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Let the Whimsy In!
Date: Apr. 3rd 2008
Category: Cookbooks, Cakes, Cheesecakes, Cupcakes and Muffins
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What is life without a little bit of the whimsical? The magical? The fanciful?
I think that is perhaps what I love most about the idea of decorating a wee cupcake: it’s an opportunity to let your creative heart out.
Call me silly, but I just can’t help but feel a bit of whimsy these days. Life is crazy as ever and the world is as strange as ever but some things never change.
I can smell spring in the air.
The other day I saw a few brave daffodils insistently pushing their way through the soil.
Today I saw the most perfect pair of summer sandals.
Ah, whimsy!
But whimsy also comes in other forms, namely a cookbook by the name of Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse: Cupcakes, Small Cakes, Muffins, and Other Mini Treats by Kaye and Liv Hansen.
A very sweet and kind person sent me a copy of this book after reading about my experience baking cupcakes for the wedding of a coworker. I was so touched! I made a promise to myself that I’d take a look at the book and post about it and then work and life got in the way.
Happily, over the past few weeks I had some time to finally look through this book and I have fallen in love with it.
It’s just adorable. Not to mention the fact that it’s filled with some very good recipes for baking basics like buttercream, as well as numerous recipes for all sorts of cakes and treats. The book is organized into a series of “baking projects” that are all accompanied by detailed decorating instructions. Through the miracle of the Internet, those instructions are augmented by The Whimsical Bakehouse’s web site, which has a number of useful videos on how to create various decorative accents.
While I was tempted by many of the projects in this book, the one that drew me in was the “Flower Power” project that features lemon coconut cupcakes decorated with buttercream in the form of a variety of flowers.
For the cupcakes, I adapted the recipe because while I love lemon and I love coconut, in a very strange twist I do not love those two ingredients together. Instead, I created dulce de leche coconut cupcakes by adding a blob of dulce de leche to the base of each of my cupcake liners. I replaced the lemon juice in the recipe with buttermilk to create a very tender crumb. For the buttercream, I used a recipe from the book called “Kaye’s Buttercream” and added coconut extract to augment the coconut flavour.
To decorate the cupcakes, I couldn’t resist trying the rose decoration and the hydrangea decoration. I’m not sure how successful the hydrangea was, but I was very proud of the rose.
This is such a sweet little book. I hope that as spring approaches and everyone’s thoughts turn to lighter days and warmer weather, you’ll take a moment to let some whimsy into your life and perhaps bake a cupcake or two!
Ciao!
Dulce de Leche Coconut Cupcakes
Adapted from Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse by Kaye and Liv Hansen.Note: I used mini paper cups to bake these cupcakes. The recipe yielded 36 mini cupcakes. You can also make 12 regular-sized cupcakes. Be sure to grease a muffin tin and line with cupcake liners if you’re making the regular-sized ones. I used a buttercream recipe from the book but I didn’t adapt it in any way so I’m not going to post it here. For a really good buttercream recipe, try this one.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 (12 tbsp.) sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp. coconut extract
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup dulce de lecheMethod:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line paper cups on a baking sheet. Place a dollop of dulce de leche in the bottom of each paper cup. Set aside.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes. The mixture should be pale and fluffy.
With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the coconut extract and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixture in three stages, alternating with the buttermilk in between each stage.
Be sure to scrape down the bowl to ensure that the batter is well mixed.
Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the coconut.
Spoon the batter into the waiting paper cups. They should be halfway to three-quarters of the way full.
Bake for 20 minutes and check for doneness. If a cake tester doesn’t come out clean, bake for a few more minutes.
Remove the mini cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.
Enjoy!
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Valvona & Crolla: A Year at an Italian Table by Mary Contini.

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04/3/08 at 8:24 pm
These really are adorable. The roses are perfect and the blue ones remind me of the forget-me-nots flowering along the side of the road on th way to work. So pretty.
04/3/08 at 8:47 pm
Those are beautiful.And with the Dulce de Leche! I cant get enough of cake decorating books and magazines. I just ordered a new one today from the Culinary Institute called Cake Art. Cant wait to dive in that one.
04/3/08 at 9:01 pm
those roses are beautiful!! wow, i love the white frosty tips on each petal. your hydrangeas are gorgeous too; you probably just needed to do them on a regular size cupcake to get the larger “globe” effect they show off.
04/3/08 at 9:06 pm
Oh, Ivonne! Those little cupcakes are absolutely beautiful! They really, really are! I’m so impressed. I could never make anything as pretty as that!
04/3/08 at 9:08 pm
I am so impressed! Those are beautiful. I want to practice the hydrangea one, it’s amazing!
04/3/08 at 10:33 pm
aaah so pretty.
04/3/08 at 10:49 pm
The video in the link was quite informative. Your cupcakes are too pretty for words.
04/4/08 at 12:03 am
So pretty! Great link too!
