Cupcakes for money

Last week, I offered on impulse to make cupcakes for a baby shower that took place Sunday. I've never done it in that official capacity before. After offering I began to have performance anxiety....this isn't just some kids class birthday party. I'm getting paid for these things to look cute on the food table.
My carrot cake cupcakes were successful-except that I filled them too full and they spread out all over the baking pan. But the tops looked good. So I turned the cupcakes upside down and cut around the edge. This brough them back into the right proportion, but then I had a new problem...raw edges above the cupcake paper. To deal with this I made wrappers. I got cute scrapbook paper and made little cups for the cakes to sit in. They extended up beyond the edge of the cake, so all you really saw was the top. I frosted them with lemon cream cheese icing. Yum. I had leftover icing, so I gave some to a friend, and made orange scones and slathered them with the icing. Those went to work with me on Tuesday and were a hit.

The chocolate cupcakes were the biggest challenge. Usually I just use a mix. But there was no way I was going to do that for this event. What is the point of having someone make cupcakes if they use a mix? My problem was that I was using new recipes, and then filling the cups too full. I also managed to destroy the baking soda in the first batch by letting it sit for 30 minutes in the oven that was off. Oops. My successful batch ended up being a Pioneer Woman recipe. They were perfect, and cute. I was wishing I had the Pioneer Woman Cookbook.

The whole thing took way longer, and used up more ingredients than I expected. But I also learned a lot of valuable things about making successful cupcakes. It was fun to pipe on the icing and they turned out cute and tasty. What I'll earn will cover the cost on supplies, with a little left over for labor. :-)

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