It seemed simple enough. Just follow the instructions.
I mean, I was using a candy thermometer for crying out loud. But I suppose a candy thermometer is only really good if it measures temperatures accurately.
I used Jenna’s Brown Sugar Buttercream recipe, and followed it step by step. But the syrup hardened too fast, leaving half of it out of the egg whites. And therefore the buttercream was bland and not sweet.
I freaked out and put it in the freezer just to get away from it. At least it looked pretty though!
Why was I making Italian buttercream you ask? I was in charge of cupcakes for the first baby shower I’ve ever hosted, and I had visions of wowing the crowd with my fancy shmancy frosting. But you know what I found out? Although I prefer to make my own stuff, canned frosting piped out of a baggie and topped with animal crackers works great too.
Especially when you have both chocolate and cream cheese frosting. These guys went fast!
The baby shower itself was a blast! I got to hang out with great friends and celebrate a new life coming into this world very soon…what more could you wish for on a Saturday?
Biscuits (and an egg casserole and hashbrown casserole I made but botched the pictures on…oops…)
But most of we all got to do a little bit to bless one of our beautiful friends with love, laughter, food, and gifts as she and her husband prepare to bring their second baby boy into this world. And that alone how you make for a perfect Saturday!
I’ll be back later to share my ethnic dish with y’all for the next Foodbuzz Next Food Blog Star challenge! Stay tuned!
You remind me of my husband on the golf course. Sometimes his shots don’t look pretty, but he still shoots par. You botch the frosting, but still make the cupcakes adorable and everything turned out great. You have a gift…keep using it! 🙂
I so enjoy each and every one of your blogs, pictures,
recipes etc. You have a special gift in writing, in that you make your reader feel very connected by your surprises,that bring us into with your stories. I especially enjoyed this one about the shower. Great way to spend a Sat. afternoon.
love it- the bananas still in their peels look so cool- good idea.
The cupcakes turned out so darn cute! And I’m sure they still tasted pretty good.
I love showers too – it feels so good to love on a friend. Glad you had a fun Saturday 🙂
I was asked once to do italian buttercream. The cupcake order ended up not working out, but I was looking through recipes and it’s really intimidating!!! I give you points for attempting it!
I’m glad to know that even food bloggers have kitchen fails.
I made bison steak last week and promptly threw it in the garbage…Fail!
How cute are those cupcakes! The animal crackers are such a great idea.
What a cute idea for the baby shower cupcakes – I love those animal crackers on there! Now I just need to find a friend to throw a baby shower for!
At least it looked good 😉
Oh my gosh I can’t believe that happened…! The cupcakes look super cute though! There have been many times when I’ve destroyed my frosting and piped it out from a can!
Animal crackers on cupcakes is such a cute idea for a babyshower! They look so adorable =)
well, its going to be a looooooooooong while before I have a baby, but I can’t wait for you to throw my baby shower! hahahaha
oh – I love baby showers!
I know how you feel too. Last night I tried a new recipe and I made sugar cookies and some frosting. The frosting, however, was cream cheese which I normally LOVE but it just didn’t taste right with the sugar cookies. And the sugar cookies were a bit bland. We still ate them. But I didn’t feel bad throwing the rest away (so that I didn’t have temptation lying around the house since I’m trying to lose some baby weight). 🙂
This sounds like a perfect way to spend a Saturday. And those cupcakes are the “icing on the cake!” They’re precious, Heather.