First of all, let me point out the pictures here are perfectly awful. I've lost the memory card to my camera and am now at the mercy of my family members and their cameras. (Getting another card is my first priority today!)
My middle child, Emily, turned seventeen on Saturday! I'm so proud of her and we celebrated her birthday with some fun cupcakes I made. They are (Get this!) Chocolate Cherry Dr. Pepper cupcakes. Emily and I are HUGE Dr. Pepper fans so this was a perfect choice for her!
The gift bag on the left of the cupcakes is something I made for her. There's no template, no math and no measuring! I recycled! The bag/box is actually a Rice a Roni box! This opens all kinds of possibilities! Think of all the different size boxes in your pantry! You can find the perfect size for the gift you want to give.
Here's how to make your own gift box "bag":
- Cut off the flaps from the top of the box you chose to use for the gift.
- Lay the box down sideways on the paper of your choice. Trim it so that it close to the width of the box.
- Apply Tom Bow glue liberally to every surface of one side of the box. Apply the paper to the one side and carefully fold the edge over by scoring if necessary. Repeat on the other three sides.
- Carefully trim the final side and the top and bottoms so that there is no overhanging paper.
- Sand the edges to get a smooth edge.
- Carefully score down the center of the narrow sides of the box about 2-3 inches from the top towards the bottom. This allows you to "close" it at the top.
- Using the Wide Oval Punch, cut a "handle" in the front of the box.
- Bring the front and back together and line them up carefully. Punch again using the front as your guide to punch the back.
- Tie with a ribbon and embellish!
Now about those cupcakes..........I found the recipe over at ...so sinful it's sweet! If you like a cupcake then spend some time there! This was taken exactly from her blog:
Chocolate Cherry Dr. Pepper Cupcake:
- 2 ¼ cups of Dr. Pepper
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 ½ cups of cake flour
- 2 eggs
- 4 ounces of unsweetened chocolate
- ½ cup of maraschino cherry syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup of unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- pinch of salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
- ¼ cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 325ยบ. In a medium size sauce pan bring Dr. Pepper & cherry syrup to a boil. Place chocolate and butter into a bowl and pour hot Dr. Pepper over, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Whisk mixture till smooth. Stir in sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and sour cream. Add flour in 2 parts alternating with the eggs and whisk till smooth. The mixture will be runny… but tasty. Fill cupcakes cups and bake approximately 15-20 minutes or until skewer comes out clean
7 Minute Cherry Frosting:
- 4 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2/3 cup of maraschino cherry syrup (you may need more)
- 2lbs confectioners sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Throw everything into a Pyrex bowl ….. except don’t use all of the cherry syrup here. Start with ½ and beat with a hand held electric mixer for 1 minute . Place bowl over a pot of boiling water (be sure not to let the water touch the bowl… just the steam) and beat on high for 7 minutes adding more cherry syrup as needed to obtain desired consistency. Be sure as you are beating that you are also scraping down the sides of the bowl. DO NOT let the mixture set over the bowl as your frosting will soon turn into a large meringue cookie. See this couldn’t be easier! Oh yeah, don’t forget to top your cupcakes with a cherry!
Carla Brasher, Senior Supervisor
cjbrasher@aol.com
www.TheSouthernStamper.com
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