Cupcake Decorating Party

In a little more than a week I'm going to be having a Cupcake Decorating Party for several little girls.  It's not celebrating anything special, just a party for girls only.  I've been searching on Pinterest for different ideas.  Here's what I've found:

{from: The Sweetest Occasion}

{from: Love in October}

I love the first party, so cute.  And the second is a class but gives me ideas for layout on the table.

I'm going to have the girls make their own stand for their cupcakes too.  Then we'll decorate chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.  Don't judge me, but I plan to buy some frosting.  I'm just not the best at making it, and don't have a lot of time to practice beforehand.  I am going to make the cupcakes.

Found some edible glitter and homemade sprinkles on Pinterest.

{instructions here}

{from: This Heart of Mine}

I'm also going to make some little favors for the girls with some hair flowers I've made, and maybe some little lip glosses or something.

I made these invitations:

So, the decorations are going to be colorful and fun.

I can't wait.  I'll be sure to post photos of the girls and I hope they all have fun, I know I will.

Cupcakes

I'm really bad about taking step-by-step photos of my cupcakes baking, and writing down the recipe for posting purposes.  But here are some photos of the recent cupcake ventures.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream.  And I added some chocolate and pink sugar sprinkles on the top for some cuteness.

Just like the ones Little Debbie makes.  Chocolate Cupcakes with cream filling and chocolate on top.  So cute!

The top ones were made after our little adventure out to Wine Country last week and the bottom ones were made today after my mom and I had an adventure with her car not starting.  Oh, it was so fun (note sarcasm).  Anyway, I took the top ones to work and everyone scarfed them down, and someone didn't get any so she asked me to make more, so I made the chocolate ones.  Hopefully, they're tasty- I haven't tried one yet.  Well, happy baking my friends!

Yet Another Haitus

I'm not sure how many people actually read my blog, but I apologize for the hiatus.  Although, I guess 2 months isn't that bad of a break.  I've been so busy since the last time I posted anything.  I've made a couple of trips to California because, well, WE'RE MOVING!  I'm so excited if you can't tell.

But here's what I've been up to.

From Torrey Pines beach in California.  About 5 mins south of Del Mar.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Strawberry Frosting made for my friends', Andrea and Amanda (their twin sisters), house-warming party.

Yellow Cupcakes with Peanut Butter filling and Chocolate Frosting

Wreath I made for Andrea and Amanda's front door.  My first wreath I love it!

My mom, Me, and our friend, Joanie with the San Diego skyline.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Buttercream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Almond Shortbread Cookies, Sour Cream Scones, and Raspberry Oatmeal Scones made for a Red Hat Ladies tea party.

Homemade applesauce made from the apples I bought at Apple Annie's.

Then our Going Away party. :(  We are sad to leave, but excited at the same time.

Well, I think that's all for now.  I have some great projects coming up soon.  Some fun projects for our new condo in California.  So, stay tuned.

Also, I've decided to start up my blog again because I've discovered Picnik.  It's pretty awesome.  And I've also discovered Pinterest.  Oh my gosh you have to check it out.  You'll be pinning like crazy.

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam Filling

I went to a jewelry party this past Friday night and my friend agreed to let me sell some of my stuff, but also asked if I could bring some food for the guests.  I agreed, of course, and decided to make some yummy cupcakes.

I posted some Chai Cupcakes a while ago and told you guys about my friend who moved and gave me a bunch of boxed cakes.  She gave me a lemon one, and so this cupcake idea was formed.

And it's pink...may favorite color :)

The ingredients, including what is needed for the cake.

First, mix up the cake batter.

I bought this ice cream scoop because when I was watching "Cupcake Wars" the other night this is what they used.  And it works pretty well.  It's easy to get the batter out without having to scrape it.  And they're all pretty even.

Give the jam a good stir.  Be sure to get seedless raspberry jam (unless you like seeds). 

Using a teaspoon, plop a glob of jam into the batter of each cupcake (after I made this batch I realized that the jam sank to the bottom, so the second batch a cut a hole through the center and squeezed the jam inside, but you can do whichever you like)

While your cupcakes are baking you can whipe up the frosting.  Tip: let your whip cream thaw before using- it will be easier to mix.  The above is the whip cream.

Then add in your raspberry jello mix.

Give it a good stir.  Then wrap the bowl and let it chill in the refrigerator while your cupcakes cool after baking.  If you put the frosting on warm cupcakes it will run everywhere.

Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack.

Then you can frost them by putting the frosting in a freezer bag and cutting off a corner then piping it onto the top.  And I sprinkled mine with a little red sugar sprinkles.

