Feels Like Christmas...in July!

Hello, friends! You may have noticed a button I've had on my side bar the last few weeks about Christmas in July over at Happy Hour Projects. The lovely Adrianne has been hosting a fun event all month over at her blog and organized a gift exchange. What's more fun than giving and receiving Christmas gifts 5 months early? I was paired up with the fantastic Laurel over at Girl Meets World and let me just say...I love her! We are such kindred spirits and I always enjoy making new friends!! Here's what she sent me....

So excited!!

The big picture...

 How cool is this mug?! Two of my favorite things - coffee and cupcakes!!

Awesome towels that will probably just be "for looks" :)

I am in love with this plate! You'll probably be seeing it in more posts....

She couldn't have made a better piece of jewelry for me. Hello! A Cupcake Love Affair in a bracelet!

Merry Christmas in July everyone and, Laurel - Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making me gifts that were most definitely all about me. It's obvious you took your time to really get to know me and I appreciate it so very much! 

If you haven't yet, check out both Adrianne's and Laurel's blogs. You won't be sorry! Until next time, happy reading and more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

Red {Velvet} White and Blue Cupcakes

Happy Independence Day, friends! To say that I'm proud to be an American is a huge understatement. I love this country. I love the principles it was founded on, the people who live here, and the flag that waves. I'm so thankful to live in a country where, for hundreds of years, we've had the freedom to worship my Savior and read His Word without persecution or fear of worse. I'm extremely thankful and truly humbled by those who sacrifice each and every day to fight for my freedom and the rights that I enjoy daily.

So, this morning, I want to say thank you. Thank you, Lord, for giving us this great nation and your gift of salvation that really gives us a reason to celebrate. Thank you, forefathers, for believing in something enough to fight for it. Thank you, men and women who serve, for giving of yourselves and putting your lives on the line so that I can remain free. Thank you, Old Glory, for waving and offering us hope. Thank you, America, thank you...

Today I'm sharing, not a new recipe, but a new technique that helped me make these beautful cupcakes. I came across this icing technique one day while wasting time on browsing the internet.

How cool does that look? We had a 4th of July picnic at church Sunday night and I brought these babies. Let me tell you...they were a huge hit! I started with my tried and true Red Velvet cake recipe, added my favorite White Chocolate buttercream, threw in some food coloring and an awesome technique, and there you have it...beautiful, delicious cupcakes perfect for a patriotic celebration!

This is the second time I've used this technique (the first was for my Nutella cupcakes). This time I needed to swirl three colors together and used a straight tip instead of a star. I just loved the result! I should probably warn you...you may be seeing a lot more swirled icing on this blog now that I've got it figured out! :)

I hope that you all have a fun, safe holiday with your friends and family! Before I go, here's a picture of my friend's sweet baby girl, enjoying our picnic (and one of my cupcakes) Sunday night...

Ha! I love it! Until next time, happy reading, happy cupcake-ing, but more importantly, happy 4th of July!!

A Bouquet of Rose Cupcakes for {Mother's Day}

Hey all. I hope the mothers out there had a fantastic Mother's Day! I know my mom did. We've been on vacation since Thursday and it's been wonderful. Dad rented a really cool vacation home right on the water with a pool and the use of a boat. We've spent the last 3 days swimming, relaxing, fishing, dolphin watching...it's just been amazing. The best part has been all the quality time spent with my family! Mother's Day started off with me making breakfast - eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits, fruit, orange juice, and coffee. Mom and my mom-to-be sister opened their presents and a few tears were shed (always a bonus in our family if we can strike that chord). :) Then, we spent the day out on the water and in the pool. The crowning glory, though, was the Rose Bouquet of Cupcakes I made for them. These are really beautiful and so very simple to do.

The recipes I used are the chocolate cake from my Decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake post and my favortie icing - Wilton's White Chocolate Buttercream. For the tutorial on how to make the roses, go here. The short of it is, instead of starting on the outside and piping in like you normally do for cupcakes, you start in the middle and pipe outward, making one layer of icing instead of layering as you go. I'm really not very good with the explanations; it's something I'm working on. If you don't understand what I just explained, follow the link above. She even has pictures to show the work as she went.

There you have it. Cupcakes for my sweet mama and my fabulous sister. I can't wait to welcome my niece or nephew this fall! This child is gonna be spoiled! 


