Dairy Daze ......cupcakes, cows and kids oh my

Today is the beginning of Dairy Daze in Montell. But, for me it started early yesterday as I began the baking for the Cupcake sale.

These are the rootbeer floats cupcake, first recipe wasnt what I wanted so these came out great!  18 of these jumbo cupcakes. oh, did my kitchen smell delicious!  here is the link for the recipe http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/2010/05/mini-root-beer-float-cupcakes.html

These are banana split cipcakes. The centers are filled with banan, pineapple and strawberry.  Here is the link for the recipe http://www.beantownbaker.com/2009/09/banana-split-cupcake.html

the cupcakes on the left are Funge Mint Sundaes topped with Andes mint pieces.

The cups have malted Milk caupcakes topped with a malted milk ball. Here is the recipe link http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2010/01/malted-milk-cupcakes-plus-recipe.html

 Those are fudge mint cupcakes in the middle.

I also make strawberry sundae cupcakes. the centers are filled with stawberry and topped with whipped frosting and a cherry.

7:30 this morning I came to the shop to put out my decorated COW, open the doors and get ready for the other members of our group to drop off cupcakes.  Shirley from Rustic came and dropped off some cheesecake brownies. Then before 9 Jean from the Gardne Center came with some brownies and muffins. My shop smells wonderful.

The weather is funny today, cool but very humid so campers are out and about checking out the shops. No kids participated in the sidewalk art contest HUH, maybe the cloudy skies kept them away.

It has been a long day and the smell of these cupcakes has been driving me crazy, but it was good practice for when we open the diner. I can see it now CUPCAKE of the DAY!  How much fun is that.

Time to Ponder......so many

recipes and so little time.  Beofre the rain came today the shop was fairly busy. It is very nice to see visitors walking the sidealks and checking out the shops. Past visitors coming back to visit is also a very good sign that things are picking up in the area. Sales were good, not amazing but good. The painted door from the other day SOLD !!!!  Now I can paint more, I hate to paint more big pieces if those I have are not selling, silly maybe but that is my thought process these days,
  With next Saturday our dairy Daze, a big deal in Wisconsin and the theme for our bake sale being ice cream I have been hunting high and low on blogs to find just the right cupcakes, having not heard back from the other bakers in our group . I am going off on my own and baking what I want.
Root Beer Float Cupcakes'
Servings: 12
Prep time: 20
Cook time: 20
Total time: 40
Ingredients:

1 cup rootbeer soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup rootbeer soda, reduced to 3 teaspoons
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp root beer extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
pinch salt

Vanilla Bean Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup shortening
1 tablespoon milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean pods or paste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Cupcakes:
Combine rootbeer soda and apple cider vinegar, and reduced rootbeer soda,allow to sit for a few minutes. Add sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and root beer extract.

Sift together flour, baking soda and baking powder. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients being careful not to over mix.

Pour batter into cupcake molds, 2/3 the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

Frosting:
Combine all ingredients and beat with a mixer until fluffy.
Top cupcakes with the vanilla bean frosting, and enjoy!

Arent these just adorable? I am going to make Big cupcake and mini cupcakes!

CREAMSICLE (ORANGE-VANILLA) CUPCAKES

Ingredients:
•½ cup unsalted butter, softened

•2/3 cup sugar

•3 large eggs

•1 tsp. vanilla extract

•1 tsp. orange extract

•1 ½ cups all purpose flour

•1 ½ tsp. baking powder

•¼ tsp. salt

•¼ cup milk

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and lightly butter or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2.For the Cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and orange extract.
3.In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4.With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5.Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost.
The batter was thick,
Frost them with vanilla buttercream if you want to go for the Creamsicle effect,

Well, I am off to find just the right icing for a hot fudge sundae cupcake and then home to try out a batch or two. There is time enough to get back on the diet, and kids are home to taste test. Tomorrow I will be at the Garden center cutting out the end of our cows for dairy daze and then getting mine painted and decorated, I will get photos up as soon as it is done. This is just one of many events we do to get people back into town and visiting us, After the floods 2 yearsa go and the loss of some of our tourists we try anything to get people back in town,  NOW if ice cream themed cupcakes don't do it maybe nothing will LOL