Cup+Cake+Frosting= Cupcake!!

WEEK THREE!!!

Hard to believe tonight was the second to last class!! Tonight, we filled and decorated cupcakes as well as learned Drop Flowers, Rosettes, Shells, Pompom Flower, Leaves, and Shaggy Mums.  I feel tonight was more laid back than the first couple of weeks, the teacher is finally laughing and showing a little personality.  Honestly, at first I didn't think I would want to take the next class(es) with her but after tonight its safe to say she has grown on me.  And I am hoping the December: Flowers and Cake Design class is available on a day I can do it!

So here are my cupcakes:

Please, excuse the BAD pictures! I took them with my broken phones camera because my other camera is having lens issues:(  On a good note mom and dad are letting me take home the nice camera:)

Yellow Rose (2D tip) and Leafs (352 tip)

White Rose (1M tip), Leafs (352 tip), and Zig Zag boarder (18 tip) 

Shaggy Mum (233 tip) and Leafs (352 tip) 

Pompom Flower ( dark blue 16 tip--- light blue 12 and 18)

"You can't look at a cupcake without smiling"

First OFFICIAL Cake

Be what you are. This is the first step toward becoming better than you are. 

~Julius Charles Hare ~

Today, I had my second cake decorating class. Much like the last it was fast pace and full of information. We started with trying out two new tips #'s 17 and 3 and a quick review of the "Three Keys to Success" according to Wilton.   Once, we completed the small task at hand. The group got ready for the "LARGE" task at hand.... OUR FIRST OFFICIAL CAKE!!!! 

This is how it went it went for me....

I started by "torting" my cake, simply cutting it in half in order to put my filing in the middle.  I just used some buttercream frosting, nothing fancy.  Then I colored my cake frosting pink but because the Teacher kept saying "we NEED to use toothpicks to color our icing" I didn't do the best coloring job, so my icing became a pink/white marble. Overall, it looked good.  

The next step was to do a "Piping Gel Pattern Transfer," this will become my best friend since I am not an artist that can draw.  Simply, someone takes a picture (we used a cupcake) and then with piping gel colored a blue (or a color of their choice) trace the design onto wax paper, then flip the gel onto the cake and using a "Decorator Brush" (aka paint brush) lightly press the gel onto the cake and then DECORATE!

Now for the "FIRST OFFICIAL CAKE"

Here is the Wilton example

And here is MY cake

Close up of the Cupcake 

Next week: We will be making, filling, and icing cupcakes

as well as learning

*Pompom Flowers

* Drop Flowers

*Shaggy Mum

* Rosettes

*Leaves

*Shell

Above all, art should be fun.- Alexander Calder

Cupcake Art

Last week on my truck around town to find a new decorating class, I picked up a book I have been wanting for some time now!

After looking through the book over and OVER I knew I wanted to do something but I find it pointless to spend all this time on something just to throw most of it or even all of it away. So, since I went home for Halloween I took the book along with me and made some cupcakes and flowers.

One of my friends, Rebecca, had knee surgery on Friday and I thought it was the perfect chance to explore the endless opportunities that can be found in my new book.  Since, usually when someone has surgery you take them flowers, I decided to take her cupcakes and cookie flowers.  As usual I always have to go pick up supplies for my spur of the moment baking experiences.  Mom and I went to Target, Walgreens, and Stater Brothers before having everything that I needed.

First, I got the cupcakes baking then I started creating the flowers that would go with this creation.

These are all the goodies I used to create my flowers!!

I made the flowers that used the marshmellows first, no reason behind why, I just did :) The big marshmellows you can cut into 5 petals and you just let them drop into the bowl of sugar and toss them around a little and they're done. I used 3 big marshmellows to make a total of 15 petals. 

 It is seriously this easy!!

I used purple sugar for the big marshmellows

Cutting the marshmellows and letting them fall into the sugar

I didn't take pictures, but here is a quick over view with the small marshmellows...  With the small marshmellows you cut them in half and let them fall into the sugar just like before. I cut 20 small marshmellows and had left overs that I threw out.

Here are my sugar petals


Once, I did finished the marshmellow petals I moved onto the assembling the flowers with melted white chocolate. The base of the flower is just a sugar cookie that I "glued" everything onto.

The Flowers



This flower is made using plain m&ms

Sugar, large marshmellows (cut) and a candy corn hershey kiss complete this flower



Think of this times 2... sugar, small marshmellows (cut) a carmel apple kiss equals flower

All the Flowers together

Next step was putting the "steam" onto them.  The book says use small (thin) pretzels; however, Mom didn't think the thin ones would hold up the cookies so, we got the large (thick) pretzels.

Again, I used melted chocolate as glue. Also in order to make sure they didn't break
I used the Coconut and dish towels to level them

They're done!!!

Now, back to the cupcakes.. Frosting needs to be colored green, look like grass, and then arrange in a pot.

Green food coloring + white frosting= yummy green frosting

Coconut+green food coloring+ baggy= coconut grass



Put all of this together and what do you get?



THIS!!!!




