Tidbits of Life

Whew!  What a couple of weeks it has been!  My father-in-law was in town for 2 weeks which means we had the older kids more so they could visit with him.  We are so grateful that he is able to come see us and spend life with us for awhile.  However, this also means more mouths to feed, clothes to wash, and homework to check.  Not leaving much time for myself between diaper changes, helping my little guy waddle around the house, and interrupted sleep caused by 3 teeth that are making their way in all at once!

  

Remembering some of the lonely evenings pre-marriage, I feel blessed that my life is so full right now.  Although I haven't had much time to breathe the past few weeks, it hasn't kept me out of the kitchen!

We celebrated a special guy's birthday with this wakeboarding cake!

Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Last year, I made him this tennis cake!

Sorry for the lousy Instagram filtered photo...
believe me, I searched high and low for the original but couldn't find it. :( So, this will have to do.

I love showcasing the kids' current interests on their big days.

We also hung out with friends and enjoyed these Crimson & Cream little darlings during an IU football game!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Additionally, I recently tried out some corn fritters and blueberry vanilla bean muffins but will have to experiment with other recipes before I share them with you all.  They were good but not quite the flavor I was anticipating.

Hope you have had a great couple of weeks!  Talk to you soon! :)

Lemon Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Simply Self Storage is celebrating their 10 year anniversary this week!

When I saw these Homemade Lemon Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting from Sally at Sally's Baking Addiction, I knew I had to make them for the party week!

Their light vanilla lemonie flavor is perfect for spring, and the yellow hue with blue sprinkles is the perfect color match for Simply SS!

I doubled Sally's recipe to make 24 cupcakes but still baked them a dozen at a time.  For the frosting, I made one batch plus another half.  I knew it would make way too much if I doubled it, and I still had some leftover!  But that's OK because it's stored in the refrigerator for snacking with pretzels or graham crackers.  :)

Check out the link above for the full Lemon Cupcake and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe!  As a side note, when creaming the butter and sugar together for the cupcakes, make sure you beat the mixture for the full 2-3 minutes.  It will end up looking like whipped butter.  Also, only fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full or they will overflow...at least mine did.

Happy 10 Year Anniversary to Simply SS and congrats to my husband on all his hard work!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ok, ok, I know it's not fall but I could not stand looking at the lone can of pumpkin pie mix in my pantry any longer.  I remember seeing a recipe where you combine only yellow cake mix and a can of pumpkin to make supposedly a moist cupcake.  I decided to give it a try but with a twist by using pumpkin pie mix instead of plain pumpkin and adding in these little babies...white chocolate chips!

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

CUPCAKES

Ingredients:

1 box (18.25oz) Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix

1 can (15oz) pumpkin pie mix

1 cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips

Yes, these are the only ingredients you'll need!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pans with cupcake liners and spray them lightly with non-stick spray.  Combine the cake mix and pumpkin pie mix in a mixer until fairly smooth.  Stir in the white chocolate chips.  Fill each cup about 2/3 full.  These cupcakes won't rise too much but will be soft and moist inside!  I got 22 average size cupcakes from this batter.  Let them cool completely before frosting.

FROSTING

Ingredients:

12 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Directions:

Cut the softened (not melted) butter into chunks and cream together with the cream cheese.  Add in the vanilla and mix.  Gradually add in the sifted powdered sugar until combined then add a pinch of salt to cut the sweetness.  Beat on medium until creamy.  Your frosting should be a room temperature when topping your cupcakes.  Store any leftover in the refrigerator and use for dipping graham crackers (yum)!

These are like a mix of pumpkin and spice cake all in one little treat.  And, the homemade cream cheese frosting is the perfect match!  Try this easy recipe now for a little taste of fall or Pin It and save it for later!

Linking up at Semi Homemade Mom!

Caramelly Chocolate Cupcakes

What sounds better than a moist chocolate cupcake filled with sweet caramel topped with a smooth chocolate butter cream frosting and a mini Cadbury caramel egg?

Not much, right?!  It doesn't get much better than that!

Here is how I made these little darlings.

Ingredients:

1 box (16.5oz) of Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

24 soft caramels

24 Cadbury caramel eggs

1 to 2 jars of Duncan Hines Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Unwrap the caramels and set them aside.  Line cupcake pan with baking liners.  I spritz them with a little non-stick spray to ensure the liners peel off easily after they are baked.  This recipe will make 24 cupcakes.

Blend the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs in a large bowl at low speed until moistened (about 30 seconds).  Then, beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour the batter into the cups filling each less than half full.  Drop a caramel in each one and press it down slightly.

Bake immediately for about 25-30 minutes.  While the cupcakes are baking, unwrap the little Cadbury caramel eggs and set aside.  The cupcakes will be done when a toothpick inserted into the cake part comes out clean.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.  Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting.

Stir the room temperature frosting in the plastic container.  Spoon it into a piping bag with whatever fancy tip you prefer.  Pipe the frosting in rounded circles onto the cupcakes.  Top each with a Cadbury caramel egg and whalla!  You're done!

The Brach's Milk Maid Caramels didn't quite melt in the center like I had hoped.  So next time, I'll try a softer caramel like Kilwins Caramel Chews or maybe a chocolate covered caramel candy instead to get a more gooey center.  Delish, nonetheless!

I'm about to go make a cup of Folgers Caramel Drizzle coffee in the Keurig and have one of these little beauties!  Wish you could join me!