Kaitlyn and Friends and yes that bunny is big and REAL.

Nesting Cupcakes

Inspiration is all around, the sun is out, the air is warm and the pigeons are pooping all over my front porch ....life is good!

I know I am her Grandma but really....can she be any sweeter?
This is my son's daugter, Kaitlyn she just turned 4 years old this month. I can't believe how fast it has gone.

Choc-O-Lishous

Today I treated my class to really yummy cupcakes and thought I would share.

Devils Food Cupcakes with marshmallow cream filling and Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting.

Devils Food Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour into a mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat until mixture is cooled, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-
   quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 15 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Marshmallow Cream Filling

1 cup Marshmallow Fluff
1 cup butter

Beat until very fluffy.

Cut center of cupcake and fill

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1. 1/4 cup heavy cream
2. 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3. 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1. MAKE THE FROSTING: Heat the cream in a small saucepan until steaming. Add the chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Add the butter and stir until smooth. Spread the top of each cupcake with the frosting. Spoon the reserved filling into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain tip and pipe decorative swirls on each cupcake. Refrigerate the cupcakes for at least 10 minutes to set the frosting.

The early bird catches the worm

The first egg in the Hornby nest was laid early last evening...WHEN I WASN'T LOOKING! The incubation period takes only about 35 days give or take a day or two (wouldn't that be nice ladies), so if this little egg makes it we should have a hatch sometime around the 3rd week in April. Hopefully Mother Hornby will produce another egg in the next day or so. I'm warning all you newbies watching the live eagle cam IS addicting, it's crazy like crack, you sit and watch a silly egg for 32 days and then when it's hatched you watch the baby chick until it takes it's first flight.

Anyone who knows me know that this time of year I am waiting on the edge of my seat for the Hornby Eagles to lay their eggs. The time is almost here they are due any day now. Doug Carrick is the man who owns and runs the web cam for this site and he is predicting they will be here in 2 more days. The web cam will be on close up so we can actually see when the eggs arrive...it's just so amazing, of course you might have to watch and chat with the people in the chat room for the next 48 hours if you don't want to miss the big event. Go to the web site from time to time and be prepared to get lost in watching the beauty of nature, and if you read the chatter you will learn so much about how amazing eagles really are. You can find the link to the eagle nest and all sorts of other live web cams I watch on the left side of this blog just look for "La-Dee-Dah-live web cams" and then click on Safari-TV cam then look for Hornby Eagle cam (you will have to watch a short 30 sec. advertisment) then sit back and enjoy.

1st Day of Spring

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer.
It sings because it has a song".

This sweet little bird in the nest was inspired by the coming of Spring and will be posted for a new class for April.