milestones and memories

Today's memory is in recipe form.  Cupcakes from Cobra's first b-day bash.  I made them again this weekend and thought I'd share.  

Take all this.

Do this.

Then bake.

Then take all this

Do what I did up there.  Hey there were tornadoes that broke up my little cooking session, so frankly I think it's ok that I didn't get pics of every stinkin step.

Frost.  Then get these.

Eat.

Look at that technique.  Look at that hair.

And here's the recipe in case anyone would like to try them out and I strongly recommend you do.  More importantly it will be recorded.  Therefore it will be easier to find next time I decide to make them.  I won't waste 30 minutes trying to find it in my email box then get sidetracked and finally delete the over 10,000 emails I've been saving to...apparently read sometime I don't know.

White Almond Sour Cream Cake

1 box white cake mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup granulate sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 egg whites

1 1/3 cups water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream

1 teaspoon clear vanilla flavoring

1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bow.  Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed for 2 mintues.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.

** I used a spring box cake mix in the cupcakes above.  I also used pure vanilla extract, not clear vanilla flavoring.

Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tablespoon meringue powder

1 teaspoon almond extract

4 cups (1 lb) siftened confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons milk (more or less for spreading consistency)

In a large bowl, cream shortening and butter.  Add almond extract and milk.  Gradually add sugar one cup at a time, beating on low speed.  Add meringue powder.  Scrape sides often while mising.  Don't overwhip.  makes three cups.  Will keep in fridge up to  weeks when stored in air-tight container.

** I don't sift anything.  Martha one time told me this was unnecessary, that whisking it in a bowl a bit was just fine.  Martha who you ask?  Stewart of course.  Ok maybe she didn't tell me per say.  She told her whole viewing audience and I was one of them.  And maybe I just think I heard this and really didn't but I swear my brain is telling me that I did indeed hear it.  So I live by it now and so far everything has turned out fine.  For his party I didn't use almond extract.  In the cupcakes I just left it out and in the frosting I replaced it with vanilla.  I wasn't sure if the kids at the party would like the almond.  But both ways are yummy.  Also my frosted cupcakes have been sitting out on the counters since Saturday.  I understand that there is milk in the icing and that made me go "hmmm" for a minute but then I remembered when my mother was down for Cohen's birthday she kept the cupcakes out and surely she wasn't trying to kill us.  I mean we have no money so there would be no point.

I hope you guys enjoy them as much as we did.  They were a hit at the little man's birthday back then, and I'm certainly enjoying the batch I whipped up this weekend too.  So thanks sis for finding the perfect cupcake for our littles' bdays and thanks Brenda for sharing it with us.  This is one thing that I will always associate with not only Cohen's first birthday but also Morgan's.