March 29, 2011

An Adorable Shower

The guidance counseler at school is having a baby so... we decided that we had to have a shower for her! A couple of years ago our teacher had a baby and we did a hungry catterpillar themed shower for her. My Friends and I decided that it would be fun to do the same thing so we organized the shower. It was an afterschool shower and turned out to be great fun. Check it out:
I decided to try a new cucpcake recipe, so I used the Magnolia Bakery Recipe. They turned out really yummy. We added a marshmallow creme filling to them which also added to the level of yuminess. I got the recipe from the food network web page so here it is:

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes

  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Icing:
  • Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
The vanilla buttercream we use at the bakery is technically not a buttercream but actually an old-fashioned confectioners' sugar and butter frosting. Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.


So we whipped up a double batch of the cupcakes (which made about 5 dozen) and frosted them in the two shades of green ( that you can see in the picture below) and a orangy, red tint (in the pic as well). I layed them out on the yellow poster board in a swirly motion.


The Shower ended up being a great success....as you can see!


March 10, 2011

The Cupcake Craze

This post is all about cupcakes...it seems that lately cupcakes are all around. Yesterday I grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures of all my cupcake stuff:
This is a "cartoon cupcake" reusable bag from borders. 
This is a shirt from the frosted cupcakery we visited this one in Long Beach California.


Cupcake Thumb tacks

This one is my sister but it is just too cute!

Cute little cupcake notepad

Cupcake Photo Holder!

I'm craving cupcakes!