Chocoholics unite! It's National Chocolate Cupcake Day!

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Kelly Diamond

If you”re a lover of chocolate and cake, then today is the day for you. On behalf of Social Grocery, I wish you a very Happy National Chocolate Cupcake Day (not to be confused with National Cupcake Day on December 15th)!

In celebration of this delicious day — and in addition to my love of obscure holidays — I have decided to share a few treats to help get your OM NOM NOM on. And no, they”re not your basic out-of-the-box chocolate cupcakes:

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

This is what I would like to call a CHOCOLATE EXPLOSION. These devil”s food chocolate cupcakes from Annie”s Eats are filled with chocolate ganache, then topped with chocolate sour cream frosting and chocolate curls. Not only are these gorgeous, they”re bursting with chocolate-induced happiness. Please do yourself a favor and make them ASAP. Perfect for National Chocolate Cupcake Day!

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE POPS

As a huge Bakerella fan, I obviously had to include her Chocolate Cupcake Pops in this post. Take a different spin on the traditional chocolate cupcake — shrink it, dip it, decorate it and put it on a stick instead. If you haven”t tried cupcake pops or cake pops yet, use National Chocolate Cupcake Day as an excuse to educate yourself. You won”t be disappointed!

CHOCOLATE ROSE TUTORIAL (CAKE/CUPCAKE TOPPER)

Tell me you”ve never seen gourmet cupcakes with elaborate flower toppings and thought “hey, I want to learn how to do that!” Well, luckily for us, Cakebrain from Cake on The Brain blog has an excellent tutorial on how to create these chocolate roses, perfect to add a little touch of beauty to your National Chocolate Cupcake Day creations. And according to Cakebrain herself, they”re easier to make than we think!

What”s your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe? Out-of-the-box or homemade? Share with us!

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Candy corn galore!

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Kelly Diamond

Not sure about you, but it”s basically a ritual of mine to eat as much Brach”s Autumn Mix as entirely possible during the Fall season. While this can be extremely satisfying in itself, isn”t it more fun to get creative? These three recipes are exactly the kind of fun I”m looking for this Halloween season!

CANDY CORN COOKIE BARK

Okay, this just looks phenomenal. I”ve always been a fan of Recipe Girl (as you may have picked up by now) and somehow this gem has escaped me until now. I will definitely be making this candy corn cookie bark in the very near future! This gives holiday peppermint bark a run for its money, in my opinion.

CANDY CORN CHEESECAKE

So cute! I”ve definitely seen candy corn decorated cakes and cupcakes, but never something like cheesecake. What a great idea this is! This recipe calls for Candy Corn Hershey Kisses, which I never knew existed. Anyone ever tried them? Thank you to My Baking Addiction for sharing this treat.

CANDY CORN BUTTERFINGER POPS

These are possibly the most adorable and delicious sounding pops I have seen in awhile. And no, this isn”t just a Butterfinger candy bar dipped in candy melts — it”s HOMEMADE. Dear Vanessa from Blog 5 to 9, you are my hero. “NOM NOM NOM” is right!

Do you have a favorite Halloween themed treat?

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Halloween ALREADY?

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Kelly Diamond

It feels like the school season has barely even started and already stores are stocking the shelves with candy corn, pumpkin Reese”s and ghost Peeps. I”m not completely against this, however, I feel like I haven”t even had time to go apple picking yet! (Can you tell I”m from New England?) But really, whether we like it or not, seasons/holidays start over a month in advance in most retail stores. So, while we”re still over a month away from Halloween, there”s only one logical thing to do — STOCK UP!

Grab your Halloween favorites now, because in only a few weeks, store shelves will be completely wiped out. You know it”s true! How many times have you waited until the day before trick-or-treating to get your goods? I once went to three different stores before I could find anything but plain old Tootsie Rolls and Whoppers (sorry for those of you into that sort of thing) the day before Halloween. Not a good plan in any means — take it from me and get your candy early this year!

In addition to stocking up for your candy pile, now is the time to be planning your festive treats! Do you usually participate in Halloween parties at work, school, or in your community? While you still have some time, do your homework NOW so that you can wow the crowd come Halloween. Here are posts from two of Social Grocery”s favorite bloggers to help you get the ball rolling:

SPIDERWEB COOKIES by Bridget at Bake at 350

How many times have you seen cookies such as these and wondered how to make the frosting webs look so flawless? Search no more, because Bridget at Bake at 350 breaks it down step by step for you. Now we can all make these adorable spiderweb cookies. If you want to see some more of Bridget”s spooky cookies, be sure to check out all of her Halloween posts. I love the tombstone ones myself — let”s face it, Halloween is the time to be morbid!

HALLOWEEN CAKE POPS by Bakerella

Bakerella has single-handedly made cake pops and cupcake pops a huge phenomenon. In this particular post, she attacks Halloween with jack-o-lanterns, mummies, Frankensteins, ghosts and more. They are cute as a button and would surely be a hit at your next Halloween get together — or even just to have at home and give out to friends and family. If you”re interested in cake pops, cupcake pops or cake balls, be sure to check out Bakerella.com for recipes and tips! (P.S. The cartoon character cake pops are TOO GREAT!)

What are some of your favorite Halloween treats? Share with us!

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Fridge Notes

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