Preparing for her THIRD Birthday

On Tuesday, we decided to make an extra special treat for Scarlett's THIRD Birthday.  Pink Lemonade Cupcakes with Pink Lemonade Frosting.  It's a secret recipe that Scarlett asked me not to share.  Hopefully someday she will change her mind because they were knock-your-socks-off-good.

Scarlett did say I could show you how to bake them so here is Scarlett's Recipe for baking and decorating the perfect Pink Lemonade Cupcake.

1) You have to whisk, whisk, whisk...  It's okay if you have some lumps in the mix.  They taste more homemade that way.

2) Use pink cupcake baking cups.  According to Scarlett, Pink makes everything taste better.  Use a large measuring cup to pour the cupcake mixture into the cups.  It's not only fun to pour but it makes clean-up so much easier.

3) Place them in the oven and wait.  These take a little longer to bake than cookies. 

4) Take a short break from watching the cupcakes bake.  Make sure you set the timer so the cupcakes don't burn.  Scarlett wanted to check out her new pink rose bouquets so I wheeled her up right next to them so she could smell the roses.  

5)  Take them out of the oven when the buzzer goes off. 

6) Use a toothpick to make sure they are fully cooked.

7) Make sure they smell okay.  Scarlett gave her approval.  They actually smelled like pink lemonade.

8) Wait for them to cool.  You can't frost a hot cupcake.  The frosting wont stick.

9) Time to frost.  Hooray!  This is the fun part.  Place the frosting in a bag and cut off a corner so the icing has a place to escape.  Then squeeze the icing out.  So easy.

10) Add whatever decorations you want.  Scarlett wanted to add a lime slice and a #3 candle.

12)  Sit back and enjoy what you've just created and hope the cupcake survives until tomorrow.  It looks so yummy.