Today, after school, Cissy finished decorating her red velvet cupcakes, which we had made the week before and then froze. She had made little, free-hand chocolate decorations onto wax paper and I saved them for her to decorate. She set the table and chose our teacups.
This little baker get right to work. She whipped up the frosting and then look at how great she is decorating the cupcakes! She's standing on a chair to make it easier to get leverage.
She sprinkled the tops and placed her chocolates on top. Isn't she adorable and didn't she do a great job?
Cissy chose this Strawberry Fair teacup by Johnson Brothers for her vanilla chai tea.
Yum!
These little cute granddaughters came by and made some chocolate covered, sprinkled pretzels. They also played lots of games to earn "Uncle Bucks" and then shopped in the "store" for prizes! Yes, it was warm enough for shorts, tee-shirts and flip flops over the weekend.
yield: 24 cupcakes
Red Velvet Cupcakes
The cupcake recipe comes from the Williams-Sonoma American Girl Baking cookbook.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/3 cup boiling water
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2-3 teaspoons red food coloring
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 and 1/2 cups flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- Cream Cheese Frosting, found here
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the cocoa and the boiling water, then whisk in the buttermilk.
- In a large bowl, using and electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Add the food coloring, vanilla and salt and beat until combined. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add half the flour and beat on low speed just until blended. Turn off the mixer. Add the remaining flour and mix until blended. Turn off the mixer one last time and scrape down the bowl.
- In a small bowl, stir together the baking soda and vinegar, then quickly stir the mixture into the batter with a rubber spatula.
- Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling about three-fourths full. Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cupcake, comes out clean.
- Remove the pans from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the pans, on wire racks, for 10 minutes, then transfer them to the racks to cool completely.
- Frost the cupcakes. Cissy used my Wilton Dessert Decorator Plus.
Created using The Recipes Generator
I am sharing this with these lovely parties:
Love seeing your sweet grandchildren making cupcakes with their beautiful grandma! xx
ReplyDeleteHi Kitty, I LOVE red velvet cupcakes! I bet your grand daughters had a lot of fun making the cupcakes with you. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us at C&C with J&J!
ReplyDeleteHave a Happy Valentine's Day.
Julie
The red velvet cupcakes are so professional. Just lovely. Just think of all those sweet memories your grands will have. Hope you have a Happy Valentines Day, Dear Kitty!
ReplyDeleteWhat a darling blog you have!!! Your granddaughters are beautiful women-in-training! Happy Valentine's Day to you!
ReplyDeleteShe is so adorable Kitty along with your other grand daughters! You have a baker in the making and her frosting looks so professional! I love your pretty Johnson Brothers teacup too.♥
ReplyDeleteYour grandkids are too cute! It looks like your sweet Cissy has inherited your love for tea, teacups, and baking!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting whiplash from the crazy weather that we've been experiencing this month. On Saturday, the temperature was 50F (aka shorts weather in the Great North). Then we had a snowstorm and some ice pellets on Sunday!
Super precious and yummmeee post! I hope you will link at The Fabulous party and 'Share The Love'.
ReplyDeleteThe link is over here:
http://ourholidayjourney.blogspot.com/2017/02/fabulous-link-party.html
Leave a comment after you link to enter the Giveaway. New followers get 5 extra points! Hope to see you!
Kitty, You are blessed to have your grands so close and be able to entertain and teach them. You make pretty and delicious treats. It's so much fun to watch all the activity.
ReplyDeleteThe weather is crazy and the flowers are so confused. Azaleas are blooming!!!!
The cupcakes look awesome, and I love the little chocolate hearts and such on top.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day Kitty!
Cissy is quite the baker! Her cupcakes look like she bought them at a fancy bakery. Great job! And they look absolutely delicious. ♥
ReplyDeletePS Thank you so much for the darling valentine! xo
You have such adorable granddaughters! Cissy's cupcakes look great! She's on her way to being a talented baker.
ReplyDeleteCuteness overload - X 3!! Happy Valentine's Day, Kitty!
ReplyDeleteOh darling! Cissy was justifiably proud of her creations. The pretzel decorators look happy, too! That warm, eh? Enjoy...
ReplyDeleteHow ❤ Lovely those cupcakes look !!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet smile Cissy has. She did a great job on those cupcakes. How special to share tea with you. The pretzel girls look pleased, as well. Happy Valentine's Day, Kitty.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of Uncle Bucks. Cissy did a great job. Have a Happy Valentine's Day! May love and joy always be yours.
