Baking Bonanza

I have mentioned the cake decorating classes I've been taking, so I thought I'd show a smattering of some of the things I have done thus far.  Some of them were actually for class and some were for other occasions, but at any rate, here you go:

The first two pictures were Filled Margarita Cupcakes... complete with tequila in the batter, brushed on top after baking, and in the filling that I made.  They were definitely different, but I think I'm a fan of the (as they became referred to in our house) "boosy cupcakes."

Also in the cupcake category were my first Red Velvet attempts.  After realizing that most recipes call for two bottles of red food coloring, I opted instead to make Reddish-Brown Velvet Cupcakes (yeah yeah, I didn't want to use all of that dye that's not good for you, although it has more to do with the fact that I am cheap and didn't want to use up two bottles of the stuff).  Because I wanted to practice using the Wilton cupcake filling tip, I decided to fill them too and made a chocolate ganache-esque filling.  I think it was too thin though, because although it was tasty, it mostly saturated itself into the center of the cake.  Still good though. 

It's totally not baked, but here are my first roses.  Totally fun to make.  The one on the left is the old-school one that they used to teach in the first course, but apparently, they officially teach the second one now instead.  Our teacher was nice enough to show us both though (I definitely favor the first).

Next, I bring you my final class project for the Decorating Basics class.  I started with a generic Pumpkin Cake recipe, substituted out 2/3 C of the sugar and added a tablespoon of maple syrup and a chopped dark chocolate bar instead, filled the layers with a cream cheese icing (plus pumpkin pie spice), and decorated it in honor of the book series that my husband and I are reading through (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).  Totally geeky.  Yeah, I know.  But at any rate, it was phenomenal.

 And last but certainly not least, I bring you my S'mores Cupcake invention (also hereby known as "the-best-thing-I-have-seriously-ever-tasted").  I had some icing left over from the class, so I agreed to bring something sweet to the Superbowl Party we attended (again with the cheapness).  I spent a couple of hours trying to find a recipe to try online, but in the end, found nothing that really piqued my interest-- seriously, "Mango Coriander with Mango Chutney," "Crystallized Ginger Olive Oil Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream, Opal Basil, and Lime Zest, "and "Wheat Germ and Ginger, Wasabi Cream, and Tuna Creme Fraiche Cupcakes" just don't cut it as football food. 

In a nutshell: Graham cracker crust + super moist chocolate cake filling + melted chocolate marshmallow for filling + chocolate ganache filling + buttercream icing in football shapes = Oh my word.