Summer Lovin: Friday Favorites

My list this week is so random... but full of lots of great finds. Shane has had swimming lessons and VBS all week and it has been a blast! He is taking swimming lessons where I did at his age. It is so weird to look around and remember being in the pool as a little one. It hasn't changed much. I am so glad it is Friday and am looking forward to playing outside and getting projects done around the house. Happy Friday Friends!

Fruity summer cupcakes by Trophy Cupcakes-I saw these on TheTomKatStudio(another fav) and fell in love. These would be so cute at a summer BBQ!

Floral Doddle at Land of Nod-Apparently, I have a thing for flowers. Bright florals are all the rage(I even wrote a post about them this week). This would be super cute in a little girls room or a craft room. 

Floral Chiffon Top by Forever 21-Speaking about my bright floral post. This top was one of my favorite finds. I love the black with the colorful flowers together. 

Sam Smith -ahhhhhhh. I love him. His voice is perfection. His CD came out this week. If you are in the mood for some good love songs I highly recommend this CD, especially #10: Lay Me Down.

Girl's Room by The Lilypad Cottage-I couldn't stop staring at this wallpaper in this little girl's room. And that bed! I can picture my little niece enjoying a room like this. 

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I recently helped host a dual baby shower. It ended up just being a single baby shower as one girl had her baby girl that morning! I decided to do something different than the usual vanilla and chocolate. Nothing wrong with the classics, but I wanted to try something new. I did a Strawberry Cupcake with a Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. The frosting had cream cheese, butter and shortening..so of course it was delish:). This one is a little more time consuming if you make the lemon curd yourself. I never made lemon curd before so I wanted to try it. I can cross that off of my baking bucket list.You can always just buy it pre-made in the store. This is a great Summer Time cupcake. Happy Baking!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
From Cupboard to Cupboard


For Cupcakes:
1 package white cake mix [I like Betty Crocker]
1 (3 oz) package strawberry jello
1 cup mashed fresh strawberries [1 1/2 cups whole=1 cup mashed]
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk (If you do not have buttermilk..I always use regular milk and add about a tsp of lemon juice per cup of milk stir and let sit for about a minute)
4 eggs

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and jello mix.  Make a well in the center and pour in mashed strawberries, oil, milk, and eggs.  Beat on low speed until blended.  Scrape bowl and beat 2 minutes on medium speed.  Pour batter into prepared cupcake pans with liners. Makes about 30 cupcakes.Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until cupcakes are done. Cool on wire rack until completely cooled.

For Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup crisco
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
2 pounds powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons lemon curd
1 drop yellow food coloring
1 tablespoon milk if needed( I did not need)

Cream together shortening, butter, and cream cheese until good and smooth.  Add vanilla and combine.  Sift together powdered sugar and salt and slowly add to creamed mixture.  Add lemon juice, lemon curd, and coloring and mix well.  If the frosting is too stiff, add milk.

Fondant

Of all the baking I have done, I never have made or even used fondant. I have never taken any cake decorating classes, so, I really am a novice when it comes to cake decorating. Another reason I never cared to try to make my own or buy the premade fondant is because I think it tastes gross! I really love the way it looks and decided I at least need to cross it off my baking bucket list and make some.

To my surprise it was not that hard. Very sticky but actually really easy and fun to make. With my son's 2nd bday approaching I wanted to do a test run before and see if I could pull it off. I left most of the fondant white but made a yellow and green batch as well. I am going to let it rest over night and then hopefully make a cake tomorrow....fingers crossed...I will post pictures of it..unless it is horrible then most likely not:). Here is the original recipe I found...but tweaked it a bit using some ideas from other recipes. There are not too many pics because my hands were filled with Crisco for most of the process.

My fondant recipe

1 bag of mini marshmallows(10.5 oz)

3 TBS water

26 oz powdered sugar

In a greased microwave safe bowl add marshmallows and water. Microwave in 30 second intervals. I did 30 seconds, 30 seconds and then 20 seconds. Depending on your microwave my take more or less. Then top the marshmallow mixture with about 3/4 of the powdered sugar. Grease your work surface and then your hands generously. Now dump the mixture out on the work surface and begin kneading. Add the rest of the powdered sugar once the first amount is incorporated. Continue to grease your work surface and hands as needed. If at any point your fondant because dry and cracks you may need to add more water. I did not need to but I read that tip in case it does happen. I would knead for 5-10 minutes until you get a mixture that will stretch without tearing. (you should also not be able to see any bits of powdered sugar).

