Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Summer in a Cup aka Dreamsicle aka Creamsicle aka 50/50 Bar




So many names for such a little cupcake. Let me 'xplain.  I love the taste of a Dreamsicle (that's what I have always called them). My husband refers to them as a 50/50 Bar. Others know them as Creamsicles. I am referring to that scrumtious orange flavored icecream concoction filled with creamy, delectible vanilla icecream on a stick. It just screams "Summer!" to me. I always thought they were names for the same treat, but alas, when I "Googled", I found out  they are all different. I also found out I had not been the only one with the idea. Oh, well.  I have dreamt of these cupcake for a long time and having some cream filling left over from the wedding cupcakes a few weeks ago;  I thought I would finally try.  I added just a titch of salt to the cream filling which seemed to lesson the jaw hurting sweetness effect that some frosting filled cakes have. I loved it, and the fact that they seemed to disappear at school the next day proves someone else did too.

Grandma's Chocolate Frosting



My Grandma made the BEST chocolate frosting ever! The stuff was magic. I could eat it by the spoonfuls and did when she wasn't watching. She had just the right proportions of shortening and cocoa. It was light and fluffy, yet creamy and rich. I have spent years trying to duplicate it to no avail, though I think mine is pretty tasty too. I have been know to eat it by the spoonfuls when no one is watcing and when they are too.

Holy Cow! What a Cupcake Collection

I received cow dish towels for a graduation present in High School. I know sounds a bit strange for a grad present,  they were suppose to go into my "Hope Chest" (a cedar chest full of things a gal would need when she got married-thus the "hope" part=I hope I do get married someday ah....) gag. Cute towels, but I digress, somehow these little cows took on a life of their own and I had to have something to go with the cows to make them useable in my "Hope Kitchen". This led to others seeing me purchasing cow items & thus leading them to believe that I collected cows and  before I knew it I had a massive collection that would branch out into all of the rooms in my "Hope House"- far too many for the hope chest to hold.

When I got my first real house, you guessed it, a lot of cow decor. Come on, it was the 90's and cows were cool. When I got my first teaching job I decided to rid my house of the cows, but still partially attached to them,  I let them reside in my classroom. Again, those sneaky little cows sent out the vibe that I collected them and therefore for every holiday, Teacher Appreciation Day, etc...you guessed it...COWS.  Thus the collection continued to flourish.

Why pray tell, did I tell you this on my cupcake blog, well flash forward a decade and my new passion is cupcakes...yea it's kind-of like those darn cows.
All joking aside, I loved those little cows  and I adore the cupcake paraphernalia I am given. Here are just a few from my collection...





My partner in cupcake crime and her mom are responsible for many in my collection including the two candles pictured above. Another dear friend gave me the book and I intend to make every recipe someday. MB, I think I have made five-better get cooking! The cupcake stands were made by my sis, they are so cute! I am sure you will see them often in blog photos.


My class this year bought the set of dishes above for my birthday.

Yes, I even have cupcake lotion, this was a gift from my sister and my two year old can't get enough of it. She must have a sweet tooth like her mommy.
Another b-day gift from A. Love that it's tiny but people often notice and comment when they realize what it is.

Even I'm Not That Crazy...Well,

My first thought when I saw this photo was, even I am not that crazy about cupcakes. Although when discussing it with my husband later he begged to differ. He said if I didn't have the beliefs I did I would certainly have them tattooed in more places than just my wrists.  (Our church has advised against tatooing of the body http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/reflections-on-a-consecrated-life?lang=eng&query=tattooing) & it is something that I believe as well, however in another life perhaps you would find tasty morsels on my wrists and a few other places...   Touche Dear Hubby,  touche.


Photo from:  http://latimes.com/socalmoments.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Cupcake Tours 2010

On the dawn of Cupcake Tours 2011, I thought it only fitting to take a look back on our tour of 2010, the following posts will relive some of the highlights...