Mah hurrr

This is how I do my hair when I cook...because no one likes hairy cupcakes.  >.<

Tada!
(PS this isn't me...I got this off of www.imgfave.com...She sure looks like me though...enough to where my boyfriend actually thought she WAS me haha)

Values and Ventures

Hello everyone!

If y'all didn't know, I am a college student in Texas, and my university is having an entrepreneurship competition called "Values and Ventures". The idea is that we have to create a business and include in it some sort of values that we hold. We have to write up a professional 20 page business plan and give a presentation to judges this Friday afternoon.

And of course my business is none other than the Brown Sugar Brunette Baking Company, based on this blog that I began back in January. I think I'm the only "team" (I use that word lightly, because I'm working alone at this) that is not a business major or minor, and that definitely puts me at a disadvantage. But if I win I get $500 and will compete in the national competition. If I happened to win that I would get a $10,000 prize, which would propel my baking dreams into reality.

This week will be one of my most hectic yet, but it will all be worth it if I win. Not only because the money would REALLY help out, but because I can finally say that I went after my dreams and succeeded at doing something super awesome.

Just letting y'all know what's going on in my life right now. Little sleep, many cups of coffee, and of course, LOTS of baking! Look out, because the Brown Sugar Brunette Baking Co. will showcase 2 of our sample products for Friday's presentation on here. HINT: Purple WILL be involved! What more can you expect from a horned frog? ;)

If you'd like to help out (AND I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT), go over to Facebook, look up "Brown Sugar Brunette", and like our page. Then tell your friends to do the same. Then invite people to read/follow this blog. If you could do that for me I will love you forever. <3

Thanks and have a great week!

Anatomy of a cupcake

I found this adorable diagram online by Allen Hemberger called "The Anatomy of a Cupcake", and wanted to share it with y'all.



How do you feel about cupcakes? Do you like these bite-sized morsels or would you prefer a slice of regular cake instead?

I want it!

I've come to realize that even though I can just whisk/beat/cream things by hand, it's soooo much easier if you have a mixer. I just bought a cheap hand mixer for now, but what I really want is this:

Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer

Preferably in this boysenberry color. :)

This will probably be the first thing I buy from my profits (if I ever make any that is)...Is it bad that I'm tempted to use my extra financial aid money for this? If only I weren't so responsible with money...

*sigh* One day, artisan mixer. You will be mine.

Fantastic Finds Friday

FYI: This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I'm new to the whole scheduled post thing...So forgive me please! I'll get everything worked out eventually. ;)

It's Fantastic Finds Friday, and this week's theme is:

Pecans! (because apparently today is National Pecan Day)

From Top Left: Butter Pecan Icecream, Raspberry Pecan Pinwheels, Pecan Pie, Pecan Sticky Buns, Sweet Potato-Pecan Cupcakes, and Pecan Waffles (because apparently it's Waffle Day in Sweden as well?)

These muffins are B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I know, I know, it's been about a week since I baked last. But never fear, I've come back with a lovely banana bread/muffin recipe from my mom. And it goes a little somethin' like this:

Banana Bread

1/2 cup crisco or oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

4 tablespoons buttermilk

3-4 large bananas ripe

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

cream the oil and sugar together until light and fluffy. add the vanilla and mix well. mash the bananas and add to mixture. 

add the buttermilk and the eggs and beat until combined. 

mix the flour and the baking soda together and add to the sugar/banana mixture, just until combined. don't over mix now.

pour into loaf pan that has been greased and floured lightly. bake at 375 for about 55 minutes or until done in the center.

*cover with foil if it starts to get too brown, before the center is fully done.

Except I ate waaaaay too much over Spring Break and Summer is only 44 days away (at least for TCU students). And I'm on a major health kick. But I'm craving sweets. So I substituted the 1/2 cup of oil for applesauce and added 1 tablespoon of olive oil to get a good consistency. And I totally couldn't find any buttermilk so I just used whole milk. And I used 3 bananas, because that's how many I grabbed from the BLUU. Oh, instead of baking it in a loaf pan, I baked it in a muffin pan and it made 20 muffins. The baking time was about 16-18 minutes.

I even added chocolate chips to some of them!

And they turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. A yummy treat that I can eat without feeling TOO guilty...Plus they're great with tea or coffee! Perfect for those long nights of studying I'm having to put in this week and next.

Another Giveaway!

And this one is from Texas Prep...another great Preppy blog I follow!

She's celebrating 250 followers by giving away a monogrammed travel mug to someone

So hop on over to Texas Prep's adorable blog and check her out. Who knows, you may even win a free monogrammed travel mug. And who wouldn't want that? ;)

Giveaway over at College Prep!

Well, I'm in college. And I love preppy things. Ya know, pink and green, Lily Pulitzer, Sperry's, and the like. So of course I follow The College Prepster and her blog.

She's having a giveaway for an ADORABLE alternative to a plastic to-go cup from Marley Lilly, and I would be absolutely thrilled to win one. Because they can hold my iced coffee, come in purple, and are monogrammed! What more could a girl want? You could use it while going to the beach, to the pool, or even while driving around in your car.  It is definitely a Summer staple. <3

Fantastic Finds Friday

It's Friday again, and you know what that means...Fantastic Finds Friday!
If you missed the explanation last week, I'm taking every Friday and using it to showcase some of the yummiest treats I have found on the Internet in the last week. Each week will revolve around a different theme and this week's theme is:

Mini Cheesecakes - Tasty AND adorable! ^_^

From Top Left: Strawberry cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake, Oreo cheesecake, key lime cheesecake, brulee'd cheesecake, blackberry cheesecake

Fizzy

While looking for a box of Wheat Thins in my mom's pantry the other night, I stumbled on...many...boxes of cake mix. I grew up on cake mix cupcakes, but reading the list of ingredients on the side of the box freaks me out now (what ARE some of those anyway?). I promise I'm not a snob. I can't taste the chemicals like some people claim they can. I don't even eat cake much anyway so the boxed vs. scratch argument doesn't really apply to me. But I am a college student; therefore, I can't afford to be picky when making cake for someone. Literally. Everyone knows we have no money. But being the little experimenter I am, I have to add some and change some things to make a plain white cake mix my own. So I snagged a box of white cake mix and continued on (without the box of Wheat Thins)

I went on an epic internet search and ended up at this recipe from Bakerella. You should check her out, she's pretty legit. I really enjoy reading her blog. But on to the recipe, which is for her Simple Sprite Cake. But even then I wasn't fully satisfied (4 eggs?!). I heard somewhere that you can make cake with just a box of cake mix and a can of sprite, so I decided to compromise.

1 white cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 box instant vanilla pudding (3 oz. size)
8 oz. can of Sprite (the mini one)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
• Mix ingredients on low until combined and then increase speed to medium and mix for about 2 minutes.
• Pour batter into pans and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

I used this recipe above (the Bakerella one) but substituted 1 cup of plain apple sauce for the 3/4 cup of veg oil, and used 2 eggs instead of 4. I also made mini cupcakes instead of one cake, just because I really like cupcakes better (because if given a cake I tend to want to eat the entire thing). Because I made mini cupcakes the cooking time was cut down to 15 minutes.
*This recipe made about 5 dozen mini cupcakes, and if I hadn't filled the pans so full I could've gotten about 6 dozen*

I poked holes in the cupcakes and topped them with my own lemon zest glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbs (1/8 cup) milk (I used whole because that's what was in the house)
• zest of 1 small lemon
• 2 tbs lemon juice

Mix ingredients together and spoon over cupcakes after they cool.