It was my friend, “Barbie’s” birthday last week. That’s not her real name but she is a
total Barbie Girl from head to toe.
I made her cute, adorable, Barbie-sized, pink cupcakes. The best part? The frosting!
It is made with cherry Laffy Taffy-how Barbie is that? It is the perfect bite
of fluffy, whipped, cloud-like, tart cherry. Something this good deserves no
competition so it is best on the Light-As-Air Mini Vanilla cupcakes. I have
also made this frosting with other types of chewy candy-Airheads are a personal
favorite-thinking of the watermelon flavor right now is making me drool! You
could try Starburst, Mamba, Tootsie rolls-the options are endless.
And here’s my first Not-So-Martha Good Thing: Pastry Pride.
This is a shortcut I use for a whipped, non-dairy frosting. I buy it in bulk from my local Smart & Final and keep in the freezer. It is a life-saver whenI have eaten all
don’t have any whipping cream. It whips up very nice and fluffy, does not have
to be refrigerated after, and can be customized with a variety of
ingredients. I highly recommend
it. I know, I know. It is not very Martha-like but I did make the cupcakes from scratch-that counts right?
(Do you like the fog effect? The Boy got a new fog machine for his Science Fair Project and thought I needed a “just-out-of-the-freezer” visual effect. Did it work?) |
This is a shortcut I use for a whipped, non-dairy frosting. I buy it in bulk from my local Smart & Final and keep in the freezer. It is a life-saver when
I also ordered Barbie an apron from Zazzle. I love Zazzle. Everything I have
ordered has been the best quality and I am especially fond of their aprons. I
own a couple. Here’s my latest.
What I love most about this apron-I can splatter just about anything on it and it washes right back to bright white. I always feel so Martha when I’m wearing it too. It is the perfect length and has nice pockets. It makes my uniform ofpajamas black
yoga pants and t-shirts look professional. You can get all sorts of designs and
even make your own. You should
check it out. http://www.zazzle.com/.
What I love most about this apron-I can splatter just about anything on it and it washes right back to bright white. I always feel so Martha when I’m wearing it too. It is the perfect length and has nice pockets. It makes my uniform of
Please note: Zazzle is not paying me for an endorsement. I just like
their stuff.
Light as Air Mini-Vanilla Cupcakes
(This recipe makes the perfect amount of mini-cupcake-about
three dozen.)
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
¾ cup vanilla-scented sugar (this is sugar I store with
vanilla beans)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup milk
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini-muffin pans with paper
liners. (Don’t worry if you only have one pan. After baking a batch, remove baked cupcakes to rack. Then
place the pan in your freezer to cool quickly before lining and baking the next
batch.)
Beat butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt on high for 1
minute. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Stir vanilla extract into
milk. Beat in flour in three parts, alternating with milk/vanilla mixture, just
until blended. Spoon 1 tablespoon into each muffin cup. (I use a very small
ice-cream scoop.)
Bake about 15 minutes or until wooden pick inserted into
center comes about clean. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes before
removing from pan to rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Laffy Taffy Frosting
¼ cup heavy whipping cream or Pastry Pride
2-3 fun-size Cherry Laffy Taffy (or more depending on how
strong you want your flavor)
1 cup heavy whipping cream or 2 cups Pastry Pride
If using whipping
cream: add
½ teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons white sugar
Melt the heavy cream or Pastry Pride and Laffy Taffy
together in a small bowl for one minute on high in the microwave. Stop and stir about every 10-20
seconds. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Put into the refrigerator to chill
but not harden.
Beat heavy cream (adding vanilla and sugar) or Pastry
Pride(don’t add anything) until soft peaks form. With the mixer on low, slowly
drizzle the Laffy Taffy mixture into cream. Increase mixer speed to high and
continue to beat until the frosting is fluffy and forming stiff peaks.
Source: Cupcake recipe adapted from Mini-Raspberry Cupcakes
Recipe from Women’s Day Kitchen. The really cute "B" topper idea is from oh!cupcakes.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS RECIPE THAT YOU MADE!!!!! IT IS LIKE THE BEST THING EVER!!!!!! I ACTUALLY MADE THIS FOR MY FAMILY!!!!! THEY ALL LOVED IT!!!!!!! THANKS FOR BEING A GREAT PERSON!!!! THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS BLOG!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! Thanks for the compliments. I am glad you enjoy the blog and the cupcakes. Keep reading. :) Jen
Delete