Harry Potter cupcakes

My son turned seven today and we're headed to Harry Potter at Universal next week.  Tonight we're having his favorite dinner, chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese, and these yummy cupcakes!  The chocolate cupcakes are boxed, but the icing is Martha Stewart's wonderful Swiss Meringue Buttercream (heavenly!) and the incredible toppers are from Crafty Rosy. 

cupcakes

Sorry I've been MIA for the past 10 days, but I was busy enjoying my brother's wedding just below the Outer Banks of NC and indulging in fabulous wine and food from San Francisco and Napa.  Pictures from some of my favorite boutique wineries will be added soon!

While I was out, Kara from Kara's Party Ideas and Kara's Cupcakes posted my son's little monster birthday party pics on her blog.  I wish I had found her blog while I was preparing.  There is so much wonderful inspiration there!  Be sure to check it out if you will be planning a party soon.  She is also very talented at making cupcakes as you can see from the images above - adorable!

unprofessional cupcakes

I follow several blogs devoted to cupcakes and I'm often inspired to attempt to create them myself.  While I think I'm a pretty good baker, I admittedly haven't mastered the art of presentation when it comes to desserts.  I had high hopes of ending up with these gorgeous chrysanthemum cupcakes but when dozens of drops of green gel food coloring wouldn't yield better than a minty color, the orange resulted in barely peach and I realized I didn't have the right frosting tips I decided to go basic and add a few sprinkles.  I will say that my Buttermilk Devil's Food Cake cupcakes from The Cake Mix Doctor paired with Martha's Meringue Buttercream icing are heavenly (if not beautiful to look at).  Hope our friends at the dock party tonight like them!