Summer has begun with a bang here – it already hit 100°F over the weekend. Clearly, trips to the lake, BBQs, and frozen treats are in order. There’s nothing better than a lazy summer weekend by the water with a frosty drink or refreshing popsicle in hand. Now, combine cocktails + popsicles (does “poptails” sound too ridiculous?), and you’ve really got something. I made some mojito popsicles a couple of summers ago, so it’s way past time to try a new poptail (yeah, it sounds a little ridiculous to me).

Bacardi has a line of light classic cocktails and sent me a bottle of strawberry daiquiri to try. It’s already mixed up right in the bottle (and only 95 calories a serving!), which makes it so easy, especially for entertaining. I tried freezing straight daiquiri, but it didn’t fully freeze – although, if you want a slushie consistency, try it out. You couldn’t get it any easier than that, and slushie daiquiris sound pretty amazing.

However, I wanted to make popsicles, so I added pineapple juice to the strawberry daiquiri and froze it in my popsicle mold. Tropical strawberry daiquiri popsicles were born! You could make this with lots of other juices too: guava, mango, papaya…or skip the “tropical” and try out orange or lemonade. What flavors would you try out?

When it comes to at-home entertaining, we want to have our cocktail and drink it too. With BACARDI Classic Cocktails Light, you don’t need to choose between serving great cocktails or socializing with friends. Enjoy the best of everything – the convenience of ready-to-serve cocktails and the confidence of natural ingredients mixed with the world’s most awarded spirit. BACARDI Classic Cocktails Light allow you to serve the best, naturally!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BACARDI. The opinions and text are all mine. Sweepstakes Rules.

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Homemade S’mores Cupcakes

We’re heading into Memorial Day Weekend, which I see as the kick-off for summer. It’s time for BBQs, camping, going to the lake, and laying pool side. I actually went to my first BBQ a couple of months ago (hello, lovely California weather!), and when I was asked to bring a dessert, I wanted to come up with something BBQ friendly. Sure, there’s peach cobblers and another summer fruit desserts, but besides the fact that none of that was in season yet, I also gravitate towards chocolate and cupcakes.

And then it suddenly hit me: S’mores! What’s more summer-y and BBQ appropriate than s’mores? Of course, I couldn’t just leave it at that. To take it to the next level of yumminess, I decided on s’mores cupcakes.

Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve attempted a s’mores flavored dessert – it’s not even my first or second s’mores cupcake. I’ve made s’mores cupcakes and s’mores ice cream cupcake sandwiches (they’re a real mouthful ). (And don’t miss my s’mores popsicles – made with easy homemade marshmallow ice cream and super easy homemade hard shell chocolate sauce!)

Doesn’t that look irresistible?

This time, I wanted to do an original take on s’mores cupcakes and utilize my homemade marshmallow fluff for the topping. Before, I’ve always done chocolate cake with ground up graham cracker crust, so I mixed it up with a graham cracker cake topped with a rich chocolate ganache. It’s a more literal translation from s’mores to cupcake, since the ganache better imitates a chocolate bar and the graham cracker is a dominating part of a s’more.  continue reading

It’s been a while since I’ve had time to blog, but I couldn’t wait any longer to share this with you. Have you ever had marshmallow creme? This awesome stuff is like fluffy, spreadable marshmallow. You can sandwich it between cookies, use it in s’mores, spread it on a cupcake…   or just lick it off a spoon

Everything is better when you make it yourself, and this is no exception. Making this is a lot like making marshmallows – you add a hot sugar syrup into egg whites and then just beat it until it magically transforms into a full bowl of fluffy goodness. Watching the egg whites become marshmallow is almost as much fun as eating the fluff itself (almost).

You’ll need an electric mixer, unless you want to whisk until your arm falls off, but it’s not too difficult with the right tools. Use a mixer, a candy thermometer, and add in the 4 ingredients below to make your own soft, sweet marshmallow creme.

Stay tuned – I have 2 awesome desserts that use this marshmallow fluff and I’ll share them soon! continue reading

Time to usher in spring and summer time with some Salted Caramel Mocha Frozen Yogurt!

A few weeks ago I polled all my Facebook fans with a simple fill in the blank sentence: My favorite ice cream flavor is ___________! I got 60 responses, from the classic, simple vanilla to more complex flavors like fig and orange custard chocolate chip (I’ve never had either of those but I’d love to try them!). I have to admit I had an ulterior motive – I wanted to make my own frozen yogurt, but couldn’t decide on what flavor to make.

