FRiEnDs DaY!

Growing up my sisters and I LOVED having Friends Day. Once or twice a month my mom would let us invite a slew of friends over and help us bake or make a treat, create a craft, play some fun games, or just do something special with them. I only aspire to be like my amazing mom! The pic below game from one of my special books (She kept books and books of photos and memories for each of us- I have 13 i believe!) and was when I was five. I am sitting with the yellow shirt on... and we just happened to live in Arizona at the time!

So last Friday we had a Friends Day of our own and the girls had a blast. Sydney had 3 friends over from school... Natalia, Sage, and Paula...

And Mia had over Navy and Maggie!

The weather is in the 70's and sunny lately so they had a great time playing outside- jump roping, playing in the sandbox and on the playground, jumping on the tramp, and playing school. They also helped me bake cupcakes! They all wanted to lick the spoons from the batter and loved all the colors we did to make our psychadelic cupcakes.

Thank heavens we frosted and decorated outside because wow... 7 girls sure know how to make a little mess! ha ha. It really wasn't too bad but they loved creating and eating... yum! Look at their amazing creations! So colorful and fun.

Colby also loved baking and making and decorated his inside... not too bad eh?!?

mmm... no fancy decorating for me this time- just a warm cupcake out of the oven with a heap of butter cream frosting!

So have a Friends Day! You'll be glad you did! I was glad that all the girlies got along great and they were all BEGGING to do it every Friday. They were all so polite and respectful and so we can't wait to do it again!

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes

I love this recipe... Yum! I got the cute scalloped cupcake liners in Salt Lake at Orson Gygi's- an AMAZING store. You can shop online at www.gygi.com.

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes
Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:
Vanilla Buttercream, recipe follows
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Vanilla Buttercream:
The vanilla buttercream we use at the bakery is technically not a buttercream but actually an old-fashioned confectioners' sugar and butter frosting. Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Yield: enough for 2 dozen cupcakes or 1 (9-inch) layer cake

I only bake them 20 minutes...

Everyone loves pink frosting and sprinkles!
Here's the trick for making the chocolate butterflies...
1. Get your chocolate melts- use one color to line the outside and another to fill in the middle.
2. After they hardened in the fridge, dip your knife in hot water and wipe it dry with a towel.
3. Gently cut the butterfly in half.
4. Pour out of mold and use mini marshmellows and the outside edge of a plate to prop up the wings. Squirt chocolate down the middle to be the butterfly body and hold the wings in place. Put in fridge until set!
(I also got this mold at Orson Gygi's so you could order it online through them or at Bake it Pretty!)

Looking for a Summer Activity?!?

With my kiddos home for the summer, I know they will be asking for plenty of projects and crafts and baking opportunities! I would love to know y0ur favorite activities for kids or websites that you go for ideas.

Crafty Crow has some fun ones... Family Fun... Crayola...

But in the mean time, if your kids like to bake then give this recipe a try! We did and had a blast with it- they love being creative! You can let them measure and mix the ingredients, experiment with mixing colors to see what color they make, let them put the liners in the cupcake pans... etc.

(I took these pics with my small camera so they aren't too impressive!)

1- Mix up cake mix (I used Bakerella's Sprite Cake Recipe)

2-Take turns mixing so everyone gets a chance ;-)

3- Let each child pick a color of food coloring- they are holding them up though it's hard to see

4- Give each child a bowl of cake batter and have them drip a few drops of food coloring in...

5- Mix the food coloring in well!

6- Line muffin pan with cupcake liners and have each child scoop some of their batter in each liner

7- Use all batter until all cupcake liners are 2/3 full

8- Bake! Don't overcook- moniter closely. :-) (Syd's shirt got dirty...)

9- Take out and let cool on wire racks

10- Frost and Enjoy!

We topped them with a buttercream frosting (using a large 1M Wilton tip), the kids added the sprinkles, then we spelled with chocolate melt molds "We Love Mrs Bono." We sent them to school with Syd the last day of school this week and they were a hit she said. Super fun!

Yet another Cupcake Recipe...

In Utah there is a store called Orson Gygi- wow. (You can check them out online too though it isn't nearly as exciting as being there in person!) It is bakers heaven. I won't tell you (or my hubby!) how much I spent but it is too much fun. I dragged my kiddos around there for an hour. They loved looking at all the candy, baking pans in Spiderman and Dora shapes, sprinkles, cookie cutters, chocolate, colorful muffin pan liners, too though... They had a fabulous selection of candy molds and I got this fleur de lis one as well as the gorgeous brown and gold cupcake liners and gold sprinkles there, though unfortunately you can't see them very well in this pic. They had mint flavored dark chocolate candy melts I used for the fleur de lis' that was so amazingly tasty.

