St. Patrick's Day is one of my most favorite holidays. All the bright, pretty green is like a Spring awakening from a dull drury winter. I love green, and it looks good on me, if I do say so myself (hey...what can I say? I am blonde and fair skinned). I LOVE the fact you can wear silly curled toed Leprechaun shoes or bobbling shamrocks on your head. The sillier the better.
We spent Saturday morning at the Greenville Avenue 31st Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade. I read that this year had a record attendance and beleive me...it WAS crowded. But not too crowded to have a lot of fun. We rode the Dart train and just made it a fun time. My neice, Jordan, brought a friend and her mom (Krystal, my sister), my mother, AJ and his fience Holly, and David and I all got up bright and early to head down to Greeville Ave. Everyone was Irish, that day.
We caught a lot of beads, saw dogs all decked out in green, and took a lot of photos
Tonight we are going to an Irish Pub but since it is in the middle of the week, I am sure it will not be too wild. We hope you have a fun and festive St. Patrick's Day. Be safe!!!! If you are hosting a party or just looking forward to a quiet evening at home, these cupckaes from Celebrations.com are the perfect treat.
St. Patricks Day Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
yeild 24
Ingredients
• 1 Cup Guinness Extra Stout
• 1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
• 3/4 Cup(s) Unsweetened Chocolate Chunks
• 2 Cup(s) All Purpose Flour
• 2 Cup(s) Sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon Baking Soda
• 3/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Large Eggs
• 3/4 Cup(s) Sour Cream
Steps
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Bring stout and butter to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat. Do not boil.
• Add unsweetened chocolate chunks to hot stout/butter mixture. Whisk until chocolate melts. Turn heat off and let cool.
• Add sugar to chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.
• Sift flour, baking soda and salt.
• In a stand-alone mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the eggs and sour cream on medium speed.
• Add stout-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and combine on medium-low speed until encorporated.
• Slowly add flour mixture in thirds to chocolate mixture with whisk attachment. Scrape the sides with your whisk to make sure you get all the dry ingredients combined.
• Place cupcake papers in pan and divide batter into cups evenly. Fill about 2/3 of the cup.
• Bake for 18-24 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cupcake.
• Let cool on wire rack before frosting.
Guinness Buttercream Frosting for St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes
IngredientsBest Wishes,
• 1 Cup(s) Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
• 2 1/2 Cup(s) Sifted Powder Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Whole Scraped Vanilla Bean
• 1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup(s) Guinness Extra Stout
Steps
• In a sauce pan, simmer Guinness on low heat for 10-15 min, until it stout becomes reduced and thicker in consistency. Similar to a syrup. *Tip: keep your eye on the store, so stout does not over cook. Let cool.
• In a stand alone mixer, cream your butter for 1 minute
• Slowly add the powder sugar in thirds, alternating with a little milk each time till mixture is creamy.
• Add scraped vanilla bean and vanilla extract.
• Slowly add reduced Guinness a little at a time. Taste test to desired flavor. You may not use all the Guinness reduction.
• Place buttercream in a piping bag with a #848 french star tip, frost cupcakes and enjoy!
Tiffany
http://www.diamondeventsbytiffany.com/
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