If you like Pina Coladas...

I know I have had a very long hiatus from posting.  No, I'm not trying to run my life like that of a TV character and disappear from May through August.  I apologize.  But I will make up for it with a few good posts in the next few days.  Let's start with my Pina Colada cupcakes...

I first made these cupcakes in the beginning of June and they seemed to be a pretty big success.  And since I have an order for them next week, I think it's about time to show them off here on my SST blog.  These cupcakes were another flavor inspired by my cruise in May.  They are the best of a Pina Colada with no age restriction and no shame in having them before 5 PM.  


The cake for these is a fluffy coconut pineapple cake.  It has real pineapple juice in it, with coconut flavoring and juicy pineapple bites.  On top of that is a pineapple coconut cream cheese frosting, and topping that is flaked coconut.  And to mimic the real deal, each little cake sports its own brightly colored paper umbrella.  I think they make for a pretty fun summertime (or anytime really!) treat.

Cupcake Fiesta

Since my new husband and I went on a wonderful cruise to the Caribbean I felt like I had to do a cupcake or two inspired by our tropical vacation.  Before getting back on our ship in Cozumel, I bought the cutest bottle of Mexican vanilla in the world- it has its own little knit poncho.  So I decided to try out a Mexican Chocolate cupcake.  It's a little spicy, a little sweet, and very indulgent.

Here she is on her own little pedestal, my Mexican Chocolate senorita.  The cake is made with a lot of my new vanilla from Cozumel, and it's spiced with cinnamon and just a dash of red pepper to give it some south of the border heat.  But in my opinion the best part of this one is the frosting.  It's a variation on my beloved chocolate buttercream.  But I upped the vanilla (again, from my adorable poncho bottle) and I added just enough cinnamon to make it, well, addicting.  I think everyone who tried these kept swiping more frosting to lick away.  It's creamy and rich, and just a tad spicy.  And, although it didn't show up that well in the photos, I topped them with a sprinkling of edible glitter to give them a coppery shimmer, making them ready for the fiesta.  Viva cupcakes!

L'eggo My Cupcakes!

I'm glad to be posting something again after such a long hiatus.  I do have some valid excuses, though.  A cruise (great), a wedding (really great), and a lot of working (not great, but necessary).  But now that I'm back, I have a few things to post in the next couple of days.  

It's another cupcake phase, and to start it off we have a Belgian Waffle cupcake.  I think these are just so darn cute.  The cake is a vanilla butter cake made with buttermilk, real maple syrup, and some cinnamon to give it a waffle-like taste.  It's topped with a maple buttercream that also has some pancake house flair, and the cutest part?  The tiny little waffle cookie on top.  It's a buttery vanilla pressed cookie, and I topped it with powdered sugar, just like I like on my waffles.  Would a glass of OJ and one of these pass as breakfast?  You be the judge.

Something Blue

On May 6th I will be marrying the talented young man who photographs my food for this blog (I get very good rates), and yesterday was my very own bridal shower.  Since I'm quite partial to Suzy Sweet Tooth sweets, we decided to use Suzy for my food.  I did a dessert bar with confections in the spring blues we are using in our wedding.  We had chocolate chip brownies, CocoNilla cupcakes, chocolate blossom cupcakes, chocolate covered pretzels and Oreos, mini chocolate crystal cupcakes, and a new recipe: mini Lemon Coconut bundt cakes.

The Lemon Coconut bundts seemed to be the hit of the shower.  Along with the chocolate covered pretzels, which always go fast, they seemed to be nibbled up first.  And the ladies seemed to be unanimous that those were the favorite.  They are a tiny cake made with coconut milk, vanilla, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice.  And they are topped with a sweet but tangy glaze of confectioner's sugar and more lemon juice and zest.  Who wouldn't love that?


I am excited to do more desserts bars like this for bridal showers, baby showers, or parties.  It looks like I may do one for a wedding in August.  Time to start brainstorming...