Nice, simple summer-y cupcake.

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Jam Filling

Ingredients:
1 box of lemon cake mix
water, oil, eggs (the ingredients from the cake mix box)
1 tub whipped cream
1 package of raspberry jello mix
raspberry jam (you'll use about a 1/2 cup or so)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 then line muffin pan with cupcake papers and set aside.  Mix lemon cake batter according to the instructions on the box.  Spoon batter into the cupcake papers, filling 2/3 full.  Then spoon 1 teaspoon of jam into each cup of batter.  Bake according to box instructions. 

While cupcakes are baking, mix whipped cream and jello mix in a medium bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Let cupcakes cool completely.  Spoon frosting into a freezer bag and cut the corner.  Squeeze frosting onto each cupcake, even though the cupcakes are cooled the frosting is soft enough that if too much is used it will run over the edges, so be careful.  Then top with sprinkles, if desired.  Unwrap and enjoy!

Chai Cupcakes

A friend gave me a bunch of boxes of cake mix when she moved and I thought maybe I should do something different with them.  Somehow, chai popped into my mind.  But the frosting part was where I was lost.  So, I just decided to forego the frosting and I put cinnamon sugar on top.

Yum!

First start the water to boil for the tea.

I used 6 tea bags.

Once the water boils, turn off the burner, place the pot to the side, and tie the tea bags together and hang them from a wooden spoon.  Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Measure out 1/3 cup of oil.

Mix the oil with the cake mix.

According to the box, you need 1 1/4 cup of water.

I measured out the brewed Chai tea to the 1 1/4 cup to replace the water then add the Chai tea to the batter.

Fill the cupcake papers 2/3 full.

So, I was baking these at my grandma's house and I couldn't find cinnamon ANYWHERE.  Then I found this  grinder and smelled it (haha) and it was CINNAMON.  It's a cool contraption.  So, anyway, I mixed the cinnamon with sugar to top the cupcakes.

My grandma has my great-grandma's china.  It's beautiful!  (This cupcake got cinnamon/sugar after the fact because I didn't know what I was going to put on it, yet)

Chai Cupcakes

Ingredients:

6 bags Tazo Chai Tea (doesn't have to be Tazo but that's what I used)

2 cups of water (boil 2 cups, that way in case some evaporates you'll have enough for the batter)

1/3 cup oil

3 egg whites

1 box White Cake Mix

Cinnamon

White Sugar

Make cake according to the directions on the box for the cake.  The only difference is use brewed Chai tea instead of water.

Mix cinnamon and sugar (just eyeball the measurements) and sprinkle on top of batter before baking.

Serve with some Chai tea and enjoy!



Maxine's Baby Shower

Max, my co-worker, asked me to help out with her baby shower and I was so excited.  I LOVE showers.  Baby or Wedding.

Max is having a baby boy, Dean Harold.  She's due December 15th.  She's getting along really well.  I am so excited to meet little Dean pretty soon.

For the shower I made Cocktail Meatballs and cupcakes.  And Jessica made pasta salad.

I didn't really take many pictures like I usually, but I took some good pictures at the shower.

Max did the little bags of M&Ms and she came up with the bowl of water with stones in the bottom and then cut the daisies and had them float in the water.  And there's confetti on the table that says "it's a boy."

We played a game where we took some crepe paper, and then measured it around her to see who was correct.  The first person to measure was right on.

Everybody had to try, though.

The next game we did was a game where we paired people off and gave them Play-Do and they had to sculp a baby in 30 seconds.  It was hilarious.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.  Someone made a little boy that was anatomically correct.  The winners made a cute little baby that really looked like one.

We also played a game where we gave everyone beaded necklaces and they couldn't say "cute."

Time to feel the baby move.  Dean is kind of stubborn though, he doesn't like to move for people

First gift: money.  This is the typical Max face.

Max's husband, Shaun, showing off the shoes I bought for Dean.

Cupcakes!  Jessica bought me this book called "Beautiful Cakes" by Peggy Porschen and it's great for decorating tips, especially piping.  There are great cake recipes.  I used a Victorian Sponge Cake recipe for the vanilla and the Dark Chocolate cake for the others.  I used her recipe for the butter cream that I dyed green.  Then unfortunately, I had to buy a can of chocolate frosting.  I tried to make some and it just did not turn out right.  So, to the store I went.

Max had the monkey ribbon, so I thought it would look cute on the top of the tiered rack.

So, the shower was really fun!  And definitely a hit, from the decorations to the food to the games.