Family Reunion

Strawberry Cupcakes

We had a small family reunion on my mom's side today.  Lots of cousins that we haven't seen in years.  Despite being 85 degrees in a park, it was a good time.  I had a ton of strawberries left over from the cake I made the night before, so I thought I'd try Martha Stewart's swiss meringue buttercream.  I used the same recipe for Strawberry cupcakes from Patricia's birthday, which Matt has been begging me to make for a few months now.  Too bad he's out of town until Monday (I saved him one).  I also wanted to try out some Food Tattoos I picked up at Michael's a few weeks ago.  They were really easy to use and very cute; although, I think they would have looked cuter on vanilla icing. 

The pureed strawberries in the frosting really made it taste fresh and summery.

These are the tattoos I bought at Michaels.  Very easy to use.  I saw that Duff from Ace of Cakes started a line of cake baking items including cake tattoos.  I'm dying to try all the cute designs. 

Kate and Jack liked the look of the cupcakes.  Jack tried the icing and said, "YUM!"  But a few seconds later he said, "I don't want it, I don't like strawberry."  So,  I don't think I can trust Jack's critique.

Happy Birthday, Timmy!

A Philadelphia Union Birthday Cake

Our friend Timmy is turning 30 this weekend, and his wife decided to throw him a surprise party.  Although, Matt definitely cannot make the party, and I may not be able to, I wanted to make a cake for him.  His wife, Jess, clued me into the fact that his favorite cake is strawberry shortcake.  I was very excited at this news as I have been dying to make a strawberry cake of some sort.  Matt helped me decide on the theme of the cake, which is the logo of the Philadelphia Union Soccer team.  Timmy is a big soccer fan and has gone to several games of the new team.  I really hope he likes it!

I made a basic pound cake recipe, used fresh strawberries with a little sugar for the filling, and made a swiss meringue buttercream frosting.  The fondant took a long time to tint to the appropriate colors.  Who knew navy was such a hard color to dye?   To finish it off, I dipped some strawberries in white chocolate and surrounded the bottom of the cake with them.

How good do these strawberries look?

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Cheech's Birthday :)

Pink, Pink, and more Pink

Patricia's Birthday is one of the most anticipated (and advertised) days of the year.  She loves all things pink and all things sugary.  I figured, why not combine them?  I don't believe this is my best work in terms of decorating, but Matt, as he devoured one, said that they were the best tasting ones he has had yet.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing