Cake in a Cup: The Menu

Okay, this is odd, but because I’m about to post a ‘name a cupcake’ poll in the reader-run Facebook fan group (give me a couple of minutes, please) I needed a link to the list of Cake in a Cup cupcakes. But, apparently, I hadn’t posted a Cake in a Cup menu yet? Strange. Anyway, here it is alphabetically for ease of searching.

The cupcakes marked with asterisks* have recipes in the Adept Universe cookbook [download here]. The linked cupcakes have individual (though likely older and not as well-formatted) recipes on my blog.

Allure in a Cup – lemon yellow cake with chocolate buttercream

Bliss in a Cup* – fudge cake with peanut butter icing

Blitzen in a Cup* – mocha cake with eggnog buttercream

Buzz in a Cup* – mocha fudge cake with mocha buttercream

Charm in a Cup* – lemon yellow cake with strawberry buttercream

Chill in a Cup* – chocolate mint cake with chocolate mint buttercream

Clarity in a Cup* – apple spiced with honey buttercream

Comfort in a Cup* – banana cake with buttercream

Cozy in a Cup* – banana chocolate chip cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Delight in a Cup* – white cake with lemon buttercream

Delirium in a Cup* – chocolate peanut butter cake with chocolate peanut butter icing

Desire in a Cup – chocolate raspberry cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Ecstasy in a Cup – double chocolate cake with lemon buttercream

Elation in a Cup* – peanut butter cake with chocolate buttercream

Enchantment in a Cup* – chocolate peanut butter cake with peanut butter icing

Envy in a Cup* – cocoa spice cake and spiced cocoa buttercream

Euphoria in a Cup – fudge cake with dark chocolate cream cheese icing

Exultation in a Cup* – chocolate peanut butter cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Flirt in a Cup – blackberry cake with chocolate blackberry buttercream

Glee in a Cup* – peanut butter cake with peanut butter icing

Happiness in a Cup* – peanut butter cake with honey buttercream

Harmony in a Cup – white cake with cherry buttercream

Heaven in a Cup – white cake with coconut icing

Hug in a Cup* – chocolate cake with buttercream

Joy in a Cup* – lemon yellow cake with buttercream

Kiss in a Cup – chocolate cake with cherry chocolate buttercream

Lift in a Cup* – white cake with coffee buttercream

Love in a Cup* – dark chocolate cake with strawberry buttercream

Lust in a Cup* – dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate cream cheese icing

Rapture in a Cup – yellow/chocolate cake swirl with chocolate cream cheese icing

Sass in a Cup* – chocolate blackberry with chocolate blackberry buttercream

Serenity in a Cup* – carrot cake with cream cheese icing

Sex in a Cup* – cinnamon cocoa cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Sin in a Cup – spice cake with mocha buttercream

Solace in a Cup* – chocolate carrot cake with chocolate cream cheese

Sunshine in a Cup* – lemon yellow cake with lemon Buttercream

Tart in a Cup – blackberry cake with blackberry buttercream

Tease in a Cup* – chocolate blackberry with blackberry buttercream

Thrill in a Cup – white cake with mocha buttercream

Tingle in a Cup* – chocolate mint cake with mint buttercream

Vixen in a Cup*– chocolate gingerbread cake with salted caramel buttercream

Wonder in a Cup – white cake with dark chocolate buttercream

Do you have a favourite Cake in a Cup cupcake? Let me know in the comments below! My favs are Cozy, Lust, and Clarity!

Kickstarter/Dowser 9.5: Cupcake Poll

One of the hallmarks of the Dowser series books is that Jade is generally baking or test baking cupcakes that reflect her mood. So, naturally, the upcoming novella (Dowser 9.5) that I’m writing for the tenth anniversary of the Dowser Series will feature a brand new celebratory cupcake. Yay!

Which means that – before June 18, 2023 – I have to develop a recipe, test bake it until I’m satisfied, write up the recipe, take pictures, etc. But! As part of the (early) anniversary celebrations (which I launched this morning via Kickstarter), I thought my lovely readers would like to vote on what kind of cupcake they think Jade should be baking in the book. See the poll below.

The recipe itself will be part of the Anniversary bundle currently available via my Kickstarter campaign. And warning (!), the Kickstarter will be the only way to get this recipe unless I eventually put it in the free (PDF) Dowser Series Cookbook (no sooner than mid2024).

