Cherry & Almond Cupcakes

 Like I said i'm still trying to update all the stuff i made over the summer. I got this recipe from my new favorite cook book: Cupcake Heaven: Hundreds of divine recipes to take you to baking paradise, Edited by Jennie Milsom.

Ingredients
For the cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbs. ground almonds
3 tsp. baking powder
4 large eggs
2 tbsp. cherry syrup

For the frosting
3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks butter)
Pinch of salt
12 bottled maraschino cherries with stems

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Place 18 paper baking cup in muffin pans.

2. Combine all the cupcake ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Spoon the Batter into the cups.

3. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

4. To make the frosting, beat the confectioners’ sugar, butter, and salt in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add a few drops of food coloring and beat until well combined. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes, and garnish each with a cherry.

enjoy!

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Cake Decorating Class

To fill up some of my time during the summer I took a cake decorating class at the Michael's craft store. It was a Wilton: Decorating Basics class. I learned how to use all different types of tips, how to properly ice a cake, and how to level a cake. It was really alot of fun, and I recommend the class to anyone who wants to learn a little more about cake decorating.

I ended up decorating 2 cakes during the class. My first one, was a cupcake on a cake. It was my first cake, so its not perfect, but i really loved how it turned out.

He kinda looks like pac-man!

For the final class, we had to use all the skills we learned to make a full cake. I decided to make a cake for my boyfriend who works for the Travis County Democratic Party. The cake was themed accordingly and I was extremely proud of how it turned out. The cake was vanilla, with strawberry filling and vanilla butter cream icing.

I used a star mold to make the white chocolate stars

He was really happy with the cake!

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Guiness Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ok so its been a LONG time since i've updated with some posts and pictures. I'm gonna try and catch up so I might not be as in depth as I usually am on the next couple of posts.

I made these cupcakes over the summer with my friend Lauren. It was the same night we made the Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting. We took the recipe from the same website Ming Makes Cupcakes, and its recipe #16 if your interested.

Here is the majority of the ingredients!

Yummy!!

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