Everybody can rejoice- the hiatus is over!!

Hazaaaaa, after everyone has suffered a long, cupcake-less summer, Janna Banana Takes the Cake! is back!

A little about my haitus: I was busy leading a jet-setting life, and the rare days I was at home in Toronto, I spent my days napping, drinking wine, and napping some more.

Now that fall has hit, I have A LOT of time on my hands.  So you best believe you'll have something to look forward to once in a while. Also, as if this news wasn't exciting enough to accelerate your heart rate as you jumped up and down, squealing with delight; maybe this will be: I got a puppy and he is the cutest puppy in the world.

My bite-sized puglet, Bryan!

K, so now about cupcakes. I made some fall-inspired cupcakes last week, and obviously they were delicious.  Not being much of a pumpkin dessert fan (yes that includes everyone's beloved pumpkin-pie - gag) I decided to use this fall ingredient but in a way that I would enjoy- in chocolate cupcakes of course.

I mixed a few tablespoons of pumpkin purée, as well as a few dashes of cinnamon into a fairly standard chocolate cupcake recipe.  Another recommendation is substituting half of the granulated sugar with brown sugar.  The result: a delicious, SUPER MOIST chocolatey/pumpkin-ish circle of delight.

And here is a recipe for the AMAZING pumpkin buttercream I slathered on top:

• 3/4lb vegetable shortening
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2-3 tablespoons pumpkin purée
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 5 cups of powdered sugar

Throw all those ingredients into a stand-mixer (like this sexy one my boyfriend bought me for my birthday, NBD), put on the cream-er attachment, and let that thing work its magic for like 3 minutes.  My suggestions is to add the powdered sugar slowly, maybe cup at a time just to make sure you get it the way you want it.

 

A pug emerging from a spiral of buttercream frosting- dreams can come true.

During my summer festivities my fancy camera broke.. so hope you enjoyed these low-def pictures!

Heavenly Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

I've started a couple of new chapters in my life recently. My boyfriend and I moved into an awesome new place, and I got a new job that requires a month of training in Montreal. Just as soon as I get comfortable in the new casa, I had to get shipped out to la Belle Province.


Obviously to celebrate these milestones, I threw a shin dig. Complete with Party Punch served in an industrial-sized bucket with tap (made with literally every possible kind of alcohol known to mankind), and cupcakes!


These cupcakes were Cookies and Cream made with Oreos. I basically just made a super-moist, creamy vanilla cupcakes, added broken Oreo bits, and had a whole Oreo sitting on the bottom. For the icing, I made my favourite- Vanilla Cream-cheese, with more Oreos on top.


Oreo cookie base


My friend Christine's mom, Terri bought me a whole ton of these adorable, colourful liners. Really punches up my black and white cupcakes!


It looks like the cupcakes and punch were a hit.


All this Oreo talk got me missing this little nugget!

It's a Leap Day Miracle!

This post needed a title- it was between this lame one, and "Salty (caramel) Chocolate Balls". I figured the winner was a little bit more family-friendly.


They say that Leap Day is an extra day you get to do things you don't normally have the chance to do. An extra, free day to live out your wildest dreams. It's not a real day, afterall.


That's why I am spending my special Leap Day nursing a wine hangover, while writing this very blog post!

Last night I had a small dinner party. I made homemade gnocchi, which was frigging delicious- but the pièce de resistance was obviously dessert.


I made these super moist Belgian chocolate cupcakes- once cooled, I injected them with a homemade caramel sauce, that oozes out on your second bite, making you deliciously sticky. I topped these babies with a caramel meringue butter cream frosting, then crowned with a piece of homemade salted caramel. That's right I made two different kinds of caramel for this delicious concoction.


Since this isn't a real day, if I eat them all today, it doesn't count calorie-wise, right???

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

And I doubt I'll get it. Which is okay with me! Tomorrow I am leaving Toronto's mild temperatures for Madrid's slightly milder temperatures. I am skipping out on my traditional snowy, New Brunswick Christmas- which usually boasts tons of turkey, friends, family and Captain Morgan. I will be heading to Madrid for three weeks to experience the holidays done Spanish style! I am sad, as this will be my first Christmas without my lovely mother, Jeanie! But señor Mario is a treat too!