I will email Kickstarter backers – every tier includes the novella, eCard, and recipe – about a week ahead of time with a list of ingredients. So that, if they are so inclined, they can bake the same cupcakes as Jade is baking in the story WHILE READING THE NOVELLA!!

I mean, I thought that would be super cool. Hopefully, I’m not the only one.

There will also be fun live events and giveaways, etc, for the anniversary on June 18, 2023.

And without further ado, the cupcake poll (you’ll note a distinct chocolate theme since I’m the one test baking😂):


	
		
		
		What cupcake should Jade bake in Dowser 9.5?

		 Chocolate Pistachio
		 Dark Chocolate and Raspberry
		 Cookies and Cream
		 Maple Chocolate
		 Nanaimo Bar (custard, chocolate, coconut)
		
View Results

You’ll note I wasn’t more descriptive because I reserve the right to interpret as my tastebuds will. Yum!

[My apologies, I don’t know how to get rid of those weird grey squares/rectangles above and below the poll! But the poll itself is functional, so I am posting!!]

Holiday Baking 2021

I shared the first of my Advent Calendar posts over on Instagram (FYI for those of you who like to see what treats Michael has found for me this year) (see image below), and I also shared the recipe that appears in Archivist 2, Cream Cheese Cutouts (here on the blog). And since there was a bit of a theme going on for December 1, I thought I would take the time to preemptively share a link round-up of some of the recipes I might bake over the next month, so that every time someone asks for a recipe I can just point them to this post.

Blitzen in a Cup, Chewy Gingersnaps, and (eventually) Cream Cheese Cuotouts all appear in the Adept Universe Cookbook. The other recipes are not connected to my books (yet, LOL). A LOT of these recipes go WAY back (I’ve noted the blog date on each, and you can tell by the different formatting) but I still bake them exactly the same way.

Meghan’s Go-To Holiday Treats

Almond Coconut Macaroons (April 2010)

Gingerbread People (okay, zombies) (April 2010)

Rustic Butter Tarts (Dec 2015)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Marshmallow Bar (Jan 2017)

Pistachio, Cranberry, and White Chocolate Bark (March 2017)

Chocolate Palettes (March 2017)

Nanaimo Bars (Dec 2017)

Blitzen in a Cup (Nov 2018)

Chewy Ginger Snaps (April 2019)

Cream Cheese Cutouts (Dec 2021)

Archivist Series: Cream Cheese Cutouts

Compelling Infinity (Archivist 2) releases in just over a month, but I was fairly certain you needed Len Murphy’s family recipe – Cream Cheese Cutouts – before the holidays (though they are tasty year-round). I’ve included an excerpt below for extra fun.

I will add this recipe to the Adept Universe cookbook and put a download link in the new release email that will go out on Jan 4, 2021. Make sure you’re subscribed to my mailing list if you want a full and/or new PDF copy of the cookbook.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD PDF FILE

I found Sisu, Neve, and Lile in the kitchen with Len. Flour and other ingredients appeared to have exploded all over the kitchen island and the surrounding floor.

Len was standing sentry over the oven, with the trio all lined up at the island. All had been assigned different tasks and were wearing smocks that I was fairly certain were just large T-shirts with the arms and necks cut off. Sisu, Neve, and Lile looked up at me as I entered, grinning in perfect synchrony. And for the first time in my life, I pulled out my phone and used it to take a picture.

“We’re making cookies!” Sisu said. Icing sugar dusted his cheek.

“I’m in charge of the sprinkles!” Neve cried gleefully. Her lips, teeth, and tongue were oddly bright pink.

“No,” Len said, barely containing his amusement. “You were in charge of sprinkles.”

Neve snickered. The red tin of sprinkles looked suspiciously emptier than the other colors, which made sense given the state of the six-year-old.

The island was divided into two sections — a space to roll out the cookie dough, cut it, and place it on a baking sheet. Then a space to decorate the cooled cookies. Len had an uncooked sheet of cookies waiting to the left of the oven, and about two dozen cookies cooling on wire racks to the right.

Lile and Sisu were currently cutting out dough while Neve frosted a cooled batch of cookies with white icing. As she finished each one, she set it onto parchment paper laid down across the far end of the counter.

“What are you making?” I asked.

“Cream-cheese cutouts,” Lile said, her tone and expression serious as she focused on cutting out a cookie in the shape of an evergreen tree.

