Queen of hearts desserts

The desserts for my queen of hearts tea were super easy.

(I really liked my black and white tiered teacup tray for this party!)

The "unbirthday" cake cupcakes I decorated with "painting the roses red" icing.  Its super easy to get the striped look--I just take a chopstick and put some food coloring on the tip, put it on one side of the icing once it is already in the bag (or in my case, my Wilton's cheating decorating pump thing) then pull it out, dragging the coloring.

The white cake recipe is a cheat that I found on the internet (at Recipe Girl, here) that uses a white box cake as its base.  I've used it a couple times and it is always super moist.  It calls for vanilla extract, but adding almond and/or orange would also work well. I think I added a bit of almond to this batch with the vanilla. 

Next up are the "knaves of hearts" chocolate dessert which were also super easy.  I made a boxed brownie, cut out hearts with a slightly smaller heart cookie cutter.  I spread some Nutella on one heart and topped it with another.  A quick batch of ganache (good quality chocolate I melted in my chocolate melting pot and added a bit of heavy cream) spooned on top and let cool, and there we go!  I did keep these in the fridge.

The "stolen tarts" are a simple shortbread/butter cookie recipe I've used several times that works well with a cutter (from Allrecipes here).  This is a great go to cookie cutter recipe.  Before cooking, I pressed my thumb in the cookie to make an indent, added jam, and done!  

Dolci

Finally, on to the desserts! 

First up, tiramisu trifle!

These were so easy!  I just put them together the night before, and they were good to go!  I used the recipe here at Yummy Tummy.

Ingredients:

Ladyfingers (I found some from Italy at Homegoods--the ones I got were not soft at all)

1 cup whipping cream

2 cups mascarpone

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups coffee (*see instructions below)

Cocoa for topping

1.  *The night before, boil 2 cups of water and add instant coffee (at least 2 tablespoons).  I used International House hazelnut flavored instant coffee.  I ended up using probably about 4 tablespoons to get it to the right flavor, so make sure to try it and see if it is too watery.Store in fridge.  (or make it the day making the dish, but let cool).   

(picture from internet)

2.  Beat cream until it is thick.  Set aside.

3.  Take mascarpone, powdered sugar, and 4 tablespoons of coffee and use a mixer to mix together.  Be careful!  Don't over beat the mascarpone, or it will turn lumpy (and gross).

4.  Fold in the whipped cream.

5.  Take whatever glass you are using (I used crystal teacups), and put a layer of cut up ladyfinger on the bottom.  Cover with a tablespoon or so of coffee (really enough coffee so that ladyfinger is completely covered).  Put a layer of cheese mixture on top.

6.  Repeat.

7.  Put in refrigerator and let sit overnight.

8.  Before you serve, cover with cocoa using a small sieve. 

Done! 

Next and final recipe, Limoncello cupcakes. 

I found the recipe for these cupcakes here, and did not change anything about the cake, so I won't copy it again here.  I did have some problems with my bake time and they ended up a little dry, but I think that was my execution and not the cupcake, especially since these cupcakes had lemon pudding mix in them, so they should have been moist! 

I did change up the frosting so I will share it below.

White Chocolate Limoncello Icing

2 sticks softened butter

4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup melted white chocolate (a good baking bar with real cocoa)

2 tablespoons Limoncello

1 teaspoon Lemon Extract

Some cream if needed.

1.  Beat butter until pale and creamy,

2.  Add other ingredients and beat to combine.  If need more liquid add a little bit of cream.

Christmas Brunch--Peppermint white chocolate cupcakes

One last post to share a dessert recipe, then we'll leave my Christmas Brunch 2015.  These cupcakes seemed to be a success, so I would make them again.  The cupcakes have a bit of peppermint flavor and white chocolate baked into the cake itself (which was a little dry, I'm hoping it is just because they cooked a bit faster than I anticipated), but the white chocolate buttercream was wonderful!  The inspiration for these cupcakes was on this blog.

 

 

 



Peppermint White Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, softened to room temperature

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extra

1/4 teaspoon peppermint emulsion (or extract)

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup white chocolate chunks (use baking bar with real cocoa butter)

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cupcake tins.

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3.  In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.  Beat in vanilla and peppermint flavoring.

4.  Add 1/3 of the flour mixture then the buttermilk, alternating beginning and ending with the flour, and beating well after each addition.