Here is to a speedy recovery Rebecca!!!
To bad it didn't look this good when you got it :( 

** I HATE THE WHITE BOXES AROUND MY PICTURES**

STRIKIN’ Good Time

Happy Birthday Party Alison

A fun website for parties

As cute as the bowling pin cake is, we decided to go the easy route and make cupcakes.  Lee Anne thought cupcakes would be easier than cutting a cake and boy was she right!    Having a soft part for parties I love to decorate and plan everything- goodie bags, cake, decorations, etc.  (Maybe I should have just gone that route for my career- don’t worry I will not be dropping out of school to go that route it will stay a hobby and I am also super excited because of my blog reading I have found a fabulous website for party planning!!) Anyways, Lee Anne and I had a quick conversation early in the week that she didn’t have goodie bags planned yet (which is really not a big deal- first graders love candy.) But we share a common thing of not caring for the “cheap” toys that come in goodie bags.  So, in my free time or rather when I was bored, I searched the internet and found goodie bag ideas that other parents have used for bowling themed parties.  Sadly, all the party cities near me did not carry any of the bowling party supplies they showed on their website or that the other parents used- bummer!

Although, I was bummed about party city, I searched on the internet for candy molds that involved bowling thinking I could whip out a few candy treats and we could put a small something with them. Ever since beginning this journey of cake making and decorating I have wanted to go to a place called ABC Cake Decorating.  I finally went and can I say heaven on earth! There were aisles of candy molds as well as decorating supplies.  I hit the jackpot on my first aisle!! I found a sucker mold that read “Happy Birthday,” a sucker mold that had a bowling pin and ball, and molds for bowling pins and balls. I was really excited because for me something was coming together nicely.  I made a few samples to make sure I thought the suckers were worthy enough to put time into and they were!  The goodie bags had a pencil, eraser or finger cushion, pen, notepad, handful of candy, free game of bowling (this is included with the price you pay to have your party at the alley), and a homemade sucker in them!

So Wednesday, I talked to Lee Anne and told her about my amazing finds.  She thought it sounded fun and cute but didn’t want us spending our whole day getting these little candies ready.  Which I completely understood- so, I told her about the pack of 10 pins and ball that I also found at the store for $.79 cents! Which party city was selling for $2.99!! She asked if I could pick up a couple of bags just in case we wanted to take the easy route. Me being me and Alison being Alison, we wanted to take the harder route.  As Lee Anne got the cupcakes baked Alison helped me by filling in the bowling pin molds as well as some balloon sucker molds.  (I meant to take pictures of everything but forgot..opps)  Once the cupcakes were cooled and the bowling pins were hardened Lee Anne and I began thinking what color the frosting should be.  We went with a tan ish color to be the “wood” of the bowling lane.  Andrew assured us it looked nothing like the lane and we agreed we needed to add some yellow to give it the wood look but really the kids wouldn’t know any better, so we kept it our tan color.  The cupcakes still needed something once we put the bowling pin and ball (an m&m) on top- we sprinkled some sprinkles onto the cupcake, still not the look we wanted, Alison wanted us to put clear sprinkles on them “because her friends wouldn’t like the colorful sprinkles” but Lee Anne and I didn’t like the clear sprinkles either, then Lee Anne put the colorful sprinkles along the edge of the cupcakes and it was perfect! Now that we had the design ready we decorated 28 cupcakes with sprinkles along the edges, a bowling pin, and a ball (an m&m). Since, only a handful of people RSVP we made some extra cupcakes also and just decorated them by adding the colorful sprinkles to the top.   

Here are the "extra" cupcakes that we made

I believe, they were a hit since before, everyone even sang “Happy Birthday” the kids were already trying to get a cupcake with the candles still lit. 

Happy 7th Birthday

Miss Alison!!!
The party is over and the Birthday girl turned 7 on Friday! Hard to believe she is NOW 7!! I met her as a SHY 2.5 year old.  That first night she sat next to her Bubbah and didn't say a word to me for a good couple of hours. Then out of the blue she ran to her room and got her Polly Pockets and our friendship began.  Now, she is in first grade, plays soccer, played T ball, loves bowling, reads, emails, text messages, and of course talks ALL the time!


Alison(the day before her 3rd birthday) and I
@ the Miss Rodeo California pageant
October, 2006




Alison and I December, 2006

  


Me and Alison Glamis January, 2007



Alison (3 years old) riding Andrew's old quad when we went to Glamis
 January, 2007





Me and Alison (almost 4!) @ the MRC Pageant
 October, 2007

Alison (4 years old) at my birthday dinner

January, 2008





Alison (6 years old) July, 2010







Alison  enjoying a date night with Andrew and I

January, 2010









Alison showing off her 2010 Halloween costume a few days before her 7th Birthday!!



Side notes- 

 I wrote this last week just never posted it- Party was October 2nd and her Birthday was October 8th

 I suck at taking my camera with me as well as having a working camera or even getting pictures from everyone elses cameras :)

Although, I suck at bowling I could not get a hang of the lane we bowled on either could Andrew (he never got into the 200’s which is BAD for him seeing that he has multiple 300’s to his name)

All the kids had a great time and the parents are all thinking about having their kid’s parties there now.

