Halloween Party 2010!

It's my favorite party of the year!

We had s'mores bark, seven layer bars, sugar cookies, double-chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, candy corn, malted milk balls, yogurt covered pretzels...

... kettle corn, peanut butter bars, churros, bit 'o honeys, more cupcakes, more sugar cookies...

... salad with candied pecans, brie and apple bruschetta, smoked salmon with creme fraiche and dill bruschetta, deviled eggs, pumpkin soup, meatballs, and sharp cheddar macaroni and cheese... there was so much food I could'nt even remember what we had when it was time to put it all out!

It's so fun to go all out just once a year : )

And of course we had shrunken head apple cider, the party isn't complete without it!

Don't forget to add the spiced rum!

We now have 3 time defending champions!

Best Costume went to Beauty and the Beast!



The Magician and his lovely assistant a close second.

Ricky couldn't smile without his mustache falling off.   : )

Let the games begin!!!



"Minute to Win It" was my favorite part of the night!

Spider Man was especially nimble, as you would expect  ; )

Another Halloween has come and gone, and it was so much fun!

'Til next year!!!

Candy Bar Cupcakes!

It's a sea of cupcakes!

I used mini cupcakes and "fun size" candy bars.

So fun.

Before baking I partially filled each cup, and put half of the candy bar inside. Topped 'em off with some more batter and stuck them in the oven.

Slice them open and you have a sweet surprise!

Choose your favorite candy bars...

And voila!

Perfect for sharing with friends : )

Happy 4th of July!

What a special day to celebrate!

These crazy little cupcakes are perfect for the kids.

To start, some pretty little cupcake cups.

Cupcakes are so much easier with this little thing here. It is a batter dispenser, something I probably wouldn've never bought. My mom gave this to me and it is awesome!

All filled, they're ready to go into the oven.

I decided to fill these cupcakes with raspberry frosting. So while they were baking I prepared the raspberry sauce. It's a little tedious separating the raspberry seeds...

But the payoff is a beautiful, delicious raspberry sauce.

Next I filled the cupcakes with the raspberry frosting.

Let the icing begin! I used a star tip for a fireworks effect!

These little pinwheels are from Wilton, and they work really well. So after the kids are done with their cupcakes the fun can go on!

And there you have it! A festive vanilla cupcake, filled with raspbery frosting, topped with vanilla flour frosting.

Have a spectacular 4th of July!!!

Flour Frosting-

1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup butter cut in cubes (cool butter)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1 1/2- 2 cups powdered sugar

1. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar, flour, salt together. Add the milk and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened into a paste and is slightly bubbly at edges 2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; beat until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. If the frosting is too soft, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to chill slightly: then beat again until it is the proper consistency.
3. Add the vanilla and continue mixing until combined.
4. Add powdered sugar to taste. You can make the frosting more or less stiff by adding more or less powdered sugar.

Raspberry Sauce-
First separate raspberries from the seeds by crushing them over a sieve. Then add sugar to taste, and let simmer over the stove until reduced and thickened. Chill in refrigerator before adding to frosting.

Cakes!

This cake has been on my list to make for a while. It's supposed to have an ombre effect... such a fancy word! I gradually added color to the buttercream while decorating the cake.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream is so beautiful, and the texture so luxurious! I realized that swiss meringue buttercream is actually very hard to incorporate color into. I discovered the best way was to mix the food coloring into about 1 tablespoon of buttercream, and then incorporate that tablespoon into the rest of the buttercream. Much easier.

These little cakes were made as a gift for someone's friend that was moving.

I love how they are each a different, cheerful color.  : )  I baked brownies, cut them out with biscuit cutters, and decorated with royal icing.

Tennis anyone?

These cupcakes were made for a friend's 50th birthday, and she's crazy about tennis! These are chocolate cupcakes topped with buttercream and fondant. No prob Bob!

And now for the winner of this tweet tweet, sweet sweet mug...

Q: Who's bigger? Mr. Bigger or Mr. Bigger's baby?

A: Mr. Bigger's baby 'cause he's a 'Little Bigger'.

Congratulations Kay! : )

Some of you asked what I thought of Wilton's baked doughnut recipe. I thought it was very good, light and moist. However the texture more closely resembles a cupcake than a doughnut. I'm sure you could use a favorite recipe that is a little more dense if you want a firmer texture.

Please refer to the April 2010 post of Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Hi-Hats for the Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipe.

How Sweet It Is.

Nothing says birthday like sprinkles on a cupcake!

26 is lookin' pretty good now.

To sprinkle or not to sprinkle, that was the question... so I did both : )

We had 4 birthdays in the span of a week and lots of cake! This is a layered yellow and devil's food cake with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream.

I love making birthday cakes. What's better than a sweet, edible, flaming symbol of your love and appreciation for them?!

And for my 31 year old husband... a giant cookie of course!

Have your cake and wear it too!

A very happy un-birthday to you all!

Swiss Meringue Buttercream-

Please refer to the Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Hi-Hats post from April :)

To make Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream, follow the recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream omitting the vanilla extract, decreasing the sugar to 1 cup, and adding 8 ounces melted best-quality bittersweet chocolate after the butter has incorporated (let chocolate cool slightly before mixing in).

I actually didn't omit the cup of sugar and just added melted chocolate to taste. Just make sure you wait until the chocolate has cooled so that it doesn't melt the butter in the buttercream. If you do see separation after you have made the buttercream, whip at medium-high speed until smooth.

For the swirls on the cupcakes I used a star tip, and made rosettes by making little circle swirls.