5.  Using a rubber spatula, fold in white chocolate.

4.  Pour into cupcake tins until paper cups are 3/4ths full.

5.  Bake for roughly 16 minutes for full sized cupcakes.

 

White Chocolate Buttercream

 

2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extra

1/4 cup white chocolate melted (again use a baking bar with real cocoa butter)

 

1.  Whip butter until it becomes pale and creamy.

2.  Add rest of the ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute.  Increase speed to medium and mix for 6 minutes until frosting is light, creamy, and fluffy.

 

 

I just piped the buttercream on the cupcake with a large open star tip and then sprinkled on some crushed peppermint for a little extra peppermint kick.

 



 





Neapolitan fairy cakes

As promised, here is the recipe for the Neapolitan cupcakes!  I wasn't that fond of the cupcake itself--I thought it was a bit too dense.  Most of my taste testers liked it, though, and it is something different, so who knows!  I definitely like this idea, but I might try a lighter cake mix next time. 

 



 

Neapolitan cupcakes

 

3/4 cup butter, softened

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 extra large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups cake flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups milk

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 (12 cup) muffin pans with paper liners (preferably a light color that you can see through).  I also always spray baking spray on a paper towel and grease the top of the pan just in case the cupcake rises too far (I'm not a good judge of how much to fill the cups).

 

2.  In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, and sugar.  Beat at high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla. 

 

3.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Gradually add flour to the butter mixture alternating with milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. 

 

4.  Divide batter in half and beat cocoa powder cocoa powder into one half.  Spoon chocolate batter into cups, filling 1/3 full.*  Spoon vanilla batter evenly over chocolate, filling about 2/3 full.

 

5.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

 

*For my cupcakes, the chocolate ended up being most of the cupcake even though it looked from the outside that they were even.  I would probably put less chocolate in than vanilla.

 

So, we have the chocolate and vanilla part of the Neapolitan, the only thing left, is the strawberry!  This frosting was delicious!  I would definitely use this frosting recipe again.

 

Strawberries and cream frosting

 

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup strawberry jam

2 tsp strawberry extract

1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 cup confectioner's sugar

 

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add strawberry jam and strawberry extract, beating well until smooth.  Beat in whipped topping and confectioner's sugar.

 







Desserts for a Halloween tea

You're probably getting tired of week two of my "Wicked tea" posts (especially since it is now November), but I've saved the best for last...dessert!  Including salted caramel apple cupcakes!  These are good all fall, so just ignore the pumpkin sticking out of it :).

These cupcakes are quite yummy if I do say so myself.

Apple cupcakes

(modified from Chow)



 

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cardamom

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 + 2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 1/2 cup grated apple (put apple in a paper towel and squeeze moisture out)

 

1.  Heat oven to 350.  Prepare mini-cupcake tins

2.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Whisk well.

3.  Beat butter until a light color. Add sugar and vanilla. Continue beating until light and airy.  Add egg, beating afterwards.

4.  With mixer on, add buttermilk slowly.  Batter will look curdled.  Add the flour until just combined. 

5.  Fold in apples.

6.  Mini-cupcakes took about 15 minutes for me.

 



 Salted Caramel Buttercream

 

1/2 cup salted butter

2 cups confectioner's sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 cup caramel sauce

 

Beat together butter, sugar, and salt until smooth.  Add caramel sauce and beat until smooth. 

 

 

In addition to the cupcakes, I had all sorts of witchy treats.  I used a chocolate frog mold and made hazelnut chocolate frogs using very small pieces of hazelnut and a bit of chocolate hazelnut spread.  To add a filing with a chocolate mold, but some of the melted chocolate in the mold, top with the nuts and nutella and then cover with more melted chocolate.

 

I also had witch's broom, which are small reeses cups with a pretzel stick handle.  The witches hats are chocolate covered mint oreos with a Hershey kiss attached with chocolate icing and some green piped around as the band on the hat.  I don't normally do "ready made" things for my tea parties, but the brooms and witches' hats were too cute!





Pumpkin Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream Frosting...and Mickey ears!

I've been obsessing (a bit) with pumpkin pretty much since it was officially fall, and finally decided on a recipe (and excuse) to try out some cupcakes.  

 

(Treat please!)

