My Mommy's So Talented!!!

Way back in my original post, Welcome to Bake My Dream Come True, I mentioned that my mom was a huge influence in my baking obsession. She and I have baked almost anything you can think of together for what seems like my entire life.

This weekend, we had planned to bake for my niece's 13th birthday together, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it home. I felt terrible leaving her to prep for the party alone, but she's a trooper!

I can't tell you how many times people have recommended the high-heel cupcakes to me. You've probably seen them all over Pinterest. I've been waiting for the perfect occasion and Mom and I had decided that Bug's birthday was just that occasion. Even though I wasn't there to help, my mom went ahead and took the challenge head on! After all, our Bug has always been the fashionista niece and I'm sure nothing less would do for her ;)

Check out the result:

Personally, I think these are much better than the ones I've seen online. Great job, Mom!

I'm so proud :)

Jello Frosting???

Some of my favorite recipes on Pinterest are for frosting. That's where I found These Peas are Hollow's Swiss Meringue Buttercream base recipe for the peanut butter version that my sister-in-law eats by the spoonful...YUM! (For the peanut butter version, I replace the melted chips with peanut butter.)

I look for occasions to try new frosting recipes whenever I can, so when my darling mini-me niece said, "Aunt Lacy, I want cupcakes" while we were at my mom's, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try the kid-friendly Jello frosting from Coleen's Recipes. We used strawberry banana Jello on a white cupcake with strawberry jam filling.

Jello Frosting

The frosting was super light and airy; it felt like the pastry bag was empty while piping it onto the cupcake, but, as you can see in the photo, it stood up nice and tall!

That's about where the appeal ended for me. It really did taste like Jello. Light, airy, Jello fluff. As a 30-year-old aunt, I wasn't a fan of the taste at all. It didn't set well either. Since we are in a humid climate, I tried to store the cupcakes we didn't send home with the kids in the refrigerator. The next day, it was just an unappetizing, gummy blob on top of the cupcake.

From a 5-year-old perspective, the frosting was awesome! The twins ate the frosting off of two cupcakes each and then wanted to take as many as they could home to share with their friends.

Final verdicts? 1) I'm old. 2) I'm not going to make it again. 3) It really did look pretty! 4) I love my nieces and nephews.

Are you following Lace of Cakes on Pinterest? Which recipe do you think I should try next?