Mimosa Cupcakes

Well, here we are....New Year's Eve 2012.  Do you have exciting party plans tonight to ring in the new year?  Or are you more of the stay in, snuggled in front of the fire with a good movie and wait for the ball to drop on TV kind of celebrator?  Whatever your plans are, these Mimosa cupcakes are a fantastic treat for either occasion.  The recipe is available here. 

The ingredients.  Basic Mimosa flavors, OJ and Champagne (or Ginger Ale).

Let's get started.  Beat cake mix, ginger ale , OJ, oil, egg whites and orange peel.

Next step.  Divide batter evenly among baking cups.  Bake and cool.

Final step.  Beat powdered sugar, butter, ginger ale, OJ and orange peel until smooth and creamy.  Well, I never made it to smooth and creamy.  Thick and goopy, yep.  So I added a little more ginger ale and mixed.  Still very thick.  Add a little more OJ.  Ah, that's better.  Uh oh.  Why's my butter still sitting on the counter.  Well, better late than never.....I guess.  In goes the butter.  Now I have creamy and lumpy.  Yes, frosting can apparently be creamy and lumpy at the same time.  Let's just mix it a little more.  And maybe it'll get thicker if I just leave it alone for a few minutes.  OK, let's try it out.

Hmmm.  Not very thick.  Let's add some more powdered sugar. 

Taste test.  The cupcakes taste very good.  A little bit of orange flavor without being overwhelming.  The frosting.....tastes very sugary.    I added a little bit of white sparkling sugar to the top of the thicker frosting to give it a little sparkle for the holiday.  The frosting is as smooth as it's gonna get with having orange peel in it.  You can see my first runny, lumpy frosted cupcake in the background and the smoother, sugared frosted cupcake in the foreground above.  It's just not the kind of frosting that's going to look good spread on anything.  It needs to be thick (not as thick as I had it) and piped onto the cupcake.  Now that would be a pretty cupcake. 

Well, they aren't very elegant, but they are pretty good.  I really need to work on my frosting skills! 

And that's it.  One entire year of Adventures In Baking.  The adventures will continue, I'm just getting to know Myrtle (my new Kitchen Aid stand mixer) and I've saved enough recipes from this past year to keep me busy for 10 years.  So check back every once in a while and see if I've been up to my elbows in sugar, flour and frosting.  I do have that cookie recipe I've been saving .......... 

Have a safe and happy new year!
-Teddra