Cupcakes

I have tried to make beautiful cupcakes many a time only to be sad when they are just not as pretty as I had hoped. Well this time I think I have finally found some that taste great and look pretty. I first made these cupcakes around Valentine's. I used a white cake mix and then colored part of the batter pink and then a even darker pink. But I forgot to take a picture of them. So when I was in the states a few weeks ago my Mom needed to take cupcakes to the blue and gold banquet. I thought it worked with pink why not blue and gold. So this time I used a yellow cake mix for the gold part of the cupcake then I mixed a white cake mix and colored the batter blue. Then just like the pink ones you pipe the opposite color batter into the cupcakes either with a frosting bag or a zip lock with a hole cut into it.

For the frosting I take 8oz. cream cheese, softened mix it with 1/2 c. sugar with a hand mixer, until smooth. Then add 1 t. vanilla extract and 1/2 t. almond extract. Then you add 2 c. heavy cream and beat until stiff peaks form. To do the strips in the frosting I used the pampered chef cookie press that also has cake decorating tools and after each scoop of frosting I put one drop of food coloring. Then as the frosting is squeezed out you get the swirling and stripe effect. Then we used food glitter to sprinkle on top. I was really happy with them. I plan to make them again at St. Patrick's day, and 4th of July. Let your imagination run wild with colors!!