ReplyDeleteNothing better than a Red Velvet cupcake on Valentine's Day! I had half of a red velvet donut at work earlier :) Everything looks so wonderful and festive... LOVE that teacup...the red transfer ware is so pretty! Enjoy the rest of your Valentine's Day with those sweet grand daughters!
ReplyDeleteThe cupcakes look great, love the chocolate embellishments! Happy Valentine's Day Kitty:@)
ReplyDeleteHi Kitty, WOW the cupcakes are so beautiful and yes your darling grand did an amazing job. I love that she was creative enough to stand on a chair for better application of the icing. She certainly is a sweet little baker. That smile just melts hearts along with the other two grands that are adorable too. What fun for all at your house while learning great lessons for life.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your cupcake recipe. I know these are delicious. Love the chocolate accents Cissy added.
Blessings to you all and hope this day was very special. Happy Valentine's Love to you my friend!! xoxo
She is adorable! Those cupcakes are making me hungry.
ReplyDeleteMy Granny use to bake red velvet cakes for us and oh I love them!
What a sweet tea party, Kitty.
Love and Hugs ♡
Oh what a precious picture and fun post with the grandgirls. I am sure those yummy cupcakes was sweet but not nearly as sweet as those girls. Thanks for the recipe. I made some red velvet cookies for a Senior adult Valentine banquet at church that my sweet fstherinlove wanted too attend. Hope that you have a wonderful rest of the week dear Kitty. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
ReplyDeleteHow sweet! You are teaching her well. I bet as she grows up these special days will always be her favorite times! Love Lynn
ReplyDeleteOh, Kitty - this is splendid! What perfectly yummy delicious cupcakes they made....and I cannot even believe the decorating. I am humbled - my cupcakes always look awful.
ReplyDeleteYou must be so proud of your beautiful grands. They are really something special! I know you had a wonderful time together! ♥♥♥
How cute! And I never thought of how those fancy little chocolate toppers are made! What a simple and festive way to decorate those cupcakes. She sure looks cute decorating them.
ReplyDeleteLove the red transfer ware; it's perfect for so many occasions, including Valentine's Day!
It is cold here, but I saw it's going to be 60 on Saturday! Unbelievable! But we still won't be wearing T-shirts for awhile. xo Deborah
She is so cute and very talented for sure! Grandma is a wonderful teacher!! I love the chocolate toppers. Glad that the others got to have fun as well. Cute kids!! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
Dear Kitty:
ReplyDeleteI think you will have some master pastry chefs there! They are getting such wonderful training from you and the finished cupcakes look amazing. Thanks for sharing another "baking session" with the grands.
These sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
What fun times at Nana's house! Such lovely memories being made. The cupcakes look wonderful and I love the homemade chocolate toppers! You are special, Kitty, and thank you for sharing another baking moment with all of us.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Sandi
Such a nice Valentine's Day, Kitty! Is there anything sweeter than that little darling frosting her very own cupcakes? The chocolate hearts are wonderful, too. To make it even better, two more little darlings share in the fun! I love the idea of the game with prizes - so fun. I think everyone wishes they had a Nana like you, Kitty! Sending hugs xo Karen
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to be late in responding to this precious post...it was caught in my spam filter. ???
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful children & such impressive treats, too! I never thought to use my gun for icing...duh?!
Well you are creating quite the little cooks and bakers…nice job.
ReplyDeleteHi Kitty,
ReplyDeleteYour grand daughter is definitely following in your footsteps. Those red velvet cupcakes look delicious. Love your Johnson Brothers strawberry teacup too. Belated Happy Valentine's Day! Blessings, Karen
What a precious post! I just love the special moments you shared with your granddaughters, such wonderful memories you are making with them! Cissy is very talented, just love the little chocolate decorations she made, how fun! And that recipe for red velvet cupcakes looks amazing. I will be trying it! Always love tried and true recipes from my dear friends :) Hugs to you today!
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful memories you are making with your beautiful Granddaughters.Thanks so much for sharing your awesome Tea Party with us at Full Plate Thursday! Hope you have a great week and come back to see us real soon!
ReplyDeleteMiz Helen
Precious! Thanks for sharing at Dishing It & Digging It!
ReplyDelete