Fender Bender Cupcake Carnage

What you see here is deliciousness...
Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream frosting (left) and Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese frosting (right). I made them in three different sizes, filled the larger ones with frosting in addition to what is seen on top. I initially saw the recipe months ago on a blog that I regularly read and had been dreaming about them and searching for a reason to make them. I had a friend's birthday come up and decided that these would perfect for the occassion! Normally I don't even think to share recipes on this, however, I have received nothing but rave reviews so I included the links above- I take no credit for the recipes, I just made what you see.

But, I will take credit for this idea below... I made a cardboard "pint glass" as a cupcake stand! Lighting was not so good in the bar, but I abhor my flash. Fellow party-goers then suggested making "pint cakes" so now I am in search of tempered pint glasses that can go in an oven, any thoughts?



Did I mention that on the way to the birthday party I got in a car accident? I spent so much time baking these cupcakes and piping the frosting, only to have them thrown about my cupcake carrier (love it) in my car. Therefore party presentation- not so good, taste- loved by all, story of their delivery- priceless.

Mini!

This is my first batch of mini-cupcakes that I have ever done! It takes a lot of careful work to fill those many little cups, but I was not let down. The frosting is a basic vanilla frosting from scratch and I learned that investing in a good vanilla extract is worth it and next time I might even try heavy whipping cream instead of just milk to thin it out and real vanilla bean. As for the piping, is does make a difference in regard to presentation! I added the dime for a little perspective on the size. Stay tuned, tonight I am making something even better!

salty

There is a story behind this mini-obsession with salt: Liz and I were hosting a Lethal Luau a little while back (that's a Hawaiian-themed murder mystery dinner party) and the main course was to be pork barbecue which called for black Hawaiian salt. We SEARCHED EVERY STORE possible with no luck, though I was pretty confident I had seen it back up north. And I did. And here it is. So, since my best girl recently got hit by a car and survived, I thought I would send her a little present. And this is how I made it. Love her lots. Thank you, God.

Therefore, here's a little DIY to make this present so much better than giving her a bags of salt (which since I was on a hunt for black I decided to get a few other Hawaiian varieties...

Step 1: Buy the salt.


Step 2: Buy super-cute jars.


Step 3: Make fun labels for super-cute jars.


Step 4: Place fun labels on super-cute jars.


Step 5: Fill fun-labeled super-cute jars with salt.


Step 6: Enjoy!