Cupcake Mania - Featuring Cake Batter Filled Cupcakes!

So... it seems I have gone little cupcake crazy.  I have been making them in my sleep lately.  100 cupcakes for this event...100 cupcakes for this party... just moments ago, a friend at work who has a birthday tomorrow came up to me and said, "Don't forget my cupcakes tomorrow."

My kids are in love with batter filled anything!  I am always kicking them out of my cookie batter... so I decided to combine the two...

Confetti Cupcakes filled with cupcake batter...  YUM!...

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...and while I usually make everything from scratch...it is summer, and I try not to be a cake snob...so Yes I used a box mix...but in my mama's words...you must ALWAYS use DUNCAN HINES!

I baked the cupcakes according to their instructions and used my new amazing cupcake coreer

It leaves behind cupcake holes, and great snacks to eat while your finishing!

For the filling empty dry mix into a bowl and add club soda until you get a cake like consistency.
Add buttercream frosting

 

Classic American Buttercream frosting.

This is a great recipe for decorating and piping on cupcakes and cake.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!) Ideal texture should be like ice cream.
• 3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Instructions

1. Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

Bacon Overload

Bacon Overload!
(also known as....call the cardiac doctor)

I just finished a donor event for work.  In preparing for such things, I often find myself waking from a solid sleep in the middle of the night and sitting up in bed with ideas...  It is silly.... and annoying... but yes I dream about parties and decoration ideas.  I blame it all on my mom who, when I was a child would dream about how the furniture should be arranged, and get up in the middle of the night and move it.  This was all fine and good until I became a teenager and came home in the middle of the night to a dark house with the furniture moved around... enter bruised legs!

This night I happened to be dreaming about bacon, and my favorite thing in summer to eat...the simple and amazing BLT.  I decided that summer was a great time to put it all out there for an event. I have a wonderfully simple BLT dip recipe...what better to serve it in than a bacon cup!  Yes I did this.  Yes it is time consuming.  And yes it is purely a delight!

 

 

 

 

BLT Dip

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tomato - peeled, seeded and diced

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain on paper towels.
2. In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise and sour cream. Crumble bacon into the sour cream and mayonnaise mixture. Mix in tomatoes just before serving.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

You know, The 4th of July is one of those casual laid back holidays.  One that my usual over the top tendencies slip away to a simpler approach.  And...there's nothing simpler than the all American Rice Krispie Treat.  ...Of course old habits die hard... I had to spruce it up a little...

Patriotic Rice Krispie Treats