If you like Pina Coladas....

My cupcake list for the year is half done! If you noticed, June was supposed to be Root Beer Float cupcakes. Sadly, June did not allow me to make them. I was just too busy! I tried to make them and my July cupcakes in one day. Needless to say, sometimes recipes just aren't as good as they sound! So I will attempt the Root Beer Float cupcakes again with a different recipe. For now please enjoy these beautiful Pina Colada cupcakes. They were so yummy! I'm not the biggest fan of coconut, but the coconut is what really brought these cupcakes together!



And what is a Pina Colada without and umbrella & straw?



Pina Colada Cupcakes:

1 yellow cake mix
1/3 C. canola oil
1/4 C. water
1 tsp. artificial rum extract
1 can crushed pineapple (undrained)
3 eggs


Preheat oven to 350.
Combine cake mix, oil, water, rum extract, pineapple with juice, and eggs.
Beat on low for 30 seconds then on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Bake for 13-20 minutes.


Frosting

1 can of whipped vanilla frosting
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 tsp. artificial rum extract
1 C. shredded coconut

Add extracts to frosting and blend well.
Sprinkle with coconut. ( I actually toasted the coconut a
little first to give it a little color to stand out on the frosting)

Store covered at room temperature.

Enjoy! : )

Icing Roses

I made icing roses for the first time this past weekend. I was very happy with the result! I came across a little stress when I originally wanted to use a buttercream icing and the recipe I was using was not holding shape at all! It melted into a nasty little icing blob. So I decided to save some stress of attempting another buttercream icing and having the same issue by using royal icing. Royal icing is icing sugar, meringue powder, and a little bit of water. It is most often used as a glue when baking and also the icing of choice when flooding cookies. Royal icing is quite stiff and so by the end of my adventure with the roses, my wrist and forearm were killing me! But the results made up for the pain!

 The only other issue with using royal icing is that it dries rock hard. Still edible, but hard. I figure though, at times you need to give up on some aspects of what you were hoping for if you want the end result you desire. Visually these flowers were what I wanted them to be, and I accepted that.

I also did a basketweave application of buttercream icing that I had never done before. It made the cake look like a basket of flowers, which I though would be appropriate since this was a birthday cake for someone turning 90. When I was practicing the basketweave it looked like shredded wheat and it still does a little on the cake itself as well, but I was quite happy with the end result. The leaves were then piped in using the largest leaf icing tip I had to fill in the spaces and to actually make it look more like a basket of flowers. I personally think the cake turned out super cute. I hope it tasted as good as it looked! I have still yet to hear the verdict on that one...

I had also been commissioned to make 48 cupcakes to go along with the cake, since they only wanted a small cake. I was given free creative power over everything pretty much, the only thing was that they wanted flowers, and the cake had to be lemon. The cupcakes were chocolate and vanilla with buttercream frosting. Using rolled fondant (I love the Satin ice brand. It actually tastes good. Someday I'll get adventurous and make my own, but for now this works for me!), I cut out little flowers in white and pink, and put a pale pink sugar pearl at the center of each flower. I think they just added a little something to the cupcake. I also put the flower off center to give it a little more cuteness.

I had a lot of fun making these. Mainly because it gave me a chance to learn some new skills. I love being able to develop my abilities so that I can continue to do what I love doing.