Coffee Cake

My sorority held an event the other day, planned by my good friend and (sorority) sister. She managed to turn our sorority house into a coffee shop, Starbucks-style, for the evening. She had asked me to make some cupcakes for the event, and of course I accepted. I made four varieties of cupcakes, each based on a coffee shop drink to go along with the theme:

Hot Chocolate = Devil's Food Cakes + Dark Chocolate Frosting

Vanilla Latté = Vanilla Cakes + Coffee Meringue Buttercream Frosting

Caffé Mocha = Devil's Food Cakes + Coffee Meringue Buttercream Frosting

Vanilla Bean 'Frappuccino' = Vanilla Cakes + Vanilla-Bean Buttercream Frosting

I didn't have a lot of time to decorate them [I am a full-time student] so I made simple candy dots in the colors of our sorority- pink and blue- for the coffee-free cupcakes, and garnished the coffee-frosted cupcakes with one coffee bean and a sprinkle of ground coffee. I think these would look adorable with cut-down-to-size green Starbucks straws stuck into the frosting or inside brown Starbucks cup sleeves. They could even be baked in coffee mugs.

Princess

I baked these today for another of my best friends. She is my little sister in our sorority. We recently went to see the new Disney movie, "The Princess and the Frog" and loved it. She is such a princess that I couldn't resist making her cupcakes inspired by the fairy tail. I based the colors on the look of the movie, with lily-pad green and three shades of purple. Marshmallow crowns and an obscene amount of edible shimmer powder added some finishing touches. Luckily for her, she doesn't have to kiss the frog.

Bohème

I baked these Sunflower cupcakes for another of my best friends. She is truly the modern flower child, complete with flowing blonde hair down to her waist and yellow Volkswagen Beetle embellished with flowers. She once told me that her dream was to run through a field of sunflowers. I couldn't give her that, but I came as close as I could. The cakes were Devil's Food, with a base of dark chocolate frosting. The bright yellow petals were vanilla buttercream, and mini chocolate chips formed the center of the flower. She ate four in one sitting. That is why I love her.