April: A Review of Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes with tinted Vanilla Buttercream and Chocolate Candy Sixlets

We’re celebrating April’s Cupcakes… not quite enough to be a blog post on their own, but collectively the sum of the parts is pretty delicious.

I did some traveling to the States in April and a few of these beauties were baked on the road – which always makes me nervous.  Alas, it’s only a cupcake.  Or a cake…  That I really want to taste yummy and look fantastic.  See?  I still can’t seem to let go of the results. #workingonit

At the beginning of the month I was home in Heidelberg and had fun decorating these bits of scrumptiousness.  Chocolate Cupcakes with Oreo Buttercream, Orea Dust, and a whole Oreo sitting on top.  These went fast!

Side note: When a whole cookie is perched on a liberal mountain of buttercream, the cookie becomes a scoop for the frosting before the cupcake is enjoyed.  It’s definitely a two-for-one dessert.

That same week, I baked some Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.  I’m not 100% happy with my RV recipe, so I’m still making small adjustments.  Thing is… they are yummy and look great.  And, not every single cake bakes predictably.

Here’s a Vanilla Cupcake with Raspberry Buttercream and a Fresh Raspberry topper.  Don’t like raspberries? Consider blackberries.  Use fresh berry puree to add flavor and color to the buttercream

Celebrating the Life of Bees, I baked a Honey Spice Bee Hive Cake – take a closer look here.  I was really happy with the results and loved the recipe.  With a bit of left over batter from a previous chocolate cake project, I was able to make a few cupcakes.  Now I opted to decorate them with Marzipan flowers to coordinate with the cake.

I love coordinating my vintage Fiesta Dinnerware with the contemporary colors. In this photo, the Vintage Sweets Compote works seamlessly with the Poppy Small Vase.

One of my tip-top favorites from this Spring… a Vanilla Vanilla cupcake that also coordinated with a cake presentation, blogged here.  I’m totally in love with these icey blue and pink colors!

I love baking with my Fiesta. Of course it’s ideal for serving, but I use it in all aspects of food and cake preparation.

Can’t decide which color swirl to decorate the pink cupcake? … put both colors of buttercream in the bag and make magic.

And finally a simple little Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream and a fresh Strawberry.  It just doesn’t get any more simple or more delicious than this classic combination.

I love looking at my snapshots of cupcakes, it helps me avoid getting into a rut in which every cupcake looks just like the last one.

I’m crazy grateful for my life partner, our people, and continuous sobriety.