04/4/08 at 1:01 am
Whimsical indeed. And incredibly cute. And it is loaded with dulce de leche - how can one ever go wrong with that?
04/4/08 at 1:32 am
Wouldn’t those be perfect for a baby shower! They look divine, I so wish I could reach through and taste one or 12!
04/4/08 at 2:30 am
OMG - these are adorable! Well done!
04/4/08 at 4:12 am
[…] It’s a project I’m looking forward to doing again, possibly working with black and white photos next time- thanks Mark, for the idea and the how-to! What would a birthday be without cake, preferably, cupcakes?Creampuffs in Venice tried some whimsical mini-cupcakes with very pretty floral icing… […]
04/4/08 at 6:33 am
I would have opted for describing those as African Violets rather than hydrangeas, but apart from that they look lovely
04/4/08 at 7:08 am
[…] Ivonne at Cream Puffs in Venice has gorgeous floral cupcakes, Marusya of Recipes For Trouble strolls the aisles of T&T Supermarket, and Candice of Mmm, […]
04/4/08 at 7:17 am
exquisite.
plus, just for the record–the dulce de leche and coconut combination has to be one of the best mishmashes of flavors of all time.
04/4/08 at 7:27 am
Oh wow! Those are stunning!
04/4/08 at 7:32 am
How precious!! I’m inspired……really, they turned out great!!
04/4/08 at 7:51 am
Ivonne, I have their other book, the one with whimsical cakes. It’s beautiful and I don’t know why I haven’t baked anything from it yet! :S
Thank you for pointing out their website, I’ll be checking it out later.
And these cupcakes are stunning - that dulce de leche is killing me!
04/4/08 at 7:53 am
The flowers are wonderful. This recipe sounds really good and pretty simple (I love dulce de leche too), so I`ll have to try it one afternoon when I feel that urge to bake.
04/4/08 at 8:11 am
Not only are those cupcakes absolutely gorgeous (I can’t imagine ever being able to make such a beautiful icing rose on top like that), but also a coconut dulce de leche cupcake?? Yum!! What a great combination of flavours.
04/4/08 at 9:25 am
Your flowers are gorgeous! Thank you for the link. I was going to ask how you got the white tips, but the video explains it very well. So many fantastic recipes and so little time!
04/4/08 at 9:37 am
Precious! What a charming post! Where do you get your cupcake papers?
04/4/08 at 9:39 am
These are so beautiful. You’re very inspiring!
04/4/08 at 9:39 am
Those are absolutely beautiful! I wish I had talent like that, I am quickly learning that my decorating skills aren’t up to par. Oh well.
04/4/08 at 11:03 am
Bellissima! Unbelievable. You should be proud of both your flowers. They are so pretty and they sound so delicious!
04/4/08 at 11:07 am
so adorable… you should enter these in Martha Stewart…Contest for the cutest cupcakes
http://www.marthastewart.com/contest-and-gallery?rsc=todaysidea_Homepage_Homepage_p3
04/4/08 at 11:59 am
Beautiful! How did you do the bi-color petals? Both white & pink/blue frosting in your bag?
Also, how did the dulce de leche at the bottom turn out?
04/4/08 at 12:11 pm
Those are too cute for words! Love them.
No Danny.
P.S. Go Flames….thank goodness they made it to the playoffs as it appears they are my only team in it this year.
04/4/08 at 2:31 pm
They are adorable!
04/4/08 at 2:42 pm
Look tasty, cute, and whimsical. Sounds like a fun book!
04/4/08 at 3:02 pm
These are beautiful and they sound delicious! I’ll definitely be trying the recipe - thanks for posting
04/4/08 at 3:12 pm
Absolutely pretty! Cute!
Cheers,
Rosa
04/4/08 at 3:41 pm
I brought myself up-to-date with your recipes as of late, Ivonne. I notice you have a liking for Dulce de Leche. Is this made from scratch or do you buy it ready-made?
You certainly have a gift for cooking! I admire your projects.
I recently found that I was insulin resistant and, therefore, have to cut way way back on sweets and pasta (my favorite things!). sob. But, once in a while, I’ll make way for a worthy teeny slice of dessert or a little bit of pasta. I’m a person that ate half a pound (at least!) of pasta at a meal. So sad! Enjoy eating your goodies!
04/4/08 at 6:18 pm
Lovely, lovely roses! I am so impressed since I have never tried to do anything like that and just don’t think I have it in me. So, it always impresses me to see others creations. Wow!
04/5/08 at 12:53 am
I am completely in awe of your icing skills - not be mention jealous! They look absolutely stunning
04/5/08 at 1:51 am
That is the perfect post for me to come back to! I have not had baking projects since I first landed on your page and that sucks. These lovelies are surely a good kick on my ass to get me started. Thank you for sharing and I am so checking out that website
04/5/08 at 5:30 am
Ivonne, I LOVE these! They are absolutely adorable, and it must have taken you forever to decorate these little beauties!
