Honey Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting & a Giveaway!

Today is an exciting day for several reasons...

1.It's the first day of Summer...YEAH!
2.I've got a new cupcake recipe to share with you! YUM!
3.It's my debut over on Half Baked as a new blog contributor...WOW!

and...

4.I've got a GIVEAWAY for one lucky CIS reader!

So here we go,

First off, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Carrie at Half Baked for asking me to be a monthly contributor on her blog to share new cupcake recipes with all her readers! The day I received her email I was both shocked and excited! Shocked, that out of all the bloggers out there, especially cupcake bloggers, that she chose me to contribute to her blog. WOW, what an honor! And excited because Half Baked is truly one of my all time favorite cake blogs! It was one of the first blogs I ever started following and one that I am always eager to check out each day to see what new cakes Carrie will feature. She truly has an eye for all the new cake trends and showcases some of the most gorgeous cakes I have ever seen! So thank you Carrie for this opportunity, I am truly grateful!

So to kick off summer I came up with some Honey Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese frosting, which were inspired after sampling some local honey from our farmer's market!

To read all about the cupcakes, find out some of my favorite cupcake tools and to check out the recipe head on over to Half Baked.

And to celebrate the first day of Summer, my love of cupcakes and also the debut of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. over on Half Baked I am going to give one lucky CIS reader 3 of my favorite cupcake must-haves!

Giveaway includes:
-Martha Stewart's cupcake book
-an Ice Cream Scoop (I know we aren't making ice cream here...but trust me it is perfect for making uniform cupcakes)
-some assorted cupcake liners

Here's how to win:

Main Entry: Tell me your favorite summer time activity or where you are going for summer vacation!
Want extra entries?
1.Become a follower of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy.
2.Become a fan of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. on Facebook.
3.Become a fan of Half Baked on Facebook.

Details:
-This giveaway is open to US residents only, and will end on Friday, July 1st at 11:59pm CST
-Winner will be chosen via random.org and will be contacted via email
-Winner will have until Tues, July 5th to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen

Here's to a great summer!

And the winner is...

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! I had so much fun watching all your guesses come in for the Valentine's Giveaway. I'm so excited to finally reveal the # of hearts in the jar and the winner of the giveaway....drum roll please....

the # of hearts in the jar was 536

and the winner is....

"krissyjosephine who guessed 532"

Congratulations, and awesome guess, you were so close! And lucky for you I got around to making some Valentine's cookies this weekend too so your giveaway package will also include an assortment of decorative cookies pictured above! Please send me your address at crave4cake@gmail.com so I can get your prize in the mail this week so you will have something sweet to unwrap for Valentine's Day!

Check back tomorrow for some fun packaging ideas for Valentine's Cookies!

Valentine's Giveaway!

Since Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I LOVE all my readers, it's time for a GIVEAWAY! Nothing says "will you be my Valentine" more than these nostalgic conversation hearts. So it's time to have a little fun, you ready?

Here's the deal. All you have to do is guess how many Conversation Hearts are in this jar by leaving it in the comments section below! The person who guesses closest to the actual # is the winner!

Wanna know what you are playing for?

A lovely prize package full of all sorts of Valentine's goodies put together by yours truly! I just couldn't help myself, all of these adorable pink & red items were calling my name and I knew you would love them too!

Valentine's Giveaway Package Includes:
-pink polka dot oven mitt & heart shape cookie cutter
-package of red & pink patterned cupcake liners
-4 Valentine gift tags
-4 Valentine plastic favor bags
-a LOVE cupcake box
-pink & red magnetic notepad
-a cupcake Valentine's card
-the jar of conversation hearts
**if I can get my act together...a dozen Valentine's sugar cookies**

Giveaway is open until Monday, February 7th at 12:00PM!
The person closest to the number in the jar wins!
Only 1 guess per person.
Contest open to US Residents only.

I will post the correct # of hearts in the jar and the winner sometime on Tuesday February 8th!

Ready, set, start counting up those hearts!

In other exciting news I have created a Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. Facebook page! I'd love for you to come check it out!

Thanksgiving Giveaway - $55 CSN Stores

And the Winner is....

Comment #10 Stephanie C - this is a tough call--if chosen I might purchase some traveling accessories as my youngest daughter is traveling to France at the end of this school year with her French class (we have been fundraising and fundraising). I am a follower and enjoy this blog---How exciting to be on Amy Atlas's site, too !! Congrats!!!!

Congratulations Stephanie! Please email me at crave4cake@gmail.com
You have until Sunday Dec 12th to claim your prize, if you don't contact me by then another winner will be picked.

