Pretty in Pink

I couldn't be any more proud to be the auntie to my beautiful niece, Aubrey Elyse, who was born on June 3! In these past six weeks, I've learned more about love and compassion than I ever thought possible. The love I have for this little girl is absolutely through the roof. So when it came to the idea of a shower...it just had to be done! I had so much fun hosting and planning my first baby shower, and let me tell ya, I love any excuse to make a bunch of decorations, DIY projects, and cupcakes, of course :)

Colors: Pink, purple, and silver
Food: Hors d'oeuvres, including a baby carriage fruit salad, bacon wrapped dates, fresh salsa and guacamole with tortilla chips, cheeseburger egg rolls (my favorite!), stuffed mushrooms, grilled pesto shrimp, veggies and dip, caprese bites, and mini reubens

Recipe #17: Strawberry Vanilla Bean--
a vanilla bean cupcake, topped with a strawberry cream cheese frosting and silver sugar sprinkles (and a pink rocking horse of course!)

Another Summertime Favorite: S'mores

Thinking of the summer, an image that instantly pops into my brain is sitting around the campfire, laughing with friends and making s'mores around the campfire. That being said, my latest summertime flavor is s'mores!

Recipe #16: S'mores--
a graham cracker flavored cupcake, topped with a chocolate buttercream, crushed graham cracker, and a toasted marshmallow

Beautiful Summer Wedding

I was given the most amazing opportunity to bake for my first wedding. The bride, a family friend, is gluten free (she is the one I had a bridal shower for earlier this spring), along with some of her wedding guests, and so I was on a mission to cater to her allergy and make sure that she got to enjoy some sweet treats on her wedding day as well! She left the door wide open in terms of flavors and so I got to experiment and create some fabulous flavors (gluten free and regular). The only guidelines I needed to follow were around 300 mini cupcakes and 5 different flavors, so here's what I came up with...

**Repeated Recipe #10: Pineapple-Carrot Cake

Recipe #15: Salted Caramel Pretzel (modified Recipe #5 for the mini cupcake version, but always a huge hit!)--
a German chocolate cupcakes, topped with salted caramel buttercream, crushed pretzel bits, and a salted caramel drizzle

Recipe #14: Blueberry Vanilla Bean--
a vanilla bean cupcake, topped with a fresh blueberry buttercream, edible pearl accents, and a fresh blueberry

Recipe #13: GF Chocolate Vanilla Bean (a gluten-free modified Recipe #9)--
a gluten-free chocolate cupcake, topped with a vanilla bean buttercream and an edible sugar flower

Recipe #12: GF Lemon-Raspberry (modified Recipe #6 for the mini cupcake version)--
a gluten-free lemon cupcake, topped with a raspberry cream cheese frosting, edible pearl accents or a fresh raspberry drizzle, and a fresh raspberry

I have to give a shoutout to my wonderful sister, Danielle, for all her help in the kitchen! I wouldn't have been able to do it without her :) xxoo

Here are some pictures of my cupcakes all set out on the dessert table at the wedding reception!

"Give Me Samoa"

Rainy days bring excuses to bake, and this cupcake was inspired by my younger sister, Danielle. I am hoping that this is the start to a new line of Girl Scout Cookie(R) cupcakes! That being said, here is the newest flavor: "Give Me Samoa".

Recipe #11: "Give Me Samoa"--
a German chocolate cupcake with caramel pokes, topped with a vanilla whipped cream frosting, sprinkled with toasted coconut and a section of Samoa, and lightly drizzled with caramel

More Birthdays to Celebrate

Also very behind (from June 7), but...having four birthdays in the span of a week, it is always chaotic, but there is always an excuse to bake! This particular cupcake batch was baked for my dad's birthday, which I brought to him at work for a surprise. His favorite kind of cake is carrot cake, so you can guess where the next recipe came from...

Recipe #10: Pineapple-Carrot Cake--
a carrot cake cupcake with a pineapple-cream cheese filling, topped with a cream cheese frosting and either sprinkled with cinnamon or crushed buttercream-flavored pecans

Chocolate & Vanilla Bean

I am so behind in updating my blog, but I am so excited to announce the arrival of a new family member, born on June 3! Scrolling through Pinterest (like I usually do), I was looking for newborn picture ideas, and I came across the "0" candle idea. That being said, I decided to make a simple cupcake: chocolate with vanilla bean buttercream, to bring to the hospital to celebrate the arrival of my new niece, Aubrey Elyse.

Recipe #9: Chocolate-Vanilla Bean--

a chocolate cupcake with a vanilla bean buttercream

Celebrating the End of the School Year

Well, after seven long months of winter and nine extremely busy months of my freshman year, I think it's safe to say that spring is here (and the end of the school year)! In order to celebrate, I thought I would experiment and try out some new summery recipes. My cupcake delivery route of taste testers was more than happy to try out these new flavors and I got a cheery thumbs up :) I think both of these recipes are appropriate to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning to a very fun-filled and busy summer! 

Recipe #8: Root Beer Float--
a root beer-flavored cupcake with a root beer glaze and vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with crushed root beer candy and paper straw

Recipe #7: Cherry Limeade--
a cherry-flavored cupcake (with cherry chunks) with a fresh lime buttercream frosting, topped with a maraschino cherry and parasol