Crazy Week Wrap-Up

As part of my whirlwind cake/cupcake making last week, I not only had my cupcake of the month to make, but I also had a cake order & a cupcake order. I also made 2 dozen cupcakes using the leftover strawberry frosting I had made for these. We had a lunch at work for one of our coworkers, so cupcakes were my contribution. As for my orders...I had to make a strawberry lime cake for a coworker's birthday & strawberry lime mini cupcakes for another coworker. (As you can probably tell my coworkers keep me busy, & strawberry lime is now my signature recipe.) I tried to make a 9x13 cake using the strawberry lime recipe that I've used several other times, but I soon realized that it would have to be multiplied by about 3 to get enough batter for the cake. So I cheated...I took a box of strawberry cake mix & substituted half the water for lime juice. For the frosting on the cake, I used the regular lime frosting that my original recipe calls for. The cake wasn't as good as it would have been had it been homemade, but it actually turned out really good. One of the girls said that it tasted like Fruit Loops, & it kind of did...it had that tart, sweet, fruity flavor going on.

The mini cupcakes were for a wedding rehearsal dinner, & they were just strawberry cake mix with the same lime frosting as what I used on the cake. They were the last thing I did that week, so I was completely exhausted by the time I was done!

Crazy week's over...I survived & made some tasty treats in the process.

Birthdays & Babies

I've been a busy little cake maker this week. I made a cake for my dad's birthday, & I had a cupcake order for a baby shower. Dad got a strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream, & it was tasty...nice & moist. I read the other day about letting the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes after you pull it out of the oven & then wrapping it in plastic wrap & putting it in the fridge. Pure brilliance I tell you...it worked perfectly!



The baby shower cupcakes were a dozen & a half each of strawberry cupcakes & white chocolate macadamia nut cupcakes. As you may remember, the white chocolate cupcakes were from my first Cupcake of the Month. I did a little variation on the icing to make it thicker (last time it was a runny mess) so they'd look a little nicer for the shower.




Now for the strawberry cupcakes, I wanted to figure out a way to doctor up a boxed cake mix. I found a recipe that seemed pretty good, so I decided to give it a try. Since I didn't get to try the cupcakes, I'm not sure how they came out but they looked very moist. The icing was strawberry cream cheese made with fresh strawberries, & I can attest to the fact that it was fabulous.





Strawberry Cake

1 box strawberry cake mix
1 (11.5 oz) can strawberry nectar
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil


Mix & bake according to directions on box.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 (8oz) package cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup strawberries, mashed in food processor
3-4 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter & cream cheese. Mix in strawberries. Add powdered sugar to desired taste & consistency.

Betty's got nothing on me!

Tonight was my first venture into the world of homemade cupcakes. I can make any boxed cake mix taste extra yummy, but I wanted to try my hand at something homemade for a change. My sister & I are having a jewelry party tomorrow night, so I thought I'd make some mini cupcakes for the occasion.

I found a recipe in Crazy About Cupcakes for strawberry-lime cupcakes & another for lime frosting. Add a little tequila, & you'd have yourself one tasty strawberry margarita, but that's another subject. The recipe was very easy to follow; it called for either fresh or frozen strawberries, & I chose the latter. When the minis came out of the oven they seemed a little dense so I was worried that I hadn't mixed the batter enough. After a taste test, though, they weren't as heavy as I thought they were. I wish I would have used fresh strawberries instead of the frozen ones; I think they would have helped keep the cake more light & airy. The lime frosting was absolutely delicious though! The perfect blend of sweet & tart. I didn't use all of the lime juice that the recipe called for, but it turned out really well. I'm glad I made the minis though, I think a little of the frosting goes a long way.

I made my guinea pigs (Mom & Dad) do a taste test, & they both agreed that they were pretty tasty. The true test will be our party guests tomorrow night. All in all, I'd say my first homemade cuppies were pretty successful. I'm definitely excited about trying more recipes!