Happy Thanksgiving! What a wonderful time of year to count our blessing and remember all the things that we are truly thankful for like friends and family. And of course I am so grateful to have all of you as my loyal blog readers who come back week after week to check out what I've been baking in my kitchen! So as a THANK YOU for your support it's time for another GIVEAWAY! The great people at CSN Stores are offering one of my readers a $55 gift certificate!

CSN stores have a ton of items such as coffee tables, kitchen tables, lighting, bakeware items and much much more. They have 200 + stores where you will be sure to find something to spruce up your house! So hurry on over to their sites and see for yourself. I know this gift card will come in handy as you start your Christmas shopping this year!

GIVEAWAY: Entering for this is simple! One, you have to be a follower of this blog. Once you're a follower, leave a comment below telling me what you would buy with your gift card! You're officially entered to win!

You have until Sunday, December 5th , 11:00PM (CST) to enter the contest.
Any entries received after this time will not be considered.
One lucky winner will be chosen and posted sometime on Monday, December 6th.
Winner will be chosen using random.org

Good luck & happy shopping!

Time for a GIVEAWAY - $55 CSN Stores

And the Winner is....
Commenter #2 Lisa - "I would definitely buy a food processor. I've been wanting one forever."

Congratulations Lisa, I will be sending you an email with your prize!

Have I got a midweek surprise for you! It's time for another GIVEAWAY! The great people at CSN Stores are offering one of my readers a $55 gift certificate!

CSN stores have a ton of items such as bed sets, kitchen tables, lighting, bakeware items and much much more. They have 200 + stores where you will be sure to find something to spruce up your house! So hurry on over to their sites and see for yourself.

GIVEAWAY: Entering for this is simple! One, you have to be a follower of this blog. Once you're a follower, leave a comment below telling me what you would buy with your gift card! You're officially entered to win!

You have until Sunday, October 3rd, 11:00PM (CST) to enter the contest.
Any entries received after this time will not be considered.
One lucky winner will be chosen and posted sometime on Monday, October 4th.
Winner will be chosen using random.org

Good luck & happy shopping!

CSN Store $60 GIVEAWAY

UPDATE:
And the winner of the $60 CSN Store Gift Certificate is...
Comment #24 - The Stokley Family: "I would have to go with some new bowls...I never seem to have enough serving type bowls!!"

Congratulations Stokley Family!

Please email me at crave4cake@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Hello blog readers! Have I got a surprise for you! The great people at CSN Stores have offered to giveaway a $60 gift certificate to one of my lucky readers!

CSN has 200 + stores with a variety of items such as kitchen tables (where I assemble, decorate and photograph all of my baking creations) to dining sets, bistro tables, bar stools and much more.

Some of their other great online stores are:

http://www.cookware.com/ (featuring great name brands of pots & pans, bakeware and all sorts of kitchen essentials)

http://www.luxebycsn.com/ (featuring the latest fashion trends in shoes & handbags, you are sure to find something great for the fall season!)

http://www.allmodern.com/ (featuring trendy furniture and decorations for every room of your house, the baby stuff is absolutely adorable)

I could honestly spend hours looking around at all their great online stores making a wish list for things I would love to have around my house!

So for a chance to win this amazing Giveaway here's what you need to do:

1.Become a follower of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy if you aren't already, or leave me a comment letting me know you are a follower
2.Go to one of CSN's online stores and shop around for something you want
3.Come back over to Crave. Indulge. Satisfy and leave a comment telling me what you would buy with your $60 gift certificate

You have until Sunday, September 5th 12:00PM (CST) to enter the contest.
Any entries received after this time will not be considered.
One lucky winner will be chosen and posted sometime on Monday, September 6th.
Winner will be chosen using random.org

Good luck & happy shopping!

1 Year Blogaversary & A Giveaway!

UPDATE: And the winner of the cupcake goodies...

Comment #7 - Mollie

Mollie said: Happy Blogaversary! I know it's generic, but I LOVE chocolate cake!

Congratulations Mollie!

Please email me at crave4cake@gmail.com to claim your prize!

Wow how the time has flown by since a year ago when I first started this blog to track my baking & decorating adventures. I really had no clue what a blog even was until I stumbled on to Bakerella's site and my eyes were opened to a whole new world of baking, decorating & photographing. Not long after finding Bakerella I discovered the amazing dessert tables of Amy Atlas, talk about some remarkable sugar displays! These two ladies have absolutely changed my world and inspired me to follow my true passion for creativity, baking and bringing happiness to others through my sweet confections!

