Neapolitan Cupcakes

Yuuuuuum!!! These are delicious!!

The original recipe is from allrecipes.com but it uses vanilla and brownie instead of strawberry.  I found the strawberry and brownie idea from the blog iheart2stamp.

I followed the original recipe down to a "t."  The only thing I did differently is I used cream cheese icing instead of vanilla.  YUM!!

Be sure and follow the ingredients and directions because its not the same as the box. The cake and brownies need to be a different consistency than normal to go well together.

*Beware though, the recipe says it yields 4 dozen cupcakes, but I got a little less than 2 dozen.  My cupcakes are a little larger than a normal cupcake because I have never gotten down the "fill 2/3s of the way full" concept, but even if they had been the right size I think the recipe might yield a little over 2 dozen.

I have had people rage about these cupcakes every time I have made them.  They really are delicious.  I am not even a strawberry cake fan, but mixed with the chocolate these cupcakes are ridiculous.  I encourage you to try them and in doing so you will become everyone's favorite baker. :)  Happy baking!

Love, Devon

Hamburger Cupcakes

   I have been dying to go to a cookout just so I could make some hamburger cupcakes.  I finally got to go to a cookout over Labor Day and enjoyed every minute of making these hamburger cupcakes!  The best part is, they are pretty easy to make!  Here's what you need to make these yummy looking hamburgers:

yellow cupcakes

brownies

 white icing

red/burgundy food coloring

yellow food coloring

2 sandwich bags

sesame seeds

circle cookie cutter or a small lid

   After you bake the cupcakes take them out of the liners and cut the middle of the cupcake out leaving the muffin top and about an inch on the bottom.  This will leave you with the hamburger buns.   After you bake the brownies in a 9 x 13 pan, cut out the hamburger circles using a cookie cutter or a lid. (I used a nutella lid because it was the perfect size to make the brownies fit inside the cupcakes.)

   Next dye some icing red/burgundy and yellow.  This will be your ketchup and mustard.  Put the dyed icing in ziploc baggies and cut the end of a corner.  Squeeze the icing onto the brownie just like you would ketchup and mustard but make sure to get lots on the edge so that it squishes and runs over when you put the bun on.  

   One last thing, dab some sesame seeds on the top of the cupcakes.  Sesame seeds are practically tasteless but add so much to the look.  And thats it, so easy and SO cute!! They were a huge hit at the cookout and I will most definitely be making these mini sliders again! 

  

Wedding Food

"Food is essential to life, therefore make it good"  Truett Cathy

   Well said Truett!  And since food was essential at our wedding, we made it good!  Wil and I had all of our absolute favorite foods served: Chick-fil-a chicken strips and nuggets-with Chick-fil-a sauce of course, Mcalister's chicken tortilla soup, Silver Spoon's spinach queso dip, Panera Bread cinnamon crunch bogals (just like the bagels except in little balls), mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, brownies and funfetti cake!  Not only was it a unique way to add character to the wedding, it was cheaper than using a caterer.  Here's the breakdown: (All of these prices are based on serving a little over 200 guests.)

12 trays of Chick-fil-a chicken (7 strips, 5 nuggets) x $70.24 ($64+ $6.24tax) = $842.88

38 quarts of Mcalister's chicken tortilla soup x $7.70 ($6.99 + $.71tax) = $292.60

20 quarts of Silver Spoon spinach queso (chips included) x $14.19 ($12.99 + $1.20tax) = $283.83

Mashed potatoes/Mac and cheese bar $350

Panera Bread cinnamon crunch bogals $111

Coffee/tea/water/flavored creamers  $130

Cheese and cracker trays $130

Food Cost:  $2,140.31

   Our wedding was at a resort, so thankfully they had tables/chairs/plates/cups/silverware/etc. for us to use.  The food was set up at stations using warming/serving trays as well.  (We picked the food up from the restaurants and transferred them to the warming trays.)  We were able to get the tables, chairs, etc for free, so the only added expense was the labor.  $940 went to the servers for room set up/take down, food preparation and service during the reception.  

Food + Labor

GRAND TOTAL:  $3,080.31

This is for a full meal and dessert for a little more than 200 people.*

   Yes, that still is a lot of money, but it is way below average for full meal for a 200 person wedding.  It averages to about $15 per person, and we had plenty of leftovers for the out of town guests to munch on the rest of the weekend!  

* We had a friend make the cake- and she paid for the ingredients as a wedding gift- so that cost is not added into the budget, but at around $1.20 a box you can't go wrong!  (****Please please please use rainbow chip icing with your funfetti cake, its soooo much better than funfetti icing!)

*A couple of our cousins made the brownies for Wil's grooms cake, and they also paid for the ingredients as a wedding gift.