Who would like a cupcake!

I don't know of anyone who doesn't like cupcakes. I guess that is why the new rage is all sorts of flavored cupcakes. The funniest flavor I have ever heard of was Bacon lettuce and tomato.  I wonder how that would taste?  

I just got done baking some cupcakes and I thought I would try my hand at four different flavors. Triple Chocolate, Exploded Strawberry, Pineapple Coconut, and Lemony Lemon.

Triple Chocolate with Ganache Icing

Exploded Strawberry with Strawberry Cream Cheese filling

Pineapple cupcake with Pineapple Coconut cream filling

Lemony Lemon with lemon filling

Before I get to the cupcake recipes I want to share the best buttercream recipe ever.  I found the recipe for Publix Butercream Icing. If you have never had Publix Butercream Icing before it is worth every minute to make it. The icing is the perfect to use on most any flavor cake.  It is heart stopping but tasts wonderful. 

Publix Buttercream Icing

• 1/2 pounds butter
•  2 cups Crisco Vegetable Shortening
•  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  1 teaspoon butter flavoring
•  1/2 teaspoon almond extract
•  2 pounds confectioners sugar
•  1/4 teaspoon salt
•  1 tablespoon meringue powder
•  1 tablespoon milk if needed

Yield: Icing for 2 layer 9 inch round cake, or about 20 cupcakes

Mix butter, Crisco, and salt together on low speed for 5 minutes. Add vanilla, butter flavor, and almond extract, beat until well blended. Turn mixer off and add meringue powder and 1/2 confectioners sugar. Turn mixer on the slowest speed the mixer has, add remaining confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time until the sugar is mixed in. Turn mixer up to medium and beat until smooth and creamy, this should take about 5 minutes.

Meringue powder and butter flavoring can be found where cake decorating supplies are sold. The recipe can be made without these two ingredients, but the icing tastes better if you use the butter flavoring, and the icing with hold its shape better with the meringue powder.

With all flavored cupcakes I used Betty Crocker Moist Cake and followed the direction on the box. 

Triple Chocolate cupcake

Betty Crocker Moist Cake mix. Make it according to the box instructions.

The Ganache filling:
9 oz of chocolate
1 cup of heavy whipping cream

 Melt chocolate in the microwave for one minute then heat heavy whipping cream to a boil. Slowly add cream to the melted chocolate and blend. Spread on cupcake.
I added a chocolate wafer, chocolate chips and one square of cookie and cream chocolate for decoration.

Exploded Strawberry with Strawberry Cream Cheese filling

Again follow the direction on the Betty Crocker Strawberry cake mix.
I added 2 tablespoons of Strawberry preserve to 1 cup of Publix buttercream icing.  This covered three cupcakes. 

Strawberry filling:
4 oz. of Cream cheese
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of strawberry extract.
2 tablespoons of strawberry preserve

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. To fill the cupcake, dig a teaspoon into the center and remove the cake.  This will leave a hole to be filled with the filling.

Pineapple cupcake with Pineapple Coconut cream filling

Use Betty Crocker lemon cake mix and make it according to the directions on the box.

The filling:

 4 eggs, lightly beaten                               
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup Pineapple juice
1/2 cup can pineapple chunks
1/2 teaspoon pineapple & coconut extract
1/4 cup whole milk
Assemble the filling by combining the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and pineapple juice in a medium bowl and whisking until smooth. Stir in pineapple juice, milk, pineapple and coconut extract and pinch of salt and mix well. Then add pineapple chunks and cook over medium heat until filling gets thick, about 20 minutes. Constantly stir so it doesn't stick to the pot. Let cool and you can fill your cupcakes.

I use 1-3/4 cups of Publix buttercream icing and add 1/4 cup pineapple coconut cream for the topping. Blend well and pipe on top of the cupcakes. I coated some pineapple chunks in sugar and put them in my dehydrator. Once they were dried, I put them on top of the cupcake with some shredded coconut.

    Lemony lemon cupcake with lemon filling

I used Betty Crocker lemon cake mix and make it according to the directions on the box.  


Lemon  filling:

• 4 eggs, lightly beaten                                      
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strained
• 1/4 cup whole milk 
• 2 tablespoons limoncello, or other lemon-flavored liqueur, optional

Assemble the filling by combining the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon zest in a medium bowl and whisking until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, milk, optional limoncello, and remaining pinch of salt and mix well. Cook over medium heat until filling gets thick, about 20 minutes.   Constantly stir so it doesn't stick to the pot.  Let cool and you can fill your cupcakes..

Lemon butercream icing:

I use 1-3/4 cups of Publix buttercream icing and add 1/4 cup of lemon filling for the topping. Blend well and pipe on top of the cupcakes. I coated some lemon slices in sugar and put them in my dehydrator. Once they were dried, I put them on top of the cupcake for decoration. 

The lemon garnish is a slice of lemon I covered in granulated sugar and put in a dehydrator. 

Filling in the blanks.

I have wanted some built-ins on each side of the Fire Place.  I finally got cracking and designed something that would be functional and works well with the decor. I wanted it to look old world with plenty of storage and of course decorative.

We got cabinetry that was the same style as the kitchen and all I did was add some ornate embellishments and wooden handles. When we put on the top, I also decided to add the arched back. This made it look more like a piece of furniture than cabinetry. We then built the top shelving with crown molding and Corbels.

