How To: Make Sunset Cupcakes

  Hello!

  Remember my sunset nails? Well, this cupcake tutorial is inspired by them! The recipe below is so delicious. It's not vanilla so much as just white cake flavored; it's reeeally sweet! It's originally from here, but I added the food color/frosting details.

  You'll Need...

  1/2 cup milk

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
Red food coloring
Yellow food coloring
Frosting
(I used cream cheese)

No AA batteries means I had to use my iPhone..

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit). Line a muffin pan with paper liners (or grease a 9x9 pan if you want to make a cake instead).        

       

2) In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth.

3) Divide batter into three separate bowls. Add yellow to one, red to another, and an even red/yellow combination to the last one (remember, a little goes a long way!). Stir until desired color is achieved. When spooning the batter into your cups, remember you still have two colors left... don't overdo one color!               

 4) Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or 30-40 if you're making cake. Cupcakes are done when they spring back to the touch.                      

In the nail tutorial, I added palm trees. With the cupcakes... At least I can say I tried.

 5)  After they've cooled, frost them. I used standard Duncan Hines Cream Cheese frosting, but I'm sure there's a trillion sugary recipes fit for these little calorie bombs.


    Just so you know: The food coloring method can also be used for rainbow cupcakes! I tried this a while ago, but didn't blog the recipe (there was a cornstarch incident). The mini sunsets tasted much better, anyway. :)

 

    Enjoy!

 xoxo,

    Zoe

The Winter Holiday Post: 2011

   Good tidings to you and your kin!

(Before we get started, beware: This post is really picture-heavy!)

    The winter holidays have come and passed. Now's the time for the downward spiral of depression for many middle-aged McDonald's cashiers and those like them, for any remaining holiday cheer is sucked away by the always-brutal January. Not for me, though, because I'm a teenager!

   The holidays were a festive, productive time for me. Not only did I watch every single episode of Arrested Development (oh my, how I'll miss Buster! And Mrs. Featherbottom!! Oh, Mrs. Featherbottom!), I also redid my room (a teen's room redoing importance is the equivalent to the adult's house redoing, in case you wondered...) and finally finished my 2011 resolution: writing in a diary everyday between January 1st to December 31st, 2011. I only skipped two days all year! Man, am I glad it's over! That was horrendous!

   Moving on: I did some great holiday baking, and got some great gifts!


  Baking
 
I attempted Santa Hat Cupcakes, and they didn't, um...well, see for yourself.

    

  I saw some little poinsettia candies at the grocery and was suddenly inspired! Oh, and this icing brand is fantastic. By the way, I lost the other pictures on my hard-drive; these little cakes look waaaay better in the other pictures (ironically).

 Gifts!

  I wrapped my mom's gifts in my signature kitty wrapping paper, and got earmuffs (on clearance; score!) for some of my friends. A week or two before Christmas, my mom mistakenly opened one of my presents in front of me, and let me have it early!! It was the Mylo Xyloto deluxe edition! Isn't it gorgeous?!

        

    My main gifts two gifts (a new phone and an instant camera!) are pictured with all of my gifts, below.

   Lots and lots of cool stuff! Among a wonderful amount of media, I got some great makeup and gorgeous jewelry. Oh, and the two papers are order-emails from Modcloth and Shana Logic! My mom was unable to get the Watermelon Vans, so she made up for it with my entire ModCloth wishlist!! (That's a ring and six freaking pairs of shoes!) She also got me Shana's Necklace of the Month Club for 2012; my first of which is pictured below, next to the six freaking pairs of shoes. :)

 

And, finally, I "symbolically adopted" a World Wildlife Fund Tasmanian Devil! SWEET! (Below those is a closeup of a gorgeous Basetet necklace I received. It was purchased (but not received till Christmas:) when I went to the Egyptian exhibit!)

     

  After Christmas Sales

    For the season, J.C.Penney had a fantastic little gift section called "Wrapt". This included products from various companies (ex. Glamour Magazine, Dylan's Candy Bar). These could get pretty expensive, so I was counting on the December 26th sales to get them.

   On December 26th, I got there bright and early (thanks Mom!), and found that all Wrapt products (besides Dylan's Candy Bar...huff!) were $2. Did you read that? TWO FREAKING DOLLARS!! I was beyond excited! My best deals were a previously $34 tea set and two $28 bags, those and everything else pictured below.
(I feel like I should mention a little story: When the puffy Glamour tote came out, I wanted it badly but wouldn't buy it, nor would I ask for it. I thought $28 was too much for something I already had enough of...No matter how perfect it was. I got really, really lucky!)

    Ah, yes. The Christmas hub-bub is now over, and I'm extremely content with everything (how could I not be?). That being said, I'd like to give a little disclaimer: I feel as though I should say it, even though it should go without saying: I'm not trying to brag in any way. At all. I personally enjoy reading these kinds of posts, so I thought I'd do my own. I realize I'm extremely fortunate to have had such a great number of great gifts. That's that, and I hope you already knew it before I said it. :)

    Did you have a good holiday? If not a holiday, did you have a good break? (One full of movies, I hope!) 


  xoxo,
       Zoe