WESitval and the Coca-Cola Float Cupcakes

April 7, 2013Carroll 4 Comments

Last week was my husband Sir Wes’ birthday or Birfday as he calls it. It also happened to be my niece and nephews spring break, who were more than happy to come all the way from South Carolina to celebrate WEStival with us. What kid wouldn’t want to go to a birthday party at Walt Disney World. Forget the bowling alley/Putt Putt/Chucky Cheese parties, WEStival was where it was at.

Sir Wes had only made two requests for his birthday, first was to spend time with the family and the other was that he wanted Coca-Cola Cake for his birthday dessert; a child hood favorite of his. Both of these requests were easy and fun to fulfill.

We spent the few days hopping between the parks and the pools, kids and adults having a blast. A little of this-

And a little of that-

Coca-Cola Float Cupcakes- recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson’s How To Be A Domestic Goddess

Coca-Cola Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola Glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioner sugar
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. cocoa
3 Tbsp. Coca-Cola
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Marshmallow Buttercream:

7 Tbsp. unsalted butter
¾ cup confectioner sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp. milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup mini marshmallows

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk and vanilla. In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter, cocoa, marshmallows and Coca-Cola, heating it gently. Pour the warm butter mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring well, and then add the liquid ingredients mixing until the batter is well blended.

Pour into a muffin tin that has been greased or lined with papers filling each well ¾ quarters and bake for 20-25 minutes until a tester comes out clean.

For the glaze:

Sift the confectioner sugar into a bowl and set aside. In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the butter, Coca-Cola and cocoa and stir over a low heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla, and spoon in the sieved icing sugar, whisking well, until you’ve got a smooth, spreadable, but still runny, icing.

Either dip the cupcake tops into the pot of glaze, or carefully pour a tablespoon of glaze over the cupcakes while they are still warm, and leave to cool

For the marshmallow buttercream:

Mix together the softened butter, confectioner sugar, vanilla and milk until the buttercream frosting is a smooth consistency.

Gently melt the marshmallows in a glass bowl in the microwave for 45 seconds on 50% power until they have slightly melted and started to rise up. Add the melted marshmallows to the buttercream frosting, and whip until completely combined; the frosting should be thick and light. Spoon the frosting into a piping bag with your favorite style tip and pipe over the cooled, glazed cupcakes. Garnish with cherries, sprinkles, nuts or your favorite float topping.

The Coca-Cola Cupcakes came out extrmely moist, and very suitable for travel. Even a few days later the treats are still delectable.

Needless to say, we had a great spring break, and a fabulous WEStival! Hopefully Sir Sully and Lady Corree are not going to be disappointed in the next birthday party they attend.

Krispy Kreme Donut Hole Cake

April 2, 2012Carroll 5 Comments

While on a trip to Sir Wes’ hometown, Fairhope, Alabama this summer an event shock the small community- a long time landmark closed its doors, the Midtown Mobile Krispy Kreme was no longer taking orders. I never could have imagined how much of our conversations would have been consumed by this over our stay. It was at this point that I really understood my husband’s love of Krispy Kreme.

This is a clip from the Press Register:

“The Midtown Krispy Kreme, which opened in 1972, closed permanently at 11 a.m. Tuesday, halting conveyer belts that company officials boasted once made 1,000 dozen doughnuts an hour.

By noon Wednesday, workers had taken down the sign out front and boarded up the windows.

Though the last doughnut had been fried and glazed more than 24 hours earlier, a sweet smell still lingered there by early afternoon. A glassed-in shelf marked “original glazed,” “chocolate iced custard filled,” “powdered blueberry filled” and other flavors was bare.

Employees didn’t know the restaurant was closing until that morning. Six of them were transferred to the company’s west Mobile location, while the remaining 11 were given a one-week’s severance check.

The Government Street store once made enough doughnuts to fill two tractor trailer trucks and a dozen delivery vans daily, but was down to filling just one van. The company, which once thrived on delivering doughnuts from Hattiesburg to Gulf Shores, is turning its focus to in-store, retail sales.

“I would rather make them hot and give them to you fresh than give them to you in a box when they’re two days old,” McAleer said. “That’s what we do best.”

So when Sir Wes requested a Donut Cake, I knew I could not wiggle out of it….

I wasn’t sure how to keep it together, but then thought about trying marshmallow, like you would when making rice krispie treats.

Sir Wes' Birthday Cake

4 tablespoons butter
7 ounces mini marshmallows
40 glazed donut holes
1 ½ cup chocolate buttercream
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter
½ cup heavy cream

Melt the butter and add in the marshmallows stirring until smooth. In a large mixing bowl place the donut holes and pour the marshmallow over, tossing gently. Immediately put into two plastic lined 8 inch cake pans. Allow to set for about 20 minutes.

Flip the first layer onto a plate and gently remove the plastic wrap. Spread ¾ cup of the chocolate buttercream over the donuts. Flip second layer on top of the buttercream layer. Use remaining ¾ cup of buttercream to spread over top.

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler, when smooth and melted, add in heavy cream and stir well. The glaze can be poured over the cake. Allow an hour to set.