Sunshine and Rainbows Cupcakes

My Curly Girl is three!

So being the DIY mom I am, I just had to come up with a cute cupcake decoration to send to daycare with my girly!

Sunshine cupcakes made with yellow frosting, candy corn rays, M&M eyes and a gel frosting mouth.

Rainbow cupcakes made with blue frosting, "Brite Crawler" gummy worm rainbow and marshmallow clouds.

Big hit with the toddlers, I tell you! The most fun part was hearing Curly Girl recant what each kid chose. "Jack chose suns. He likes 'lello'. Trina had an airplane..." (Which must have been what the rainbows became.)

Homemade frosting? Of course! Why go for that canned stuff when making homemade is as easy as 1-2-3!

Quick & Easy Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk or whipping cream

3 cups powdered sugar

Whip the ingredients together until light and fluffy. Adjust ingredients as needed (more sugar for stiffness, more milk for fluffiness). Drop in food coloring a few drops at a time until you reach desired color, if needed. 

Happy birthday, my girl! You bring me sunshine and rainbows and everything lovely to my life each day!

"Elvis" Cupcakes: Peanut Butter & Banana

Recently I was invited to a potluck cook out at my church so I used it as an excuse to come up with something pretty to make. We had collected just a ton of overripe bananas  in our freezer so I thought it might be time to use some up. Most of my banana recipes are breakfast oriented so I thought I'd try my hand at some cupcakes. Immediately the idea of "Elvis" cupcakes came to mind combining banana cake with peanut butter frosting. 

Funny story? So I bring said cupcakes to the cook out with the label "Elvis Cupcakes" describing them as banana cake with peanut butter frosting and I had at least three people ask me what that had to do with Elvis (maybe you're wondering the same thing). I was shocked! I thought Elvis' love of fried peanut butter & banana sandwiches was common knowledge... but perhaps Elvis has lost his grip on pop culture trivia. Learn more about Elvis' love of fatty foods in this great NPR story or watch this super awkward Elvis impersonator making his own version. 

Anyway! Here goes the recipe. 

Elvis Peanut Butter & Banana Cupcakes
click above for an easy print version

Ingredients:
For the cupcake from ilovepeanutbutter.com
1 very ripe banana
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 whole eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons very soft, unsalted butter

For the icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup whipping cream 

For the butter-fried breadcrumbs (if you're feeling fancy):
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Mash together the banana and lemon juice until smooth, then whisk in the eggs. In another bowl, use a fork to whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat in the butter until well incorporated. Add the banana and egg mixture and mix until just combined.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake so that your cupcakes don't come out dry. 

Allow to cool completely and pipe on the icing. 

For the icing, combine the powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. 

If you're feeling fancy, take a few minutes to fry some panko breadcrumbs with butter and a bit of sugar and a pinch of salt to sprinkle over the top. Be sure to let them cool before sprinkling on your cupcakes. 

Beautiful and delicious!

Boy that Elvis had something going. Now you can share a little Elvis history with your friends. 

curly girl thinks you should eat one