Click on any of the photos below to enlarge:

If you are interested in having me cater a dessert bar with the sweets and colors of your choice, please contact me at susangietl@hotmail.com.

Another Busy Stretch

I haven't been blogging much lately for a few reasons.  I have had a lot of orders lately, which is really great.  But it also means I spend more time baking for the orders, and less time creating new recipes and experimenting.  I also have an upcoming move, wedding, and honeymoon, all of which are taking up a lot of my spare time.  But there are a few notable things to mention for any customers/fans of Suzy Sweet Tooth.


First off, if you "like" my Suzy Sweet Tooth page on Facebook, you can get a 20% coupon for your next order!  It's good for any regular priced order, from a batch of chocolate covered pretzels to dozens of cupcakes.  If you haven't done it yet, there is a link on the right side of this page that will take you there.  


Like I said earlier, this is a pretty busy stretch for me in the next month or so.  Here are the dates in April/May that I will be available to make custom orders.  The dates in pink I am booked, moving, or busy gettin' hitched, but the dates in white are good to go!  Please contact me by phone or via email to order whatever confections you have in mind for the white days.

click to enlarge

Last but not least, here are some fun (albeit pixel-y) pictures of some recent orders I've had.  Top to bottom they are: vanilla/chocolate cupcakes with gumballs, chocolate/cream cheese cupcakes with semisweet ganache and nonpareils, a carrot cake with walnuts and candy eggs, and a bag of birthday cake pops.  Yum!

Cake Pops

This week I made these adorable little red velvet cake pops.  They are just like my cake truffles, but they're on a lollipop stick and topped with some sprinkles.  Not only are they super cute in pop form, but they're fun to eat this way, too.  They can be made with any flavor of cake.  These are a very moist red velvet.  They are covered with a pink candy coating, but they can also be covered with milk or white chocolate.  I think they make a very cute (and delicious) bouquet in a little tin pail. 

Cake Truffles

I think these are really fun.  I'm calling them Cake Truffles.  They are little bites of moist cake (these ones are chocolate, but I can do any kind of cake) covered in white or milk chocolate with the alternate drizzled on top.  I'll also be drizzling them with different colors of candy coating, so I can basically do them in any color of the rainbow.  


I think these would be great party favors or little gifts for neighbors or co-workers.  And they are so moist and tasty (I would know, I've sampled a lot of them...) that I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of them in the time to come.  I can't wait to do them in pastels for some Easter baskets.  How cute are these? 

And for those of you who have asked about non-cupcake treats that can be shipped-- these are definitely one of them.  I'll post something soon about treats available for people outside of Utah County.

White Raspberry Cake

To celebrate Julie's birthday yesterday I made this yummy layer cake, per her request. The layers are fluffy white cake flavored with just a bit of almond extract for a little depth.  Nestled inside is a homemade raspberry filling made from real raspberries, sugar, and some orange zest and fresh orange juice to give it a brighter note.  And it is iced with a cream cheese icing that is lightened with some whipped cream.  (The beautiful candles are from Papyrus.)  Julie is older than 6, but her real age will not be disclosed in this blog.  She is like a good recipe-- it doesn't matter her age, just her great taste!

Banana Walnut Cake

Last night I tried a new recipe for a Banana Walnut Cake.  I grew up in the western Chicago suburbs where Sara Lee is headquartered, and I remember when I was a little girl going to a Sara Lee outlet store with my dad.  We'd buy frozen lasagnas and pound cakes, and I would always love the little individually wrapped banana cakes there.  My Banana Walnut Cake is sort of a grown-up version of that favorite treat.

It's a very simple cake made with mashed bananas and sour cream to keep it moist, and some coarsely chopped walnuts for some texture.  It's topped with a decadent cream cheese icing and a collar of more chopped walnuts.  Very simple and very good.

Cakes start at just $10.  Please contact me at susangietl@hotmail.com for more information.

