August = End of summer in most of America
September = Summer in San Francisco
October = Fall colors, brisk air and HALLOWEEN!
For me, the best part about the holiday season is the opportunity it provides create, bake, and cook...
AND share it all with others!
Below you will find my first attempt at holiday baking for the season. Because I wanted to bake a large batch to take to 3 different events, I decided to make one batch of regular cupcakes, and one batch of (24) mini-cupcakes - all from one bowl of cake batter.
I did make a short-cut this time and used boxed cake mix (Duncan Hines - which proved to be a good choice), however I made up for my cheating ways by making this delicious homemade Cream Cheese based frosting. I normally do not like Cream Cheese frostings - as I like the sickeningly sweet stuff - however this recipe is very creamy and easy to use when frosting.
FROSTING:*1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
*6 Ounces Cream Cheese, at room temperature
*1 t vanilla extract
*3 C powdered sugar
Sift powdered sugar into wet ingredients, then whip with electric mixer until smooth
The mini-cupcakes were hard to travel with because they are very top-heavy once you frost them. Therefore, I'd suggest sticking with the normal sized cupcakes when you are planning on bringing them to another location.
The simpler the toppings, the more sophisticated your cupcakes will look. You can go crazy with the frosting color, but if you do, take it easy with the decorations. There is, however, that one special person or celebratory event in which it's necessary to go crazy with the colors
and decorations - and I think we can all think of at least one person in our lives that would fit this bill (mom!).
