Birthday Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for my cousin, Acme's birthday.  I didn't know it was her birthday until yesterday when my uncle invited us to dinner tonight.  It gave me the perfect opportunity to make cupcakes!  And they are so good and easy to make!

Ever since I watched Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Week, I've been obsessed with cupcakes.  I've been dying to go to all the cupcake places around this area especially Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle.  I've also tried a couple of recipes.  I've made Trophy Cupcakes' Chocolate Graham Cracker Cupcakes which were SO GOOD and failed miserably at Bakerella's Cupcake Pops (but will try again once I've licked my wounds - Bakerella, I bow down to you).   

For Acme I made vanilla cupcakes and frosted two different flavors.  One was with lemon meringue buttercream and the other was with chocolate buttercream.  I got the meringue buttercream recipe from Taste Goblet.  It was my first try at meringue buttercream.  I've been avoiding it because I was scared of making the meringue, but this recipe was really easy and so, so, so good.  I could eat it straight out of the mixing bowl!!  It is THE best I've ever tasted.  Taste Goblet, you're such such an angel for the super detailed and descriptive recipe.

For the lemon cupcakes I made one batch of buttercream, one batch of lemon curd (recipe from William-Sonoma's Cakes), and one lemon's worth of candied lemon slices.  I folded in 1/2 cup of lemon curd into the buttercream to give it the lemon flavor.  Once the cupcakes cooled, I spooned a layer of lemon curd on top of the cake, then piped a mound of buttercream, and topped it with a slice of lemon (on some I sprinkled them with white sparkling sugar).

With the chocolate one, I mixed in 6 oz. of melted semi-sweet chocolate into the buttercream (add in after the butter step).  I piped it onto the cakes and sprinkled them with chocolate shavings (a few I decorated with fondant flowers).  

I made both buttercreams last night and didn't use them until this afternoon.  The lemon came out great after beating it again with the mixer, but I had some problems with the consistency of the chocolate one.  There were a lot of air pockets, and I wasn't able to smooth it out, but it still tastes great.  So I would suggest using the chocolate meringue buttercream immediately after making it.

 

After it was all done, I had to taste both of them.  They were both SO YUMMY!!!  I have to say, I am quite impressed with myself.  :-P  I just hope my cousin will like them as much.