I received two custom cupcake orders for this week, so there may not be a new post until the weekend (we'll see). BUT, these are gonna be fun orders and I'll be telling you all about them when they're finished! Also, if you haven't yet, visit my post on the fun summer reading challenge I'm participating in. I'm having a blast with it so far! Until then, happy reading and, more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

Linking up here every week: SumosSweetStuff, FlourMeWithLove, ToastieStudio, SerendipityAndSpice, LadybugBlessings, MyFavoriteFinds, CrazyForCrust, I'mTopsyTurvy, ACreativePrincess, MrsFox'sSweets, GingersnapCrafts, PincushionCreations, 733Blog, BearRabbitBear, LiveLaughRowe, TwinkleInTheEye, Michelle'sTastyCreationsAndCraftyIdeas, SomewhatSimple, TheREALHousewivesOfRiverton, SevenAlive, ThesePeasTasteFunny, GoingsOnInTexas, OneArtsyMama, Happy Go Lucky, TwoSasters, PetalsToPicots, LadybirdLn, KitchenFunWithMyThreeSons, WhipperBerry, TheGrantLife, BubblyNatureCreations, TatertosAndJello, WhileHeWasNapping, SixSistersStuff, SkipToMyLou

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Happy Cinco de Mayo ~ Tres Leches Cupcakes

It's official. Mexican food is my favorite and Cinco de Mayo is now officially my new favorite holiday! :) I decided to try Tres Leches cupcakes and was pleasantly surprised! I've had good tres leches and bad tres leches so I took awhile before deciding on which recipe to try. This one is fantastic! The cake is a perfect sponge cake - light, fluffy, and delicious - and soaks up the three milks perfectly. Topped with a fresh whipped cream, these cupcakes are the perfect ending to a spicy Mexican night!

You start with a sponge cake from The Pioneer Woman....


1 cup AP flour
1-1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
5 whole eggs
1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1/3 cup milk


Then add the traditional mixture of milks....


1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened, condensed milk
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill muffin pan with liners.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Separate eggs.

Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed until yolks are pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour egg yolk mixture over the flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, pour in remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry.

Fold egg white mixture into the batter very gently until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake until lightly golden brown and tester inserted into each cupcake comes out clean. 

Combine the three remaining milks. When cupcakes are cool, poke holes in each one and slowly pour small amounts of milk mixture over each. (I took the papers off each one and then poured mixture 1 teaspoonful at a time, let it soak in, and repeated pouring for a total of about 3 teaspoons of mixture for each cupcake.)

Let cupcakes sit about 30 minutes to soak up the milk mixture and top with whipped cream. I made mine by whisking 1 pint of heavy cream with about 1/3 cup of confectioner's sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. If you like, you can top the cupcakes with a maraschino cherry. 

These cupcakes are seriously good and I hope you give them a try. They have a slight caramel taste and are just wonderfully light and fluffy. 

If you guys have been paying attention on Facebook, you've seen an announcement about a future giveaway.  Well, I need 15 more followers and I'll be giving away a sweet Cupcake Love Package: 1 box cake mix, 1 tub frosting, a decorator tip, sprinkles, assorted cupcake liners, and a surprise! So, spread the word and tell your friends to join us with either Google Friend Connect or BlogLovin! 

Next weekend, my family and I are going on a little vacation so, in honor of summer and the beach, I'll be making S'mores Cupcakes this week. Yum! Until then, happy reading and, more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

Linking up here: SerendipityAndSpice, SumosSweetStuff, FlourMeWithLove, ToastieStudio, SkipToMyLou, LadybugBlessings, CoveredInGrace, CrazyForCrust, PincushionCreations, GingerSnapCrafts, MrsFox'sSweets, 733Blog, MichellesTastyCreations, SomewhatSimple, HousewivesOfRiverton, SevenAlive, ACreativePrincess, BearRabbitBear, LiveLaughRowe, OneArtsyMama, TwoSasters, PetalsToPicots, http://www.notyourordinaryrecipes.com/, LadyBirdLn, KitchenFunWithMy3Sons, WhipperBerry, TheGrantLife, BubblyNatureCreations

Cupcakes for dinner? April Fools!

It's kinda funny to me how many changes this blog has made in my life. I'm busier, always making notes on flavor combinations and decoration ideas, and celebrating holidays that used to pass without mention. Thus, today's post. April Fools cupcakes. Now, I'm sure that I'm not the first person to have this idea. I know that people have made these before and probably have served them for April Fools Day. However, I can honestly say that I came up with the idea on my own and, while it may not be original, I don't personally know of anyone who does these on this particular day. What are they, you ask? No, those are not chocolate cupcakes with a buttercream and fruit glaze. They're actually meatloaf cupcakes, some cooked with a ketchup "ganache" and some without, topped with mashed potato "icing", and drizzled with a ketchup glaze.

Fun, right? Oh, not to mention, delicious! For those of you who are aware that my oven is broken, you'll be happy to know that our countertop convection oven worked just fine for these babies. I had to bake them in three batches since they wouldn't fit more than 9 at a time but it worked out just fine!

I've told you before about my maternal grandmother and how she is the reason I'm a baker today. Well, the unbelievably easy and delicious meatloaf recipe I always use came from her and I am going to share it with you. Yep. You read that correctly. You're getting my Grandma Tommie Jean's meatloaf recipe. You're welcome! ;)

A Luck o' the Irish Month o' Cupcakes #2 - Mint Chocolate Cupcakes for the Bride

The second cupcake in my tribute to St. Patty's Day series is Mint Chocolate Chip. I am so excited to introduce you to this cake! Remember my post about random things a little while back where I told you all about my favorite chocolate cake recipe? Well, scratch that! I found my NEW favorite and it is to die for! I mean it. Unbelievably, ridiculously, slap-your-mama good! Trust me. Even my mama would agree. She loves this cake so much and that, my friends, is HUGE! I think I've told you before how picky she is. Well, she was licking her lips over this cake. I found it in a cookbook that my parents got me for Christmas. This book is so cool and has so many recipes that I can't wait to try. It's called Baked Explorations and I love it! The chocolate cake recipe that I am referring to is their Devil's Food cake. High quality dark chocolate (I used Ghirardeli Intense Dark 60%), dark chocolate cocoa, and strong hot coffee are the secret ingredients in this decadent, oh-so-scrumptious cake. Try it. You will be hooked, I promise!!

Love this book!

For the icing on these cupcakes, I used a recipe I found on, you guessed it, Pinterest. This mint chocolate chip icing tastes just like the ice cream. No kidding. In fact, my sister whose favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip and who also happens to be lactose intolerant, said that she could freeze the icing before eating it and never feel deprived again! I will say this, though. I don't think I will ever use it for cupcakes again! Piping this stuff is a nightmare. One of the reasons I love cupcakes so much is because they are just about the cutest things ever! Well, these babies are not at all cute. I tried two different sized round tips. Then I tried just piping through an open piping bag without a tip. Ugh! So, in the end, I just had to flatten it out and smooth it with a spatula. Thankfully, these were for a bridal shower and I had cute toppers to go on them. From now on I'll just be using this one for cakes - not cupcakes!

Ugly but oh-so-delicious icing! :)

The bridal shower colors were pink and green (spring wedding, of course) so the mint chocolate chip icing was the perfect color. I piped the letter "W" (for the couple's last name) and hearts with green candy melts and I think they turned out quite adorably. We also had carrot cupcakes from the previous post (I made a double batch because I knew we had the bridal shower) and tiramisu cupcakes (you'll get to read about those in my next post). These may seem like strange combinations that have nothing to do with the other and, well, you'd be right except for one important thing. The bride's two favorite desserts are anything minty and tiramisu. Therefore, that's what I made. Hello! What the bride wants...the bride gets!! :)

Carrot, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Tiramisu Cupcakes (post coming soon) 

The recipes:

Luck o' the Irish Month o' Cupcakes #1 - Green Velvet!

This is the first in a series of green cupcakes for St. Patty's Day in honor of the Irish and my heritage - not sure how much, but I am part Irish - and to start, I'm going to confess something to you. I could have dedicated an entire blog to my love affair with red velvet cake. I don't know what it is about the stuff but I LOVE it! Is that terrible of me to admit? I know the red food coloring isn't the best thing for me and recently I've been thinking about trying more natural ways of making the batter red without all the yuck, but I just can't get enough of this cake. There's just something about the tartness of the buttermilk and vinegar in the cake combined with the sweet creaminess of the cream cheese icing - oh, I'm drooling now! I've made it red (standard), blue (for a winter wonderland wedding), and now I'm gonna go green! Everyone else is, why not me too? :)

Can someone please explain to me why, 5 days before St. Patty's Day, I couldn't find cupcake liners or sprinkles to go with the theme anywhere?? I looked at Publix, Sweetbay, Target, and Walmart. Today I went to Michaels (where I probably should've started in the first place) and finally found some. Even Michaels was almost out so I stocked up for next year!

My cute little liners I found at Michaels - Standard and Mini :)

So, here it is - the best red velvet cake recipe I have ever tried, adapted for St. Patty's Day and made into a slightly healthier version of the original. I filled the cupcakes with a light green cream cheese filling and iced them with a FABULOUS whipped cream cheese icing - best ever! Then I freehand piped some 3 leaf clovers with white chocolate (dyed green, of course) and voila! Green Velvet Cupcakes for St. Patty's Day!

Piped 3 leaf clover

Green Velvet Cupcakes: (original recipe found here)


2 cups sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vinegar