Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Just because I really wanted to have my own batch of red velvet cupcakes :) They didn't come out very red because the recipe called for more red food coloring than I had on hand! I liked that these cupcakes were subtly sweet in combination with the moist frosting. This batch isn't the most pretty thing to look at (it doesn't take much imagination for one to make a comparison between the chocolate cream cheese frosting and...something not quite as appealing). And it seems somewhat ironic that my red velvet cupcakes turned out to be more like a burgundy? Maroon? But at least they were yummy, I've already had two tonight!

Bachelorette Spa Day Cupcakes

I was so so SO excited to make these cupcakes today and had been looking forward to doing so for quite some time! A co-worker of mine is the Matron of Honor for another one of our co-workers, who is having her bachelorette party at a local day spa tomorrow. These luscious strawberry and lemon cupcakes are for the bride, her bridesmaids, as well as the spa employees (who will be pampering the heck out of them... me = jealous!).

The wedding colors are pink and green so I made sure to use those colors throughout the decorating process. Since the girls will be doing something super girlie by going to a spa, I wanted to make the cupcakes look as girlie as possible too! The pearls, bows, and flowers were the perfect way to go. None of my previous batches of cupcakes had been quite this feminine, so it felt great to release my inner girlie girl ("I feel pretty, oh so pretty...." Sing it! Come on, you know the words!).

While going for ultra-pretty cupcakes, I tried to tie in the spa day theme by making fondant girls wearing pink or green facials and by icing the word "Relax." How can you not relax when you're hanging at the spa all day?! Hope you ladies have a great time tomorrow, thanks for giving me the opportunity to pamper you a bit :)

My own strawberry cupcakes recipe

I was really excited to make these last night for Justin! It's my 2nd attempt at my own strawberry cupcakes recipe even though Justin and our friend David absolutely LOVED the first batch (I thought they were terrible because they came out so soggy). I've never made up my own recipe for anything before (besides something like, Tuna Sandwich!) and I was all proud of myself for knowing how to make them better.

Just as a testimony of how good these little tasties are, Justin ate four of them...one right after the other...in about five minutes...that's FOUR whole cupcakes! Complete with strawberry buttercream frosting and everything! Now I know exactly what you're thinking: "oh well that's because he's married to you and it's his duty as a husband to not hurt your feelings so OF COURSE he's going to eat half the batch!" Well, let me tell you something, my friend. My husband is the most honest person I know and I always try to encourage that, even if it means he tells me he doesn't like something I cook or bake. I would much rather he tell me that he's "not a big fan" of a new recipe I tried instead of me continually making it and him fake smiling through nauseous chewing (okay I don't think my cooking has ever been THAT bad). I always appreciate his feedback, good or constructive.

So last night, I have to say that I had overwhelmingly good feedback from Justin on how good these strawberry cupcakes were. Let me know if I can ever make them for you!