas. The next few posts will be me testing out the names, flavors, and process for each cupcake! Here is the first one!

The Basic!

Its a Vanilla Cupcake topped with a creamy swirl of a chocolate ganche. Plain and simple. Just the Basic!

Enjoy!

XOXO,

Amanda

A Childhood Favorite...

I realised this afternoon that I haven't made cupcakes in awhile. So here is my childhood favorite, a good oldfashion chocolate cupcake with a vanilla buttercream. Making these I remember while I love making cupcakes. They are so much fun! Thanks to my sister who took these photos. They are beautiful. My goal for the next few days is to find my camera! The Iphone just isnt cutting it anymore!!

XOXO

Amanda

Disaster Strikes in the Shortcake Kitchen!!!

I decided I was in the mood to make some Shortcakes on a stick tonight. I wanted to try some new ideas. Mostly I was bored and wanted to keep my hands busy for a bit. When I am trying new ideas, I always use a box mix and frosting. I feel better about only spending 5 bucks for the cake then making a cake from scratch. When I went to the store, I couldn't find a boxed red velvet cake. I decided to use strawberry cake mix instead. I am gearing up for Valentines day and wanted everything red or pink. This was my first mistake. The boxed Strawberry cake is NOT good. My opinion. I shaped all my cake and into the fridge they went. Just because I don't like the taste doesn't mean I can't still use it.

I moved onto the chocolate. Most of the people I have seen make these, use Candy melts. I have a personal problem with that. Candy melts aren't chocolate. They are "chocolate flavor" made from corn seed oil and don't actually contain any chocolate. I use actual chocolate. It is hard to work with then the candy melts but the taste is worth it in the end. So I melted some white chocolate and got to work. Everything was fine until I wanted to color is red. I added gel coloring I have and it wasn't red enough for me, so I added a bit of red liquid food coloring. The chocolate seized up on me and turned into a big glop of chocolate. I tried to fix it by adding a bit of oil to it. Then I added water. The more oil. Then more water. I added more chocolate. I put it back on the heat, I stirred. And in the end I ruined the chocolate. We shall see what happens tomorrow with it. But I think I am out of luck with this batch. The cake balls kept falling off the sticks. The red chocolate, if I can call it that anymore, never really set up. The strawberry cake doesn't taste good. it was a bust all the way around!!

Anyway...lesson learned. Biggest lesson???? Strawberry cake is NO GOOD! Remember, its easy to make it look good. Its hard to make it taste good.

I think my next project will be Cheesecake on a stick!! I love cheesecake!!!

Here are the pictures from my sad night of baking!!

XOXO

Amanda