Minnie Mouse Cupcakes

I love making candies, mini desserts and cake pops, into almost any shape or size…it must be all the dipping that makes cake pops so exciting.  I need to blog some pictures of my past cake pops/balls.  So when my partner volunteered my services to do a special little girl’s 1st birthday cake, she didn’t think twice about my reaction.  Let me say this now…I’m NOT a professional nor do I make/decorate cakes!  All the things I do are self-taught and recipes are family traditions or things I have found on my own or created.  I have never taken a cake decorating class or worked in a bakery.  Now let’s just stop for a moment…just imagine one of your biggest fears.  Now picture the look on my face as this is one of my biggest fears.  A special 1st birthday cake that will grab the attention of everyone at the party!  With all our friends there!  Are you kidding me?  Come on, our friends are the ones we trust to be honest with us all the time!  After a moment of freaking out, I decided we would just do the best that we could and I would dump my love for this little Ella into the cake …and the process.

This was an outside party at the Russell Farms Pumpkin Patch so I needed it to be easy, both eating and clean-up.  They had picked a Minnie Mouse theme, so I decided on making cupcakes for the guests in cups that could be held or carried around.  The birthday cake was one in the shape of a mouse head that matched the cupcakes.  I will tell you on this project I cheated and used a box cake mix, Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge.  However the icing was homemade and all the decorations for the cupcakes I did by hand.

Here are the supplies for the cupcakes and the 1st birthday cake:

Making the cupcakes:

Making the sticks to go into the cupcakes:

Making the icing:

Recipe that I used for the cupcake buttercream icing (courtesy of Savory Sweet Life).  This had a little bit more of a creamy taste and was not as thick as the icing I used for the cake:

Classic Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!)  Ideal texture should be like ice cream.

• 3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar, SIFTED

• 1/4 teaspoon table salt

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Directions:

1. Beat butter for a few minutes with a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed.  Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the sugar doesn’t blow everywhere) until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter.  Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt,  and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes.  If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add remaining sugar.  If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

Finished cupcake product.  Added mini oreos as ears to the icing and hot pink sugar sprinkles.  Placed the cupcake into the plastic cup.  Dropped into a treat bag.  Added the stick and tied the ribbon!

Putting the cake together:

For the icing on the cake, I wanted it a little thicker and less cream for Ella.  I modified the recipe by removing the salt and only added 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream.  I also went heavy on adding the powder sugar, so it was probably closer to 4 cups and the cupcakes used 3 cups.

Finished 1st birthday cake to match the cupcakes:

Oh yeah, in case you were wondering…they were a hit, everyone loved them!  It just proves you don’t need a fancy certification or a bricks and mortar to show your abilities.  Those are just bonuses!  But for future reference…I think I will stick to making my mini desserts, cake pops/balls or candies!!  Happy 1st Birthday little Ella bug, you were a princess today!

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