 

I used this recipe for Harvest Pumpkin cupcakes I found on Allrecipe.  I decided on this recipe because it had great reviews and used ingredients I already had in the house (a major plus!).  I thought it was good, but it tasted more like a spiced cupcake than pumpkin to me--I was hoping for a bit more of a pumpkin taste.  I think next time I will look for a higher pumpkin to flour ratio.  The cupcakes did turn out moist and were still delicious, so it is a keeper, it just might not be my go-to cupcake for a strong pumpkin taste.

 

Now the frosting was a bit of a debacle (at least for me).  I've gotten way better at making frostings, but I usually stay with my tried and true recipes...well, not today!  I started with the honey buttercream recipe on Cupcake Project (which, if you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend.  It as all sorts of different--and sometimes crazy--recipes).  Unfortunately, I couldn't get the recipe to the correct consistency, so I just started adding stuff.  Below is the original recipe first, and them my additions.

 

Honey Buttercream Frosting

 

1/2 cup salted butter (room temperature)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup full fat sour cream

 

In a mixing bowl, beat butter at high speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.

Mix in powdered sugar a little bit at a time until fully combined.

Mix in honey and sour cream until combined.

 

At this point it was sort-of pipe-able for me, but very melty looking.  So I started adding things.  I added 2 more cups of powdered sugar and about 1/4 of a normal 8 oz block of cream cheese (the amount that I just so happened to have left over from my last tea party).  I also added about 1/4 tsp salt to cut down on the (very) sweet taste since it had both honey and lots of confectioners sugar. 

 

Overall, most of my taste testers/guinea pigs liked the frosting, although the couple who are not so fond of sweet stuff thought it was a bit too sweet.  I thought the honey/cream cheese mix was a good compliment to the cupcake.

 

But now on to the best part...ears!  First I piped (with an open star tip) probably about three rows of icing on the cupcake to get the icing high enough for the ears (bottom layer and than two others, going up in a cone shape).

 

 

I bought a package of the Halloween Oreos (have I mentioned I like anything that is seasonal?) and cut a couple cookies in half to stick into the frosting.  Instant Mickey ears with an orange touch!  The oreos all by themselves are fun--they have haunted castles, bats, skulls, and jack o'lantern designs baked into the cookies.

 

These cupcakes with the honey buttercream do better in the fridge, which has the added benefit of firming up the frosting a bit more.



Orange Cupcakes

I've been totally obsessed with pumpkin lately.  Completely.  So in that spirit, I'm sharing...orange cupcakes with orange buttercream!  At least oranges and pumpkins are the same color :).

Orange Cupcakes

 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon orange zest

2 tablespoon fresh orange juice (squeezed from same orange)

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Beat in sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.  Stir in orange juice.

 

2.  Combine all-purpose flour and next 3 ingredients.  Add orange zest whisking to combine.  Gradually add to butter mixture alternating with sour cream, beating until blended.  Place in cups, filing 2/3rds full.

 

3.  Bake at 350 for 22 to 24 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks.

 

 

Orange Buttercream

 

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 tsp orange extract

1 1/2 tsp orange juice

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbls heavy whipping cream

 

Whip butter until soft.  Add orange extract and orange juice.  Beat in sugar, one cup at a time, until icing consistency.  Add salt to taste.  Add heavy whipping cream, 1/2 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.  Make sure you have already added the orange juice to the icing and have completely mixed it before adding cream as the last step. 
*Add one drop red and one yellow of liquid food dye if you like the soft orange color in the picture.

 

I'm sure I will be posting more pumpkins stuff soon, but I thought I would get this in before October officially starts. 





Southern Tea Desserts

So far this week I've shared more on the savories and the tea for the dessert course--so that leaves scones and my personal favorite, dessert.

The scones I've featured previously on the blog, cinnamon praline scones, and strawberries and cream scones.  Now on to dessert!

 

The peach pies I featured earlier on the blog here.  If you've been following my posts, now you know why I kept searching for different peach pie recipes!  As I mentioned in the linked post, these pies don't last overnight.  I ended up baking them the morning of the party and they worked fine--but it definitely put me behind schedule!  I always underestimate how long things like these take to bake--it is a whole half hour for a batch, so definitely keep that in mind for planning purposes.

