Cakes!

 Leify's birthday was on Wednesday. I of course visited his class with delicious treats! Bomb Bird cupcakes. What else?!?

 

 These were chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter frosting. I am the WORST person to get a recipe from because I don't measure, but I'll try...

2 cups cake flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon vinegar

I made two batches. Then I mixed together equal parts peanut butter and powdered sugar. (completely eyeballed--maybe 1 cup of each?) I used my largest cookie disher (2 TBsp?) and put that much cupcake batter into each cupcake cup. Then I used my smallest disher (1 tsp?) and put a scoop of the peanut butter mixture into the center of each cup.

I baked at 325 in my convection oven for about 20 minutes until they were firm on top. Some of the cakes had peanut butter still showing at the top, but don't worry. The frosting covered it!

The frosting was, roughly:

1 cup peanut butter
rest of the box of powdered sugar (2 1/2-3 cups probably)
pinch of salt
1/3-1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1-2 tsp vanilla
1/2 can evaporated milk
black wilton food coloring gel (enough to get black color--remember it will darken as it dries)

I mixed this in my stand mixture. I again used my smallest disher and put a scoop on top of each cake. Then I spread it out. This frosting set up quickly, so work fast.

For the faces, I used the wilton eyes you can buy at the regular grocery store. Then I used piping frostings to hand-draw the face details. For the "wick" I wanted to use black licorice, but the birthday boy vetoed that! So, I took mini Tootsie rolls (used 2 for all 24 cakes). I warmed them in my hands for a minute, rolled them flat, and then used a pizza cutter to cut strips. I then put yellow on the tips.

 

I wasn't able to taste my own creation, but they were all gone by the time I left the school that day!

The birthday party cake is still in the works. However, here is a sneak preview! First, I give you my first ever gum paste creations:

 

I got the gum paste and the colors at Walmart in the Wilton aisle. It was really easy to work with. It's like playdough for adults!

Next is the pig side of the cake. I used Keebler fudge-covered wafers and some icing to hold them together (with toothpick supports and toothpicks out the bottom to hold it into the cake.) This is currently sitting in the freezer. I hope it will hold up to Texas heat and humidity!