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Cho Says No to Prop 8

DIY Wedding Cupcakes

Several Months ago a good friend of mine asked me to make her wedding cake from the oven of an extended stay hotel room in Nashville, TN. She wanted something very basic with no frills. She asked  for a white cake with a vanilla butter cream. About a week and a half ago her vision came to life. Here's a rundown of how to make hundreds of wedding cupcakes in your own hotel room. See more pics here. Note: This is the best buttercream recipe in the world.

White Chocolate Almond Sour Cream Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
 3/4 cup granulated sugar
 Pinch salt
 1 1/3 cups milk
 1/8-cup vegetable oil
 1 teaspoons real vanilla
 1 teaspoons almond extract
 1 cup sour cream
 3 whole eggs
 6oz white chocolate

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt 8oz white baking chocolate into milk & cool slightly. Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. Add the milk mixtures and remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Fill cupcake papers a little over ½ way and bake for about 20 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch.

Fluffy Vanilla Buttercream 

12 oz butter room temp
4 oz shortening
2 eggs
2 boxes powdered sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until well combined. Slowly add sugar until absorbed. Add vanilla and beat for 3 minutes.

Molly Ringwald Votes NO on Prop 8

Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake

I got married last night in a small private ceremony in Hollywood. My brother, his girlfriend, and a couple close friends were there and afterwards we came back to our place for a homemade Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake and Truffle Brownies with Chocolate Ganache. It was easy, intimate, and perfect. For more pictures and wedding info, see Popmuse.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Cake

1 box white cake mix
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch salt
1/3 cups milk
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 (16oz) cans whole berry cranberry sauce
zest of one medium orange
4oz cup cream cheese
3 whole eggs
1 package vanilla pudding mix
red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk. In a medium bowl mix cranberry sauce with orange zest. Add a little over 1/2 cranberry mixture (about 2 1/3 cups) to dry mix reserving the rest for cake filling. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into 2 or 3 greased round cake pans. Bake the cakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 25 to 28 minutes.

Let cakes cool. Spread thin layer of frosting on the top of middle cake layers and cover with remaining cranberry mixture. Stack layers so that cranberry mixture is sandwiched inside the cake and frost with remaining frosting.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

9 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Place the white chocolate in a small glass bowl in the microwave oven on high power for 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the oven and stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until it is smooth. Set the chocolate aside to cool.

Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add the melted white chocolate and blend on low speed until just combined, 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and 2 1⁄2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, and blend on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 30 seconds more. Add more sugar as needed to make the frosting spreadable. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the frosting is fluffy, 1 minute more.

If You Give A Cat A Cupcake

Over the past few years I have read a ton of children's books in my work with kids. A lot of my favorite books have been from an author named Laura Numeroff. As a food enthusiest, I connect with books that focus on the misadventures of feeding animals delicious things. As an therapist for kids, I use them to help kids focus on inferencing, sequencing, and basic reading comprehension skills. If you've already read If You Give A Moose A Muffin, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, or If You Give A Pig A Pancake, you should definitely get your hands on her brand new release If you Give A Cat A Cupcake.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Popmuse! In a couple weeks, we are going to celebrate your life with High School Musical 3 and a solute to brownies and blondies (recipes TBA). Tonight, I'm taking you for casual dinner out.