Just in case you didn't know this.... I have some stinkin' cute great-nieces and nephews. I love spending time with them....although with a full time career and a side job as the CEO of thegardenofeatin, it's not always possible to see them often. Do you also know what it's like trying to book them for a playdate? These kids have better social lives than I do. I have one great-niece in particular who is a real girly girl. She is four years old (or by her calculation - 4 and a half).

Remember when we loved counting the halves until it was our next birthday? When you get to my age, you don't want to be a half older than what's necessary. Anyways, Miss O. loves pink, princesses, dressing up and BAKING. Um...hello....did you say baking? A kid after my own heart. This past weekend we scheduled a baking day with little Miss O. She is a spirited little redhead who is bright, witty and knows exactly how to stir a bowl of batter. When I putter around in my kitchen, I like to experiment with different scratch cake recipes. For this date, we were baking at my brother and sister-in-law's home so to keep it simple, we used a box mix, jacked it up a bit to taste like scratch and paired it with two piping bags of canned buttercream icing that I prepared the day before with organic food coloring. (yes.....sometimes it's okay to make things from a box and a can)

I packed up all my GOE gear (including the camera, cake stands, props etc.) and headed to someone else's kitchen to make a mess. When I arrived I grabbed Miss O. and she was Ready and Set to GO!" We gathered all our utensils by rummaging through the cupboards and drawers. She was my little assistant. She placed all the paper cupcake liners in the pan, alternating the colors brilliantly and then helped to make the cake batter, with the exception of using the hand mixer. You see, she doesn't care for the noise. She promptly left the prep area until that was over and returned to the quiet serenity of the kitchen. Flashback to my eldest son when he was four. He couldn't stand noise too. When I took him for a haircut to a salon, everyone was required to turn their blowdryers OFF when he walked in. Needless to say, he received the fastest haircut in the history of haircuts.

Back to baking.....here's what transpired with our project. We ended up making enough cupcakes to open a store and then some. After churning out the goods, we iced them, photographed them and proceeded to stuff them into our faces. All in all, a really good day.

MISS O's CUPCAKES

-1 box of confetti cake mix -3 eggs -1/2 cup of oil -1 cup of milk -1 box of vanilla pudding

Preheat oven to 350 F. Warn Miss O. that the mixer is going to be turned on. Watch her run and hide. Beat ingredients with the very loud mixer for 30 seconds at low speed. Continue beating at medium high speed for another 2 minutes. Call Miss O. back into the kitchen and tell her that the noise is OVER. We made mini cupcakes so this is what happens next. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes. Test with toothpick. You will have enough batter to make to make approximately 36 mini cupcakes. Completely cool, (this is the hard part.....FOUR YEAR OLDS DON'T LIKE TO WAIT.....but then again.....neither do I). Pipe your frosting on and stuff a "tester" cupcake into your face just to make sure they are good. Pretty in Pink (or Purple) Icing -1 can of buttercream icing -2 - 3 drops of organic food coloring Blend and place into piping bags fitted with tip. Miss O. wanted to share her truckload of cupcakes with her school mates. Special thanks to my sister-in-law for calmly cleaning the icing off surfaces that have never seen food. See ya next week! debi @thegardenofeatin xoxoxo