The Graduate

 

This is a picture of my little sister, Rebekah.  It was taken just yesterday.  At least, that’s how it feels. 

Rebekah graduated from High School last Saturday.  She’s not a little girl anymore, she has become a beautiful young woman. {wipes tear}

After the graduation ceremony, we had a little party for her.  She deserved it, she’s worked hard to get where she is.

We are so proud!

The cake was from Costco.  YUM!

The Heritage High School colors are Red and Blue, (they are the Generals.)  We live in a very historic area, so this is quite appropriate.  It also happened to be Memorial Day weekend, so the color scheme was easy to work with.  I made these cookies using the tried and true Nigella Lawson Recipe.  I make them my own by using a thinned Wilton Royal Icing made with just an 8th teaspoon (maybe a little more) of lemon extract (before adding the rest of the liquid). You want the icing thin, but not so thin it drips right off the cookie. I dipped the tops of the cookies in the icing and then before they hardened I added the sprinkles.

The patriotic sprinkles came from Michael’s but this is the season to find them all over.

I also made these cute little brownie bites.  They are a Pampered Chef favorite.  The cream cheese icing is delish!

Michael’s also had these cute little wrappers, 99 cents for 100.  What a deal! I’m going to have to go back for more.

I used two different wrappers so you can see the design even after they are baked. If the two papers are the same brand, you can bake them in both, but I wasn’t so lucky, so I baked in the white and just added the cute ones later.

I don’t know where to find this recipe in the Pampered Chef universe, but this is how my friend Kim, a Pampered Chef Consultant showed me how to make them.

Cream Cheese Brownie Cups Makes 48 1 package (19-21 oz) fudge brownie mix (plus ingredients to make cake-like brownies) 1 4 oz package cream cheese 1/2 cup sugar 8 oz cool whip, soft from the refrigerator sprinkles, chocolate shavings, mini M&Ms optional for topping Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a mini-muffin pan with cooking spray, or use mini cupcake wrappers, (what I do).  Mix brownie batter according to directions to make cake like brownies.  Use a small scoop to fill each cup 2/3 full.  It will make two pans of cups.  Bake for 14 minutes or until the edges are set. Remove from oven to a cooling rack.  Immediately press tops of brownies with Mini-Tart shaper to make indentions.  Allow to cool.  (If not using wrappers, do not leave in the pan too long or they will stick, hence why I always use wrappers so I don’t mess up!) Mix cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer till smooth.  Fold in cool-whip.  Pipe swirls of icing onto the tops of the cups.  Top with your choice of toppings.

 

Somehow I missed taking pictures of the punch.  I’ve blogged about it before.  Here is that picture and the link to the recipe.

My sister and the other graduates were honored at church a couple weeks ago.  Each graduate had a slideshow made to play at the reception.  Here is Rebekah’s.  If you are fortunate to know my sister, go ahead and grab some tissues.  It isn’t enough we’re seeing adorable pictures of her growing up, but she sings the song that is playing too.

Enjoy!

 

We love you Geggie!

 

Iron Cupcake: Earth-- Music

 

 

Iron Cupcake: Earth is back! This month's theme is Music and we are challenged to create a cupcake based on a song title. I knew almost immediately which song I wanted to do. This song is one of Sophie's favorites. Now since she's 18 months old, you might think I've chosen The Itsy Bitsy Spider or Jesus Loves Me. While she does love those songs, there is no other song that affects her like this one. If she's riding with Grandmomma and Aunt Geggie (that's what Sophie calls her), and she starts crying, just a few bars of this song will dry those tears. So, I chose the song Popular from the musical Wicked.

 

If you're not familiar with this musical, it tells the story of what happened in Oz before Dorothy came along. The two main characters are Elphaba (you know her as the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda. They become roommates at University, and notice right away how different they are. Glinda is blond and girly; Elphaba is green. In the song Popular, Glinda describes to Elphaba all the ways she is going to teach her to be popular. These cupcakes pair well together not only in color but in taste as well. The Glinda cupcakes are light and fruity. The Elphaba cupcakes are chocolaty, but not too dark, because after all, Elphaba wasn't all that wicked.

Elphaba and Glinda "Popular" Pound Cake Cupcakes

“Popular” Pound Cake Cupcakes

Glinda Cupcakes (makes 24)

1 stick unsalted butter, soft but still cool (1/4 lb.)
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup sour cream
1 ½ cups cake flour
¼ tsp baking soda
3 eggs, room temperature
½ tsp. Vanilla extract

Elphaba Cupcakes (makes 24)

1 stick unsalted butter, soft but still cool (1/4 lb.)
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup sour cream
1 ½ cups cake flour
¼ tsp baking soda
3 eggs, room temperature
3 tbsp. Cocoa Powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Use the following instructions for both the Glinda and Elphaba cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a chilled metal bowl and beaters, cream the butter and sugar together for 5-6 minutes. Sift together the dry ingredients into a bowl and set aside. Add eggs to mixture one at a time, beating after each to fully incorporate. Add dry ingredients about a half cup at a time alternately with the sour cream and vanilla, without over-beating. Fill cupcake liners halfway and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Using cardstock, print and cut out cupcake wrappers. Adhere the wrapper ends together with glue dots and place cupcake in wrapper.

“Wicked” Good Swiss Meringue Buttercream
makes enough icing for 48 cupcakes, or less if you really pile it on.

1 ¼ cup sugar
5 egg whites
4 sticks of room temperature butter cut into pieces
1 tsp vanilla
Pink and Green food coloring, (suggested: Wilton’s Icing Coloring-Pink and Leaf Green)
½ cup Strawberry Preserves

Place sugar and egg whites in a double boiler over simmering water, and whisk about three minutes, until mixture is smooth.

Pour into bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on high until cool and forms stiff peaks, about 1o minutes.

Add butter one piece at a time mixing well after each piece. Buttercream may appear to be curdled, at this point, but continue beating until smooth again. Add vanilla and beat until fully incorporated. Beat on low to get rid of air pockets.

Divide Buttercream into two bowls.

For Elphaba Icing, mix in green food coloring until the desired color is achieved.

For Glinda Icing, warm preserves in microwave for 30 seconds. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. Strain through a sieve into a bowl and set aside until cool, (you can skip this step if you will use a large tip that won't clog). Then fold into Buttercream until desired color and flavor is achieved. Add some pink food coloring to achieve a deeper pink color.

Cool cupcakes completely before icing. Using a large star tip, pipe icing into big swirls onto each cupcake.

Elphaba Cupcakes: Choclate Pound Cake with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing

Glinda Cupcakes: Vanilla Pound Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Iron Cupcake: Earth Voting and Prizes

How popular will these cupcakes be?

Voting will begin no later than Friday, October 30th at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com/ and will be open through Thursday, November 5 at 12 noon.

Our Generous IronCupcake:Earth Prize Providers:
The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
Bella Cupcake Couture
Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne