Evening Wedding Cupcakes/ Toppers

This week a friend got married.  A few of us pulled together a cupcake bar in lieu of a formal wedding cake.  The bride and groom are young and were going the route of simple and what's in style.  I was so excited to help.

I was inspired by this flavor combination...

Who makes these flavors up?  So delicious.  I made these cupcakes for a scrapbook retreat a few months back and they turned out outrageous.  I thought they would be great for a spring wedding.  So I made fresh tasting lemon cupcakes (white cake mix as directed using these additions -> (made with milk instead of water) + zest of two lemons + lemon extract or pure lemon essential food grade oil +  1 box vanilla or lemon instant pudding (dry)).  Bake as directed, then cool completely.  I then filled the cupcakes with red raspberry preserves.  I used my classic butter cream frosting with zest of two lemons added + 1 tsp. vanilla &  1 tsp. lemon extracts.  To put these cupcakes over the top, I added pale yellow sugar dusting the top and pieces of this amazing chocolate bar (shown above) in each cupcake.  I just know they will be great for this beautiful occasion!

The toppers were made using Stampin' Up punches.  The scallop punch for the designer paper, the solid color is from a 1 3/8" circle punch, and the photos/dates were punched with a 1 1/4" circle punch for a great layered effect.  These will be used for the other cupcakes and other hor'duerves that will be served.  Toppers make food personalized and so much fun!

What are your favorite flavor combinations you enjoy in a cupcake??  Comment below!

**CHOXIE brand candy is by Target.  Located in the regular candy aisle :)


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White Chocolate-Orange Cupcakes

If you know me personally you know I have taken into the art of the gourmet cupcakes.  An area of the kitchen (baking), I really don't fancy as a favorite (I hate the mess and tons of dishes).  So the picture isn't the greatest, but if you could taste them you would never mind.  My littliest loves anything orange, and well- white chocolate just seemed like a great pairing to the fresh orange flavor of these birthday cupcakes we served for his 2nd birthday.  A far cry from the a-typical store-bought-artificial-flavor I don't really like and I am tiring of paying for the conveinence, this is why I started to "create" something just a little more special for such a momentous occasion.  Enjoy! 

These are so easy try them!

1 bag of orange slice gum-drop type candy
1 white cake mix + ingredients to prepare
1 box of instant white chocolate pudding
2 oranges, zested
Orange Extract
Recipe for Classic Butter Cream
Quality White Chocolate Candy Bar (I like Lindt)
Clear Decorator Sugar

Prepare the white cake mix as directed and add pudding mix, zest of one orange, and 1 teaspoon of orange extract (or more for stronger taste) - (taste the batter :) ).  Place batter in cupcake liners about half to two thirds full (this makes a nice flat topped cupcake for frosting).  Bake as directed.  Remove cupcakes onto a  rack until completely cool.  Meanwhile, prepare Classic Butter Cream recipe and add zest of one orange, and additional orange extract to your taste.  It's okay to taste as you go, especially with the butter cream - this is what will make or break a great frosting.  Place frosting in a decorator bag with a tip or in a large zip bag and clip corner.  Frost a swirl on the top of each cupcake.  Take a vegetable peeler and "peel" the side of the chocolate bar to get swirls of chocolate.  Add to top of cupcake along with a little decorator sugar-top with an orange slice.  And there you have one terrific-well-loved cupcake.  Perfect for a spring or summer events.  Great with lemon or lime as well!  With all the great little bulk candy areas at Super Target or the mall you can be sure to find something fun to top the cupcake off with-

ENJOY!!

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Bowling Party Design

This year 1st boy wanted to celebrate at the Bowling Alley.  What a fun theme to work with for a "boy" party.  But, if you have a boy you know all the foo-foo isn't necessary so I tried to take it down a notch...

We started with delicious sugar cookies decorated and personalized for each child attending instead of the typical waste-of-money trinkets that get thrown away anyway. I personally like the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Pouch using the recipe on the back for rolled out cookies.  I do like to add a teaspoon of Almond extract to the simple three ingredient recipe to give it that bakery taste.  They were decorated with Wilton Cookie Icing in the squeeze bottles for the bowling pins, and then the bowling balls were iced and covered in black sugar crystals with three white chocolate chips upside down for the finger holes. 

Simple-Sweet-EASY!

 Cupcake toppers were made using a WORD document set for Avery circle labels, and I inserted my graphics and wording.  They were punched with Stampin' Up's circle and scallops punches.

 My boy is simple he is a vanilla-kind-of-kid.  However, there is a chocolate lover out there somewhere so we went with both very vanilla and fudge chocolate.  As I mentioned I am a simple sort of girl, I used a pudding-in-the-mix cake for the cupcakes, but I added a few ingredients.  For the very vanilla I used a white pudding-in-the-mix and added a white chocolate instant pudding to the mix, this was a very moist cake when all said and done.  The very vanilla cupcakes where iced with a simple classic vanilla buttercream (recipe following) and topped with clear coarse dusting sugar.  The chocolate cupcakes started out with a devil foods puuding-in-the-mix cake with a chocolate fudge instant pudding added.  They were frosted with the BEST perfect chocolate buttercream frosting found here at Hershey's website (bottom of the link page).  They too were topped with the clear coarse dusting sugar.

 I used a zipbag to frost the chocolate cupcakes (just add your frosting to a large gallon bag-and snip off the corner and swirl around the cupcake).  The vanilla I used a disposable Wilton bag with a large open star tip.

I know a ton of photos on those cupcakes....I was so excited they tasted better than any bakery I know!

This was a fantastic fun theme, loved the cupcake picks, take home treats, and all the delicious frosted cupcakes! (the bowling was fun too!)

Classic Buttercream Frosting Recipe
Makes 3 – 3.5 cups
Directions:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!)  Ideal texture should be like ice cream.
3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions:
Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed.  Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.  Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt,  and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for for 3 minutes.  If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar.  If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.  Enjoy!

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