Boston Cream Pie

Yesterday morning I had an order for a Boston cream pie as the cake of choice for a birthday boy who is visiting from out of town.  For those who don't know, a Boston cream pie isn't really a pie, but a layer cake.  It is usually a couple of layers of a butter cake or a spongecake (yum), filled with pastry cream (double yum), and topped with a chocolate frosting or ganache (triple yum).  So if you do the math, it equals very, very good tasting.


My BCP started out with a butter cake.  It's one of my favorite recipes-- very dense and rich.  And since it was traveling to its owner I did a thicker chocolate butter frosting instead of a ganache.  (Well, technically it is a ganache since it's made from cream and chocolate... but it's a firm one.)  And on top I added a little marbled swirl of white chocolate glaze.  Voilà!  Boston Cream Pie.

Mini Bundt Cakes

My best friend Krista gave me my Christmas present early and I have already put it to good use.  She gave me the cutest bundt pan from Sur La Table, and this morning I made four little bundt cakes in it.


The cake is a vanilla spice cake with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.  I topped it with a simple chocolate ganache.  These are the cutest little cakes.  I'm sure I'll get a ton of use out of this gift, both personal and for Suzy Sweet Tooth.


Thanks, Krista!  Merry Christmas!

These Mini Bundt cakes can be custom made in the flavor of cake and icing of your choice.  Please email me at susangietl@hotmail.com for more information.

Brianna's Baby Shower

I got a call about a week ago from the lovely Brianna who is expecting a little baby boy (her first), and wanted some cupcakes for a baby shower this past weekend.  Of course I was very happy to oblige.  Brianna and her husband Neal couldn't be more excited to welcome their little one.  And what better way is there to celebrate than with sugar?  (This is, of course, a silly question.  There is no better way.)


Brianna and her mother asked for blue, green, and brown, so I did a yummy cinnamon chocolate cupcake with both vanilla buttercream and chocolate frostings.  I topped the colored ones with some candy and rimmed the chocolate ones with chocolate jimmies.  (Stating the obvious again: chocolate + chocolate + more chocolate = yummy.)


A little birdie tells me that the party was a smash and the cupcakes were a hit.  The only downside?  I may be to blame if the baby comes out craving sugar.  But with little boys that's inevitable, right?

Kevin's 20th Birthday

A good friend of mine, Kevin, had a birthday last month, right around Halloween time.  His beautiful girlfriend, Jess, hired me to make some cupcakes for a surprise birthday party she threw him.  One big specification was to steer clear of any Halloween decorations.  I completely understand, Jess!  My dad's birthday is Halloween and mine is Valentine's Day, and we holiday birthday guys and gals can tell you that having your special day lumped together with a holiday is not as fun as it sounds.  So for Kevin we went purple: purple buttercream, purple gumballs, and purple metallic jimmies.  Not a skull in sight.

I made a total of 4 dozen cupcakes, twenty-four regulars and twenty-four minis.  The cake was a lemon cake iced with a cream cheese frosting.  Jess clearly has good taste in picking out flavors in addition to picking out Kevin...

Kevin will be leaving in just a few weeks to serve a two year church mission in the Ukraine.  We'll all miss him very much.  I hope that he loved his cupcakes and party as much as we all love him!

Bigger is Better.

So tonight I made one of my favorite cake recipes to eat with my fiancé and his family after our Sunday dinner.  But the fun part is the kind of cake I baked-- a giant donut cake.  It's too cute.  It looks just like a glazed donut... but bigger.  And the best thing about it?  It's very easy to make, and the homier it looks, the better.  


The pan is from Williams-Sonoma.  I just used a basic butter cake recipe that I jazzed up for the fall with a healthy dose of cinnamon and a tiny bit of ginger.  And I couldn't go wrong with some autumn sprinkles.  Add a semisweet chocolate glaze and some chocolate jimmies and I can just hear it calling my name.


I love that it looks so homemade.  I often think that with cakes especially, the crumblier or gooier the better.  It just looks so delectable that way!  We'll just have to see if it is...