Girly Luau Birthday Party

Today was my daughters 9th Birthday Party.

We had a flip floppin' pool splashin' good time!

What a fun group of girls to party with!

ALOHA!

Fruity centerpiece

Beachy table center piece

Paper pom poms in fun bright colors. Imperfectly Beautiful has a great tutorial on how to make them.

Sandy beach flip flop cupcakes

Moist chocolat cake and rich chocolate buttercream...my kind of cake!

I used my Texas Sheet cake recipe (minus the original frosting) to make these cupcakes. It is currently my absolute most favorite way to make chocolate cupcakes!

Texas Sheet Cake

In a medium mixing bowl combine:

1 C butter (melted)

1 C water

1 tsp vanilla

Add:

2 eggs

1 C sour cream

2 C sugar

1/2 C cocoa powder

Mix until well combinded then add:

2 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Whisk until smooth. (Sometime I add chocolate chips now.)

Scoop into cupcake wrappers. Bake at 350 for about 16 minutes.
Cool and frost with chocolate buttercream.

Chocolate Buttercream

In mixer combine:

1 C softened butter

2 lbs powdered sugar

1/2 C cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C milk

Slowly mix together, then turn mixer up to med high and whip for 2 minutes. If the frosting is too thick add more milk, if it's too thin add more powdered sugar.

Sneak Peak!

The girls and I decided it was time to let their room

grow up a little.

They had this cute cupcake/princess/treehouse mural...

(That I never finished! Check out those flower stems without their blooms, how embarassing!)

So the funny little mural got slathered with primer
and with the help of two very handy painters...
We now have a start to something fun!

I can't wait to finish up a few more projects and show you the big reveal!

To Blog or not to blog...

I have wrestled with that question since... well it looks like
since April Fools Day!! I'm sorry for abandoning this little
blog. If ya'll don't mind, I think I would like to keep sharing!

MANY of you fabulous and supportive readers have asked for these
two recipes...soooooooooo... I'm gonna give em' to ya. Enjoy!

Berry Cheesecake

and

The Kitchen Sink

Berry Cheesecake Cupcakes:

Cupcakes:

1 white cake mix
1 cube butter (melted)
1 C whole milk
3 eggs

Combine all ingredients and mix for 2 minutes. Batter should be light and fluffy.

Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

While cooling prepare filling:

1 box raspberry danish dessert (junket brand, I get it at Winco...if there isn't a Winco near you I have also been able to find it at Albertson's)
1 bag frozen raspberries, (I often use the tri berry blend from Costco, about
2 1/2 C)

Prepare danish dessert according to the pie filling directions on the box. Add frozen berries to danish dessert, do not thaw. Let sit until cooled.

Prepare Cheesecake Mousse:

1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 small boxes cheesecake pudding
1 C water
1 C whipping cream or pastry pride (I buy pastry pride at Smart and Final or Cash and Carry)

Combine sweetened condensed milk, water, and pudding. Beat for 2 minutes, set aside. Whip the whipping cream or pastry pride. Fold into pudding mixture. Place in piping bag fitted with extra large round tip, or use a ziploc brand, ziploc bag with the corner snipped off.


Assembly:

Using a melon baller scoop out center of cupcake. Fill with berry filling until it is even with the top of the cupcake, but don't over fill. Pipe cheesecake mousse around the berry filled hole. Don't cover it up. I go around twice. Add another teaspoon of berry filling to center of cheesecake mousse.

That's it!





Now for my absolute FAVORITE concoction ever:




The Kitchen Sink


1 chocolate or vanilla cake mix
1 cube butter melted
1 C whole milk
3 eggs

Combine all ingredients, beat for 2 minutes. Bakeat 350 for 13-15 minutes.

Caramel filling:

This should be done ahead of time because it is quite time consuming.

Place an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk (with the label removed) in a pot of boiling water. Cover with a lid, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Check water every once in a while to make sure it's not evaporated and still gently bubbling.
Remove from heat and let cool. If you do this step the day before just let it cool in the unopened can. If you are in a little bit of a rush open the can and poor the contents into a pie pan.

Scoop out center of cupcakes with a melon baller. Place caramel filling in a ziploc bag and snip off a corner. Pipe into each cupcake.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache layer:

I also do this ahead of time so it can properly cool.

In microwave safe bowl place 1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips (use the best kind) and 2 C whipping cream (not whipped). Heat in microwave at 50% power for one minute, stir, repeat, until chocolate is completely melted. Use a whisk to thouroughly combine the melted chocolate and cream until it is smooth and shiney. Let cool completely. (If you leave it at room temperature this can take a couple hours, I usually put it in the fridge for about and hour.) When cooled whip with an electric hand mixer. (It should look like slightly runny chocolate whipped cream) If it overwhips it will be grainy. According to Martha Stewart you can re-melt it, cool it again and re-whip it. I've never done that so I don't really know. Just don't over whip it.

Place whipped ganache in a gallon size ziploc bag, snip a corner and pipe a single layer (once around the cupcake) covering up the caramel filling.

Whip some Pastry Pride (from Smart and Final or Cash and Carry). You'll probably need about 2 cups of the liquid pastry pride. (I never measure, I just dump it in)

I pipe the cream on with a huge star tip.

Toast some pecans and coconut with your broiler, sprinkle them on top, nuts first then coconut.

Grab a glass of milk and one of these babies, relax and enjoy! If you worked this hard to make a Kitchen sink cupcake you deserve the break!

And every bite is just. so. worth.it.

Enjoy!