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!!

Cake for the Bride {& Groom}

Oh wow! I can't tell you all how happy I am that it's Saturday afternoon and I'm sitting on my couch, typing this post! This has been such a long week!! I got back from GA on Monday and immediately started working on wedding cakes for a friend of mine.  Before I get to the details of the cakes, let me just tell you that working a full-time job, training a new puppy, and working on weddings in the evening is not easy! Ha! Who am I kidding? That may be the understatement of the year! Don't let the pictures of my puppy, Jax, fool you..he's a little monster! :) I forgot what this stage is like....

....now back to the cakes....

The bride's cake was a Raspberry-filled Almond Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream and the groom's cake was a Sour Cream Pound Cake with Mocha Cream Cheese Buttercream in the shape of Mickey Mouse's head. Yummo!

I love the colors she picked and the topper? Just beautiful!

Cute, right? I love this topper too!

Ok, the bride's cake first cuz, let's face it...that's what everyone looks at first! The couple tasted several different flavor combos (thanks to all the cupcakes I've done for this blog) and decided on my Almond Cake with a raspberry filling and my, by now, famous White Chocolate Buttercream. Seriously, if you haven't tried this icing by now, I just don't know if we can be friends anymore. Ok, just kidding...but you really do need to try it...and, yes, I mean need. I'm a huge fan of the "messy iced" look so this was right up my ally.

Now, the groom's cake. For those of you who've been around awhile, you probably think this flavor combo seems familiar. Well, you're right. Remember my insane Coffee and a Donut Cupcakes? Bingo! The groom loved those flavors together and actually added one extra element - cream cheese. After tasting this icing I've decided that this guy is brilliant and I may go to him for future ideas! It's that good. Hello! Coffee + Chocolate + Cream Cheese = Genius! To make this I just used Wilton's Mocha Buttercream and added some of my own Cream Cheese Icing until I thought the taste was just right!

I love me some beautiful fake flowers for wedding cakes!

Had to get a close-up of that awesome topper...they're life together will be stronger because of their faith in the One who gave them each other!!

Well, that's what I've been up to all week. What have you been doing? Stay tuned to read about some awesome new kitchen gadgets I'll be reviewing next week and the chance to win a set of your own!! Plus, I hope to be getting back to the cupcakes so you should have some fun new treats to try soon! 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,

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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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A Pirate's {50th} Birthday Cake

First, this has been a very crazy and exhausting day! My mom woke me up at 3:15 this morning because she had to take my dad to the hospital for chest pain and the shakes. Thankfully, so far all of his tests have come back clear and the doctors don't believe it's his heart. My dad is an associate pastor, father of four daughters, and a full-time team leader at Lockheed Martin in their computer department. The man has A LOT on his plate! We think that this was a wake up call for him to slow down and not try to do so much. Prayers are appreciated for his full recovery and continued good health! God isn't finished with him yet!!

Now on to the cake...

I had a fun last minute cake order come in last week and I'm so excited to share it with you today! The cake was for a 50th birthday party and the theme was pirates. Really cool.

Pirate themed birthday cake 

Anyway, they wanted a cake that would appeal to everyone so for the flavors they chose chocolate for one tier and vanilla for the other. The whole thing was iced in white chocolate buttercream. My favorite part is the decorations. I'm not much of a fondant fan. I don't like the way it tastes and I'm not particularly fond of working with it. However, the cake picture they showed me had a lot of fondant work and I wanted to find a way to make the cake they wanted without having to deal with it. So, I went to my favorite store for creativity and looked around. Did you know that Wilton makes sugar sheets? Literally sheets of edible "paper" made out of sugar and in lots of different colors! I love this stuff!! Cut or punch the shapes you want and voila! Done and done. So easy and exactly the look I wanted.

Photo courtesy of wilton.com

"Spring"ing Forward With Almond Cupcakes

The pretty little cupcakes :)

Hey friends. It's back to the sweet stuff from the land of meat and potatoes for this post. This is where I'm comfortable. It's home. The fluffy deliciousness of these white almond cupcakes is one of the many reasons why I have a love affair with cupcakes. I made this cake for the first time for my sister's wedding last year. It was such a huge hit and my cousin, Elizabeth (or "Licka" as we call her), fell in love immediately. Yes, she may kill me for putting her nickname out there in cyber space for all to see but it's how I think of her. She turned 18 last month but I still remember her as a little 2 yr old squirt with blond hair who used to look up at me from her playpen, waiting to be picked up. She has grown into quite the young lady with a personality bigger than life. She makes me laugh constantly and we love when she comes down to visit! So, Lick, this one's for you! ;)

Licka - isn't she adorable? Love this girl!

First things first. The cupcake. I came across this recipe last year when I needed a fluffy almond cake for one of the tiers of my sister's Mad Hatter Tea Party wedding cake. I needed something that would be light and moist but also somewhat sturdy as it was to be formed into a topsy-turvy Mad Hatter's top hat. Cool, right?

Mad Hatter Tea Party wedding cake that I made for my sister's wedding. Photo credit goes to Lauren Mason from  Piccadilly Pictures.

