Piece of Cake

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My 2 year wedding anniversary was last week. Woo! I got my husband two tickets to see the New England Revolution in September. I didn't want to put the tickets in his card and I didn't have a box laying around the house that was small enough.

I used my Cricut to cut out the cake shaped box from Tags, Bags, Boxes & More. I cut it out as big as I could (given that I only have the original Cricut it was 5.5").

I was already planning to add a strip along the side of the cake to give the appearance of frosting in between layers, and coloring the top and back of the cake as well. In the end, I coated the frosting stripe in UTEE so that it would look shiny, and more like a ganache than a frosting. To top the cake I took tiny pieces of paper that I had torn up, and glued them on- to give the appearance of a chocolate shaving topping.

My husband had no idea what was in the box- and didn't even want to open it. It's still sitting at home (opened, very carefully) on display.

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

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I was searching for a nice, light, summery cupcake to make when I visit my parents for their Mortgage Burning Party. I found a lot of great baking blogs, and on 52 Cupcakes I found the recipe for Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes with Marshmallow Fluff Frosting. I used to love Orange Creamsicles growing up, and I know my Dad has a special affinity for them too, so I decided to give the recipe a try.

The recipe itself was really easy. Cake mix from a box and an addition of pudding mix (not instant). Viola! And the cupcakes came out very airy, light, and moist. I took the first 12 out of the oven a little earlier than I should have, because they looked done.

I was also a little concerned that the Marshmallow Fluff frosting would be too sweet, however I was pleasantly surprised. The frosting melts easily though (we've had normal weather for June, high 70's and the 80's), so I would recommend putting these in the fridge until you're ready to eat them, if you live in a house sans A/C (like I do). I tried to tint the frosting orange, but regular food coloring was not cutting it (as you can see from the first photo), I bought frosting food coloring for next time.

ETA: I made these again in July, and the food coloring and more artful frosting make them look even yummier!