A little pick me up for a rainy and miserable Sunday

Who doesn't love cupcakes??? I really do, especially this recipe. Now let me just say, I am not much of a chef but I do enjoy trying and this recipe which I found on Pinterest was pretty easy to follow and the results were delicious, if I do say so myself. I urge each of you to try it out today. Raid your pantry or kitchen cupboards. Make a quick run to the grocery store for any items you don't have in stock and get in the kitchen with someone you love and bake some cupcakes.

I love cooking and baking on days like today!!!

Wedding Cupcake and Buttercream Icing Recipe

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) box of white cake mix
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups of vegatable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 large egg whites

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 365 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans (you'll need approximately 30).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes or until well blended.
3. Using an ice cream scoop, fill the prepared cupcake pans, fill about 3/4 full. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean and dry.

Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons of whipping cream

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter on low speed. Mix until well blended. Increase speed to medium and beat for another three minutes.
2. Add Vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for one minute more, adding more cream if needed for desired spreading/piping consistency.
3. Scoop into a piping bag and pipe decoratively onto cupcakes or spread onto cupcakes if desired.

Notes:

I have made these cupcakes twice using this recipe and I found the icing a little to sweet. Apparently there is such a thing!!! So the next time I make them, I might decrease the amount of icing sugar used for the butter cream by maybe a 1/4 of a cup.

Happy Baking and remember to follow me on Pinterest!!!

Just for Fun

Hey Everyone,

Here is a list of 25 things you may or may not know about me:

1- I can eat popcorn with BBQ seasoning anytime of the day
2- I am currently addicted to the colour turqouise
3- My favorite Walt Disney movie is The Little Mermaid
4- It doesn't matter how bad my day has been or how miserable I am feeling, when I pick up my camera, all that stuff goes away and I feel better
5- I used to write short stories when I was a teenager
6- I am very organized and I like planning stuff
7- If I start feeling competitive with a friend, it is usually a sign that the friendship is over (it has only happened with three friends)
8- Most of my money is spent on shoes, purses and DVDs
9- My son Braeden and my husband Adam are the best things in my life and I love them dearly
10- I have a fear of snakes
11- When I know what I want, nothing can stop me from getting it - with that being said, figuring out what I want is the difficult part because I am the most indecisive person you will ever meet
12- I avoid confrontation
13- Even though I very seldomly wear lipstick or lipgloss, I have about 25 different shades
14- My best thinking happens right before I go to sleep, on a typical night it usually takes me anywhere from half an hour to an hour to fall asleep
15- I am currently on maternity leave and I decided to take this opportunity to change careers. I have just completed the Travel and Tourism program at Humber.
16- The last three vacations/trips I have taken, my best friend has taken them with me (Ireland, Dominican Republic and Mexico).
17- One of my goals is to have an inground pool with a swim up bar in it and I will get it one day.
18- Even though my dad has a Corvette that I love and I used to make fun of my husband's mustang and claim to be a "Chevy Girl", there is one mustang that I would kill to own...1967 GT 500 Shelby Mustang.
19- I absolutely hate washing dishes
20- I hated working at AMC, but had a blast working there with the other people that worked there and I miss the perks.
21- I swore to my parents when I was a kid that I would never like country music and now that I am an adult, I like a lot of country music.
22- The best concert I have ever been to was U2.
23- I had the opportunity to go to Australia for free with my mom and chose to go with her to Aruba instead and I don't regret that choice.
24- Taking a ride on a Seadoo was one of the funnest experiences in my life.
25- I have four pairs of sunglasses and I never wear them.