A Smashing Success

The cupcake test run turned out great.  Despite some mixed reviews from people that tried the recipe I thought they came out great.  The verdict on storing them overnight is in - frost them, cover them and put them in the fridge, just let them come to room temperature before serving and all will be well.  I think that frosting them as close to the time they will be served is optimal, but that's not always possible and this method worked out just fine for me. 

I had a pretty busy weekend so in order to have these things ready by Sunday morning I had to plan it out.  I made the frosting on Friday night and then made the cupcakes and frosted them on Saturday night.  I had a slight problem on Friday with the buttercream when I noticed that it started to separate and break.  I had a long day and by the time I finished with it, it was about 11pm and I was mentally and physically done.  I wanted to go to bed and not think about cupcakes anymore, but I became an obsessed woman and did some research about fixing broken buttercream.  I was pushed over the edge by the thought of rushing out late on Saturday night to get store bought (I would never do this!) frosting to replace the shitty one that I made.  I read about a few different methods to fix it and decided on the one that was dubbed as fool proof: beat in some shortening and then whip the hell out of it and it WILL come back together.  Thankfully, it worked like a charm and I would not be seen running in to Shop Rite at midnight in my pajamas (I would also never do this!) on Saturday night buying up all of the Sarah Lee frosting in the joint.  I assure you that this would have been a very last resort for me and not my proudest moment, but if I had run out of time and there was no other solution even I would have to cut some corners.  Being in Shop Rite in pajamas buying store bought frosting would actually be my weakest moment.  Ever, perhaps.

Alas, none of these horrors occurred and I fixed my little problem with relative ease.  I used rose water and vanilla extract to flavor the buttercream and then added a tiny bit of red food coloring to turn it pink.  It came out a beautiful shade of pink and had a really delicate rose flavor.  The cake stands on each table went over well too.  I knew I was collecting those things for a reason.

My little sweetie Josephine looked gorgeous.  I can't wait to share some cupcakes with her when she can actually enjoy them.  In a few years I will have two tiny cooker chefs helping me out in the kitchen.