Hamburger Cupcakes

Tonight I am leaving Mia with her daddy & heading out with some of my mommy friends  for a cupcake exchange party.  I decided that I really wanted to make something super cute, creative & simple! I came across these adorable hamburger cupcakes - but decided that the already simple recipe could be even easier. 

My method: 

Ingredients for cake:
1 package of fudge marble cake (I used Duncan Hines)
Ingredients for icing:
1/4 cup butter softened (you can use unsalted - I like that slightly salty sweet taste that regular butter provides)
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup confectioners sugar 
1 tsp vanilla 

Food colouring:

Red
Yellow
Blue
Black
(you will need to make the white icing grey before adding the red - otherwise you   will have pink 'ketchup')
(Remember yellow & blue make green - I used more yellow than blue to give a vibrant lettuce green)

Directions:
Mix your cake according to the directions on the box - up until you divide the batter
I substituted cream for the water - makes a fluffier, slightly nicer cake

Set aside 2 cups of of the vanilla batter - then add the chocolate package that comes in the box & stir well
Pour vanilla batter into cupcake pan with liners - fill liners 3/4 full - this ensures the bun top is rounded instead of flat
Pour the chocolate batter into a cake pan - any small cake pan will do!

Bake until nearly brown & a toothpick inserted comes out clean

Let cool!

Once they're cool slice each cupcake in two horizontally - let cool again
Using a round cookie cutter cut out 12 circles from the chocolate cake
Now devour the left over scraps of the chocolate cake! 
Decorate your mini burgers as you desire.
You will want to put one 'topping' on the bottom (I used the lettuce) and one on the top - this holds the whole thing together. 

If you desire the sesame seeds & olive - brush lightly with water & sprinkle sesame seeds on - they will stick
To make the Olive - I used a green Smartie (these are chocolate in Canada) If you're in the USA - you could use a regular size M&M (or Peanut) & a mini red M&M.  Using some of the leftover icing - glue the two together - then place on the lid of the hamburger!

* Read the more complicated recipe here at Bakerella : Plus she gives you a great free printout to make them all fancy & a recipe for french fry cookies. 
* My fries were supplied by McCain's - frozen still - shhh ... it was just for the photo!

Another sweet treat - Mia looking just innocent enough to snag some of the chocolate cake left overs!

She won!

Don't Carpe Diem

I have this brilliant group of women I talk with/type with from a well known site The Bump.com.  We July 2010 mamas decided to branch off and make an exclusive Facebook club! It's about the only exclusive club a mom can get into with a baby on her hip - so we take what we can get! The ladies are wonderful - you can complain, compare (within reason), brag & post anything you feel fits with what moms deal with. 

One of the great moms posted this: Don't Carpe Diem - of course I jumped on the chance to read an article that goes against every grain of old wisdom! Glennen Melton writes, that although there are moments where we cherish the moments of being a parents, much of it is hard work!  You hear all the time as a mom that you should be so thankful, love every moment, as they're fleeting. 

Although I do agree that it's important to find joy in every situation, I think it's rather unrealistic.  It puts an incredible amount of pressure on a parent to be forever happy, successful and perfect.  Most of motherhood is confusing, frustrating and sticky.  Of course there are plenty of small moments where you realize yet again that the love you feel, you would never truly know without this little whirlwind in your life. 

It's funny that this was posted on a day like today where my sweet 18 month old Mia who refuses to even try saying a word other than cat, cried continuously for 3 hours in frustration of not getting what she wanted.  I cried.  I called my mom.  She just said - you're doing a good job! Which was exactly what I needed to hear.  Just because each day is not 'perfect' - doesn't mean I am a bad mom.  

So rather than Carpe Diem - I love what Melton suggested - simply be thankful for the moments where your mind steps away from the chaos of mamahood and appreciate those.  All of life does not need to be lived in ecstasy.