The Nutty Monkey Gets Dressed Up

Hello Sweets,

So I know you've all been patiently waiting to have the final piece of the banana pecan cupcake puzzle, but I had to pick up some fun treats for myself.  I'm super excited to share my finds with y'all, however since it's so late I am just going to wait until tomorrow to unveil them.  I also wanted to show y'all my website but it's not quite ready yet, I will say that it's looking pretty dang good :)  I'm getting closer to it becoming live, which makes me very excited.

Today is the third and final post in the the "nutty monkey" series, and he is getting dressed up for a night on the town.  Lol okay not really but we need to get this sweet treat finished!  Since there are so many delicious flavors already involved in this I wanted to make sure they weren't overpowered with the icing.  The perfect icing that compliments any sweet treat is a cream cheese one, especially when it's a simple as vanilla.  This is a simple basic cream cheese icing, not complicated just good ;)

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

8oz cream cheese, softened

1/2C butter, softened

2tsp vanilla

4C powdered sugar

Directions:
1)  Beat butter and cream cheese together in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy.

 

2)  Mix in icing sugar and vanilla until smooth.

 

To assemble the "nutty monkey";
Pipe the icing from the outside inward and top with the candied pecan, your guests will surely ask for more.

 

The perfect blend of sweetness in the cake and icing, topped with the salty sweet pecan.  These were a huge hit with both adults and children, you won't be able to keep them around long so make sure you set one aside for yourself ;)

I took these and the pumpkin spice cupcakes to my mother's party, part for a going away and part for a birthday.  Everyone complimented me on the flavors and quality, which is exactly why I am putting myself out there and taking a chance with my little business :)

 

I know my logo is not of the best quality right now, but I emailed my artist Dave and he sent me a higher resolution image that looks fantastic printed out.  Now to find a good place to order stickers or maybe even purchase sticker paper and do it myself, lol great more decisions.

Now I am going back to my website because it is soooo close to being done I can't take it, lol seriously Nathan keeps telling me that taking my time is okay but I just want it out there so bad!!  Until next time.....


 Stay sweet,




Jennifer xoxoxoxo

That Nutty Monkey

Hello Sweets,

Sorry for the post being so late today, but I could not sleep last night which threw my whole day off :(  My roommate encouraged me to eat an apple to help with my stomach pains, did you know that apples help with stomach issues? I didn't.  Low and behold my stomach pains got less and less, and now I am feeling well enough to write a post!  I even had to cancel a get together with a fellow baking enthusiast which really broke my heart, thankfully she is very understanding to the saga that is my health.

Yesterday I wrote about the candied pecans that were adorned atop Dan's birthday cupcakes, today we are going to get straight to the cake!  When planning what type of cupcakes to make I asked my mother what are some of Dan's favorite flavors in a dessert.  He is very similar to my nephew because he loves banana type desserts, I had made a banana cupcake before but wanted a more moist cupcake than previously produced.  I found a recipe that had a good amount of bananas in the ingredients so I knew it wouldn't be dry at all, and of course it also included another delightful ingredient, pecans!  Tomorrow's post will include the icing so you can recreate this delicious treat yourself, but for now we'll focus on the foundation of any cupcake ;)

Pecan Banana Cupcakes

Ingredients

1/2C butter, softened

8oz cream cheese, softened

1C brown sugar

1C sugar

2 eggs

1/2C oil

1/3C applesauce

2C flour

2tsp baking soda

2tsp baking powder

1Tbs cinnamon

1/2tsp salt

3C bananas, mashed (approx. 6)

1tsp vanilla

1C pecans, chopped

 

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line muffin tins and set aside.  In a large bow, beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy.

 

2)  Slowly beat in sugars until light and fluffy.

 

3)  Add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.

 

4)  Stir in oil and applesauce; mix well.

 

5)  Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until just combined.  Stir in bananas and vanilla.

 

6)  Fold in pecans.  Fill cups 2/3 full, baking for 28-33 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

 

7)  Allot to cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack.  Allow to completely cool before icing.

These cupcakes are very moist and full of flavor, there wasn't a single bad thing said about these bad boys.  They may look like muffins, but they are sweet like a cake.  I personally like unusual cupcakes, so naturally these are a permanent fixture in my recipe book.  Here's a sneak peak of what was taken to the party;

 

Hahaha, you though I was going to show you a snippet of the finished cupcakes didn't you?  Y'all should know better than that!   Trust me when I say these are worth the wait, and it's less than 24 hours before you can create a frosting that is perfect for this cupcake :)

I know yesterday I said I was hoping to have my website up and running today, but I'm a perfectionist so it's still in the works lol.  It's close to being done, I just want everything to look well and for it to be easy to navigate.  Maybe by tomorrow night I will be able to share it with everyone, but I promise it will be worth the wait :)  Until next time......

Stay sweet,

Jennifer xoxoxo