I made some cupcake treats for a girl's night Christmas party a couple of weeks ago. They are red velvet cupcakes, with a cream-cheese buttercream frosting. I also used fondant and gum paste. The snowflakes are each individually hand-carved, and hand-painted with blue and silver edible powder. And like real snowflakes, no two are alike!







Feliz Navidad a todos!!

Trick-or-treat, I made you something good to eat!

Today marks the day of All-Hallows-Eve. A wonderful day of the year, indeed! In previous years, it was a day where common activities included trick-or-treating, carving jack-o'-lanterns, apple bobbing and watching horror films.

In more recent years, it is synonymous with dressing as offensively/promiscuously as possible, while drinking as much as humanly possible. Resulting in good times with friends!

Here are some vanilla-buttercream lolli-cakes I made to honour one of my favourite days of the year, featuring the likeness of everybodies favourite Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington:

A very lazy Monday spent on my couch - with cupcakes!

With the endless parties that December brings, I find myself, and most of the city, in Holiday Hangover mode. This, plus the bitter Toronto cold are what results in me attempting to take a small hiatus from an overly active social life, and try to become somewhat of a recluse for the duration of January (albeit, this past weekend I definitely failed at that).

After an intense Saturday night out with the girls, I find myself very lazy on this cold Monday evening. I don't want to cook, or clean, or do any of the other of the million things I ought to be doing. Instead, I want to curl up on my couch with some South Park DVDs and a TV dinner of the cupcake variety.


(Concept via Hello, Cupcake!) If you think the brownie is the worst part, it's because Stef made it (Just kidding, it's delightful!).

Hello, 2011!

I hope everyone wrapped up 2010 successfully - surrounded by lots of family, friends and good food.

May 2011 bring you everything that 2010 didn't - and I hope that includes plenty of cupcakes! I have lots of great cupcake ideas for this year, don't forget to write/call/tweet/pigeon courier me if you want in on some of this sweetness!

Also, don't forget to join my Facebook fan page here!

xoxo

I'm goin' down to South Park gonna have myself a time

Cupcakes are circles and they make me smile. South park characters embody these two qualities as well.

Par example:

So it's not my most creatively written blog post, deal with it!

An Emotional tale of Pug Cakes

Lately I’ve been really missing having a furry, four-legged friend around. I miss the enthusiastic greeting I received when I walked through the front door. It made me feel as if I was the most important person in the world. I miss all the cuddles I’d get when I was feeling sad. I never felt lonely with her around! Most of all, I miss the unconditional love that me and that tiny little creature shared.


I have a little brother, named Pug. And since this kid at times can be charming or something, my family has always had a love affair with Pug dogs. So when/if I’m ever ready to love another dog again, it is going to be a Pug named Bryan.


Since lack of finances/rock star lifestyle can get in the way of this endeavor, I suppose for now, cupcakes will have to do. Which I guess, isn’t so bad!

I Heart Canada

I am proud to be Canadian, and in my mind nothing shows national pride better than beer, fireworks and of course, cupcakes.




Happy Canada Day everyone!!!

Cupcakes!!

For the past two years, anyone that knows me can tell you I have a passion for cupcakes. This borderline obsession started two Christmases ago when my best friend Holly bought me a cupcake decorating book (Hello, Cupcake!). While going through a dark time in my life, I found that the work that went into these colourful creations were able to restore some joy back in my life. Afterall, it’s almost impossible not to smile when cupcakes are around! Cupcakes became my hobby, and I tackled many of the innovative designs in the book, and eventually started experimenting on my own.


Soon after, I began looking for any excuse or occasion to make cupcakes. I thrived on all of the gushing admiration I received for my cakes (I am a Leo, after all). I consider each and every little confection a work of art, and I love making people smile with these creations!

The cupcakes that spawned my obsession: Spaghetti and Meatballs (design via Hello, Cupcake!)