St. Patrick's Day: Red Velvet goes GREEN!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day I decided to whip up some green cupcakes. It just so happens that my neighbor's birthday is on the same day. SCORE, St. Patrick's birthday cupcakes! To make them festive I whipped up a standard red velvet cake mix and added green food coloring. To top them off I frosted them with homemade cream cheese frosting and a hand piped chocolate shamrock covered in sprinkles.

Happy St. Patrick's Day & Happy Birthday Kristine.

Happy Baking,
AJ

Baby Shower Cupcakes

My good friend Jessica threw her big sister a baby shower this weekend. She and I had been thinking about what kind of cupcakes she wanted at the shower long before she had a date, time, or theme! :) We are party planners that way. LOL We decided that we wanted to do a cupcake bar. We were waiting to figure out colors and flavors until she picked the theme. Once the invitations arrived the ideas sparked from there.

We decided to do four dozen cupcakes in a variety of flavors. Vanilla, Strawberry, Strawberry Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Vanilla, Red Velvet. Since monkeys were a big part of the theme and decorations, I decided to do monkey faces on a dozen of them. Here is the variety before I took them to the shower:

I was really looking forward to setting them up at the shower. Jessica purchased a stand to decorate, and I knew it was going to be so cute. In addition to the cupcakes, I persuaded Jessica to make monkey treats. I made them for my daughter's 2nd birthday and they were a big hit.

Check out the cupcakes on display and Jessica's baby monkey treats.

Her sister Kelly had a great shower. She got a lot of wonderful gifts that I am sure she will get a lot of use out of.

Come on baby Jake. Your Mom and Dad have all the necessary supplies, and your Aunt Jessica can't wait to meet you.

Happy Baking,
Adrian

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

A while back I was browsing the internet and stumbled upon a cupcake that had bi-colored frosting. First thought that crossed my mind when I saw it, "Cool." Second thought, "I must master this technique." To prepare I did what most people do, Googled it. I read several blogs, watched videos, and examined pictures. It seemed easy enough. For my trial run I decided to go with Mardi Gras colors. Who doesn't love Mardi Gras??? Advice for those who don't...never turn away a good cupcake! :)

When I was finished I knew I had to have one more thing to make it complete, beads. I rummaged through my daughter's play jewelry and pulled out as many strands of beads that I could find. She didn't have very many, she likes superheros, and well they don't wear to many necklaces!

So how did I do it? I loaded each of the colors in saran wrap, rolled them the length of the frosting bag, and tied it off at one end. Then I inserted both frosting logs (not the best word, but it offered the best visual) into the bag. Then I began to squeeze them equally to load both colors in the frosting bag at the same time. Then I began piping away. It was pretty easy, messy, but easy.

Happy Mardi Gras to you!

Happy Baking,
AJ