Birthday cupcakes

My triplet niece and nephews turned 10 in August and I made them some cupcakes with personalized wrappers and toppers to fit their party themes.

Sydni had a Harry Potter party.

Jacob had a party at Chuck E. Cheese.

And Caleb had a Dale Earnhardt Jr./NASCAR theme party. (I didn’t make Caleb’s cupcakes because I had to work so I bought them from a cupcake delivery company. I would have done better to get them at Wal-Mart. These were the worst cupcakes I ever ate.)

Box-Mix Cupcakes (via In The Wabe blog)

Ingredients:

1 box (18.25 oz) cake mix (vanilla, devil’s food, or yellow)
1 cup buttermilk (in place of water called for on the box)
Vegetable oil (the amount on the box)
4 eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin cups with paper liners.

Follow the box instructions, putting all the ingredients in a large bowl and using the buttermilk in place of the water specified on the box, using the amount of vegetable oil that is called for, and adding the eggs. Beet with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer

Fill paper liners two-thirds full. Bake 12 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

Easy Vanilla Bean Buttercream (via Brown Eyed Baker blog)

Yield: 3 cups (Enough for 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

2½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (if not used increase vanilla extract to 1 Tbsp)
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar (10 ounces)
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons heavy cream

In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Using a paring knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into butter and beat mixture at medium-high speed to combine, about 15 seconds.

Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully incorporated, about 30 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 20 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (via That Winsome Girl blog)
Yields: 30 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz.) package Devil’s Food cake mix
1 (5.9 oz.) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper baking cups.

In a large bowl, sift together the cake and pudding mixes. Mix in sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and water until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared cupcake pans. (I filled each cupcake with 3 tablespoons of batter.)

Bake for 20-24 minutes, until tops spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cook in pans for 5 minutes before removing to a cooking rack to cool completely.

I also made the invitations.