almond joy

this post is about almond joy. nope, not the candy. just almond and the joy it brings in baked goods.

almonds and nuts in general are pretty tricky to bake with. you have allergies to avoid and very particular flavors to work with.

in fact, some people highly dislike walnuts, almonds and other nuts in their baked goods. i highly dislike nuts in my ice cream. but, hey, that’s just me.

when it comes to desserts, walnuts and hazelnuts are my favorite. almond not so much. well, i shouldn’t say that. i love almonds in my desserts. just not the fake type.

you know that almond extract stuff they sell everywhere? no, thanks! it tastes like i’m eating plastic almonds… you get the idea.

i decided to challenge that fake almond flavor by experimenting on my own. and boom! it worked. and without the extract :)

almond cake is now one my favorites besides red velvet, of course!

this almond cake is not only moist but so flavorful, hearty and it tastes like an actual almond. it’s almond in a cake ;) this is a perfect flavor for a wedding, first communion or just a party. and now with the holidays upon us, it’s a perfect festive flavor that gives you a break from the typical pumpkin or gingerbread.

since the cake is sweet and salty, i paired it with white chocolate buttercream and salted caramel drizzle.

here are some photos to show you the final product. what about you? are you a baked good nuts type of person? wait, that didn’t come out right. haha. the word nuts is just funny ;)

{p.s. i will make almond joy cupcakes soon, because it just sounds amazing}

almond cupcakes by the baking cup

almond cupcakes by the baking cup

almond cupcakes by the baking cup

almond cupcakes by the baking cup

almond cupcakes by the baking cup

almond cupcakes by the baking cup

almond cupcakes by the baking cup

almond cupcakes by the baking cup

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thankful + cupcakes

happy thanksgiving!

even though it was last week, seems like it’s thanksgiving everyday at my house. why you ask? well, i’ve been eating leftovers since last thursday! i’m actually thanksgiving-out, haha.

seriously, how much food can one eat at a given seating? whew. i always say i won’t over do it but, there i am, laying on the couch, about to die of the calorie intake i just had mistakenly consumed.

it was incredibly nice in fargo. so nice, that after laying on the couch, i decided to go for a 40 min walk around my neighborhood. afterwards, i watched stupid, crazy love with steve carrell and julianne moore. which i highly recommend :)

speaking of nice weather, here are some cupcakes i made not too long ago. flavors include: s’mores, nutella filled coconut, confetti, cookies n cream, chocolate peanut butter and strawberry. they are all amazing flavors. i can’t decide which is my favorite.

what’s your favorite flavor that you enjoy year-round? leave me a comment so next time i can post about it. you’ll never know ;)

s'mores cupcakes by the baking cup

s'mores cupcakes by the baking cup

s'mores cupcakes by the baking cup

coconut nutella cupcakes by the baking cup

coconut nutella cupcakes by the baking cup

coconut nutella cupcakes by the baking cup

coconut nutella cupcakes by the baking cup

coconut nutella cupcakes by the baking cup

coconut nutella cupcakes by the baking cup

confetti cupcakes by the baking cup

confetti cupcakes by the baking cup

confetti cupcakes by the baking cup

confetti cupcakes by the baking cup

confetti cupcakes by the baking cup

confetti cupcakes by the baking cup

chocolate peanut butter cupcakes by the baking cup

chocolate peanut butter cupcakes by the baking cup

chocolate peanut butter cupcakes by the baking cup

cookies n cream cupcakes by the baking cup

cookies n cream cupcakes by the baking cup

cookies n cream cupcakes by the baking cup

cookies n cream cupcakes by the baking cup

strawberry cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender cupcakes

this is a really unique post. not that all the posts on here are unique in their own way, but you’ll see why this one in particular, is very unique!

i get an email from amanda on a friday afternoon. you know, it’s the typical answering-emails-and-reading-wedding-blogs-afternoon.  i’m hooked on the computer doing some baking research as well. nothing major. but, then. there was amanda’s email with her a.m.a.z.i.n.g. request! so much that my afternoon went from typical to extraordinaire to fabulous.

when i call amanda back to talk about the details, i tell her that i think i’m more excited for her than herself {which is impossible but just to give her an idea how much it meant to me}.

are you ready to know more about this? :)

well, her request was to bake for her and matt {her husband} for a baby gender revealing party. yes, you read right. a baby gender revealing party they were throwing for her family and friends. how special and unique is that?!

we talked about flavors and how she wanted the cupcakes decorated. the party was “bee themed” … what’s it going to be, a girl or a boy?

the plan was for all the guests bite the cupcakes at the same time and find out if it was going to be a girl or a boy by the pink or blue filling.

a few days later, amanda and matt dropped off their ultrasound results. again. my heart was full with happiness and i go ahead and tell amanda that i don’t know if i’m going to be able to keep the secret. you have to realize i’m the only one who knows about this. the only one in the entire state of north dakota. no pressure or anything, right? haha.

well, let me tell you the pressure didn’t end there. i thought i could open the envelope with the ultrasound results. but i couldn’t. i just couldn’t open it because of the excitement. after several deep breaths, finally had the courage to open it. wow, what a relief! and now i wanted to tell the world. haha!

when i delivered the cupcakes, the guests were joking and asking if i filled the cupcakes with orange or green frosting to throw them off. haha.

the party was decorated beautifully! i loved every part of it. matt and amanda, wish you all the best with the new baby :)

remember how amazing was this idea? well. so much that amanda and matt were featured on the forum {fargo newspaper}. click here to read the story and my interview by the talented sherri richards. a big thank you goes to sherri :)

leave a comment below saying what you think ! i’d love to hear from you.

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

ultrasound results :)

baby gender revealing party cupcakes by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party by the baking cup

baby gender revealing party by the baking cup

amanda, matt and mckenna {photo courtesy of the forum}

it’s a girl!

it's a girl cupcake by the baking cup {photo courtesy of the forum}

wedding!

i’ve been looking forward to this post for a loooong time. if you like weddings, then you are going to love this :)

my dear friend amanda doesn’t like cake. and let me just say that this is more common than you think. i often stumble upon people making requests for pies, cookies, brownies or cheesecake. but not cake. strange, isn’t it?

i was not only honored but stoked when amanda asked me to bake for her wedding! she is so much fun and super laid back. love her.

she wanted mini cheesecakes {only} at first but changed her mind and asked me to bake additional chocolate peanut butter cupcakes & lemon cream cheese cupcakes. she has great taste because i looove the flavors and sweets she picked out. don’t you agree?

we had several meetings {more like dinner parties} and talked about color scheme, frosting shapes, flavors and all things wedding.

throughout the process amanda was super easy going and amazing to work with! ty. her now husband. was sooo nice also. oh, and he eats and loves cake.

what an awesome bride & groom. they are beautiful inside out! so happy to call them my friends ;)

the wedding was amazing filled with pretty details. it was held in lake country minnesota where pretty scenery is always present. add that to a beautiful couple and you get awesomeness!  i wish ty and amanda all the love in the world for their marriage.

xoxo!

cream cheese lemon cupcakes

cream cheese lemon cupcakes

cream cheese lemon cupcakes

cream cheese lemon cupcakes

cream cheese lemon cupcakes

cream cheese lemon cupcakes

cream cheese lemon cupcakes

cream cheese lemon cupcakes

mini cheesecakes

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup

wedding by the baking cup