So on the 1st anniversary of my blog I'm excited to share with you a fabulous new cake recipe and my very 1st GIVEAWAY! This is my way to say THANK YOU to all of my amazing readers that follow my blog regularly or even those of you that are new to this site. I hope you enjoy the recipes, photos and ideas that I have been sharing with you over this last year and I hope you continue to stick around for many more to come!

So let's eat some cake to celebrate!

I have created a cake like I have never seen before and it enormous and delicious! A few months ago I made some Neapolitan Cupcakes so I decided to take this cupcake idea a little bit further and create a 3-layer strawberry, vanilla and chocolate cake! We are talking about 3 cake & 3 icing flavors all layered together into one cake. Do you think you can handle this? So for those of you that often crave something both chocolate and vanilla or something with a hint of fruit...this cake is the ultimate solution because you can have all those flavors in one bite!

This recipe is definitely a little labor intensive since you are making 3 different cake and 3 different icing flavors, but one bite and you will realize it is definitely worth every second of the prep and extra dirty dishes to make this delicious 3-striped cake!

Neapolitan Cake

Makes one 8" 3-layer cake

Strawberry Cake Layer
-2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup sugar
-1/4 cup milk
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 egg
-2 egg whites
-1/2 cup strawberry puree
-pink food coloring

• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl, set aside.
• Using electric mixer beat butter and sugar until creamy.
  
• Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
• Mix in strawberry puree.
• Add flour mixture and milk alternating, starting and ending with flour.
• Beat in vanilla.
• Add a few drops of food coloring and mix to give it a deeper pink color.
• Bake at 350 degrees in 8" cake pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray for 30 minutes or until cake tests done.

Vanilla Bean Cake Layer
-1 1/2 cups cake flour
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp salt
-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup milk
-2 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
-1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl, set aside.
• Using electric mixer beat butter and sugar until creamy.
  
• Add flour mixture and milk alternating, starting and ending with flour.
• Beat in vanilla bean paste.
• Beat egg whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
  
• Bake at 350 degrees in 8" cake pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray for 25 minutes or until cake tests done.

One Bowl Chocolate Cake Layer (adapted from Martha Stewart)
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-3/4 cup cocoa powder
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-3/4 teaspoon baking powder
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-2 eggs
-3/4 cup milk
-3/4 cup warm water
-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-1 teaspoon vanilla

• Sift flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in bowl of electric mixer.
  
• Add eggs, warm water, milk, oil and vanilla and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes.
  
• Bake at 350 degrees in 8" cake pan lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray for 25 minutes or until cake tests done.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing (makes enough to frost 1 layer of cake)
-4 oz cream cheese, softened
-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
-2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
-2 tablespoons strawberry puree
-pink food coloring

• Mix cream cheese and butter with electric mixer until creamy.
• Gradually add confectioners' sugar and mix well.
• Mix in strawberry puree.
• Add a few drops of food coloring for desired pink color.

Chocolate Buttercream (makes enough to frost 1 layer of cake)
-1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
-2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
-1/4 cup cocoa powder
-2 tablespoons milk
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• Beat butter with electric mixer until creamy.
• Gradually add confectioners' sugar and mix well.
• Add milk and vanilla and mix.
• Add cocoa powder and mix until well combined.

Vanilla Buttercream (makes enough to frost entire outside of 3 layer cake)
-2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
-7 cups confectioners' sugar
-1/4 - 1/2 cup milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla

• Beat butter with electric mixer until creamy.
• Gradually add confectioners' sugar and mix well.
• Add enough milk and mix until desired consistency.
• Mix in vanilla.

Whew! I know that was a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps but you are going to be in cake heaven once you eat a slice of this, I promise!

Here's how to assemble the Neapolitan Cake layer by layer from the bottom to the top:

Chocolate Cake
Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing
Vanilla Bean Cake
Chocolate Buttercream
Strawberry Cake
Vanilla Buttercream (outer layer of frosting)

So who's ready for the giveaway? As you all know by now I am a huge CUPCAKE lover so what better way to celebrate than with a cupcake themed giveaway featuring some of my favorite products.

Giveaway Includes:

-What's New Cupcake book
-75 cupcake liners (red, yellow, blue)
-1 jar of Rainbow Nonpareil Sprinkles (my favorites!)
-#21 Wilton Star Tip
-#2D Wilton Flower/Shell Tip
-#10 Wilton Round Tip
-#233 Wilton Multi-Opening Tip

To participate in this giveaway join my blog as a Follower if you haven't already and leave me a comment letting me know what your favorite cake flavor is!

Winner will be chosen on Sunday, August 15th at 11:00PM (CST).
Any entries received after this time will not be considered.
Open to US residents only.
Make sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you are the winner.
Winner will be chosen using random.org.

Good Luck and happy cake baking!