Anyway, I found this as a result of a google search and will never make any other almond cake again! I love it. Now, when you read the ingredients, do not freak out! Are you ready for this? It starts with a....gulp....box mix! I know! So not like me!! However, I went with it because it is so doctored that by the time you're finished you don't even remember that Betty Crocker or Pillsbury helped. (Don't get me wrong...they have a time and a place...I just don't usually use them.) I also used this recipe for the groom's cake (my BIL asked for a vanilla/white chocolate concoction) and just left out the almond extract - also gave a great result! Another key ingredient in this cake is sour cream. I've decided that I just love sour cream in my cakes. If I'm looking for a new cake recipe and one of the options has sour cream in it, chances are I'm gonna pick that one.

White Almond Sour Cream Wedding Cake: (adapted from here)


2 18 oz boxes white cake mix
2 cups AP flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 t salt
2 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 t vanilla extract
2 t almond extract
2 cups sour cream
8 egg whites

1. Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large* mixing bowl. *If you're using the full recipe, then I mean LARGE. This recipe makes a ton of batter. The full recipe made about 4 doz standard size cupcakes. And, when you're using your countertop convection oven because your regular oven is broken, and can only bake six at a time....well, you can guess how long that took!


2. Add remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for two minutes. 

3. Pour into prepared liners, tapping to let out air bubbles. Bake at 375 for about 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

Carrot Cupcakes and a Purple Velvet Birthday

Well, friends, I survived the weekend! How sad is it that I'm glad it's Monday so that I get a break from my weekend? It was fun but oh so very busy and today is the first of many celebrations this week! First, it's the birthday of one of the ladies I work with (who also happens to be my pastor's wife and mother of my friend Michal from previous posts). For her, I made carrot cupcakes - her favorite cake flavor. Let me tell you, finding the perfect carrot cake recipe has always been a struggle for me. There are so many different versions out there and so many people who say they have the best one! It's actually quite frustrating and someday when I have the time I think I'd like to get a bunch of different recipes and make them all and decide for myself what the best recipe is! Anyway, for these cupcakes, I turned to my new favorite website for wasting time, Pinterest. I found one that sounded pretty good and am pleased with the outcome. I don't know if I'd say it's the best I've ever had but it's tasty and moist - my two requirements for a good cake - and they were well received. I dipped the cupcakes in ganache, iced them in that fabulous whipped cream cheese icing from the Green Velvet post, and topped them with chopped walnuts. Yummy!

Carrot Cupcakes: (adapted from here)

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 cups chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.  In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil, eggs, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, carrots and walnuts. Bake in prepared liners until toothpick comes out clean. 

Cute little cupcakes!

Triple Chocolate and German Chocolate Cupcakes

Ok, first a few personal things. A lot of you know this but for those that don't I want to let you know that my sweet dog, Buddy (see pic with the last post), lost his fight with an autoimmune disorder last Saturday. It has been a very rough few weeks at our house and we miss him so very much! You don't really understand the impression they make on your hearts and in your lives until they're gone and, boy, is this hard! He was an 8 yr old miniature Dachshund, with a personality bigger than life and we loved him more than words can say. All the prayers and outpouring of love is appreciated more than you could ever know! I'm still grieving and crying at random moments when something catches me off guard or a thought/memory runs through my mind, but I'm ready to get my mind on some baking and hoping that cupcakes will help the healing process. Second, my dad's birthday is this weekend so, while I promised raspberries and lemon, we're first going to take a detour down chocolate lane for him!

Dad's favorite cake is German Chocolate. Over the years I have scoured the cookbooks, searched online, and asked friends for their recipes. Well, I'm happy to say that last year I found it! My German Chocolate cake go-to recipe. This one is definitely not mine but I'm so pleased with it that I don't feel the need to tweak it. The cake is light and moist and the icing - delish! Now, in my picky family, my dad, brother-in-law, and I are the only ones who really like the traditional coconut pecan icing so for everyone else, I made a Triple Chocolate Cupcake - German chocolate cake, milk chocolate ganache, and white chocolate buttercream. Sounds good, right? I know...chocolate overload. But, for chocoholics like us, heaven!

I love the word ganache. People hear it and automatically think gourmet, fru-fru, upscale, hoity-toity... Little do they know, ganache simply means I melted chocolate with some warm cream and, voila! It's ok though. If someone wants to think I spent hours because of a fancy word, I'll let them! The white chocolate buttercream icing I use is a Wilton recipe and, let me tell you, it's probably the best thing I've EVER put in my mouth. Seriously. My mom, the world's pickiest eater, who prefers boxed cake mixes and icing from a can, can't stop eating it by the spoonful. If you haven't made this icing yet, you MUST. I mean it. Right now. Stop what you're doing and go! It's that good.

The review -- I'm not gonna lie; these cupcakes are divine! Chocoholics beware: you will be addicted. The sounds coming from my family while eating these tell me that I have another success on my hands. The birthday boy was oh so excited to see the coconut pecan icing on the stove today and when he tasted it, he said the only thing missing was a cup of coffee. Yum-my! Now, the links to these recipes are included so you be the judge. Once again, happy reading and, most importantly, happy cupcake-ing!!