This cabinetry came in a wood color that didn't match the kitchen perfectly so I decided to paint it the same color as the Kitchen Island.   

This is the completed project.

We have also been working on the kitchen.  We have one more thing to complete and then I will post about it.  So far we replaced the microwave over the stove with a hood.  I put the microwave in my butlers pantry.  We added crown molding on top of the cabinetry and new wooden handles.  We replaced the island counter top with a larger one.  The Chief put in a water pot filler for me over the stove and I completed the tile back splash.  I changed out all the kitchen lighting.  Last but not least, I recovered the Kitchen chairs and added new pillows.  The lighting is the last item we have to finish. 

The Chief did a great job with the plumbing and I have my pot filler. 

I did the tile on the back splash in tumbled marble subway style.

This was my dreary dull seats and pillows.   

The transformation! 

In the middle of all of this we needed to replace the Dishwasher. It was the original dishwasher when we build the house ten years ago. Last night we lost our refrigerator. I had to go and get another one today. We went to Lows and it was going to take 30 days for the one I wanted to be delivered. We then went to HH gregg and they had the one I wanted in stock. Tomorrow we get it delivered.

Church Camps

The Cisco Kid had a blast at this year's church camp.  He went to this same church last year and he had just as much fun.  This year they had a Panda Mania theme.  The last two days of the camp were extra special with an evening hotdog dinner and the children singing songs. 

Here are the two boys with Noodles the Panda Bear.

The group of boys were having some fun before the show. 

The staff put on a little skit.

Boy's young and old acting silly after the show.

The following day was all about the water slide.

It has been a great summer so far.

American Idol Concert

We have been watching American Idol for the past few years and this year was the best season. There was so much talent. The top eleven were so good that we had to go see them in concert. This is the Cisco Kids first adult concert. When he was three years old we took him to see The Wiggles. That was the last time he saw a singing group on stage. When we went to see The Wiggles, I think I was dancing more than The Cisco Kid was. It was totally the opposite with the American Idol Concert. He was rock'n and rollin the whole time. It was so cute to watch. I think there will be more concerts in our future.

Laurenn was the second runner up.  Scotty was the winner.

All the girls on stage singing.

I took lots of pictures but the stage lighting was so bright and shined out into the audience that they didn't come out very well. This was a perfect concert for an eight year old. Everything was very appropriate. I was seventeen and just moved to Florida when I saw my first rock and roll band on stage. I was so excited to see Foreigner for the first time. After that concert I was hooked. I went to every possible concert that came to Jacksonville. Back then tickets only cost $8.50.  That is a big deference from the 70.00 dollar price tag today.  The other bands I saw were Boston, Styx, The Police, (they opened for Styx), YES, Electric light Orchestra, AC/DC, Eagles & Heart.  Those were the days!!!!

Continuing the Hollywood Studio tour.

As many time as we have been to Hollywood Studios we have never stayed for the evening Fantasmic fireworks show. This show is a forty five minute extravaganza of more than just a fireworks show. It is a water show, character show, boat show and fireworks. 

Here is a sample of the show. 


Tomorrow I'll post about the American Idol Concert.

Hollywood..... here we come

No, not Hollywood CA, but Disney's, Hollywood Studios. Our main reason for going to Orlando over the weekend was to see American Idol’s Live Concert. The Concert was on Sunday and we arrived in Orlando on Saturday. We had a full day in Hollywood Studios. We got to the park at 10:a.m. and stayed until 11:00p.m. We saw our favorite shows that we have seen before and we got to go on a couple of new rides.

Character just roaming the streets.

The Hollywood Tower of Terror! The Chief and the Cisco Kid wanted to go on this ride. I have avoided this ride for many years. I love rides, but there is one kid of ride I do not like. Two words sum it up. FREE FALLING!! I hate free falling rides and the Tower of Terror is a Twilight Zone experience. First you go to the 13th floor of a Hotel, and then the ghosts electrify the hotel. At that point the doors to the elevator open and you find yourself moving out a large opening 13 floor up. Just before the elevator extends out the large opening the elevator drops out from under you. You are in a free fall for several seconds. Even though you are strapped to the seat, somehow the seat comes out from under you. Just when you think it is all over you climb back up and it drops again. Wait! it's not over yet. It does this about four or five times. I lost count because I was worried about The Cisco Kid and if he was freaked out. Don't worry about him. He loved it.  

 

We are sitting in the middle row far left.  I am looking at The Cisco Kid making sure he is ok.   I won't be going on that ride any time soon. 

We always enjoy seeing the Indiana Jones stunt show. 

We went to Hollywood and Vine for lunch.  The food was ok but it was fun seeing the characters.  Special agent Oso.

Little Einstein. 

Handy Manny! Now these characters are not allowed to speak, so everything they do is with had gestures only. The Cisco Kid wanted to take a picture of Handy Manny with his I pod and he was having trouble getting it to flip to the camera setting. So Handy Manny jumped in and gestured to The Cisco Kid how to switch it over. Good thing it was Handy Manny. He really does know how to fix everything. 

This was an all you can eat buffett and the picture is some of the childrens meals.   

Tomorrow I will post the rest of the evening at Hollywood Studios.