Little Chef: Cupcake Sundaes

Back from a long hiatus on Little Chef posts. Jellybean has been begging to help me in the kitchen. I've been feeling badly because I let her help so little lately. When you have a nine month old that is attached to you it's hard to do the little planning that it takes to make our adventures in the kitchen run smoothly.
This little girl loves to bake, so we finally managed to find some time to get into the kitchen this past week. We made Cupcake Sundaes.  Just choose any cupcake mix or recipe for homemade, pour it into some flat-bottomed ice-cream cones and bake. We just followed the recipe baking temperature and time.

Such an easy thing to make and allowed both kids to get creative after the cupcakes had cooled. I mixed up some cream-cheese frosting (you could use any frosting) and then put a dollop of whipped cream on top. The kids chose from the sprinkles I had in the cupboard. Turns out I had collected quite a few varieties. Do sprinkles have a shelf-life?

They were so much fun to eat, too.

A couple of things: When filling the cones with batter, fill just the stems so that the cake has room to rise. Also, the cones did get a little soggy the second day. The kids didn't seem to mind.
Definitely a pretty good alternative to ice cream on a cold, winter day.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Party Preparations

One great thing about our new, larger house is the ability to actually have guests over. We already held the small family party for Jellybean's birthday, but this Saturday, I'm excited to host a real two year old birthday party and invite some of her little friends.
In preparation, I've been putting together a few things for the party.  Today I put together the gift bags and experimented with some chocolate cupcake toppers. 
The party is musically themed, so I drew a simple note on each bag

 and filled them with some musical goodies.

I decided that the cupcakes were going to need some musical notes as well. I experimented with free-handing some notes and treble clefs.

Sure, they say they are microwavable, but I prefer the old fashion method.

Make-shift double boiler

Mmmm, melted chocolate goodness

Melted chocolate ready for piping

Free-handed chocolate notes and clefs

chillin' in the fridge

The glue sticks were also chillin' in the fridge.  That's where I keep mine. Is that normal?

 I think these are going to be adorable on the top of each cupcake. Yum.

Tomorrow's task? Baking the cupcakes!

I've been a bit remiss in my posting this week.  Between party planning, discovery of a food allergy and about 20 hours spent watching Korean dramedies, there really hasn't been much time to blog.  I promise a future post on at least two of those excuses. 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

This post is participating in:
The Rosie Sweet Home Sunday Round-up

Cupcakes

I felt like something sweet today. So, I went back through my photos and found the cupcakes I baked for my daughter's first birthday. Yum!

I learned a fabulous secret a while ago regarding boxed cake mixes. Buttermilk makes them better. Oh, so much better. While I like making baked goods from scratch, sometimes it is nice to be able to cheat and still make something decent.

So, if you are in the mood for something sweet, here's my ridiculously easy recipe for chocolate cupcakes courtesy of "Hello, Cupcake!"

Chocolate Cake-Mix Cupcakes
Yield: 24 standard cupcakes

-18.25-ounce box Devil's Food cake mix (try to avoid mixes with pudding added)
-1 cup buttermilk, in place of the water called for on the box (the box will call for more water than the buttermilk you are using)
-Vegetable oil (the amount on the box)
-4 large eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

Using substitutions above, follow the box instructions to mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at low to medium speed until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer.

Spoon half of the batter into a zip-top bag. Snip a ¼-inch corner from the bag and fill the paper liners 2/3 full. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from baking pans, place on a wire rack . Cool completely.

I think she enjoyed them. What do you think?

Have a Happy Day!