04/5/08 at 10:06 am
I want to crack up right about now as I just had an order for flower cupcakes and I don’t really like doing them but I loooove looking at them. You did a smacking gorgeous job on these! In my whimsical and magical world, you would be my neighbor!!
04/5/08 at 1:33 pm
Oh, these do look very sweet and springy. I would have been tempted to throw in a few drops of rose water to the icing for the roses to make them smell floral too, but that dulce de leche flavor is so good nothing should take away from that…
04/5/08 at 1:44 pm
These are wonderful! Where were you able to find the cupcake liners?
04/6/08 at 7:18 am
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! And I’m sure very delicious!
Paz
04/6/08 at 11:41 am
Hi. I really wanted to exchange links! My website is www.mychocolateheaven.blogspot.com I hope you like my site as much as I do yours! haha. I have already added your website to mine and I hope you can return the favor. If you do get a chance, please inform me at my website. Thanks!!!
04/6/08 at 6:55 pm
So very pretty! (and probably the only flowers I will see for awhile, seeing as we still have alot of snow!)
04/6/08 at 8:18 pm
Gorgeous! So wonderful and springy!
I love them!
04/7/08 at 6:26 am
This are simply beautiful. You did a great job on the decorating. I really like the two tone effect of the icing too.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
04/7/08 at 8:22 am
Gasp! Oh Ivonne, how lovely!!
04/7/08 at 11:35 am
Spring and whimsy are a perfect combination! I love your sweet tiny cuppies!
Cheers!
Gabi
04/7/08 at 6:49 pm
Ivonne, I am BLOWN AWAY, once again!!! gorgeous!!!
04/8/08 at 6:32 am
Congratulations! You won an award for being excellent. Check it out on my blog…
04/8/08 at 8:31 am
Those are just perfect. You are quite amazing with the decorating. The flowers couldn’t look any better.
04/8/08 at 12:28 pm
They look so beautiful -the roses are amazing - I can’t wait to try making them myself -I dont’ have a rose garden but these will come pretty close!
04/9/08 at 7:51 am
beautiful! where do you get those cupcake liners, i have been looking high and low. thanks!
04/9/08 at 11:58 am
oh my goodness. when i saw this post, i knew there would be a lot of “those are so adorable,” but let me chime in that those are SOOOO adorable! how did you get the blue and white frosting to come out two different colors?!?
04/9/08 at 1:16 pm
Those roses are ridiculously beautiful - I’m so in awe!!
04/9/08 at 2:18 pm
Wow - do you know how to decorate a cupcake or what?! I may need to invite you over to teach me! Those are gorgeous! They look like real flowers.
04/9/08 at 8:17 pm
The rose looks luvly and so does the hydrangea , I think I will have some problem to get dulce de leche here in Malaysia, but if I do, I will surely try out the recipe.
04/10/08 at 1:17 pm
The combination of dulce de leche and coconut sounds great Ivonne! I love your whimsical flowers.
04/11/08 at 2:38 am
I would love to learn to pipe buttercream like this I absolutely love them!
I’m buying the book!
04/11/08 at 7:17 pm
Oh Ivonne, how impressive and lovely! I took my 1st Wilton class on Wednesday and am quite excited to get going!
04/12/08 at 4:46 am
These cupcakes are just adorable, and they sure do look like spring.
04/12/08 at 4:56 pm
Those pink cupcakes are so beautiful! Nicely done.
04/14/08 at 9:28 am
The cupcakes sound wonderful. Beautiful decorating!
04/14/08 at 10:27 am
Once again … just stunning and adorable. keep up the amazing job!
04/14/08 at 1:19 pm
Thanks for the link of “how-tos” as I had no idea how you got the white-edges in your flowers, and now I do… once my piping skills improve I might need to try that!
Thanks for the inspiration!
04/14/08 at 8:33 pm
These are so cute,
Kinda romantic too!
04/15/08 at 4:42 am
Could they be any cuter?? I think not!! I think you did a lovely job on the hydrangea - as well as the rose.. teach me! pretty please?!
xoxo
04/15/08 at 10:26 am
These look amazing. I’m so jealous that you can make these I wish I had the skills to do something like that.
04/22/08 at 1:01 pm
[…] year, I decided to mix it up with some cupcakes, which are oh-so-trendy right now. I wanted to make mine sparsely beautiful, like Nigella’s fairy cakes. Per […]
05/8/08 at 8:38 am
Hi dear Ivonne! Do you remember me? I wrote you last year, when I cooked the lemon meringue tart that I saw on your old blog (wonderfullll!!!)! I’m always very happy to read about your beautiful recipes and these cupcakes are delicious (…besides I love dulce de leche…then they are perfect!:-D)
Un bacione
Ago
05/16/08 at 8:20 am
these cupcakes l00k absolutely beautiful!
i would eat em up in a second!
YUMMMMY ! :p