ellie is five, it's official::
those panda cupcakes, in honor of her ongoing panda obsession, will be the last birthday treat made for a preschool celebration. that's it. no more preschool birthdays. not sure how that is possible but there it is. time flies and ellie couldn't be happier. she is very excited to be five. happy, happy birthday ellie lu!
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and he wasn't homesick at all::
we had one of his favorite dinners, then some chocolate cake with boiled frosting. it was a very tasty reunion! so glad to have him back. phew! that was a tough one. i tend to worry a little. and by "a little" i mean "an unhealthy amount".
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we had a quiet and simple celebration thursday night. later than planned but that's okay::
you can find the pattern for the crocheted hearts here. i used cotton yarn and added a round of single crochet at the end. there should have been a lot more of these, and then they should have been strung together and hung as garland for our party. but the blizzard hit, we were thrown into pioneer times and the rest is history.
meanwhile, i finally got a copy of this book and it is so very good. i decided to try the root beer bundt cake for the love day festivities::
this cake came together beautifully. it is so moist you won't believe it and definitely tastes like a root beer float what with the ice cream! but if i make it again, knowing now how much chocolate is involved, i will go with old fashioned black cherry soda and maybe some cherry liqueur. a cherry punch with this over the top, moist and delicious chocolate cake would be unbelievable. i'm sure of it.
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ellie is officially three! we celebrated shortly before storm preparations began, which seemed only fitting as she was born during a nor'easter. the cake::
and look what resurfaced. i've had it wrapped up for ellie since indy was three. remember? it never sold at that craft show, and i have to admit i was more than a little relieved. i really didn't want to part with it in the end::
it fits her just right and, unlike her sister, she loves it. even though its not pink! sigh of relief.
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these apple cupcakes were fun to make, but turned out to be major sugar bombs. i had to come up with a covert way to scrape off most of the frosting before they really dug in::
you can find directions for this in what's new, cupcake?. i only made 6, the remaining cupcakes were frosted minimally so we (read "i") could enjoy some minus the sugar shock.
the most time consuming part of these was forming the stems and leaves. they were not as labor intensive as some of her other designs. hardly any cursing involved! happy first day of school::
i will now feed them only fruits and vegetables (until the next birthday) to atone for my sins. amen.
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oh the excitement! we celebrated with our usual dinner party and faux food dessert (see 2010 and 2011). this time i used the new cupcake book. remember when i said it branches out and features more than just cupcakes? i think i told you there's a cheesecake design. lucky for me, the featured cheesecake recipe is a faux food creation. i love cheesecake::
tortilla chips from baked pie crust, pretty clever! and all together::
nachos for dessert! its summertime!! let the games begin! let the good times roll! let there be no stitches, poison ivy or concussions!
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thanks to pinterest, no day is without instant, ample and sometimes overwhelming inspiration. this weekend was no different. i found a link that lead me to this earth day dessert and had to try it for myself::
big b's two cents:: "a cupcake without frosting"? to which i replied "the frosting is inside". to which he replied "i'm okay with that". all right, glad we cleared that up.
how was your earth day? ours was overcast and rainy, which was perfect as we have been waiting (and waiting) on the rain.
and now, without further delay, i will be retiring the food coloring for as long as humanly possible. amen.
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after working so long on those ducks, i decided that i was going to keep things simple this year with the cake. i had an idea for the wow factor that, for once, didn't include pounds of fondant and days of preparation. the basic plan: elegance on the outside and fun on the inside.
for the flower cakes, i usually make a trip to the florist. but bella wanted the flowers to be from our yard. a semi-wildflower cake, the perfect idea. and so after frosting, i gathered::
and then went heavy handed to cover the flaws in the new buttercream recipe that wound up being a complete flop. not that i don't normally get a little too happy with the flowers. "less is more" is a sentiment i've never been able to embrace. "the more the merrier" is more my style, for better or worse::
and the surprise inside::
this brightened the overcast late afternoon. not that bella noticed the weather. it was warm, she was outside, she had just ripped through a pile of gifts and she was eating rainbow cake. happy birthday to my first little girl. 5 years old!!
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bella celebrated her fifth birthday this weekend. yes, 5. no, i don't know how that happened. as it turned out, she had a perfectly clear recollection of last years school cupcakes. she grabbed the book and started perusing. okay, i may have given her a gentle reminder. you know i love that book. her first request? the rats. she begged for the rats. and i gave in, but in the end (while making our rat list), we realized the rats were made with lots of candy and used two cupcakes each, not entirely appropriate for a room full of 4 and 5 year olds. her second pick? "the cute little duckies". from one extreme to another::
if you ever make these, here is a trick that will save you a few ducks and a ton of frustration. when forming the beaks, add a little post to the back and then freeze them. when it's time to assemble, gently push them in. this way they will stay put and won't disrupt the yellow frosting::
and after the final assembly::
these were tricky but worth the effort in the end. things always seem uncertain until the final touches go on. once the eyes and the beaks were in place, all the little imperfections became less noticeable. i hope.
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something happened to me when i realized that i could melt a bag of chocolate chips and make things with it (see cadbury egg coating). i started brainstorming and haven't stopped. the morning before easter, i realized i had a dozen cupcakes frozen from the april fools day festivities. i got right to melting chocolate chips and greasing and freezing plastic eggs again::
i started in with some splattering and smearing. then i let things chill and set up in the freezer before doing some additional splattering for detail purposes. back in the freezer to set up and then, after un-molding, some further splattering for internal detail. did you get that?::
at this point the cupcakes had thawed. i had originally planned on piping some intricate and detailed grass, but instead just slathered on the frosting and tapped it with the back of my offset spatula. instant grass without the fuss and added clean up::
simple and sweet.
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