Welcome to my new hood! I am finally here, ya'll! Granted, it's the same address and branding, but so much else has changed. Did I mention how excited I am to finally make a move I had put off for so very long? There's still a fair bit of unpacking and decorating ahead, so bear with me. My hope is that you will be spending a fair bit of time here with me, so grab a Funfetti Champagne Cupcake, or two, and let's get familiar with the new landscape that is I Sugar Coat It!
Firstly, you may not have noticed, but I am no longer on Blogger! I got myself a piece of WordPress real-estate, built my foundation on Genesis and designed my new digs with Foodie Pro . Yeah, I realize it's a popular theme and I've chosen the builder's beige, but sometimes all one needs is a good, strong roof overhead before paint colour and fixtures become a priority. I'll work my way up to customizations and the like once I have settled in some.
Most exciting feature of my new home, you ask? It has to be the Foodie Recipe Index! Right!! Second to that, the Easy Recipe Plus plugin for formatting my recipes. Recipes were such a pain on Blogger. I am also loving the ease of switching up featured content along with the nuts and bolts that aren't apparent, but make my blogging experience here a little more enjoyable.
The move itself went fairly smooth. Unfortunately, as with any move, a box or two was damaged or misplaced along the way. In this case, that box would be most of your previous comments. I am heart-broken, as one of the best parts about blogging is hearing from you, my fellow sweet fiends and friends. We are still working to fix the issue, but there isn't an easy fix of which I am aware. So word of caution, if you currently use Disqus as your commenting tool and you plan to relocate your blog and stop using it, syncing or transferring your comments will be a bit of a nightmare. If any of you have done this successfully, please help a sister out and leave me a note, or drop me a line.
I am also having some issues with my AddThis share tools - the share data for older posts seems to have disappeared, from the blog at least - the data still exists in the backend. There are a number of less urgent items, like formatting of older posts and recipes, adding a contact form etc, etc etc. that I will get to over the next little while. Feel free to send me a note if you happen to come across anything wonky.
But all that's really my headache. For you, I want each visit to be a sweet, pretty and fun experience. And nothing says fun like a than a tall glass of bubbly. Or in this case, mini Funfetti Cupcakes piled high with fluffy cloud of champagne-spiked Whipped Cream, topped with sugar pumpkins dressed in white and gold, or gold dragèes.
To make some toppers of your own for the upcoming Thanksgiving festivities, visit my Mini Pumpkin Toppers tutorial. The cupcake recipe is a slight variation of my Vanilla Bean Dulce de Leche cupcakes. See the full recipe below. You can see me frosting the cupcakes here!
Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you will take a moment to leave me a note, share my cupcakes and make plans to visit again!
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 172 g unsalted butter ¾ cup, room temperature
- 287 g granulated sugar 1 ½ cups
- 6 large egg whites
- 177 ml whole milk ¾ cup
- 44 g vanilla bean paste 2 tbsp
- 199 g all-purpose flour 2 cups
- 7 g baking powder 2 tsp
- 1 g coarse salt ¼ tsp
- 43 g sugar confetti ¼ cup
Whipped Topping
- 500 ml 35% whipping cream
- 24 g confectioner’s sugar 3 tbsp
- 30 g champagne 2 tbsp
- whipped cream stabilizer optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Place muffin cups on a baking sheet about 2-inches apart.
- Add butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites, milk, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste; mix until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; mix until just combined.
- Use a spatula to fold in the sugar confetti.
- Divide batter among paper baking cups using a small ice-cream scoop, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake in preheated oven until very light golden brown, approximately 24-27 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cool completely.
To make the whipped topping:
- Chill a metal bowl along with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or hand mixer, by placing them in the freezer for 5 minutes. Remove from freezer and add whipping cream to the bowl. Sift the confectioner’s sugar onto the cream and whisk until soft peaks form. Add the champgne and whisk until peaks are stable, but not overly stiff.
Kathy O says
I don't see the amount of sugar confetti , thanks! Looks amazing and a classy color combo for the thanksgiving season!
Jacquee says
Oops, will have to add that! I just threw a handful in without measuring, but will weigh a handful tonight and update the recipe. 🙂 Thanks!!
Paula says
Congratulations on the move! Yes, every move comes with headaches and hiccups so I'm glad you had the expertise of Melissa to help you through it. Take your time getting settled in and adding the finishing details because your site looks lovely right now. Your recipe page is awesome and certainly tempts your readers to discover more.
I think you will love *owing a piece of WordPress real estate*, it's a great neighbourhood to be in!
As for the cupcakes...gorgeous and such a beautiful presentation.
Jacquee says
Dearest, Paula - thanks for sticking it out with me! You have been a part of I Sugar Coat It since day one, pretty much and your encouragement and kind words have been of great value to me. I truly appreciate YOU! xx
Erin says
Well done! When I made the change to wordpress, I couldn't move my archives over from blogger for some reason. I am kicking myself for not trying harder. Now that I have the Foodie theme - I love it!
Jacquee says
Oh no! Well, I am pleased you are loving the move now. I looked at so many themes and I just kept coming back to Foodie. I LOVE it! Still working on resolving the comment and tracking issues. 🙁
Deb|EastofEdenCooking says
The mini pumpkin toppers are sooo adorable! Truly a stunning holiday dessert! Love the site redesign too.
Jacquee says
Thanks, Deb! I may be a little addicted to making them. 😉 Thanks for dropping by and checking out my new digs!
Regina @ Leelalicious says
Thrilled to be in your new place. And welcome to WordPress! I am also very excited to see you are using FoodiePro as well. Enjoy getting settled in 😀
Jacquee says
Thanks, Regina!! How did I not realize you had the same theme!?! I could have consulted with you on a number of things!!
Regina says
Yeah, for some reason I never got around to doing an intro post to the new theme where I could have mentioned FoodiePro. In a sense I am taking this as a compliment. I really tried to customize the theme to my style. Actually I liked my previous design but functionality (love that awesome index as well and an actually working mobile version) moved me to make the switch. It's still a work in progress though (well, a blog is never really finished is it?) But should you have any more questions I am more to willing to try and help 🙂
Jacqueline says
I was going to do a whole skitch tour like I did the last time I revamped, but haven't gotten around to finishing it. Plus, I'm still working on a few things, so maybe a delayed house warming. 😉 My life is a mountain of delays these days...
Kelly says
Yay, congrats on the move girl! Gorgeous new digs! Love your theme too, it's my favorite! And these cupcakes with the champagne whipped cream are the perfect way to celebrate! They look stunning!
Jacqueline says
Welcome, Kelly!! YAY, I have arrived! LOL.