Summer School Monster Themed Cupcakes

Monster Cupcakes for Monstrously Good Students! 

Update: 5/20/16

The students loved the cupcakes. In fact the consensus among the 4th/5th graders is that I should bake for a living. However, they also thought the cupcakes looked more like Patrick on Sponge Bob Square Pants, or a regular starfish. Then, we watched the movie,"Home" and decided the Blob candy looked just like the Gorg commander without his space suit on. 

I subbed for the first four days of summer school.
The classroom theme was monsters. The students worked well and completed all of their work for me. I decided to make Monster cupcakes as a treat for Friday Movie Morning.

• These incredibly easy monster cupcakes start with a box of cake mix. I used confetti cake mix.
• Following the package directions on the box of cake mix, bake two dozen cupcakes and cool.
• While the cupcakes are cooling, either make green butter cream frosting, or use purchased frosting and tint it green. 

Russian decorating tip used to create the spiky green puffs.

• Create puffy spikes with the Russian decorating tip shown above.
•  I started with a puff of frosting in the center of the cupcake. Then, I filled in around  the center puff for a total of about seven spiked puffs as shown in the picture below.

Spiky puffs of frosting decorate confetti cupcakes

• If desired, sprinkle clear sanding sugar on each cupcake before placing the piece of Blob candy in place. I bought the Blob candy at our local Dollar General Store.

Frosted confetti cupcakes that have been sprinkled with clear sanding sugar, awaiting a piece of Blob candy as a cupcake topper.

BVHD Ladies Ride to The Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery

Happy ladies warming up at the Blue Owl Restaurant, Kimmswick, MO

The porch thermometer was reading 48°F and I was wearing two layers of clothing plus my winter riding gear as I prepared to leave on my bike Saturday morning. 
I waited as long as I could, but I knew if I was going to meet my two friends at the Mobil station in Leasburg on time, it was time to ride. Yes, it was cold, but my gear would keep me warm. As I rode out of the driveway, excitement filled me.

The sun kept playing hiding-go-seek with the clouds all the way to Leaseburg. 
Man, oh man, was it ever good to listen to my rumbling bike, to feel the wind tugging at me, and to feel my black leather gear absorb heat during the brief spells of sunlight.

I was the first rider at the Mobil station.
As I pulled up to the gas pump and shut Revelation off, a man asked me if I knew the woman who rode a Harley and had spikes on her helmet. lol...lol That would be my friend D. Anyway I said yes and told him she would be arriving shortly.

Pumping gas was interrupted twice by other guys wanting to know how many miles were on my bike, what model it was, etc. D's arrival on her purple Heritage and then R's arrival on her Roadglide stopped the questions.

After fueling, we fired up the bikes and headed for I-44 East. 
We were going to the Bourbeuse Valley Harley Davidson dealership in Union, MO for the Ladies Ride to Kimmswick, MO. Honestly, I didn't know anything about Kimmswick. I just wanted to go for a ride with my friends and meet some new ladies who ride their own bikes.

To make a long story a little shorter, I am skipping to our arrival in Kimmswick.
The owner of The Purple Pickle Gift Shop had reserved parking for us and we all backed our bikes into a long row beside her shop. Chilled from the ride, the decision was made to eat at The Blue Owl Restaurant and Bakery first so everyone could warm up. What a great decision this turned out to be!

The arrow is pointing to my bike, Revelation.

Unbeknown to me, The Blue Owl Restaurant is famous. Here is an excerpt from their "Our Story" tab at theblueowl.com :

Jamie and Bobby Deen brought their Food Network Show "Road Tasted," to The Blue Owl in 2006 and featured our Famous Levee High Apple Pie® with Caramel Pecan Topping... In 2007, Paula Deen's staff invited me as a guest to "Paula's Party," a show filmed in Savannah, Georgia...Also, in 2010, The Travel Channel featured us on a show called Pie Paradise!.  In 2011, The Blue Owl Levee High Apple Pie® was chosen as One of Oprah's Favorite Things  in O Magazine and by OWN, The Oprah Network. 

After eating a slice of Warm Chicken Salad Pie and Snicker Pie, I can vouch for their flaky, tender pie crust whether is is under a savory or a dessert pie.
The Warm Chicken Salad Pie was full of chicken and veggies, plus water chestnuts that gave a crunchy texture to the poultry pie. Snickers Pie is going to be my new favorite pie. Who doesn't want to eat creamy chocolate filling and chopped Snickers bars?
Guess where I am riding to on a nice warm day? Yep, I am going on a pie ride AND all my friends have already said they are going, too.

Click Here  Blue Owl Snickers Bar Pie Recipe

Finale of Spring Baking Championship

#SpringBakingChampionship

The finale of the Spring Baking Championship - Season 2 is over! 

The final three contestants, Susana Mijares, Dan Langan, and Jane Soudah whipped up three gorgeous, destination wedding cakes in 5 hours. It was a tough day of judging for Duff, Lorraine, and Nancy. Duff tweeted that it was the longest deliberation yet to pick the winner.

Duff Goldman looked at Susana's Italian Colosseum cake and said,"I couldn't do that in 5 hours." Wow! What a compliment.
https://twitter.susanamijaresa

Dan used edible paper to create paper flowers and then air brushed them, authentic Mexican paper flowers that you can eat. The only problem with his cake was an edible chalkboard that none of the judges felt was appropriate.
https://twitter.com/BakedByDan

Jane's Hawaiian Lei Wedding cake was elegant. Her almost fail, the cakes stuck to the pans, was handled with grace under pressure. Jane pieced her cake layers together, cooled and frosted the layers, and you could not tell that the layers weren't perfect. PLUS, the judges loved the flavors in her butter cake - passion fruit butter cream filling, coconut rum syrup, and American buttercream/creamcheese frosting.

And the winner is: Jane Soudah           https://twitter.com/sweetjanesbaker

I am going to miss watching this show, BUT I am looking forward to the May 25th premiere of Cake Hunters. AND Cake Masters always provides a pyrotechnical sweet baking fix, too.

Click Here   Recipes From the Spring Baking Championship

Creating Simply Terrific Oven Lovin' Ribs

Yes! I can create  a simply terrific rack of baby back ribs, in the oven. 

The ribs are tender, pull-off-the-rib-bone, restaurant quality ribs. The secret to this achievement? A great recipe and Old Bay seasoning. 

Yep, the Old Bay label is right in saying it can be used on meat. It is definitely good on meat. So good in fact, that I chose to update my "Simply Terrific Ribs" recipe that I posted in 2014.

Want to try making some killer. oven lovin' ribs at home? 

Click Here for the only recipe you will EVER need to make a perfect rack of ribs.

Use this recipe to create some oven lovin' ribs that your friends and family will rave about for days, weeks, or maybe months! 

Black Forest Cakes for Multicultural Week

Multicultural Week is...

Multicultural Week is the week when each elementary grade level explores and makes projects related to a specific country. The second graders learn about the culture and food of Germany.

A Teacher's Request
This week, one of the second grade teachers brought me a recipe for Black Forest Cake and asked it I would consider making two of them for the students.

Of course I said YES! 
After all, it is for the kids and that is what working at an elementary school is all about.

Parent's Posts to Me

• ...came home singing the praises of this cake! "Mama, I had the BEST CAKE EVER today! Can you bake German?"
• ... has told me about this three times tonight! He absolutely LOVED it! 
• ...really enjoyed it.

Click on the link below for the recipe I used.

Black Forest Cake Recipe