a little blogging hiatus...but definitely not a baking one!

It's been a little over a month since my last post...I guess I could blame the BEAUTIFUL Minnesota weather we've been having. I have not stopped baking (when could I ever...) but with the nice weather I have spent more time outside, have been a lot busier at work and have seemed to have something going on every night for a while...apparently I'm reverting to my college days a little quicker than I expected! But, I have made quite a few delicious things for some parties, barbeques and family events that I'll be sharing very soon! I'm travelling for work this week, so I actually have some down time at night and hopefully can get some good recipes shared :)



Way back at the beginning of May I co-planned a bachelorette party for my awesome friend Jenn, who actually got married last Saturday...so needless to say it was another eventful weekend! Anyway, I of course went a wee bit overboard on the treats I brought--cupcakes and cookies and bars and muffins. Uff-da. I guess I just have all these ideas of what I want to bring and can't narrow it down! The cupcakes were cream filled chocolate cupcakes with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. The cupcakes were moist and had a great chocolate flavor with a suprise of sweet marshmallow-y cream in the middle. The frosting definitely is another winner! I can't seem to make anything else...and just keep finding ways to modify it to fit what I want to make. Definitely great for a girl's night...all we really need is chocolate...and cream :)

Marshmallow Cream Filling

(modified from this recipe)

2 tsp hot water

1/4 tsp salt

1 (7 oz) container marshmallow cream

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla

(I used butter instead of shortening even though it wasn't as bright of white and a little more vanilla)

Dissolve the salt in the water in a medium sized bowl. Add the marshmallow cream, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on low speed with a hand mixer until combined. Beat on high until light and fluffy.

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Use the swiss meringue buttercream recipe found here, and add 4 oz melted unsweetened chocolate that has cooled a little to the frosting at the end.

Assembly: While cupcakes are baking, prepare the filling and frosting. After the cupcakes have cooled, place the filling in a pastry bag with a wide circle tip. Poke it into eac cupcake and squeeze until filled. Swirl the buttercream on top, enjoy and take a bite :)

ps...will update later with some pictures...