Last month's delights

I'm behind, way behind, but I wanted to share my January birthday baking for my co-workers since I had such a blast with it!  Making birthdays fun around the office has become part of my job description.  I'm okay with that!  Of course I am probably enjoying it more than anyone else.  Now that I have a Kitchen Aid mixer (thanks to my mother-in-law), baking has become more fun than before.  It makes me more efficient and there is little to no mess.  Plus, I have found a few tricks along the way that have helped speed up the process.  I found this tip on Pinterest awhile ago.  Rather than being covered in frosting, I loaded the bag while inside a cup.  It was a lot quicker, cleaner, and definitely easier. 

Last month we had three birthdays at work.  Our purchaser, John, was being teased for a couple of weeks for sporting a mustache so I made that the theme of January's gig!  I was excited that he requested German Chocolate since I hadn't made it before.  It is also my Daddy Keith's favorite so I need some practice on that one!  Making something new and from scratch each month is kind of a goal for me.  I'm not going to lie, I was very nervous.  Between baking the round cake in a new pan and getting the coconut topping to the right consistency, I was a mess!  The blog that I was using the recipe from, baked perfection, was calling for cupcakes rather than a cake, so there were some changes that needed to be made.  Luckily it turned out great and everyone loved it!

 

Black felt mustaches and a picture I snuck of the actual mustache was a fun way to tease John just a little bit more!



Everyone had a good early morning laugh when we surprised him with the stache cake! 



The other cupcakes were white cake (Betty Crocker box mix) and homemade chocolate butter cream frosting.  There were a few co-workers that said it could have been the best cupcake they ever ate.  I would have to say that they were delicious as well.  

I'm looking forward to my February baking.  I have a couple of fun ideas for work and I get to make the cupcakes for my youngest niece's (EJ) birthday party!  She turned 1 on Valentine's Day!  I see alot of red cupcakes in my future!