I was very excited when I was contacted to do cupcakes for the JSinSA 2012 Conference!!

They ordered chocolate cupcakes with chocolate butter icing and vanilla cupcakes with white vanilla butter icing for the conference delegates, topped with the HTML5 and CSS3 logos in edible print!

They also asked if I would make two six-packs of uber decadent cupcakes to give away as lucky draw prizes, so I made two different cupcakes and packaged them in two batches of six. I filled the sixpacks with Oreo cupcakes and my own Strawberry Heaven cupcakes! I would love to know who got them and what they thought of their prizes!

S’mores are a favourite treat for American families, especially when they’re out camping or sitting around a warm fireplace, and I just LOVE the combination of chocolate and marshmallow.

The trick with these particular cupcakes was baking them using Graham crackers to get their distinctive taste, without making them heavy and dry. It took a LOT of mixing and folding to make sure the batter stayed light and full of air!

Here they are as they came out of the oven- and as always I get a little tingle of satisfaction when a scratch recipe turns out with such perfection, especially if its the first time I bake it!

Once they were cooled they were filled with my own version of “marshmallow fluff” as I was battling to find it on the shop shelves, and then topped with a sticky, rich chocolate ganache. Then immediately before serving I piped a marshmallowy icing on top which was then toasted in the oven to evoke the “fireside” taste of S’mores!!

And here they are, nicely posed with chocolate and Graham crackers!

These are quite a mouthful let me tell you! And I have already added them to my price list!

This beta test was tasted by Anneke for me, and to use her words “Kiss of cinnamon, that’s all I can say!” This cupcake is a tribute to my favourite cookie, the Snickerdoodle!

Here they are as they looked when they came out of the oven, and I always get a special sense of achievement when a scratch recipe comes out of the oven perfectly:

The cupcake and the butter icing has cinnamon spice mixed into it and it is beautifully balanced- its not too sweet and the cinnamon is not overpowering. Its the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee!

Beagle Momma turned thirty on April 27^th and threw a “Champagne and Cupcakes” party at her house to celebrate!

Her cupcake assortment included Earl Grey, Margarita, Strawberry Cheesecake and vanilla cupcakes!

strawberry cheesecake cupcakes with cream cheese icing

vanilla cupcakes with white vanilla butter icing

Margarita cupcakes

Earl Grey cupcakes

The Earl Grey cupcakes are infused with Earl Grey tea leaves, topped with a lemony Earl Grey butter icing. I decorated them with a piped dark chocolate “30″.

The Margarita cupcakes are baked with lime juice and tequila, topped with a bright green lime and tequila butter icing, decorated with a half-slice of lime and a sprinkle of sea salt.

The vanilla cupcakes are topped with a fluffy white vanilla butter icing and decorated with a piped dark chocolate “30″.

The strawberry cheesecake cupcakes have a whole strawberry and a sweetened cream cheese secret centre and are topped with cream cheese icing. These were also decorated with a piped dark chocolate “30″.

The glittery sugarpaste “A” is also edible!