Bake-aholic

Hey yall!!!

I'm in a good mood right now...not great, but good.  (maybe because I just took my Managerial Accounting exam!)

So this past weekend I was SO busy!  Saturday I mowed the yard...then I went to Lowe's to get some...stuff!  I'm re-doing my parents bathroom (now I guess it's mine..complicated situation).  I just got new towel racks, light, and mirror for now, but I know it will make a HUGE difference.  Especially considering we still have the ugly contractors stuff in there right now.  I also got some grass seed and weed killer...

OK but the most exciting part was my Sunday.  I baked ALL day Sunday...and loved every minute of it.  I made Strawberry Lemon muffins, Chocolate Chip muffins, and Peanut Butter & Jelly cupcakes...yepp.  You heard right.  Peanut Butter & Jelly.

I decided that every Monday I am going to bake for work and set up my donation jar (this stuff isn't cheap!).  It was a success yesterday!  I also got compliments such as

"OMG that was the BEST cupcakes I've ever had in my life!!! Will you make me an entire batch?!" 

and..

"Ashley that was by far the best cup cake I ever ate, thanks!"

:-)  Makes me happy.   See, I really do love the baking process, but clearly and cannot/don't want to, eat allll of the stuff I make.  I usually don't even have one.  Don't worry, I do taste the batter to make sure everything is coming out just right :)  Here is a pic of the Strawberry Lemon muffins about to bake (this batter, btw, tasted like an amazing ColdStone Creamery creation)

Alright so now for the Peanut Butter & Jelly cupcakes.  They had jelly on the inside (I alternated between strawberry and grape), were topped with a delicious peanut butter frosting, and had a dollop of jelly on top!  Here are the simple steps I took to finish them off :)


1.  I used a fruit 'thingy' (I have no idea what it is supposed to be used for!) to make an imprint on the top of the cupcake since it made a perfect circle.

 

2.  I used a small paring knife to hollow out the center.  Directly following that, I used the same fruit 'thingy' to get any cake I missed.

 

3.  At this point, I used a teaspoon (simply bc of its small size, not to measure) to scoop the jelly/jam into the cupcakes.

 

4.  Almost done!  Last step was frosting the cupcakes which I did on a lazy susan.  The pics after that are of the finished project!

YUMMY YUMMY!!   Well, actually guys I have to get going because I have a dinner thing to go to :)  

Be blessed yall :)

Cupcakes & College

Howdy :)

OK so last time (I know it was a while ago) I said that I was going to make cupcakes for Easter!  Annnnd I did!  I made Hummingbird cupcakes and plain yellow cupcakes in ice creams cones.  If you're from the south you may have heard of and/or had Hummingbird cake...well I made the cupcake version!  They have mashed banana, crushed pineapple, and coconut.  They are DELICIOUS!  Everyone who's had one has loved them.  I have made them about 4 times in a short time span.  They are topped with a cream cheese frosting but they are also SO good without anything on them.  My ice cream cone cupcakes had a vanilla buttercream frosting on them that I made pink and I added little Easter marshmallows on them...here they are :)

 

To transport the cones, I cut holes into the top of the box my new laptop came in.  And isn't my little cupcake carrier awesome!?  It's so useful.  It's kind of big, but I mean it has to be a little big in order to hold cupcakes that have frosting!  it holds 36 too!  I have been making lots of cupcakes and muffins and whatnot for the Marines I work with and the other people in my office and it definitely has gotten expensive.  I didn't bring anything this past Monday (which is the day I usually bring goodies) and the Gunny from Corporal's Course noticed and suggested I bring in a jar to collect donations.  What a good idea! So I bought a glass jar today and I'm going to make a label to stick on it that says "Ashley's Baking Fund".  I'm actually pretty excited about this because I LOVE baking :)

This past weekend was also Lauren's bridal shower!  She got so much awesome stuff to go in her new house!  How exciting!!  We decorated everything very pink by the way :)  I also made my brownies that everyone loves.  Here is a pic of the beautiful bride, Lauren, and her bridesmaids :)

 

 I looked completely awful, but everyone else really looked great!  It was a great time...and Marcy made a Sangria that was pure deliciousness.  And the fruit in it was completely soaked in alcohol! haha...they were also very good though ;)

Classes are finally starting to come to an end.  Finals begin next week!  My first semester of grad school is almost done!  Last night was my last Finance class so my group and I went out to Chico's for drinks :)  I got the huge 46 oz Margarita that they have and it was not strong at all!!  I mean I probably should not have been able to drive after that and I could (and did).  I wasn't looking to get wasted or anything, but that barely did anything! ....I sound like an alcoholic huh?!  OH speaking of that, my friend Chris calls me the alcoholic baker (because it seems like every time we are texting I'm drinking a glass of wine or having a beer) so after I finished my last batch of cupcakes the other night this is the text I sent him and the one I got back:

Me- "The alcoholic baker succeeds again"

Chris- "Does that mean you're drunk or the cupcakes are done?"

Hahaha that cracked me up!  I thought it was hilarious for some reason....

I'm watching the Flyers v. Penguins game right now and getting angry, so I think it's time to log off!!  GO PENGUINS!!!  they better step it up!!

night yall