These cupcakes remind me of summer days when I was a little girl. My friends and I would lie on the grass, our arms spread wide, and gaze up into the sky. Billowy white clouds would pass overhead and we would talk and giggle about who or what the clouds looked like. We would lay there and daydream for hours. Not a care in the world. Sometimes there would be a little breeze, and then a cloud would cover the sun for a minute or two, giving us much needed, but brief relief from the heat of the day. I hate to admit it, but there are times even now, when I would like to just pull over and stop for the day. Lie down on the cool green grass, and stare up at the sky. Well, these cupcakes take me there without getting grass stains, or having someone call the authorities about a strange woman hugging the grass. They evoke a wonderful memory. I hope they do the same for you!
Summer Days CupCakes
Ingredients:
CupCakes:
Duncan Hines Butter Golden Cake Mix
3 Eggs
1 stick Butter
Water
Meringue:
6 Egg Whites
Pinch of Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Sugar
We will make the cupcake batter according to the box this time
Usually, I like to doctor it like this. Both are good.
Add your mix to a bowl.
Crack your eggs in a bowl separate from your mix.
The eggs need to be cracked like this so that no shell
can ever end up in your mix. It is near impossible to get out
and so frustrating!! Don’t put yourself through it.(I speak
from experience. I am ashamed.)
Add the eggs and the water.
Don’t forget the butter.
Mix your batter according to the directions on the box.
Put your batter in the cupcake liners, and bake according to
the directions on the box.
Let’s make our meringue clouds!
Put your six egg whites in the bowl.
Beat the whites until foamy.
Add the salt, vanilla, and cream of tartar.
Keep beating.
While the mixer is still on, start adding teaspoons of sugar,
one at a time to the egg white mix. After each addition,
wait 30 seconds for the last spoonful to incorporate
into the mix. Then add another teaspoon. This may seem like
a lot of unnecessary work, but you don’t want
your meringue to be gritty from the sugar. After all
the sugar is added, continue to beat for 6 minutes.
Your mix should be stiff, glossy, and smooth.
I am realizing what terrible pics I took of this project.
I apologize for that. Fit a pastry bag with a Wilton #5 tip,
and fill the bag with the meringue mix. We are making clouds,
so just free form them onto cookie sheets covered
with parchment paper.
Remember, we are putting these on cupcakes, so
don’t go to big. The best thing about this is that there
is no way to mess up a cloud.
Keep piping them onto the cookie sheet until your sheet
is full. You don’t need much room between them. They
don’t run. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees for about
1 1/2 hours until they are dry. Lift off parchment and store
in a plastic bag until we need them.
Let’s make Buttercream Icing!
Buttercream Icing
(from Wilton)
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
4 cups Powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Milk
Cream together the vegetable shortening and the butter.
Add the vanilla and powdered sugar.
When it is totally mixed, add a little of the milk, and mix
until the icing is fluffy. Put some of the white icing in a small bowl, Only use a small amount. 
Add some green coloring to the icing. I used Americolor Forest Green. I have always used Wilton Icing Color, but I love the fact that the Americolor is so easy to dispense. It simply drops out of the bottle, making it easier to control the amount of color you want. 
Start mixing. Use a spoon or sometime I use a skinny craft stick. 
Keep mixing until you get the desired results. The icing will dry darker than it looks wet. Make some blue icing for the sky. I used Americolor Electric Blue. Then make a very small amount of yellow icing for the sun. I used Wilton Lemon Yellow. Buttercream frosting should be covered while you are using it to prevent it drying out. 
Let’s Decorate!
Spread the blue icing~our sky~ on the cupcake, leaving a little at the bottom that we will cover with our grass. 
Using Wilton tip # 233, pipe grass on the bottom portion of the cupcake. 
Make a half circle with the yellow icing. Use Wilton tip #2.
Set up a little cup of water, a papertowel, and a small tip paintbrush that has never been used. This is a good thing to have in case of any mistakes, or to smooth down pointy ends of icing. 
Fill in the sun. Use your paintbrush to smooth the icing. Pipe the suns rays. Start at the sun, and pull towards yourself. At the end of the rays, if your icing is not smooth, pat it down with the paintbrush. 
Attach the clouds to the still wet blue frosting. If it has dried, dab a little frosting on the back of the cloud to help it stick. 
There you have it! Summer Days CupCakes! Thank you for joining me! If you have any questions about this project, please contact me at thefreshmancook@hotmail.com, or leave a comment. I will answer you.