But let’s be real – as much as I loved hearing your diverse list of favorites, 60 more ideas didn’t really help me or my poor decision making skills!

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Almost a year ago, I posted my now Pinterest-famous guide to making cupcake bouquets. I had seen photos of similar bouquets floating around Pinterest, but never found a good tutorial on making them, so I figured it out and put together my own. I guess I wasn’t the only one who loved the idea – I got an overwhelming response to the post (it’s been pinned over 600,000 times!) and have been meaning to make a different version ever since.

After my last appearance on the local Fox morning show, they asked me to return in the spring and I knew this was the perfect opportunity to share how to make a cupcake bouquet and try out a new version! I’ll be on this Friday, March 29th, at 9:20am PDT. Watch the livestream from wherever you in the world and see how I put together this Easter basket version of the cupcake bouquet.

If you want to try making your own, you’ll need: a basket, green floral foam inserts that fit in it, toothpicks, fake (or real) leaves, cupcakes, frosting, and a piping bag with a tip like the Wilton 1M or Wilton 2D.

Get instructions on how to make a basic cupcake bouquet here or watch me demonstrate it on Friday! I’ll update this post with the video on Friday afternoon so you can watch it if you miss it live.

P.S. Here’s another cupcake bouquet I can’t help but sharing – a cute pink polka version from my best friend’s baby shower!

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Hummus is one of my go-tos when I want a great snack. It’s healthy, tasty, and filling, plus it goes so well with so many things – veggies, pita bread, crackers, tortilla chips…the list goes on. I bake so much that I need regular breaks from sugar and make sure to eat healthy things like hummus in between.

Hidden Valley^® challenged me to remix a classic recipe with their Original Ranch^® Salad Dressing or Seasoning Mix and as I was trying to think of something to makeover, hummus crossed my mind. Ranch + hummus – why not? Hummus comes in lots of flavors and ranch is such a classic snack flavor. Who doesn’t love ranch chips or dipping a baby carrot in ranch dressing?

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As many of you know, I got engaged on Christmas, so the last couple of months have been a flurry of research, planning, and decision making. I knew who I wanted to be in my wedding party before I even got engaged, but it still took me about 6 weeks to ask them. I wanted to make something special, and since my closest friends are scattered around the country, it had to be something I could easily mail too.

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I’ve been eyeing those monthly coffee subscriptions for the last couple of years. Morning coffee is a daily ritual at our house, and Russ is a bit of a coffee snob. Each time his birthday or Christmas rolls around, I think about investing in a service that will deliver high quality beans to our door. And each time, I hesitate. What if we don’t like the coffee? What if it’s not enough and I still have to buy more at the store? I can never quite commit to a 3 or 6 month long subscription.

Enter: Tonx Coffee. They will send you a FREE trial so you can try out their service before committing to anything. Now THAT I couldn’t pass up!

And check out the adorable package they sent me! I got a bag of Sandia de Puno beans from Peru, a letter from Tonx about what they do and why they do it, a cute illustration of all the different coffee makers (with brewing tips on the back), Tonx stickers, and an awesome shirt!

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For months, I’ve been wanting to make a ruffle cake. Ever since I made the rose ombre cake, I’ve been meaning to tackle another fun (but easy) cake design. I was finally inspired by Martha Stewart Living’s special collector’s edition issue Cakes & Cupcakes. They sent me a copy to review, which I’m definitely keeping with my cookbooks. This issue is a little thicker and hardier than a typical magazine and should hold up well as a collector’s item.

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When I arrived at work last Thursday, I was greeted by one of my coworkers, who was surprisingly perky for the early hour. “I got into grad school!” she exclaimed. I’ve known Hannah for 4 years, since her senior year of college. She was actually my intern during my first year teaching at our school, and helped me navigate my way through the program. After she graduated, she was hired on to join our staff and it’s been wonderful watching her come into her own as a teacher. She is incredibly passionate about early childhood education and I know she will excel in her grad program.

Coincidentally, we had our bi-monthly staff meeting the next morning. Hannah loves it my cupcakes, so I was determined to celebrate her news by baking something that night. When I found out that Friday was National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, that cinched it: peanut butter cupcakes were on the menu!

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