Sweet Cuppin' Cakes!: A Bridal Shower...

My first attempt at "fancy" cupcakes was for the Brial Shower of my best friend at work, M. M had asked me to be a bridesmaid in her destination wedding, and her maid of honor S requested my help at the bridal shower. Since the wedding was to be on the beach in beautiful San Diego, S had decided on a beach theme for the shower. When asked to help, I immediately exclaimed, "I'll make cupcakes! Don't worry, they will be shower worthy!" I had no idea what cupcakes I was going to make, or how I was going to make them, but I was on the case now. My mind began tumbling over ideas for the next several weeks. Chocolate? Vanilla? Buttercream? Filled cupcakes? Beach motif? I finally landed on what I thought was the perfect plan: Lemon filled vanilla, and raspberry filled chocolate, both with a creamy vanilla buttercream. I would adorn the cupcakes with anything beachy I could create. While in the ATX for my spring holiday, I enlisted the help of A. We did a trial run in the kitchen of my parent's house, intensely mixing endless colors of icing dye while jamming out to Disney, and what became of it was wonderful! The actual shower cupcakes for M were perfect! Light and fluffy with a hidden surprise in the middle. The buttercream was dyed a light blue and was covered with a ghram cracker and brown sugar sand. Atop of each cupcake sat a perfect flower, seashell, sand dollar, or crab. They were a hit, and I was in love!