cupcakes galore

My friend Kateri introduced me to a new website a couple weekends ago:

www.bettycrocker.com

I about fell over when I saw it (it wasn't the gin and tonic I was drinking, really). It has hundreds of recipes...for cupcakes! I'd been looking for a boozy cupcake to make, thinking about mojitos, mint juleps, margaritas, etc and the first two recipes that came up were for mojito cake and champagne cupcakes.

I needed to try these right away! The recipes use box cake mix - I usually like to make it myself because I like the "from scratch" flavors but I love any kind of cake so I wasn't about to stick my nose up at this. I made the pink champagne cupcakes (basically the only difference is using champagne instead of water, which I personally think is a good substitution!) and they got rave reviews from EVERYBODY - we had a party for Mother's day and a good family friend had a graduation party - and both groups enjoyed the cupcakes immensely!

They're cute on their own, but with these little bubbly sprinkles I got at the craft store how much cuter could they possibly get?! Yummmm...

Those were fun...and I just tried out a new recipe today (Ina Garten's chocolate cake) that I'm turning into graduation cupcakes for my cousin, Julia, who is graduating high school this weekend. One day I offered to make her a cake for her graduation - to my surprise, she accepted, and said that the cake needed to feed 60 people! Goodness...I have my work cut out for me! Once I decide how to make it I will most definitely be putting up pictures.

Edit: This is extra hard for me as I'm on a no-cupcake diet (not even tasting!) for the next few weeks...trying to shed the honeymoon/post-wedding/interview season/holiday/I-have-more-free-time-so-I-bake-a-lot extra pounds I've put on. Exercise just isn't going to cut it alone...but man oh man is it hard! Why did I agree to bake a cake when I can't eat any!??! why!?!