was all set to post about homemade fries and chicken nuggets when it occurred to me that I never posted about my best friend/sister-in-law's "surprise" baby shower. It was a ton of fun and, given my new love of diaper cakes, of course I made her one.
I saw these cuties in a Paula Dean magazine. Jelly beans, life savers, and ribbon.
What's that? You're wondering what we had for dessert? Well, strap on your seat belt, because this dessert is delicious and adorable! I saw this idea on a website somewhere, except that used it for mother's day. I modified it slightly and....
Baby shower hostess inspired cupcakes!
Hostess Cupcakes:
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
4oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Filling:
4 Tbsp butter, room temp
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 cup marshmallow fluff
Ganache:
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
Icing (to write with):
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place liners in cupcake pan (this makes about 18 - 20 cupcakes).
To make the cupcakes, mix together your flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
Next, pour your sugar into a small saucepan and add 1 cup of water. Bring this to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Then, pour into a large bowl and add your chocolate and butter. The heat from the sugar mixture will cause your chocolate and butter to melt. Stir occasionally until smooth and let cool slightly (it can be warm, just not hot).
Once cool, stir in the vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat your eggs into the cooled chocolate mixture 1 at a time. Then, mix in your flour mixture in 3 batches.
Spoon batter into cupcake liners (about 2/3 full) and bake for 20-25 minutes. They will sink down a little in the middle, but when you add the filling, it will correct this.
For the filling, use an electric mixer to cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and then the vanilla and 1 Tbsp heavy cream. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 2 Tbsp heavy cream in alternating batches. Beat in marshmallow fluff and set aside.
To fill the cupcakes (once completely cool), place your filling in a pastry bag (I used my pampered chef easy accent decorator for this one) with a good size star tip on it. Poke the tip into the center of each cupcake and fill. I filled until the cupcake puffed back up and I met resistance.
For the ganache, on low (the lowest of low settings) heat in a small saucepan, combine you butter, chocolate, and heavy cream and stir until melted. Let cool for a few minutes and then add your vanilla, stirring until it is smooth and glossy.
Spread ganache on each cupcake and refrigerate at least 15 minutes (I did 2 batches of ganache, chilling in between because I wanted a nice, thick frosting).
Meanwhile, make your icing! Beat all the ingredients together, adding more milk if necessary to thin out. Put into a pastry bag (I did NOT use my PC decorator for this) with whatever tip you desire to write with (I used a #2, plain) and decorate!
YUM!
Also, because she is my best friend, I "custom made" some onesies for her sweet baby (the whale one is an inside joke - Sea World, anyone?):
Happy Summer!
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