Brownies and Beignets!!

Mmmmm just reading the title makes me excited.

This weekend I somehow had a bee in my bonnet for two things. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies, and Beignets.

I'm a big fan of dense fudge like brownies as opposed to cake like brownies and I found an a-MAZING recipe on the Food Network. These did not disappoint, they were rich and fudgey and dense!

For the Cookie Dough I added Dark Chocolate Chips and Butterscotch Chips:

Yes...it's true the recipe has Chopped Chocolate in the mix along with the cocoa powder!

Just pour the brownie mix into your pan and press the cookie dough all around the brownies!!


Now onto the Beignets! I think what happens with me is I hear something or think about something randomly...and I can't stop thinking about it until I just make it.

Thus Beignets!!

They can be a little tricky, and some tips I will give EVERYONE who would like to make them:
1. Let your mix sit in the refrigerator for a good 24 hours.
2. Don't be tempted to roll your dough too thin. It's not meant for a pie!
3. Do not reuse dough. I.e. roll it back up and try to re-roll pieces you don't like.
4. Roll the Beignets out and let them sit for about 15 mins while your oil heats up.
5. Make sure your oil is at 350 degrees F. Buy a thermometer if you do not have one.
6. To see if your Oil is at the right temperature test it by adding a small off shaped piece. It should float to the surface of your oil within 5 seconds. If it does not your oil isn't hot enough.
Oooh Golden Brown Goodness!

I sprinkled them with Powdered Sugar I mixed with Cinnamon!! Mmmm

Bloom!

This weekend I decided to try out a Cupcake/Bake Shop I had heard about called Bloom.

It's in downtown Middleton WI. It is a cute little corner shop, which unfortunately doesn't have a lot of parking, but you can usually grab a spot somewhere in the area.

It was starting to get a little busy when we were there, so we decided to make our choices quickly. I tried their vanilla cupcake with Milk Chocolate Buttercream.
It was pretty good, the top of the cupcake was a tad dry, but overall it was pretty good! I will warn you that their icing is pretty sweet, so make sure you have something to drink with you!

My daughter wanted the Silly Cupcake, which was a moist banana with chocolate chip cupcake and a cream cheese frosting. It had a chocolate chip on the top...but sadly this did not last long...

It was a very sweet shop, and if you have a gluten allergy you can find gluten free cupcakes. Also if you are a vegan they have a variety of Vegan friendly cupcakes!


Bloom is open Thursday-Saturday from 11pm-7am.

Mystery cupcakes

So last weekend I was in a creative mood. I love caramel...and I love chocolate. So I decided to make some of our Intense Chocolate cupcakes, and filled them half way.

Then I did this:

Yup! Added Caramel in the middle! And then I did this:

YEP! Marshmallows AND Chocolate chunks!!

I decided to try to lighten up on the frosting since there was so much going on, so I combined some dark chocolate ganache with some Whipping cream to make a light ganache whipped cream frosting. I know I just made your mouth water eh?

And that made this:

Warm gooey center!!

Cupcakes for a Cure!!

We are supporting and running in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure this year.

So this month's Cupcake of the Month are our Light Sunny Lemon Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream frosting and a Pink handmade candy ribbon!

10% of all Cupcake sales during the month of May will go toward our donation goal of $500 for the race!

If you would like to donate without a purchase please click our donate button below!

Thanks for your support!

Take me out to the ball game!

Now that the Cupcakes have been delivered and are being consumed as we speak, I can let the surprise Cupcakes out of the bag!!

I know two Boston Red Sox lovers, and thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate their birthday's and general being awesome!

It was VERY hard for me to keep these a secret so long, and I am very glad that the secrets are over!!

The cupcakes were Vanilla, and Chocolate (gluten free!). Then I cut the socks and the B out of rolled fondant!

Enjoy, and of course...GO SOX!!

Sushi...cake?

What could be better than Sushi? Sushi Cake!!

I made this cake for a coworkers birthday. It's made out of our Vanilla cake, and dipped in white candy melts, we then rolled them in white sprinkles for the rice. Then wrapped it in black fondant.

I had a lot of fun making these cakes, hope you have as much fun viewing them!

xo Sarah

Ma-Ma-Macarooooons!

First, I am sorry it has been so long since I've been able to post. Between not feeling 100% and work being crazy I haven't had much spare time. But I do now!!

So my favourite colour is pink, I love anything that you can make pink, so naturally I adored Macarons!

The recipe I used was actually from Epicurious.com.

If you try it let me know what you think. I let my cookies sit for about 60 mins, then baked them and let them sit for an additional 30 mins.

Our daughter called them Krabby Patties!!

And the winner is....

Erin O!!

Erin Wrote:
Erin O. said...