Ok, but Pioneer Women makes puffy gorgeous chocolate cupcakes with her Chocolate Sheet Cake recipe... so I had to try it! I made them above and aren't they pretty? The last time I made the Butter Lane Cupcake recipe I posted, the paper peeled away from the cupcakes for some weird reason (Why Maren? Or any other baking expert?? ;-) ) so this may be my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe now!

(To make the Frosting- use a Star 1M tip (HUGE). You will need the large coupler to attach it to... Place bottom half of coupler in 16" bag and screw on the top half of coupler with the 1M tip. Stick bag in a large cup with top of bag pulled down over cup. Put white frosting on one side and chocolate frosting on the other. Squirt out frosting until both come out.)

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake
Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk. Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture.
Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes. (Cupcakes take about 14-16 though smaller they are a lot thicker than sheet cake)

If you make the cake, here is the frosting recipe!:
While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.
Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

CUPCAKES!

I love it when you can keep things simple when cooking, but make the recipe taste FABULOUS by just a few little tricks. This white cupcake recipe is just that- you use a basic White cake mix but then just add sprite and a jello pudding mix. Here's the recipe!

Simple Sprite Cake

1 white cake mix

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 box instant vanilla pudding (3 oz. size)

8 oz. can of Sprite (the mini one)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour 2 9 inch cake pans OR put papers in 24 muffin pans.

3. Mix ingredients on low until combined and then increase speed to medium and mix for about two minutes.

4. Pour batter into pans and bake for about 30 minutes in 9 inch pans or 20-22 minutes for cupcakes. Insert a toothpick and they are done when it comes out clean.

Butter Lane's Chocolate Cupcakes
Butter Lane Cupcake Shop came to the Martha Stewart Show and showed how to make one of their most popular cupcakes- chocolate! They won Martha's taste test and they are THAT good. Seriously. They are a little work, but with ALL the right ingredients- cake flour, unsalted butter- the recipe is really not too hard and is divine. Fluffy and perfectly chocolatey. I promise you will love them!
Makes 40 cupcakes.
2 3/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
4 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 40 standard muffin cups with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chocolate and beat on medium speed until well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until well combined, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with 1 cup water and beginning and ending with flour; beat until just combined, 1 to 3 minutes.
5. Fill prepared muffin cups three-quarters full with batter. DO NOT OVERFILL. Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate muffin pans and continue baking until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 10 minutes more. (They still almost look wet when they are done- see below pic!) Let cool completely before frosting. As you can see in the chocolatey bowl above, I use a ice cream scooper to fill my cupcake liners! No mess, just the right amount, and so easy. For the mini cupcakes- which I LOVE because they are so fun to decorate- I use a TBS measure. Scoop the batter out the TBS with another spoon or spatula.

Buttercream Frosting
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 2lb. bag powdered sugar
3+ teaspoons milk, half and half or cream
Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla with until smooth.
Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more.
If you want it a little creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture. BEAT WELL! I beat my frosting on high for 5-10 minutes until it is well whipped! If you want Chocolate Frosting add 3 TBS chocolate, to taste.

To frost mini cupcakes like seen above, you can either use a large round tip on a frosting bag, or use a sandwhich baggie with a good sized corner cut off (see below!). Immediately after frosting, sprinkle with sprinkles and then place M&M on top (with M&M facing down). The girls LOVED helping make these. Let your kids get involved! It's actually minimal mess when you give them a baggie filled with frosting that is zipped shut with just a good size corner cut out.

To make the sucker cupcakes, tie ribbons to suckers... pour sprinkles in a bowl... then frost cupcake with just a knife... dip cupcake top in sprinkles... then push sucker into cupcake! You can do these for birthdays as well by doing just a round sucker and making a leaf shape out of fondant or green candy or using a mint leaf.My very favorite frosting tip is the 1M Star by Wilton. I used it to frost the cupcake on the bottom right. It is only a few dollars for the large coupler and the tip and is well worth the money! You will have to get the 16 inch bags for it, instead of the smaller 12 inch frosting bag. because it is a HUGE tip. It makes your cupcakes look so professional though- look below- so cute. ;-) The chocolate heart is made using the candy molds talked about in the chocolate blog post. DO NOT place cupcakes in the fridge. This takes out their moisture and dries them out. They can be placed in the freezer, without frosting, tightly wrapped in seran wrap for up to 1 month. I'm not sure how well they freeze with frosting?