The Jack

The Krabby Patty Cupcake!

For those who don't watch Spongebob, Spongebob works at The Krusty Krab making krabby patties. The characters either work at the Krusty Krab, or they eat there, or they are trying to steal the krabby patty secret formula.

Saying that Jack loves Spongebob is an understatement. I know, he is too young for Spongebob. After he was introduced to Spongebob last summer at the beach (when he was ONE!) he just became obsessed. He would recognize anything Spongebob on t-shirts, back packs, magazines, toys, anything - and scream "bubbob!!!!!" So we let him watch it with his sisters and he seriously cries when it's over. He really pays attention to the whole show, makes comments like "Pa-tick funny!" and talks about what happened when the show is over.

So, a krabby patty cupcake it had to be. It's very easy:

The bun is a vanilla cupcake (box mix) and the patty is a chocolate cupcake (also box mix). After the cupcakes are cooled, you cut the middle out of the vanilla cupcake so it looks more like a bun, add a few sesame seeds on top. I cut the top of the chocolate cupcakes off to use as my patties. I bought one tall container of whipped white frosting and divided into three bowls. I used red, green and yellow food coloring to turn the frosting into ketchup, lettuce and mustard. I assembled them with the kids, which was the funnest part. We just used spreaders for the frosting and repeated the order: Bottom bun, mustard, patty, ketchup, lettuce, top bun. Voila! Jack's very own krabby patty. Amanda wants her official cupcake to be the krabby patty now too.

Jack on his big day, officially two years old. It just happened so quickly! I swear it was just yesterday that he looked like this:

He was a good baby and now he is a good little man. He says "please" and "tank oooo" without having to be reminded, he is a great sleeper, he is nice to his sisters and comforts them if they are upset or hurt. He will pat their backs sweetly and ask "okay?" and sometimes he will even say "sowwy" even though he didn't do anything!

Happy Birthday Jack, we love you!

Also, I'm not sure why she is being so serious, but Elizabeth found this ball in the playroom. It is the exact ball that told the girls they would be having a brother. After the big ultrasound, we planned to give the girls a paper bag that would contain a pink ball if it was a sister, or a blue ball if it was a brother. I'll never forget the look on their faces when they pulled out the blue ball. Until that point, they had been praying for a sister. There were a few seconds of total silence, then the gears shifted and the girls start screaming with excitement about their soon to be baby brother. The girls were all about having a brother (a real bug squisher!) from that moment on.

The Owen

Carolina Peach Pound Cupcakes with Peach Buttercream Frosting

and topped with a Butter Roasted Pecan

Happy Birthday Owen!

This one was a no brainer, Owen's cupcake had to be peach! Ideally, these cupcakes should be made with peaches from the Clark Peach trees, but peach season is still a month away. I used this recipe for the cupcake, but used (gasp) frozen peaches. For the frosting, I used the peach buttercream recipe found here. From top to bottom, a very tasty cupcake.

The Tutu

Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting

Happy Birthday Tutu!

I knew I wanted to incorporate almond into your cupcake, because of your famous Chicken Almondine recipe. I found the recipe here and only made a few changes in the frosting. From the frosting recipe, I omitted the vanilla bean and almond extract, and reduced the sugar to 2 1/2 cups (instead of 3). This is my new favorite frosting. It's delicious! The cake isn't what I'd expected, but I've never worked with Almond Meal before - not my best work. But, the frosting - the frosting!

The Jennifer

Black Forest Cupcake

Happy Birthday Jennifer! I started with wanting to make a German Chocolate cupcake for your birthday, but decided against it. I discovered that German Cake originated in Texas and that simply made no sense. So, being too authentic for that nonsense, I decided on making making a true Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cherry torte) in cupcake form. But, I didn't have any Kirschwasser. Then I realized I only had Ghiradelli chocolate, and Ghiradelli was Italian. I ate the chocolate to save the cake.

Bottom line is that I did cheat (again) on these cupcakes, and they probably shouldn't be called Black Forest Cupcakes. But they did pass with my taste testers:

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes:

1 pkg. Devil's Food Chocolate Cake Mix
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix wet ingredients together, then stir in cake mix. Bake cupcakes at 350 for 20-25 minutes. I got 20 good sized cupcakes out of this recipe.