When she was satisfied, she nodded at Sisu. My brother carefully peeled the raw tree from the heavily floured marble counter and placed it on a waiting cookie sheet, already half full.

“Two inches apart,” Sisu said. “Len says that’s the best spacing.”

I glanced over the trio’s heads at Len.

He grimaced. “Sorry about the mess. Bethany left early to help with the setup at the Conall house. It’s a family recipe. My family. From California.”

“We’re making gifts,” Neve said brightly, gesturing toward a half-dozen Christmas-themed boxes on a side counter that I hadn’t noticed in all the chaos.

The timer on the oven went off. “I’ll check,” Sisu announced, jumping back off his stool.

Len opened the oven as he and Sisu both peered into its depths. Sisu cocked his head to one side. “Just starting to brown on the edges. Two more minutes?”

“I concur,” Len said, closing the oven and setting the timer. My chest constricted. With happiness, I thought — but I wasn’t certain I’d ever felt that specific sensation before.

– excerpt from Compelling Infinity (Archivist 2)

Chocolate and Fruit Oatmeal Cookies

Version #1: for Meghan and other dark chocolate lovers

Apparently, it’s going to be a week of revelations. I baked my go-to Chocolate and Fruit Oatmeal Cookies yesterday, using cranberries, split the batch, added white chocolate (Zephyr 34% Cacao Barry) to one half for Michael and dark chocolate (Tanzanie 75% Cacao Barry) to the other half for me, then posted a photo on my Instagram. Prepared to be asked for the recipe, I popped over to my blog (i.e. here) for a link only to realize I never posted it. I only sent it out in a newsletter (May 2017!!).

So here it is, if only just so I can link back to it myself.

Click link to open a PDF: chocolate-fruit-oatmeal-cookies_recipe OR Download

Version #2: for Michael, or anyone else who gets crazy migraines from too much dark chocolate!

Fresh Fruit Sherbet

I’m sharing this recipe because I took the time to write it out and have gotten multiple requests. But, again, I’ve only made this a few times (with blueberries, tayberries, and strawberries) and it’s not connected to my actual work (I should be writing right now) so I cannot put extra time and energy into ‘recipe support’. Just FYI.

My filmmaker friend Karen got me started making my own ice cream, etc, with her recommendation of The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz (which is fantastic and definitely worth buying) and her initial tweaks to make the sherbet, etc, dairy and conventional sugar-free.

Blueberry sherbet – churned and ready to freeze for a few hours.

I usually use a whole half of a lemon because I’m lazy.

So simple, but so, so tasty!!

Misfits 1: Envy in a Cup

I’ve added Envy in a Cup to the Adept Universe Cookbook (click the link to download the full PDF) but here is the JPG version for your quick viewing pleasure.

A dense but moist chocolate cake with lots of warm spice!

Author’s Note: I had a bit of an incident with my first test bake of Envy in a Cup, and the cake came out WAY too dense and almost weirdly moist. Michael ate them, of course. 😀 I noticed that my baking powder was newly expired, so I replaced it (and I urge you to do the same). But I had also used a new-to-me whole wheat pastry flour from Bob’s Red Mill. I remembered that the new pastry flour had also made for oddly overly moist banana bread, so I decided the issue with the cupcakes stemmed from the same cause. Problem was, I no longer had access to my regular (locally milled) whole wheat pastry flour, so I had to search for another flour. I settled on a fine grain whole wheat from Anita’s Mill. The cupcakes are still dense, but delightfully so!

Just a long way of saying, that, as always, feel free to use your favourite flour. Just make sure the batter isn’t overly thick (add a touch more milk to thin it, if it is) otherwise you might not enjoy the exceedingly dense cake that may result!

Envy in a Cup gets a massive thumbs up from Michael and me, so much so I’m going to add them to my top five favourites!! Which are, in no particular order, Cozy in a Cup, Lust in a Cup, Serenity in a Cup, Clarity in a Cup, and now Envy in a Cup!

Do you have a favourite Cake in a Cup cupcake?

RELEASING APRIL 14, 2020

PREORDER NOW

– AMAZON – APPLE BOOKS – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLE – SMASHWORDS –

New to the Adept Universe? The first book is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1). Or click here for the entire reading order.

