I am just too excited about today’s post!  Over the last two years, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming friends with Lauren Kapeluck of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy.  Lauren is one of our talented contributors and she inspires us each month with her incredible cupcake recipes (Did you spot  her Creamsicle Cupcake recipe yesterday?  Oh my deliciousness!)  I was over the moon for Lauren when she was expecting her first child… and I can hardly believe an entire year has flown by already.  Now Lauren’s sweet little Sam has turned one.  And knowing Lauren, there was no doubt that Sam’s 1st birthday party would be utterly adorable.  With a cheerful color scheme mixed with oodles of bowties and mustaches, this first birthday bash was beyond perfect for Lauren’s little guy.  Prepare to be charmed by this Little Man 1st Birthday Party!

Oh my goodness!  How darling is this dessert table?!  With everything from mustache-topped cupcakes to mustache-shaped brownies, bow tie cookies and a polka dot cake.  Plus the most gorgeous color swirl cake, created especially for the birthday boy to smash!  All baked with love and styled to perfection by Lauren.  Seriously, the cuteness factor is just off the charts!  Not to mention the precious bow tie garland and chalkboard backdrop.  It’s a dessert table created with a mother’s love and an incredible attention to detail.  And I am in awe!  Let’s see more…

Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. gives us the scoop on this party:

“For Sam’s 1st birthday party I decided to go with the “Tie/Bow Tie & Mustache Bash” theme.  I wanted the decorations to be cheery and full of bright colors.  I found a fabric swatch early in the planning stages that was chocolate brown with shades of blue, yellow and green polka dots that I used for inspiration when gathering items for the party and decorating the sweets.

Since I love to bake I decided to do an assortment of goodies from mustache brownies, bow tie cookies, and cupcakes with mustache and fabric bow tie toppers.  Sam’s smash cake was my favorite part of the dessert table.  I used the pastel swirl technique which I first discovered from Sweetapolita’s blog and incorporated Sam’s party colors into the icing.  I made custom mustache and tie/bow tie garlands that were used as the back drop for the dessert table and throughout the party to carry on the theme.  Guests even got in on the fun with a photo booth area we created in the backyard where they could be silly with mustache, lips and tie props.

I hit the jackpot when I ran into Target one afternoon and came across the most adorable yellow and blue plaid ties & bow ties in the $1 bin!  Let’s just say I did a happy dance the moment I found these because they just added that extra something special to the theme.  In addition to using the ties as decorations we also gave them out as party favors.

We had a wonderful day celebrating Sam’s 1st year with family and friends.  I hope you enjoy his party!”

VENDORS & CREDITS
Cakes, Cupcakes, Brownies, Cookies & Dessert Styling:  Crave. Indulge. Satisfy.
Photography:  Crave. Indulge. Satisfy. & Auntie Em
Invitation:  Shutterfly
Twine, Wood Clothespins & Paper Medallions:  The TomKat Studio Shop
Tie Onesie:  Chic Couture Boutique
Wooden Spoons:  Sucre Shop
Ties, Bow Ties & Cake Pedestals:  Target
Age Blocks:  Montana Vintage Greens
Vintage Wood Photo Frame:  Coastal Charm
Lollipops, Favor Bags, Balloons – Party City
Stripe Straws, Chevron Bags:  Michael’s
Garlands, Cupcake Toppers, #1 Photo Collage:  DIY
Chalkboard Frame, 8 Pane Antique Window:  DIY compliments of Sam’s daddy!

Our contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy., is back with a delicious new recipe….

It might only be May but the ice cream man has been driving down my street for well over a month now.  Every time I hear his musical truck all I can think about are drumsticks, ice cream sandwiches and popsicles.  It reminds me that the warm weather is here to stay and it’s time to start stocking my freezer full of cool summer treats!  So thank you Mr. Ice Cream Man for inspiring me to create these Creamsicle Cupcakes based off of one of my all time favorite popsicle treats.

I took a shortcut with this recipe and used a vanilla box mix as the base, but don’t worry it is packed full of all kinds of orange citrus goodness that you won’t be able to tell once you take a bite.  Orange juice and orange zest are used in both the cake and cream cheese icing which really creates a lovely refreshing citrus taste.  These cupcakes are really moist and super light, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself eating more than one at a time.

To decorate I wanted to mimic the traditional Creamsicle popsicle so I used an apple corer to remove the center of the cupcake and added a white cream cheese filling. Orange cream cheese frosting was swirled on top and then one more dollop of white cream cheese icing was added to the center.

