These past couple of months, it seems as though the baby craze is on; every few weeks I get told that someone is expecting. For the first time, I truly understand why Spring is deemed the lover’s season…a lot, and I mean A LOT, of babies get conceived in Spring. Regardless, I am absolutely loving this. For me, pregnancy is a beautiful thing – even though I’ve never experienced this. If you think about it, when you are with child you are creating another being that will be living and breathing just like you – you are a creator of life in your own little way.

Instead of going all girly and emotional on you guys, I would like to tell you a little about the recipes below. I initially wanted to make a gender reveal cake for my coworker but I was unable to find something pink to fill the cake with. Then, I decided that since I am already making buttercream, might as well make another batch and dye them separate colors. This is when I told myself that I was going to try the duo colored frosting to top the cupcake – Crazzzzyyyyy. Now I’m not a baker, so I’m not the most talented when it comes to cake decorating so pipping frosting is the most complicated thing for me. It’s so hard to do and it makes my hands cramp! Regardless, I was motivated. Now that I’ve given you some backstory, here are the recipes.

Vanilla Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups (325g) all purpose flour
• 2 cups (414g) sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (240ml) milk
• 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup (240ml) water

Preparations:

 

Chocolate Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 5/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 medium or large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 cup boiling water

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Line cupcake tins.
3. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking power and and salt.
4. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla into the same bowl and mix for three minutes on medium speed.
5. Stir in the boiling water last. TO NOTE: The batter will be very thin. Fill each liner about 3/4 full.
6. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (460 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 6 cups (720 grams) powdered sugar
• 4-6 tablespoons milk (varies depending on how you want the consistency – I free ball it)
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt, adjust to taste (optional)

Preparations:

1. In a bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and the butter becomes lighter in color.
2. Add in the powdered sugar and mix on low speed at first, then increase to medium speed and continue mixing for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture starts to come together.
3. Add in the milk (start with 2 tablespoons and add a little more if needed).
4. Add the vanilla extract and salt.
5. Continue mixing on medium-high speed for another minute or until everything is well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
6. Separate the frosting into 3/4 and 1/4.
7. In the bowl with 3/4 of the frosting, color it depending on the gender of the baby (I colored it pink with a small amount of red food dye).
8. Color the other bowl of frosting with the other color (blue in my case).
9. Make holes in the center of your cooled cupcakes and pipe the gender frosting inside.
10. To top the cupcakes, take plastic wrap and lay it on the table.
11. Pipe a line of blue and a line of pink onto the wrap and close it before you insert it into your piping bag.
12. Pipe your cupcakes with the blue & pink frosting.
13. ENJOY!