Misfits 1: the cupcakes

Just in case you missed it, Misplaced Souls (Misfits of the Adept Universe 1) is now available for preorder and will release on Tuesday, April 14. I’m so excited to share Mory’s first full-length book (she also narrates a novella in Dowser 8.5) and I hope you enjoy the necromancer’s POV!

If you’d like to ‘bake along’ while reading, here are the cupcakes mentioned in Misplaced Souls. Those marked with an asterisk can be found in the Adept Universe Cookbook, including the newly added Envy in a Cup.

Cozy in a Cup* – banana chocolate chip with dark chocolate buttercream
Allure in a Cup (new) – lemon cake with chocolate buttercream
Serenity in a Cup* – carrot cake with cream cheese icing
Rapture in a Cup – yellow/chocolate swirl with chocolate cream cheese icing
Envy in a Cup (new)* – cocoa spiced cake with spiced-cocoa buttercream
Heaven in a Cup (new) – white cake with coconut buttercream
Sass in a Cup* – chocolate blackberry cake with chocolate blackberry buttercream
Happiness in a Cup* – peanut butter cake with honey buttercream

**A dense but moist cocoa spiced cake with spiced cocoa buttercream.**

Will you be baking and reading on release day, aka Tuesday? I think I might!

– AMAZON – APPLE BOOKS – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLE – SMASHWORDS –

New to the Adept Universe? The first book is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1). Or click here for the entire reading order.

Dowser Series: recipe card giveaway.

Last, but hopefully not least, I’ve put together nine sets of the Dowser recipe cards for nine lucky bakers. 🙂

Caveat: If you have previously won any recipe cards or own them, please don’t enter this giveaway. I get lots of requests to sell these cards and I’m far too busy (read: lazy) to set up any sort of a store, so I don’t. There are three other giveaways currently in process on my blog for you to enter (scroll down), so please let readers who have never won any recipe cards have a chance to win one of these nine sets. Thank you!!

To enter, simply comment below and I’ll draw nine winners.

Likes and shares are always welcomed and appreciated.

Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. One entry per person. Nine (9) winners will be selected by random number generator. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than to contact the winner. No purchase necessary.

Giveaway closes SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 , 2019 at 8pm PDT.

Are you new to the Adept Universe? Book one is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).

Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.

Happy Holidays 2018

This 50-foot fir tree fell perfectly between our little cabin and our Jeep last Thursday afternoon. Michael was signing Christmas cards and watched it fall.

If you haven’t been following the drama of #windstorm2018 via my Facebook or Twitter feed, the short version is that we are now on day five of a massive power outage and the holidays don’t even remotely resemble our regular traditions – absolutely no baking has been done!! We will attempt to make seafood chowder and garlic bread on the wood stove tonight. And it looks like – barring a Christmas miracle – that we will also be roasting the turkey on the barbecue tomorrow. Michael wants our Christmas morning blueberry cinnamon buns despite the lack of a mixmaster and the need to bake on the BBQ. We shall see.

Thankfully the tree missed the chicken run/coop as well!!

So! Normally to celebrate the season I would have shared a new recipe, a holiday favourite, on my blog, but I will have to make do with a short list of recipes shared from other years:

from December 2015 – Rustic Butter Tarts
from March 2017 (mentioning this because I’m going to make some for Michael on the wood stove this afternoon. Well … fingers crossed.) – White Chocolate Bark
from December 2017 – Naniamo Bars
and, of course, the recently released Blitzen in a Cup

What are your favourite holiday baked goods?

Since I’m not in the position to be shopping/wrapping gifts/baking/hosting a holiday party (we had to cancel ours) this year I decided to top up our charitable contributions with a couple of our favourite organizations and one new one. We tithe monthly to the Covenant House and Make A Wish Foundation (BC chapter), as well as a few others through the year, but I just made extra donations to the SPCA (BC chapter) and Knitters Against Malaria.

Even on day five of a power outage with a rather large tree blocking our front door, a second tree threatening to fall on my tiny office shed, and wires down all over the street, we are still lucky enough to have each other and a roof over our heads. Many are much less fortunate than us this holidays season. So a few donations always makes me feel a bit better about being so blessed.

Thank you so much for spending time with me in 2018 – reading my books, as well as chatting on the blog or in the fan group or on social media. January 2019 is going to be packed full of goodies – including Amplifier 0, a fun book bundle, a BIG sale on the first Dowser trilogy, etc. It all starts on my blog on January 8th! I hope to see you here!!