Banana Pops

I made banana cake over the weekend and still had ripe bananas.
So...Banana Pops!


They turned out delicious!

Vanilla Latte Cupcakes with Cream Soda

Iron Cupcake Soda Pop!

I've created a cupcake using Cream Soda, my favorite! I knew as soon as I read soda was the secret ingredient that it would be cream soda. For another experiment, I created this frosting, Coffee Cream Cheese. When I put the two together...Vanilla Latte Heaven!!
They really turned out great!

Please take the time to vote!!
Voting will begin no later than Wednesday, April 29 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com and will be open through Monday, May 4 at 12 noon.
Here are the prizes I'm competing for:
A creation by FRUITFLYPIE, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=16748
a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6057281.
a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!
Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

The Recipe
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda
Makes 18 cupcaks. 350 for 20 minutes.
The Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 pound confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons coffee extract
Cream butter and cream cheese, add extracts, then slowly add the powdered sugar.
Frost when cupcakes are completely cool. Sprinkle with shaved white chocolate.
This frosting would work very well with chocolate cupcakes too :o)

Espresso pops

These were so much fun!

They are all espresso, or mocha latte...not sure what to call them yet. Suggestions are welcome.
As for the appearance, lets take a vote!
Take a look at the different espresso pops and vote (to the right) on which
one you think looks best.

Thanks for your help!
I can't pick a favorite, I really love them all!

I can't wait to see what everyone thinks!

Spring pops!

I went a little crazy with the pops!

Spring chicks (thank you again, Bakerella)
These were classic chocolate pops.

Then I made lemon...yum!

They were delicious!
So....I made blueberry lemon...



I have to say, the lemon were my favorite. Until I made the espresso...

Happy Birthday Melissa

For Melissa's birthday, I asked her what kind of cake she wanted. She said banana....

Here's what I came up with:

I took my old banana bar recipe, and divided it into two 9" round cake pans, rather than the 10 x 15 jello roll pan that I've always used. I cut the two layers in half to make four. Then, on top of the first layer, I put a generous layer of ganache. I added a layer of cake, and topped that layer with cream cheese frosting. I repeated these steps again, topping with cream cheese frosting and drizzling with ganache. Here's the recipe and a peek at the inside.

Frosted Banana Bars
Preheat oven to 350
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups bananas, very ripe
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch salt

Mix
Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs bananas and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture; mix well. Pour into greased 10 x 15 jello roll pan. Bake @ 350 for 25 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
For the layer cakes, this took 30 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 pound confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Combine with an electric mixer until fluffy.

Ganache
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Cook over medium low heat until the chocolate is almost melted, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, and continue stirring until smooth.

Here's the inside





I hope you enjoyed your cake Melissa! And I hope you know how much we love and appreciate you!!

I promised more...here are a few.
I'm already working on more. I can't wait to show you my newest idea.
Stick around!


Look how moist inside. So yummy!

It's been too long...

I haven't posted in ages, and I'm sorry. I got so busy with the holidays, and I was baking, so there's no excuse, really. I was baking my butt off actually, but no time for pictures. I feel a little embarrassed and ashamed. But I'm back, and I have stuff to share.
First of all, I made cupcake pops for the first time time back in June, I think? Whenever it was that I discovered these little wonders. Then, I had a cupcake themed party for Tara, my daughter. Then...well, I just couldn't stop. And the cupcake themed party - that started with the idea of cheesecake pops, of all things. I saw cheesecake pops and knew I wanted them for Tara. Then, I saw the pops, and it all just came together from there.
From now on, I will do my very best to post what I bake.
Thank you Bakerella for all of your knowledge, and for sharing in such a generous way!
I've made so many flavors, shapes, colors, sizes, I couldn't mention them all. So, here's a start. Back to the originals. Pops from the other day, and then some pictures from Tara's party too.


These are vanilla cupcakes with fudge frosting. I loved the way they looked, and loved the frosting. The cupcake recipe needs work. When I perfect it, I'll post the recipe...

These are the cheesecake pops, which are really what started all of this.

They were delicious, but also need work. The recipe was delicious, but I felt that it could have been stiffer, and easier to work with. This too will be worked out, and shared.

I hope you've enjoyed this post! Stick around...so much more to come!