Duckie Bites

Every summer, my campers are nicknamed the ?duckies? because they follow me around like a mama duck. At any given time, my girls can be found walking behind me in a line. If I turn, they turn. Sometimes, they take their nickname seriously and quack while walking to the bus!

When I found these mini cupcake liners at the Wilton tent sale back in May, I knew they had to be mine, especially for a treat for my campers on my birthday.

My original plan for these was a white cake, blue frosting, and a small duckie decoration, but duckie decorations for mini cupcakes are hard to come by. When my friend Kristin came over, she suggested what ultimately became my birthday cupcake theme: blue cupcakes with yellow frosting and white sprinkles.

These delicious two-bite cupcakes were tinted with gel food coloring, and had a great sweet vanilla flavor. They?re adopted from this TLC recipe.

Sweet White Cupcakes

Ingredients

* 1 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two mini cupcake tins with papers; lightly grease paper. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, two at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until blended. With electric mixer at low speed, add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake 25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen edges and invert layers onto rack to cool completely.

The icing was a masterpiece, if I say so myself. I?m very proud of how it came out, and everyone who tried it absolutely loved it!

Mara?s Marshmallow Icing

Ingredients

* 1 c. white sugar

* 2 Tbsp. corn syrup

* 1/4 c. water

* 1 tsp. vanilla extract

* 3 egg whites, room temperature

* 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

* food coloring, if desired

special equipment

* candy thermometer

* electric mixer

Directions

Mix together the white sugar, corn syrup, and water in a saucepan. Attach the candy thermometer to the side of the pan, and heat the sugar mixture to a boil, and then boil rapidly until the thermometer reads 246* Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar to stiff peaks and set aside. When the sugar has reached the appropriate temperature, slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites while whipping them at a high speed. Add the vanilla, and coloring if you?re using it. Continue whipping the egg white mixture until it is completely cooled. Pipe onto cupcakes, or eat with a spoon.

In addition to making 24 duckie cupcakes, I also made about 40 cupcakes in what are called ?nut and party cups?, but I just call them ?ketchup cups?. I may or may not have gotten these from a fast food restaurant?

Granted, these are a bit harder to open and eat than standard cupcakes, but since they stand up on their own and don?t require a muffin tin for baking, I?ll be making them again and soon! I loved the look of them. These cupcakes got rave reviews from everyone who tried them, and I?m looking forward to experimenting more with the marshmallow frosting? possible whoopie pies methinks?

Seriously… I made a lot of cupcakes, and still liked the icing after licking the bowl clean. That bodes well for another project!

Now that I?ve made it through my actual birthday day, you?ll have to come back tomorrow for the photos of my incredible birthday celebration!

A couple of reminders:

Have you entered to win the incredibly cool Chavrie Prize Pack? Just tell me about your favorite birthday!
Start collecting your cute food photos! I?ll be hosting a Cute Food Saturday contest over Labor Day weekend!

Have a great evening and a fabulous Tuesday!

Technorati Tags: Baking, birthday, camp, cupcake, cupcakes, cute, dessert, fun, giveaway, vegetarian