All of my Easter memories are good ones. But my favorite would have to be when i was a kid and waking up and running downstairs to get my easter basket. It was like a mini-Christmas, and with a kid's favorite thing-candy. Then my mom, brother, and I would all go out to my aunts and my whole family would be there and all of us kids would have Easter egg hunts in the backyard and try the hardest to get the plastic eggs with the $1 bills in them. :)

Thank you to everyone who wrote your favourite memories! I had such a great time reading them.

Check back to the blog often, we will have more giveaways coming up!!

Want to win some Cupcakes?

Cupcake Carousel is giving away 4 Easter Cupcakes!!

What do you have to do to win? Just leave a comment listed below telling us what your favourite Easter Memory with your Family is. We'll use a random number generator, and that person will receive 4 Easter Cupcakes in the Mail! (US residents only please)

The drawing will take place on Monday March 29 5:00 pm CST. The winner will be posted, and we will try to contact through email for address, if not check back here on Monday and Tuesday to email us your address!!

If you would like to sign up for our newsletter, and have your information kept for all future giveaways, click here.

Good Luck to Everyone!

Hey...We're Famous!

Okay...so not really :)

However, we were just featured on one of our favourites CakeSpy.com!

Thanks goes out to CakeSpy owner Jessie, who took on the hardship of having cupcakes delivered right to her door and suffering through the consumption.

To take a peak at the featured blog, click here!

Happy Irish!!

Cupcake Carousel would like to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
We've made these lovely Pot of Gold Cupcakes with a black Cauldron, green cupcake inside and gold shimmering frosting!

How much more lucky could one get?

Adventures in Swiss Buttercream

So I wanted to master Swiss Buttercream, and decided what better way to master it than with a Vanilla bean Buttercream using real Vanilla Beans from Madagascar!

Below was the absolutely delicious results! Enjoy!

Beach Wedding!

Hey Everyone!

Well Cupcake Carousel was on a short hiatus, as we visited Marco Island Florida, just outside of Naples. Not only were we able to enjoy a little sun and relaxation, we were also able to witness my Mom and Step Dad say "I do" in a wonderful beach wedding.

So naturally I offered to bake the wedding cake and cupcakes. My brilliant idea popped into my head while visiting one of my favourite baking stores in Wisconsin called Vanilla Bean. While aimlessly walking down one of their aisles some gold sparkling sanding sugar caught my eye. I picked it up studying it thoughtfully when it hit me...Beach Cupcakes!! I quickly called my Mom and explained my idea, which she loved and thus, Beach Cupcakes were born!

We had our standard chocolate and Lemon cupcakes, then I used Buttercream icing in ivory to use as the background for the sand, applied the gold sanding sugar, then used bright blue Buttercream to pipe the waves on the beach. Lastly I added a starfish and clam shell to the "beach" made from rolled fondant.

Not only were the cupcakes delicious, (I think I ate 4!) but they looked great! Everyone loved how they tied in with the theme of the wedding.

Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is coming!
Cupcake Carousel has a wide variety of delicious Valentines treats including:

Kiss Me



We combine our delicious vanilla Cupcakes with our chocolate fudge frosting. Decorated with red lips, how can you resist sharing these with your sweetheart?
Psst! We’ve also hidden a Hershey’s kiss in the middle of the cupcake!



Spicy Red Hot Valentine!

Red Velvet Cupcakes scream Valentines Day. We’ve taken our recipe and added a hint of spicy nutmeg. Combined with our *Famous Cream Cheese frosting and topped with a Red Hot Cinnamon Heart! You and your sweetheart will be melting any winter blues away!

Naughty Valentine

These fun Cupcakes, will keep everyone smiling. We've added adorable edible bra and panties to our Intense Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting. Have some fun with your someone, while undressing these Cupcakes!

I Heart You

Share these Cupcakes with your sweet valentine. Our Red Velvet Cupcakes combined with our Chocolate Fudge Frosting, and sweetheart sprinkles make these cupcakes perfect to share with any Valentine!

Order yours before February 10th!

Iron Cupcake Madison?

No one has been a bigger fan of Iron Cupcake than me! Well okay...that's not true, but I have wanted to participate in one for a VERY long time. But a few things keep getting in my way:

1. The closest Iron Cupcake Challenge is in Milwaukee.
2. I always become lost while driving in Milwaukee.
3. I always forget about the challenges because they are in Milwaukee.
4. I always become lost in Milwaukee...

So I have contacted Sandy for some more information on beginning an Iron Cupcake Madison!! She has been MORE than kind with her time in answering all of my sometimes repetitive questions, and I think I have a basis on how we can start one.

So what else do I need? I need YOU! Yes, that's right! I need to know who in the Madison WI area would like to participate in an Iron Cupcake Challenge, who may be interested in co-hosting and or co-creating these Iron Cupcake Challenges with me!

So anyone who is interested please respond here, or email me: cupcakecarousel@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading everyone!

With Love,

Sarah
Cupcake Carousel
www.cupcakecarousel.net