a les than ordinary life...: cupcakes for keitha

keitha asked that i post my first batch of cupcakes straight from my new mixer, and i just couldn't. apparently, there was a learning curve for me and my mixer. i made my own hot pink cream cheese icing for my strawberry cupcakes and after 24 hours and 1 bag of confectioners sugar it never firmed up. when i gave them away, the icing was dripping down the sides of the cupcakes. and the sprinkles were sinking in. i didn't even get a picture of them.

alas, i trudged on. i'll admit... i make my cupcakes the sandra lee way - semi homemade. i get the box mix for the cake, and then i make the icing from scratch.

friday was the perfect cupcake day, so i opened up the windows and turned on The Seven Year Itch and got to baking.

This time I used Ina Garten's recipe for the icing:
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the icing, mix the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, mixing just until smooth. Spread the frosting generously on top of each cupcake.

i mixed it for what seemed like an eternity, but it was finally smooth so i started to spread and here's what happened...

i mean honestly! crumbs were pulling up, so they got all in the icing. the paper was pulling apart. it was a mess. i had to think quick, so i had never done this but knew it couldn't hurt to try. i made a piping bag out of a zip lock and would you take a look at the beauties?