Key Lime Cupcakes

I've done it! I've done it! (Let me point out I feel a bit like an evil Doctor in my laboratory at this point) One of my absolute favorite recipes of Summer is Key Lime Pie - just LOVE it!! The graham cracker crust, the refreshing tartness of the limes, the whipped cream on top - YUM! :) I've been searching high and low to find a cupcake recipe that I was happy with but to no avail, so I decided to work on my own combination until...finally today - SUCCESS!! I started with a brown sugar cupcake, combined that with a key lime curd filling, used a stabilized whipped cream icing, topped that with crushed graham crackers and finally some little beauties I picked up at A Southern Season - key lime flavored jelly candy slices! Voila! My masterpiece was complete! And the best thing - it tastes exactly as I wanted it to - it channels that key lime pie flavor so beautifully! I am a happy girl indeed! :)

Chocolate Cherry Coke Cupcake

Honestly, I was a little hesitant about trying out this recipe when I found it...while I love my Coca-Cola, I'm really not that big on cherry. Don't get me wrong - I love cherry airheads, snow cones, jolly ranchers...just not baked things - blech. Not my cup of tea. So, finally got around to trying this out last night...and wow, was I ever proven wrong! The flavor combination is so unexpectedly wonderful - just perfect! And it really does make such a lovely cupcake! :) Chocolate cupcakes infused with Coca-Cola, cherry buttercream icing, drizzled with a thick chocolate sauce (also infused with a little Coca-Cola) topped off nicely with a cherry! I can hear the Monkeys' song in the background "...now I'm a believer!"

Lemon Curd Filled Cupcakes

The great (and sometimes not so great!) thing about being a baker is, if I'm craving something badly enough and I have the ingredients on hand (okay, having the time helps too - I'm a busy Mom) problem solved! Such was the case with these beauties! I'd had lemon curd on my mind - it's been forever since I've fixed it too, so why not brush up on my skills, right? Makes sense? :) I made vanilla butter cupcakes, filled them with my lemon curd and topped them off with this awesome buttercream that's not your traditional buttercream - it's completely smooth and creamy like meringue buttercream but uses all the ingredients of traditional buttercream - SO YUMMY! I piped it in a different pattern than I've used before - it looks like a pretty pink rosette on top of each cupcake - so pretty! Loved how they looked and craving was taken care of - mission accomplished!

Little Prince 1st Birthday

I had the immense pleasure of making this Birthday cake and matching cupcakes for some very good friends of ours who's little guy just turned one! For the main cake, the bottom tier was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling covered in dark blue fondant with a quilting detail. The top tier was chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream filling covered in light blue fondant with some dark blue fondant details. The whole cake was topped off with a regal golden gum paste crown with white fondant around the rim and black painted "fur spots". :) I then made two dozen chocolate cupcakes with dark blue vanilla buttercream swirls which I topped with hand made golden gum paste crowns! Loved how they all looked together when placed on the cake table - so cute! (But I have to admit...not half as cute as the Birthday Boy!)

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcake

Given that he's the huge strawberry addict that he is, the hubby was VERY excited to be the official taste tester on these new cupcakes! Lemon cupcakes topped with a swirl of strawberry buttercream icing - two thumbs up from the official! :)

Carolina Graduation Cake

I sooo enjoyed doing this cake!!! (and really and truly NOT just because I myself am a Carolina fan - honest!) This design is based on a beautiful cake seen by the grad's Mom on the site of one of my absolute favorite bakeries - Sugarland! Bottom tier was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling and icing with dark blue and carolina blue accents made out of fondant. Top tier was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and vanilla buttercream icing and the University symbol cut out of fondant. I then made a tiny chocolate cake and filled it with vanilla buttercream and covered it with carolina blue fondant to make a graduation cap for the topper!