Windy Sydney

Yesterday my brother, sister-in-law and her mother drove up to the mountain town I call home and paid me a visit for my birthday.

We drove to Idaho to buy lottery tickets, went out to dinner, and did a little shopping. I even caved into peer pressure and had an alcoholic drink. Go me! It's funny how little it takes to make me feel like I am completely wasted. I am such a lightweight.

Anyway, they surprised me with some birthday/Christmas gifts that were fantastic! A collection of baking sheets, cupcake pans, cake pans... you name it. I woke up this morning and couldn't wait to have a little fun. Here are a few of the goodies I made today!

I started with cupcakes because I have a slight fascination with them lately. Sometimes I will browse flickr (photo sharing website) and look at the fantastic collection of bakers showing off their skills. Some of the decorating is stunning.

I decided to make cupcakes with surprise centers... I had white cake mix (too lazy to make this stuff from scratch) and dark chocolate cake mix. I ran to the store and got a can of cherry pie filling... here are the steps for making Cherry surprise cupcakes...


Make cupcakes.

Hahaha... silly first step to mention... but lets face it. You have to start somewhere!


Let the cupcakes cool completely. Very important step, and anyone who has attempted to add frosting to still-warm cakes will agree.


Cut a cone-shaped hole in the cupcake and put the top of the cupcake aside...


Add the cherry pie filling or any other filling you might enjoy. I am going to try adding chocolate pudding or caramel in the cupcakes next time!


Trim off excess cake from the "lid" of the cupcake and replace it.


Add frosting, decorate and then eat (the best part). I did the same thing with the chocolate cupcakes...


Yum.

I had cherry pie filling left over, and when I checked my freezer I found some frozen pie crusts. I decided to make some miniature cherry pies in my cupcake pan...


I am so full of sugar that I can't bring myself to try the pie... guess I will have to have one for breakfast tomorrow!

Hope you all had a good weekend!

Andee