It is best to let it sit over night but you can let it sit for as little as 10 minutes and begin using. I covered my fondant in Crisco and then plastic wrap and then in a plastic baggie. One recipe said it will keep for months at room temperature and another said weeks in the fridge..so I don't know which to follow...I am going to go ahead and put it in the fridge and see how that goes.

***Notes***

***I used liquid food coloring because that is all I had. I crossed my fingers and hoped it worked. I think it came out well and didn't effect the consistency at all. I believe you can use the gel food coloring as well.

***I began to use my KitchenAid stand mixer..but it got so thick I was afraid it was going to break my mixer and I would have cried for days! So I took it out and just hand kneaded it as another recipe had suggested..much better!

***As always..Mise en Place...have all your ingredients prepared and measured and ready to go before you begin..oh and make it once the kiddos are in bed...I accidentally added the wrong amount of powdered sugar because my kiddo came in and distracted me:). Hopefully it turns out...more to come tomorrow...hopefully!

Amy Sedaris' Vanilla Cupcakes

I needed a cupcake fix. I only had 2 sticks of butter so I had to make a small batch..but all I really needed was one cupcake...ok two. Amy Sedaris is a comedian/actress...I knew her name sounded familiar..recipe sounded good..so I crossed my fingers and hoped this actress knew what she was doing...and she sure did. The cupcakes were moist and a perfect soft texture. I had to 1/2 the recipe...which always scares me..but they turned out great and I got a baker's dozen out of it. I also made a new recipe for the frosting. It was a mixture between a creamy buttercream and whipped frosting. I had to really make a small batch of this and it turned out really good. Here is the recipe for Amy Sedaris' Vanilla Cupcakes via Epicurious:

Amy Sedaris' Vanilla Cupcakes(Full recipe...I cut it in half)
Epicurious
October 2006
by Amy Sedaris

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups milk

Turn oven on to 375 degrees F.

Put butter in mixer and beat at medium speed until somewhat smooth. Pour in sugar and beat well. Add 2 eggs. I like to crack the eggs on the side of the bowl while it is moving, which can be really stupid. I like to take chances. Yes, I have had to throw away my batter because I lost eggshells in the mix. Yes, it was a waste of food and yes, I know how expensive butter is, but what can I say? I'm a daredevil. Mix well. Add: vanilla, baking powder, salt, flour, and milk. Beat until it looks like it is supposed to and pour into individual baking cups, until they are about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Should produce 24 cupcakes; I get 18 because I'm doing something wrong, although my cupcakes were voted second best in the city by New York Magazine.
***Notes by Amy:) NY mag named them 2nd best and I can see why! She also has a buttercream recipe...but I had my heart set on trying a different one..I'll have to try it out and let you know what I think.


Oh and here is the Buttercrean Frosting recipe I used in case you are looking for something a little lighter(in texture not calories). Can't remember where I found it...some blog out in blogland.

Buttercream Frosting (Sorry no photo..having issues..I am not able to put more than one pic up...argghhh)

2 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 c. milk or heavy cream ( I used milk..but want to try the heavy cream)

Beat butter and powdered sugar on low until creamed..then add remaining ingredients one at a time at medium speed for 3-4 minutes..until well combined and the desired consistency. Add more powdered sugar if it is too thin or less milk..whatever works for you.

Enjoy and happy baking!

Peanut...Peanut Butter..Cookies!

I was surfing the web for some new cupcake recipes and it made me really crave something sweet. I knew that I had a bunch of peanut butter so Peanut Butter Cookies it is. I whipped up a batch in no time and I used a random recipe from Cooks.com. I don't particularly like Cooks.com..just because their recipes are always missing steps or are really strange methods but the reviews were good so I gave it a try. I am so glad I did. They turned out chewy and delicious!

THE WORLD'S BEST PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES(revised)
From COOKS.COM

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

Mix butter, sugars and peanut butter together. Add eggs and vanilla. Then mix together flour and soda and add into mixture. Bake at 350°F for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.