 



The next dessert is the hummingbird cupcakes.  I found the mini-cupcake tulip looking cups at Walmart and the pretty tulip picks at Michaels in the cheap bins near the registers.  Actually, I found all sorts of cool things at Michaels for the tea--but more on that another day :).  The recipe for these cupcakes is below the picture. 

Hummingbird Cupcakes

 

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup whole buttermilk

1 cups mashed banana

1 cups finely chopped pecans

4 oz canned crushed pineapple, well drained

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Put baking cups in mini-cupcake tin.

2.  In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, and vanilla.  beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3.  In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Gently stir in bananas, pecans, and pineapple. 

4.  Spoon batter into cups.  Bake 18 minutes for mini-cupcakes.

 

Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

 

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

4 cups confectioner sugar

 

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually beat in confectioner's sugar until smooth.

 

I used a Wilton Large French tip to decorate the cupcakes.  This was my first time trying it with a zip lock bag.  I was not a fan.  I prefer using the disposable Wilton bags.

 

 

 



Strawberries and White Chocolate

It's dessert time!  Today I'm sharing the recipes for the strawberry tea.  Here is a reminder picture:

On the top, we have bonbon cookies.  I got this recipe from TeaTime Magazine. 

Bonbons

 

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, divided

1/2 cup butter, softened

3 tbls light brown sugar

3 1/2 tsp vanilla extra, divided

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 tbls heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

dried fruit (for example, cherries, apricots, or strawberries!) or nuts

2 tbls gel food coloring (I used red to make pink)

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, butter, brown sugar, 2 1/2 tsp vanilla, almond extract ,and cream, stirring until smooth.  Add flour and salt, stirring until incorporated.  (If dough seems dry, add more cream, 1 tbls at a time until dough forms).

Using a levered 1 tbl scoop, to scoop up cookies.  Press dried fruit into dough while still in scoop, then drop 1 inch apart onto prepared baking sheets, rounded side up.

Bake until set but not brown, 11 to 12 minutes.  Remove cookies from baking sheet, and cool completely on wire racks. 

In a medium bowl, combine remaining 1 cup confectioners' sugar, milk, and remaining 1 tsp vanilla, whisking until completely smooth.  Tint to desired colors.  Dip tops of cookies into tinted icing.  Let dry.





On the bottom layer of the tiered tray, I made mini-strawberry cupcakes.

White Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 oz white chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line muffin pans with paper liners.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Microwave white chocolate until melted and smooth.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the white chocolate and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture (in 3 additions) and milk (in 2 additions), starting and ending with the flour. Beat just until incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan to cool completely.

Filling:
After the cupcakes have cooled, core the middle.  I cut a round piece out deep enough to put a filling in the middle.  I used strawberry preserves for the filling.

Buttercream frosting:
I used my I used my go-to buttercream recipe to top these cupcakes, Wilton's recipe with a pinch of salt added.  See here for a previous post with the recipe.  I then topped with half a strawberry. 

 

And that's it for my strawberry tea!  Thanks for stopping by.

 



Mini-white cupcakes

At yesterday's tea party, I served these mini cupcakes:

They are very simple to make and were moist and delicious.  I got the recipe from the Recipe Girl blog (follow the link for the recipe).  I had never thought about making cupcakes for a wedding, but people left all sorts of comments about how this white cake recipe worked perfectly.  After making the cupcakes, I see why--so easy!  It is also a "cheating" recipe--you start with a white cake mix and then add stuff.  In addition to the Recipe Girl recipe,  I added 1/2 a tsp of almond extract and might add 1/2 of orange extract as well if I make it again just for a bit more flavor--but, as I said, they were already delicious.  It took me about 11 minutes to cook them in mini-cupcake tins.

I used my standard buttercream recipe to top these cupcakes, Wilton's recipe with a pinch of salt added.  See here for a previous post with the recipe.

Pooja's Bridal Tea--Part 2 (and 3)

Fancy cupcake number 2 from Pooja's bridal tea was a chocolate cherry cupcake:

(the cupcakes in this picture were the extras, so these aren't the best buttercream roses I made.  Unfortunately, this was pre-blog and I don't really have a good close-up)

 

I used the ultimate chocolate cupcake recipe (found here) from the Cupcake Project, an extremely fun blog that has all different sorts of cupcake recipes.  If you've thought of a cupcake, they probably have the recipe, or at least one you can use as a base for your creation.

