Blue Raspberry French Vanilla Cupcakes

I LOVE cake. It's probably my favorite food. And I go just gaga for little things. (Why yes, I do have a miniature food baking channel on You Tube which you can subscribe to!) So this is how we arrive at... CUPCAKES. My one true love. You can have your pretty Macarons (which, yes, I will eventually master!) and your Flood Cookies (hello eye-candy!) But the classic cupcake will always be the creme de la creme in my book.

This week our ward celebrated the Relief Society's Annual Birthday Dinner. They were looking for volunteers to decorate tables for the occasion. With the very open theme of "BIRTHDAY" I grabbed my pen and notebook and started scheming. After choosing colors, style, & place settings it was time to think about the CENTER PIECE. 

And what better than an EDIBLE centerpiece!?! And of course I decided on Cupcakes. (You're catching on already!) But they simply had to match the table decor. So I came up with these BLUE RASPBERRY FRENCH VANILLA CUPCAKES.

They weren't hard to make at all, in fact an hour before I was suppose to leave for the party I was just pulling these babies out of the oven. Ack! And I still managed to get frosted and decorated on time (Oh ya, and I decorated the cupcakes too! See what I did there... Ha!)
So here's the Step by Step:

Gather your supplies. Pick a cute wrapper. Note, not all wrappers are created equal. These ones by Wilton did really well. Some wrappers are thin, and after baking the pattern is no longer visible because they soak up all the moisture from the cake. I used a Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix. (We'll talk about the other supplies later).

 Mix up the cake according to the box directions. Be sure to adjust for High Altitude if you need to!

Now find a little helper. Chances are you might have one hanging out in the kitchen just begging to help. (If not, grab a neighbor kid! I'm sure their mom will thank you!) Have them put the wrappers in the muffin tins. (This is also a great counting exercise.)

I always use this extra large cookie scoop from Pampered Chef to fill the cups. It helps me put equal amounts in each wrapper quickly. (Not that I'm EVER in a hurry or anything).

I just thought this was a pretty picture. You're Welcome.

 Oh yes, and be careful. When you've been focusing on a project for awhile you never know what you'll find when you turn around!

 While your cupcakes BAKE and fill your house with yummy smells you can mix up your frosting.

FROSTING

2lb (one bag) Powdered Sugar

1 1/3 cup Shortening

2 tsp CLEAR Vanilla. (If you don't use clear it will taste fine, but won't keep it's bright white color

1/2 cup Milk 

Now comes the FUN PART. Mix up ONE BOX of BLUE RASPBERRY JOLLY RANCHER JELLO MIX. I was able to find mine at Walmart. Before it sets, POKE HOLES with a fork in your baked cupcakes. Then carefully pour the liquid jello over your cupcakes. 

The combination of bright blue jello and the light yellow cupcakes creates the perfect SEA-FOAM GREEN color we're going for. The jello will seep into the cupcakes and create the tie-dye look we're going for.

While your cupcakes cool you can prep your frosting bag and tip, I'm using a 1M WILTON TIP.

To FROST you'll gently squeeze the bag while moving  your hand in A circular motion around the cupcake. Start near the outer edge of your cupcake and as you cover the top of the cupcake you build up to a tip in the center. 

Don't worry if the tips are not perfect at the top of the frosting. They will just be covered with a Sea-Foam Green GUMBALL. I have a party store where I live called Watkins that carries gumballs in all sorts of colors. Check your local party store and even your Walmart. You can also find them online. 

I'm not a big gumball fan, but they add just the right color and flare these babies need.

For my table I wanted to have "PARTY FAVORS" so I packaged up a cupcake for everyone to take home as well. The base is a SOLO CUP. Set your treat in the cup and then put the cup in a CLEAR CELLOPHANE TREAT BAG.  I topped them off with a gold ribbon which just so happens to attach a tiny FORK to the top of the package. You could use a regular sized fork, but isn't a tiny one so much more fun!?

*Note I bought my cups and bags at Walmart and the Party Store and then I went to the DOLLAR STORE. Do yourself a favor and go there first. You'll save yourself a return trip... You're Welcome. ;)

Thanks for reading, now go make yourself a treat! Or give it away and just enjoy the SMELL! I got several compliments on my table, but I'd say the VERY BEST PART  was that it smelled like CAKE!