These cupcakes would be perfect for a summer pool party or a citrus theme birthday bash.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream along side and you’ve got one yummy treat!

CREAMSICLE CUPCAKES
recipe by Lauren Kapeluck
(makes 24)

For the cake:

1 box white cake mix (prepared as package directs, substitute 1/4 cup orange juice in place of water)
1 3oz box Orange gelatin
1 tsp orange extract
1 tsp orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In bowl of stand mixer combine all ingredients.
3. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until well combined. Scrape sides of bowl as necessary.
4. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
7. Once cupcakes are completely cool, hollow out the center using an apple corer.
8. Fill centers with white cream cheese filling.
9. Frost cupcakes with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting.

For the icing:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8oz block of cream cheese, softened
5 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp orange extract
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp orange zest
orange food coloring

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
2. Gradually add in confectioner’s sugar 1 cup at a time and beat well, scraping down sides of bowl.
3. Add extracts and mix well for about 2 minutes.
4. Reserve 1 cup of icing to be used as white cream center filling for cupcakes.
5. Add orange zest and tint remaining icing with orange food coloring until you reach desired color.
6. Place white and orange cream cheese icings into piping bags fitted with large round tips.
7. Use orange cream cheese frosting and swirl around the center of the cupcake two times. Fill the inside of the swirl with a dollop of white cream cheese frosting.

I hope you all enjoy these Creamsicle cupcakes!

	Lauren Kapeluck Lauren is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.

Sshhh, listen…. I think I hear summer calling us!  Enticing us with warm, sunny days and long, lazy nights.  And nothing refreshes on a hot day like ice cold lemonade.  Which is exactly what we’re serving up with today’s feature.  A dessert table that is sure to bring back fond childhood memories of summer lemonade stands.  Created by Dina Hafez-Suggs of  Deliciously Darling for a feature in Festivties Magazine, this table rocks a stellar vendor list including some of our very favs.  The lemonade might be 5 cents but this table is priceless!

Pink, yellow and polka dots come together in a sunny color combo that is fresh and perfect for the season.  Add in a splash of lemon and we’re in summer love.  Lemon cupcakes, lemon macarons and adorable lemon shaped cookies!  Not to mention the lemon topped ruffle cake!  With lemonade filled mason jars, adorable ’5 cent’ cupcake toppers and a to-die-for lemonade sign… this dessert table is sure to make you smile!

Dina of  Deliciously Darling tells us more about this dessert table:

“I just love lemonade. When summer rolls around, it’s all I’m drinking. I wanted to put together a bright & summery Lemonade stand to inspire the little kid in all of us.

Shades of pink and yellow match the Frog Prince Paperie “Pink Lemonade” printable collection perfectly. Ombre paper rosettes, paper flowers and lemonade printables accent the canvas table-skirt so beautifully.

Traditional lemonade looks so adorable served in adorable pink and yellow polka-dot-cups and paper straws. Pink Lemonade is a must and looks so refreshing in mason jars with daisy lids.

Delicious goodies go hand-in-hand with the perfect glass of lemonade! From the amazing yellow ruffled cake to the little french macarons, each and every thing on this dessert table reminds me of a summer day. Other sweets included: Lemon shaped cookies, mini powdered donuts and lemon cupcakes.

I’m addicted to all things candy and wanted to include some gumballs. Packaged in little plastic milk bottles, they just look adorable.

Finally, the Pink balloon & ombre tassels just brings everything together so nicely. I just love large balloons.”

TIP from Dina:  Want to make your own lemonade stand?  I wanted this lemonade stand to be easy to make. So instead of running out and purchasing lots of lumbar and putting one together, I made a quick and easy lemonade stand with 1 sofa table, two pieces of wood and 4 zip-ties. I finished off the lemonade stand with a darling “Lemonade” banner.

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Event Design, Style, Paper decor, Hobnail vases:  Deliciously Darling
Photography:  Lauren Nicole Studios
Printables:  Frog Prince Paperie
Cupcake Toppers & Fondant Lemons:  Edible Details
Ruffle Cake:  My Sweet Things
Cookies:  Yummy Delicious Cookies by Whimsical Originals
French Macarons:  Alon’s Bakery
Balloon & Tassel:  The Flair Exchange
Yellow & Pink Cake Stands, Pink & Yellow straws, Daisy mason jar lids:  Waiting on Martha
Cupcake wrappers, pink & yellow cups, yellow napkins, gumball bottles:  Petite Party Studio
Yellow Ceramic Berry Baskets: Anthropology