Baking Under the Influence

Art Walk #100

2012-03-07T16:40:00.001-05:00

Congregations, Downtown Vision, Inc on your 100th Art Walk! Let's celebrate with a Mimosa Cupcake!

If a champagneand orange cupcake doesn't suit your tastes, how does a "Chocolate Rain" or a "Rick Roll" sound?

The "Chocolate Rain" cupcake is one of Dark Chocolate Cake and a Chocolate Milk Buttercream, with a sprinkling of Cocoa Rice Krispies.

The "Rick Roll" cupcake is a Cinnamon Roll Cake with a Cream Cheese Topping.

Come on out to CoWork Jax and try one tonight!

Hello Again!

2012-02-12T21:52:00.000-05:00

BABY ATOM!

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated the blog. I sincerely apologize for that but we've had our hands full with our new addition, our son Atom. Now that he's a bit older, we're back to work to keep making crafty and creative cupcakes for you Jacksonvillians. We'll be back at Art Walk on March 7th, at the CoWork Jax location. March's theme is music and we've got some great nerdy ideas to accompany the musical theme. We're keeping the cupcake flavors under wraps until we get closer to the date, and once everything is finalized, we'll be sure to share the awesomeness!

We're also trying to secure professional space to continue making the cupcakes at and hope to ramp up production and have our cakes available at area restaurants. Keep your eyes on Facebook and Twitter and we'll update as our plans develop.

As always, we still welcome small orders for whatever your occasion is. We'll work with you to come up with something that is uniquely you and unique to your event. Feel free to contact us anytime!

Grilling Under the Influence - or - Finger Lickin' Chicken!

2011-01-23T16:20:00.002-05:00

I bought some pre-seasoned chicken legs at Publix because I was hungry and I love me some chicken legs. I meant to take them with me but I accidentally left them at Ryan's house instead. We had to cook those legs and Ryan got a beer itch again. We had some extra Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale in the fridge and he had to use it. I couldn't object, and IPA BBQ sauce? Hell yeah!

So what's in it?

- 1 cup of Celebration Ale
- 1 cup of Ketchup
- 1 cup of Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 tbs of Worchestershire Sauce
- 1/4 tsp of Garlic Powder
- 1/2 - 1 tsp of Liquid Smoke
- Kosher Salt to Taste
- Dash of Fresh Coarse Ground Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes or longer. Pour over meat and enjoy!

This stuff is super easy and super delicious. Serve with the beer you made it with and people are sure to be impressed!

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"THE RON WHITE"

2010-11-17T22:37:00.001-05:00

You've seen from other posts that Ryan and I are big supporters of Movember and Movember Jax. I've been helping out plan the Jacksonville Movember events for a few months now and am soo excited to see what we've already been able to do here in Jacksonville! I'm proud of our Mo Bros and Mo Sistas of Duval! As of today, the Movember Jax Network has raised over $7,300!!! We've done two bake sales for Movember already, with two more planned.

If you didn't know already, Movember means a lot to me because my dad is a prostate cancer survivor. Men's cancers don't get anywhere near the attention they need, considering that more men are diagnosed each year with prostate cancer then women are with breast cancer! Where are the baby blue ribbon water bottles, socks, fire trucks, ziploc bags, nfl uniforms, sunglasses, candy bars, water filters, syndicated comic strips, tinted newspapers, races, etc. Hell, why are there breast cancer ladders, coolers, footballs, and scuba diving fins,but none for the men?!? Aren't those manly things?!? Okay, off my soapbox.

When I saw a retweet from the Cupcake Project about the Manly Cupcake Challenge, sponsored by C & C Cakery, I just knew that BUI had to be a apart of it! We decided we have to take a "feminine" thing and make it manly.

Ron White

First off, we needed an inspiration... we brainstormed over what was manly and came across a lot of ideas, but couldn't figure out how to interpret them into a cupcake. Of course, it had have beer... but what kind? I remembered that I once had an IPA from Cigar City Beer, a part of their Humidor series. Everything about this beer reeks of manliness. While drinking it, I thought I was drinking a cigar. As I thought of that cigar, an image came to mind... Ron White. With the brooding and occasional tasteless humor, the cigar, and the scotch, Ron White is a great example of modern manliness. So we went with that inspiration. I present to you, the super secret, the cupcake of all that is man, "The Ron White".

Like all of our cupcakes, "The Ron White" is just a variation on a classic recipe. Ryan suggestion a chocolate cupcake, but it had to be with dark and dry chocolate. Paired with the Humidor IPA, this cupcake is sharp, dry, and amazingly delicious. Topped with a Caramel Johnnie Walker Blue frosting, that still retains it's burn, we hit this challenge square on the head. It's really freaking good.

So what's in "The Ron White"?

5 0.35 oz Squares of 88% Cocoa Dark Chocolate
1 Stick & 2 Tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
2 Eggs
2 Cups of White Sugar
1 1/4 cup of Cigar City Humidor IPA (use a cask aged IPA if you can't find this beer where you live)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 Cups of Cake Flour
1/2 of Regular Flour
3/4 teaspoon of Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

As normal, mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. In the wet bowl, mix all but one tablespoon of butter with the eggs and vanilla. In the dry bowl, mix the flower, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Add the sugar into the wet bowl, beating steadily as you mix. Before adding in the dry ingredients, melt the chocolate and the last tablespoon of butter, using a double boil method. Pour the chocolate into the wet bowl and mix until smooth. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until you have a nice cake batter like, non-lumpy, consistency. Just like any other cake. We baked the cupcakes at 350° for 16 minutes. This recipe yielded two dozen cupcakes, with enough left over for a little cake! (We at BUI like little cakes, it's ours to devour!)

