Gorgeous Cakes

Recently a great friend celebrated his birthday. To surprise him, I decided to turn his favorite cocktail into a cupcake! A must for any party, these gin and tonic cupcakes are stunning and surprisingly easy to make. Be careful when baking; the cake should be light and airy rather than hard and overcooked. The creamy frosting has a mild gin flavor, but feel free to add more or less booze to suit your tastebuds. My local market did not have citrus jellies, so I used sugar-coated lime slices as garnish. Homemade candied lime peel is another excellent option for garnish. To celebrate with your own gin and tonic cupcakes, read more

While looking through Gorgeous Cakes over the weekend, I found the perfect Fall cake recipe that included one of my favorite root vegetables, beets. I love roasted beets in a salads, so why not experiment with them in baking?The uncooked batter has a stunning magenta color that's unfortunately lost once baked. However, it turns to a lovely, golden-colored cake with delicious red speckles throughout.

The combination of beets and roasted hazelnuts results in a hearty cake with a delightfully light and airy texture. For extra zip, I added ruby red grapefruit zest to the luscious cream cheese frosting. To see the spectacular color of the batter and start baking your own cupcakes with this vegetable, read more