Cupcakes!!!

 I am planning a baby shower in the next couple of weeks and needed to practice my cupcake skills.  More than anything, I needed to work on my decorating skills.  And although, I am far from a professional, I think they look pretty good in a amateurish kind of way.  Almost like a home-made mother's day card, sure, it's not as nice as the hallmark ones you find at the store, but the creativity and thought that goes into the home-made one makes it unique and all the more special.

The recipe I used was given to me by a friend who is an incredible baker. I am certain one day she will open a shop of her own. The only change I made is that I halved the recipe below because I didn't want that many cupcakes around it made about 30.

Gaudy’s Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

½ lb butter

½ lb of unsalted butter

1 ¾ cups of sugar

6 eggs

Pinch of lemon zest

3 tbsp of vanilla

1.5 cups of orange juice

4 cups of self rising flour

Directions:
Turn on the oven to 350°F. Prepare your molds. Set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar together until the mix is light and yellow, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Make sure each egg is well mixed before adding the next one. Add the pinch of lemon zest and vanilla. Beat until all these ingredients are well blended, about 1 more minute. Add the orange juice in a fine stream alternating with the flour, mixing in thirds, until all ingredients are incorporated. Mix for another minute or so.

Empty the batter into the molds and bake until light golden brown for about 19 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick or knife right in the middle to see if it comes out clean.

Buttercream Frosting:

2 sticks butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup orange juice

Cream the butter until it nice and creamy and turns to a pale shade of yellow.  add the vanilla extract and orange juice at this point and beat.  Add the sugar one cup at a time and blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure you blend all of it evenly.

To frost these, I basically took four separate bowls and added an even amount to each one.  Then I began mixing the colors till I had the shades I wanted.