For the Caramel Scotch Frosting you'll need...

1/2 Cup of Butter
1 Cup of Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 Cups of Sifted Powdered Sugar
1 teaspoon of Vanilla
1 1/2 Ounces of Johnnie Walker Blue
Dash of Ground Sea Salt to Top the Cupcake

Melt the butter in a saucepan then stir in the brown sugar. Cook the sugar and butter over low heat for about two minutes. Add in the sweetened condensed milk and stir until boiling. Add in the sifted sugar and vanilla and beat until desired texture is reached. Finish with adding in the scotch, stirring a bit more. We dip the cupcake tops in the caramel then top with a few sprinkles of sea salt.

The Ron White

We'll be selling this cupcake as a Movember fundraiser at the weekly Movember meetup at Riverside location of European Street Cafe. I'll post an update to let everyone know how these cupcakes do in public!

This challenge couldn't have been done without a few great prize sponsors... make sure to check them out too!

Blush Printables- a $15 electronic gift card
Hello Hanna - A pack of Sweet Stands (for every finalist)
Elise Steven’s Illustration and Design - a hand-painted ornament featuring our mascot, Colonel Cupcake.
Taraduff - a handmade bearded beanie
Miss Kitty Creations - a special edition Tuxedo Cupcake Charm
Bella Cupcake Couture - one pack of Cupcake Wrappers for each finalist and one extra for our grand prize winner
Drama Llama - a handmade secret stuffie
My Creative Side - Two dozen Mustaches on sticks

Grilling Under the Influence -or- STEAK IS GREAT!

2010-11-17T20:44:00.000-05:00

So, we had leftover King Street Stout from the Art Walk baking experience. The 1/4 full growler was staring us down in the fridge. "USE ME, USE ME!", it called whenever the refrigerator door was open. Along came the perfect opportunity... dinner with the family. Ryan's mom invited us over for a Sunday dinner and Ryan, being a man, suggested we had steak. He was a man with a plan...

He bought the slab of meat, came home, and set out on his plan. He marinated the steak in the Stout, along with three garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, pepper, and a tad bit of honey. It sat in the fridge, soaking up all of that local craft beer goodness for a few hours, and then he grilled it (after a drive to his parent's house and surviving through marinade spillage all over my shoe!).

I hovered behind him, drooling, snapping a picture or two... I was very excited to taste the final outcome!

After a few minutes on the grill, it was time to devour the meal. Served along side the steak was grilled potatoes and corn (frozen, not canned). It was a delicious family meal and the steak was just perfect!

The Initial Public Offering

2010-11-17T19:15:00.000-05:00

Wow. That was harder than I thought it'd be! We made 3 kinds of cupcakes, 2 kinds of cookies, and 1 inventive cornbread. Cupcakes are usually pretty easy to do. Baking isn't rocket surgery... but between all of the varieties and the associated frostings and glazes, we were busy for three days straight! The last cupcakes were frosted just before we were due at the Bake Sale. Regardless, the hard work paid off. The Carbomb and Beer Cheese cupcakes were a hit. The Pumpking Spice ones, for whatever reason, didn't sell that well. Nor did the cookies for that matter! Lesson learned, if it ain't a chocolate chip, people just don't seem to be interested.

Baking, however, is always fun. One of the most memorable parts of this IPO process was being able to visit Intuition Ale Works, before they were officially open to the public, to pick up some of their King Street Stout to use in the Carbomb Cupcakes. Ben, the Brewer, was very friendly and poured the Stout fresh from the fermenting tank. It was delicious and we had enough left over to use for a Sunday Dinner (post to follow!). (Am I biased about Intuition? Perhaps... considering I'm now employed by them!)

We got a lot of great feedback about our goodies and have a lot of new opportunities to bake in the future. Ryan and I are both so very excited!!

Movember Art Walk

2010-11-17T18:45:00.003-05:00

For Art Walk in beautiful Downtown Jacksonville, we served up:
~ Triple Chocolate Fudge Cupcake w/ Irish Cream Frosting – featuring a Stout from Intuition Ale Works
~ Spice Cake Cupcake w/ Cream Cheese Pumpkin Spice Frosting – featuring Pumking from Southern Tier Brewing Company
~ Beer Cheese Cupcake w/ Bacon Cheddar Frosting – featuring Cigar City Brewery’s Maduro Brown Ale
~ Sugar Cookie with a Tangerine Glaze – featuring Lost Coast Brewery’s Tangerine Wheat
~ Bengal Spice Cookie – featuring Sierra Nevada’s Tumbler Brown Ale
~ Corn Muffins with Honey – featuring PBR

We were able to raise about $150.00 from this events! And remember, all proceeds benefit Movember! Find more information at: movember.com or join the Jacksonville RollerGirl’s team!!!

MOVEMBER!!!

2010-11-17T18:44:00.000-05:00

The first OFFICIAL appearance of BUI’s goodies was at the Movember Art Walk, in Downtown Jacksonville. We had cupcakes, cookies, and cornbread for sale, with all proceeds going towards Movember!

The Movember Foundation is an organization that campaigns on raising awareness and funds for cancers affecting men – prostate and testicular cancer. Did you know that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer? Did you know that more men are diagnosed with prostate cancer than women with breast cancer? This is serious stuff! I (waffle) love the men in my life, especially my dad, who is a prostate cancer survivor. I want my men, hell, all men, healthy and happy!

Couldn’t make it to Art Walk to help out? No problem! Join the Jacksonville RollerGirls team or make a donation online! BUI is in the 21st Century, we’re gonna make this easy…
CLICK HERE TO JOIN! ~ CLICK HERE TO DONATE!