At most bowling alleys they have a “party table” and I think I like that more than the small tables that this alley used for the party.  

I don't know how to get rid of the white boxes the pictures are in.. help please :)



Knocking them down…one pin at a time

Bowling Cake

After signing up for my class I began thinking who I can make a cake for and the first person whose Birthday is after my classes start is Alison.  Last year she had a bowling party and I thought she very well could just do that again this year or have a swim party.  So I searched the internet and found a bowling pin and ball cake; as well as, a cake that was a pair of flip flops. Both that I thought were super cute and saved them into my “Favorites.”  Well, she told me today what she is doing for her 7^th birthday (hard to believe she is 7 already, I feel like she is still the shy 2.5 year old I just meet- will minus the shy part ;))  Since, she decided on a bowling party with her first grade friends, I knew the cake would be perfect for her and fun for me to make as a surprise to her.

But, as I shared with my facebook friends- Friday I had a cake F.A.I.L when I was bored and decided to make a cake. I was attempting a layered round cake which was fine besides one of the layers not wanting to come out of the pan and crumpling in my hand L

 So with all that said- I thought before I talk everything over with Lee Anne I better make sure I can make this cake. Today, after I was done with makeup work from missing 4 days of school I started baking. 

The directions I am using call for 2- 13x9x2 inch pan; however, I am only using 1 (I am making it smaller cause I need to get the template blown up a little in order to make a larger size, or it may just be perfect at this size, I shall see in a couple of hours when I am all done.)  I know, my mom and Aunt Cristy will make fun of me but I used a box mix again. Sorry to disappoint- find me a good white cake mix recipe and I’ll be happy to make one from scratch.

Since, I am uncreative and unskilled I opted to buy the Wilton sports ball cake pan with my 40% off coupon at Michaels’, to make the bowling ball that will sit on top of the pins.  I read the directions for the pan and it said to use shortening, flour, and a pastry brush instead of Pam- good thing I had all of that.

One down.....

One to go....

As I sit here and write I keep getting up and checking on the ball as its baking away and the rectangular pan is cooling. I really want it all to be done that way I can frost everything and see the final outcome.

Seeing how the templete looks
 (the pins are from Word's collection of clipart)

Ready to cut

Cutting is done...

Crum Coat....



Pins are done...



Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the ball before I cut it down to fit the pins. Oh, well...

This is the color of the bowling ball and writing- its light purple with a little pink

Here is it... I practiced my writing as well

Will it is now almost 9pm and I am all done with the cake. I like it although I am not pleased with the frosting along the edges, but that will take time to make perfect J

First "official" set of cupcakes

The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter, and is about as ample at one season as at another. It is as well for cheerfulness as for warmth and dryness. ~Henry David Thoreau

S'more Cupcake

After watching countless episodes of “Cupcake Wars,” “Challenge,” “DC Cupcakes,” and so many others I finally got the bug to find a recipe for the s’more cupcake everyone makes. After lots of searching on google I found a recipe, thanks to Martha Stewart, click here if you would like to see the recipe. There is a link to the frosting on that page as well.

So, this past weekend I set out to FINALLY make them. It was the perfect opportunity since I would be in California and would have others around to taste them! Saturday afternoon, mom and I looked over the recipe and set off to the store to gather the few things that I would need. When we got home around 10pm Saturday mom and I started getting things done so we wouldn’t have much to do after church and before the VW club get together. As I was going through the recipe step by step and slowly (last time I tired to go fast when baking cookies I messed up, so now I read everything, ha ha) I realized I didn’t have enough cocoa for what the recipe called for; so, at 11pm it was off to the store for me, thank goodness Von’s is opened late :)  Once, I got home it was back to baking and by 12:30am the cupcakes were baked and ready to cool over night.

Cupcakes and the recipe

Sunday after church mom decided it would be best to taste a cupcake before we started the frosting to make sure we needed to bother. It tasted yummy, so I started making the frosting (with mom’s help.) She had to teach me the different type of “peaks” to frosting making. As we mixed the ingredients together, I was blown away with the fact that the frosting actually tasted like marshmallows! When it was at the correct “peak” mom helped me get my pastry bag ready to go. (I have been having an issue with my pastry bag busting open because of the way I hold my bag; so, she showed me the correct way.)

All the ingredients for the frosting

Boiling the water

Mom showing me the correct way to "whisk" the egg ingredients

Mixing the frosting together

Getting the correct "peak"

I practiced my swirls a couple times and then went for it and my first one turned out the best go figure! I kept wanting to start the next swirl to soon, something to practice. As I was frosting the cupcakes mom decided she was going to torch them. They turned out great!

My first swirl

Mom "torching" the frosting

Some of the finished product!!

Overall, they were yummy but they could have used more graham crackers and frosting. Next time I am going to try and make a filling out of the frosting as well.

Not even half the dishes :) Thank goodness for dishwashers