I filled the mini-cupcake tins (by the way, with mini-cupcakes, you have to reduce the cook time--it took me about 11 minutes) and then placed one maraschino cherry (drained and dried, with the syrup reserved) in the well.  I used gold foil because gold was one of Pooja's wedding colors and because foil liners worked best with the dark cupcake.

For the icing, I used my base recipe, but used some of the cherry syrup instead of milk (see below for base recipe).  The syrup had the added benefit of giving the cupcakes a pink caste so the roses would be pink.  I made some trial cupcakes with red icing, which was my original plan, but it took a lot of dye and got red everywhere, so I decided against red roses for the tea.

Base Buttercream Recipe

 

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1/4 teaspoon salt
 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and vanilla.  Blend in the sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add salt.  Beat in the milk, and continue mixing until light and fluffy.

 

Fancy cupcake number 3 was a chai carrot cake cupcake.  Chai is a popular tea in India.

 



For the this cupcake I used a King Arthur's recipe, but I made some changes to make it "chai" so I will copy the recipe here.

Chai spiced carrot cake Cupcakes

·   1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 cups granulated sugar

·    1 teaspoon salt

4    4 large eggs

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

·    1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

·   ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

2 cups all purpose flour

·    2 teaspoons baking soda

·   3 cups finely grated carrots

·   1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line with papers.  Make sure you grease the top of the pan with baking spray.

2) To make the cupcakes: Beat together the oil, sugar, salt, eggs, and spices.

3) Mix the flour with the baking soda, and stir in.

4) Add the carrots and nuts, and mix until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

5) Bake the cupcakes for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the middle cupcakes comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven, and after about 10 minutes transfer them to a rack to cool. Allow them to cool completely before frosting.

I used a cream cheese recipe I had cut out of a Better Homes and Garden magazine for the icing that I piped on with a large open star tip. 

Cream cheese frosting:  In a large mixing bowl, beat together one 8 oz package cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter until smooth.  Beat in 1 tsp vanilla.  Gradually beat in 4 cups powdered sugar, one cup at a time.

A few days before making the cupcakes I piped buttercream purple flowers (I just make my basic recipe and added purple paste) on parchment paper set out on a baking sheet and left them out in the open for 48 hours so they could air dry.  The day I made the cupcakes, I used a butterknife to loosen them, and placed them on the top of the cream cheese frosting carefully still using the knife.  I then piped the yellow dots in the middle of the flower.

 

For the chai carrot cake cupcakes, I used a purple liner with a design on it that reminded me a bit of henna patterns.  I served the cupcakes to the large table on this three tier stand. 

And now we have reached the end of Pooja's Bridal tea--thanks for visiting last week and this weekend!

Pooja's Bridal Tea--Fancy Cupcakes Part 1

We are finally getting to the main event of Pooja's tea--the fancy cupcakes!  I taught myself using youtube videos how to do buttercream decorations so that I could have the dessert course of the tea be extra special.

First, the pina colada cupcake.  As you can see, the colors in this cupcake were an attempt to continue to use Pooja's wedding colors.  In particular, this cupcake had teal blue paper and the blue umbrellas of the bridesmaid saris and the red cherry reminiscent of Pooja's sari for the ceremony:

 

(picture by co-host Amanda)

 

I found the cupcake recipe on a blog called Baked Perfection (click on the link if you would like the recipe).  This cupcake was delicious and a big hit.  I used mini-cupcake tins if you like the size of my cupcakes, so I had to adjust the baking time--I think it took about 12 minutes in my oven.

I did not use the icing on the website.  I made it and it was very yummy, but it was too runny for me to use with a decorating tip.  Instead I used my go-to buttercream recipe from allrecipe, which is basically Wilton's recipe.  I have made some changes to the basic recipe and I added flavoring to make it pina colada, so I will put it on the blog:

Pina Colada Frosting:
 1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened (I use salted)
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1tsp coconut extract
2 tablespoons pineapple juice plus 2 teaspoons (with a couple of small pieces of crushed pineapple.  To get the pineapple juice I used what remained after making the cake recipe which called for crushed pineapple)

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and extract.  Blend in sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add salt.   Beat in the pineapple juice and continue mixing until light and fluffy.

I also used mini-cupcake tins because I made 3 different types of cupcakes.  Check back for more on the other two recipes!