Chocolate Frosting (from HERSHEY'S):

1 stick butter
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
3 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. milk (I used about double this amount)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

I whipped some heavy cream, added about 1 tbsp. sugar to sweeten, and topped the frosted cupcake with whipped cream and a cherry. I used a dark sweet cherry (all I had left) for the top but I would recommend using a maraschino cherry.

Jennifer, Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!

The April Fool's Cupcake

Doesn't this look delicious? Surprise - it's meatloaf with mashed potatoes! What a great idea for April Fool's Day, I wish I had seen it yesterday. From Bake Me More, found via TasteSpotting.

The Happy Cupcake

Happy Birthday Happy!! Here is The Happy Cupcake...

Chocolate Cupcake with Raspberry Mouse Frosting

This was inspired by those Ghirardelli chocolate squares with raspberry filling. Jay thought we should definitely go chocolate for Happy, and for some reason my mind got stuck on those Ghirardelli squares. I cheated used a boxed Devil's Food cupcake mix, but made up for it with this frosting. I think the girls agree (still fighting over the spoon) that this is the yummiest frosting so far. I found the recipe for raspberry mouse frosting here. Her pictures show a much smoother and seed-free pink mouse, not sure what I did wrong. But it is delicious!

The GIII Cupcake

Happy Birthday George! A tad late, but here is the GIII Cupcake...

Guinness Chocolate Cupcake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

When I first started this high cupcake honor, George predicted that his would have something to do with beer. I hadn't thought about beer until he mentioned it, but I knew immediately that he was correct.

The smell of the Guinness and chocolate baking together was amazing. Wow! The cupcake itself is delicious, but I'm not sure about the frosting. All together it is very rich. Or maybe the frosting just doesn't taste as well when you're also drinking the left over Guinness. Hmmm.

I used this recipe. The cupcake delivery will have to wait until tomorrow. Nighty nightzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Birthday Cupcakes

I knew I would be in trouble once the fall birthdays (and cold/flu season) came around! So, these are the cupcakes that I intended to make from scratch for each birthday. Here they are:

The Amanda

Rainbow cupcake with vanilla frosting, found here.

The Jay

Italian Cream Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting, pictured here,
but I would use this recipe.

The Holly

Blueberry Ricotta Almond cupcakes with blue cream cheese frosting found here.

The Elizabeth

Triple Vanilla Cupcake (minus the crumbled cookie on top) found here.

The Mike

The Friendly's Reese's Pieces Sundae Cupcake

The Mike Cupcake. I'm obviously not a food photographer but if you tasted this thing I think we would agree that I can bake a cupcake. Not bragging, just saying. It's good.

This cupcake is for my brother. Happy Birthday Mike! It is the best I could come with to represent the Friendly's Reese's Pieces Sundae in cupcake form. We grew up with Friendly's restaurants all around and this was the best dessert.

For these cupcakes I used a basic chocolate cake, spread a thin layer of peanut butter frosting on top (a little goes a long way, it is very rich), piped on some whipped cream, garnished with some candy pieces (should be actual Reese's Pieces but a mini Fast Break was all I could find) and topped them with a maraschino cherry.

The cupcakes and frosting could all be done ahead of time, but the whipped cream has to be done right before serving. And Mike, since you don't actually live here, I'm considering this the test batch. I will serve your official batch the next time I see you! Amanda's class will have a go at this batch tomorrow.

Hershey's "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake
Source: Hersheys.com

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. 2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Line muffin cups and fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Source: Foodnetwork.com

1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Whipped Cream Topping

1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar

In a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Add sugar and beat until peaks form.

The Blythe

Chocolate Chai Cupcake with Chai Buttercream Frosting

Happy Birthday Blythe!

In honor of your birthday, and the Indian party theme, we have prepared "The Blythe" cupcake. You are the first to receive this cupcake dedication, but we hope to start a tradition for all family birthdays.

I've wanted to make this cupcake since I first found the recipe, but must admit I took a huge shortcut. I used a chocolate cake mix and just added the chai spices. The frosting is officially from scratch and has already received a thumbs up from Jack and Amanda. Never would have guessed fennel as part of a chai spice mix.

Amanda was a big helper. Jack mostly watched, but also decided that he enjoys freshly grated ginger, which Amanda gave him while I wasn't looking. Best of all, the house smells amazing!

Cheetah Girls, ready or not, here we come...