As you probably guessed, I have a slight obsession with cupcakes. It's been a lot of fun trying to find the best, the sweetest, the cutest ones around, and I've just gotten started!
For Emi-chan's birthday, I decided to do mini cupcakes. First ones were for her Parent and Me class. Since I was the snack mom a couple days after her birthday, I decided to make some special ones. The normal thing is probably to go to a supermarket and buy a box of cupcakes for $6, but no, not for my precious baby. Only the best for the little princess. I had to make these beach going teddy bears I saw on Bakerella and My Little Mochi.
I found that these mini cupcakes were both easier than I thought it would be, and also harder than I thought it would be. The easy part: I decided I wouldn't make the cupcakes from scratch, but used a mix and canned frosting, for sanity and health reasons (my sanity and the kids' heathy. I'm not the best baker). Drawing the faces and bathing suits on the bears was easier than I thought it would be, thanks to edible marking pens. The hard part: finding decent bears to draw on (I ate most of the rejects...I don't want to look at another Teddy Graham for awhile), and frosting the cupcakes. I decided to use the easy-peasy frosting technique I saw on a Food Network show, where you take a plastic ziplock bag and load it up with frosting, push the frosting into a corner of the bag, snip the corner, and then pile your cake with fluffy frosting. When I tried it, it 1) got all over me and 2) looked like I had piles of white dog poo on the cupcakes. Not very appetizing. So, I had to refrost them before sprinkling them with blue sprinkles. In the end, I'm pretty happy with the results (the kids were, too, except for Emi-chan, who hates cake). What do you think?
For Satuday, we had a family birthday party. I had ordered 2 dozen mini cupcakes from Sibby's in San Mateo. My brother Jeff tagged along to help me pick them up. At first, I wasn't sure if I had the right directions. The address took me to a one way street behind a row of retail stores. All we saw were auto body shops. No bakery. I had Jeff re-read the directions to me. Then I saw it. Sibby's. A little pink oasis among dirt and grime. Once I saw the cupcakes, I was very happy I chose them.
Rick thought the cupcakes were too sweet. Emi-chan rejected them because they were cake. I liked them very much. Yes, the cupcakes were sweet, but you could taste the distinct flavors. I had ordered the variety pack, and we got (I think): Dulce de Leche, Carrot Cinnamon, Red Velvet, Grandma's Tea Cake, Choco Choco, and Butter Cup. I'm starting to get hungry again. Maybe I'll go and get a leftover cupcake :)
Love the mini-cupcake theme! It's pretty shocking that Emi-chan doesn't like cake. I thought it was pretty universal--kids love cupcakes . . . but they will always surprise you. What does she like?
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