Halloween Cupcakes

What better treat at a Halloween party than cupcakes?! I couldn't have asked for these to turn out any better. Three flavors, three fun Halloween-y styles. These cupcakes were made for my son's middle school Halloween party at the YMCA. He goes to an after school club that is run by the local Y, and they did their Halloween party tonight. So, of course, I spent the day making cupcakes for the occasion :)

{{This is a Devil's Food cupcake with purple vanilla-flavored buttercream frosting}}

{{This is a Vanilla Sprinkle cupcake with black and orange sprinkles. Orange vanilla-flavored buttercream on top.}}

{{This is an Orange Velvet cupcake with green vanilla-flavored buttercream frosting.}}

I have a few leftover if anyone wants them! :)
Have a Happy Halloween, Chaos Peeps!

Carthage Cupcakes

My daughter's swim team was having their end of the season party, so I decided to supply some cupcakes. So did three quarters of the other parents :) But none looked as personalized as mine!

Carthage Comets Cupcakes
Red Velvet Cupcake with Oreo Cookie Bottom,
Cream Cheese Frosting,
and candy "C" topping

Daughter's Birthday Cake

I will always, always get an order out on time. If I have to stay up late at night, I'll do it. Orders take top priority.
However, ask my kids, they don't always get their own birthday cakes on time. My daughter's came on Thursday... her birthday was on Monday :) In my defense, we had something to do every day/night from Sunday through Thursday. Even on Thursday I had to work at night, but I had time to do her cake during the day.

There is a not-so-new decorating technique that's all over the cupcake and cake blogosphere right now. It's called a "rosette", and oh so simple to do with a large open star decorating tip. I've seen cakes covered in rosettes, as well as cupcakes. I wanted to make my daughter's cake like this to give it a more elegant look. She *is* 14 after all!

The cake itself is a 4 layer pumpkin cake. I will tell you a quick secret that's not really a secret. It's nothing new, and has been around for quite awhile. It's how to make a delicious cake, or cupcakes, without taking hardly any time at all. People will be wowed by your skills, and you can giggle to yourself because it wasn't very hard.

My pumpkin cake consisted of

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 can packed pumpkin
2 tbsp water

That's it :) Well, not quite. I used pumpkin pie spices like allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. Mix those in with the cake mix with a whisk first. I didn't measure them out, just sorta added till it looked right.

Baked at 325 degrees for about 25-30 minutes in 8 or 9 inch round pans. Be sure to check it with a toothpick for doneness.

Isn't that great?! I've also made cakes using devil's food and pumpkin, spice cake mix and 1 cup applesauce, and carrot cake mix and 1 cup applesauce. I always add a little water for moisture.

Here's my daughter's cake. The frosting is a maple buttercream. It tasted delicious and rich and went well with the pumpkin cake.