So like I said before I was requested to make a baby shower cake and cupcakes for 50 people. It was for my brother's fiancee's sister-in-law (can you follow all that?). Erica (the fiancee) sent me about five links with five very different styles of baby shower cakes. I decided to go with the pink and blue birds since I have rarely worked with fondant and was a little nervous trying anything too complicated. The birds turned out amazing and the cupcakes were beautiful. I decided to make banana cupcakes because everything banana is delicious. Adding bananas makes desserts that can be boring and plain into something that tastes fresh and tropical. I then topped off the cupcakes with rich, white buttercream, dusted them with crystallized sprinkles, and added the fondant birds. They looked amazing and professional.
And then I started on the cake...
It turned into one nightmare after another. It all began with the Mixer. We purchased a cheap hand-mixer from Sears and the two beaters like to pop out about every ten seconds or so. My mom was going to get me a big, countertop, stainless steal mixer for my birthday, but my dad told her that was a terrible present and she decided to buy me a lululemon outfit instead. And though as I type this, I am currently wearing my lululemon pants (and yes, they have the magical ability to make anyone's butt look fabulous), it is Friday night baking fiascos like this that I really wish my mother had gone with the damn mixer. So back my Sears mixer... it wasn't until I began icing my homemade vanilla cake that I realized nice chunks of unmixed salted butter were being spread evenly all over the sides. Freaking out, I scraped most of the cake clean. At that point I had used all my icing sugar and was forced to make a midnight convenience store trip to buy icing sugar that was double the price one would pay at any grocery store. I also had to find another recipe online for buttercream since I was also missing heavy cream. It was almost 2am when I boxed up the cake and loaded the dishwasher. In my exhaustion and frustration, the cake didn't turn out how I wanted it and I was so mad about it I didn't even bother taking a picture of it.
However the story continues to get better...
I had to work my job at 9am so Erica's mom was picking up the cake at 8:30am. Exhausted, I showered and got dressed only to discover a mess downstairs. One of my dogs (and I think I figured out which one) had an accident all over the floor during the night. So now I am trying to shield her mom from the chaos by not letting her in the front door in fear that she'll think I made all her desserts in this filthy state (of course I know she wouldn't think that, but my self-conscious mind thinks that way). Everything made it to her car in one piece and she was very happy with it.
I guess it can't always turn out the way you plan it, but at least it made for an interesting story.
Here are the pictures I did take of the cupcakes:
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| Birdie Baby Shower Cupcakes |
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| Banana Cupcakes |
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| Blue Birds |
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| Pink Birds |
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| All boxed up and ready to fly. |
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