by Sheryl Berk
“Oh, my gosh! They’re so pretty!” she said. “And perfect!”
“Your brother, Tristan, prefers to be called handsome,” her dad said, smiling. “We named him after your great grandpa Truman.”
“Do you want to hold him?” her mother asked. She looked exhausted but overjoyed.
“He’s light as a feather!” Delaney said, cuddling the tiny baby in her arms. “Hello, little Tristan. Do you know who I am? I’m Delaney, your big sister.”
“We don’t have a name for your little sister yet,” her father said. “We were hoping you could come up with one.”
The baby fussed in her mother’s arms and began to wail.
“She’s going to be a singer like her big sis,” her father said. “Just listen to those lungs!”
He took Tristan from her and handed her the pink bundle.
“Don’t cry, little girl,” Delaney cooed. “I’m here.” The infant instantly calmed and opened her blue eyes to look at Delaney.
“Oh, honey, she loves you!” her mom exclaimed.
“I love her too. And I know exactly what we can name her: Charlotte.”
Her parents looked at each other and smiled.
“That’s perfect,” her mom said softly. “Charlotte is a beautiful name—for a spider as well as a baby.”
“Tristan and Charlotte Noonan it is,” her father announced. “You think you can forgive them for stealing your spotlight today?”
Delaney planted a tiny kiss on Charlotte’s forehead. “Oh, that’s okay,” she said. “There will be lots of other musicals. It’s not every day you get to be a big sister.”
•••
After a week at home with the twins, Delaney learned firsthand what it was like to be a big sister. She had to admit things were never quite the same. In fact, they were much better! Yes, the babies woke everyone up at 2 a.m. to be fed and needed their diapers changed all the time. But every time Tristan or Charlotte cried, the Noonans had their secret weapon!
“Laney, the babies are fussing. Could you please…” her frazzled mom said, testing a baby bottle of warm formula on the back of her wrist.
“Not a prob!” Delaney called, racing into the nursery. Tristan and Charlotte were all red-faced and sobbing.
“Aw, don’t cry, Laney’s here!” she said, picking up a baby in each arm. “So what will it be today? Beyoncé or Britney?” Charlotte wailed louder. “Britney it is!”
She placed the babies delicately back into their cribs, tucked them in their blankets, and hit the button on the MP3 player her dad had installed in the nursery.
The beat started to pound as Delaney danced around the room. “Oh, baby, baby, how was I supposed to know?” she belted. “That something wasn’t right here?”
By the time she had finished the song, both infants were sleeping soundly. Her mother stood in the doorway smiling. “You have a gift with babies, that’s for sure,” she said. “I must have sung ‘Rock-a-Bye Baby’ all night, and I couldn’t get them to settle down.”
Delaney shrugged. “They just share my taste in music,” she said. “Charlotte loves Britney, but Tristan is partial to Maroon 5. ‘Moves Like Jagger’ knocks him out every time.”
Mrs. Noonan nodded her head. “Thanks for the advice, but I think what they’re both partial to is their big sister.” She kissed Delaney on the top of her head. “Did I ever tell you how amazing you are?”
Delaney rolled her eyes. “Like, every day. But it’s okay…you can say it again.” She shook her hips, wiggled her butt, and did her best Gaga impression: “I live for the applause, applause, applause…”
Tristan let out a loud burp. “Well,” her mom laughed. “I think you just got a burping ovation!”
Delaney smiled. Not even a stadium full of cheering fans chanting her name could have meant more to her. She leaned over the crib and whispered, “If you think that’s impressive, just wait ’til you guys can taste my cupcakes.”
The cinnamon in the batter gives these sweet cupcakes a little spice—which is really nice!
For the cupcakes:
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ cups applesauce
½ cup butter (1 stick), softened to room temperature
2 eggs
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Have a grown-up help you preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line 24 regular-size muffin cups with cupcake liners. (Pink and princessy ones would be great!)
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, applesauce, butter, and eggs on medium speed until the mixture is smooth.
4. Next, on low speed, beat in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Fill the liners two-thirds full.
6. Bake approximately 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool and frost.
For the vanilla frosting:
½ cup butter (1 stick)
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons milk
Directions
1. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla on medium speed.
2. Slowly add the milk, one tablespoon at a time. (You can add a little more if the frosting seems too thick.)
3. Continue mixing on medium to high speed until the frosting is light and fluffy.
4. If you want, you can add a few drops of food coloring to turn it pink, purple, or powder blue.
5. Decorate with sprinkles, Cheerios, glass slippers…anything your heart desires!
These zingy and springy cupcakes are great to serve for brunch, lunch, or even a backyard BBQ!
For the cupcakes:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
Zest and juice of two lemons
Directions
1. Have an adult preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until creamed. (The mixture should be light and fluffy.) Add the eggs and the vanilla, and beat on medium until combined.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed.
5. Now add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix until just combined; try not to overmix!
6. Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full with the batter. I like to use an ice-cream scoop to get the perfect amount.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Cool before frosting.
For the Laffy Taffy Frosting:
10 pieces of fun-size lemon Laffy Taffy
2 tablespoons milk
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
½ tablespoon Vanilla
½ teaspoon yellow food coloring
Directions
1. Since this involves cooking on a stove top, ask an adult for help!
2. Spray your saucepan with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Unwrap the Laffy Taffy pieces and combine with 1 tablespoon of milk over a high flame. Let it melt and simmer, turning the flame down to low.
4. Combine butter and confectioners’ sugar in the large bowl of an
electric mixer. Add 1 tablespoon of milk and beat.
5. Add the melted Laffy Taffy mixture and the vanilla.
6. If frosting is too thin, slowly add up to ½ cup more confectioners’ sugar.
7. Add food coloring to give your frosting a sunny color!
8. After you ice your cupcakes, you can top with an extra piece of Laffy Taffy! Or, if you are having a baby shower, decorate with a mini rubber ducky. (Just don’t eat it!)
Whether you’re a Charlotte’s Web fan or just want a cool cupcake to serve for Halloween (or any time!), these are some cupcakes!
For the cupcakes:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
Directions
1. Have an adult preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
3. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla.
4. Slowly beat in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk.
5. When all combined, fill liners two-thirds full with batter and bake 18 to 20 minutes (or until wooden toothpick comes out clean).
6. Let cool before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
½ cup of butter (1 stick), softened at room temperature
8 ounces of cream cheese (1 package), softened at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
Directions
1. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese together (about 2 to 3 minutes) on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the mixture is well-combined.
2. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
3. Now slowly add the confectioners’ sugar. I like to taste to make sure the frosting isn’t too sweet before adding a full three cups.
4. Beat until the frosting is creamy smooth.
To create your spider's web...
It looks super-cool, and it’s super easy! All you need is some black piping gel and a toothpick.
1. Frost your cupcake first—you can always color the cream-cheese frosting purple, green, or orange for Halloween with some food coloring.
2. Using the black decorating gel, pipe four concentric circles over the top of the cupcake. FYI, this is a small circle that starts in the middle of the cupcake. Make a larger circle around it; then a larger circle around that one and so on until you reach the edge of the cupcake. I do about four or five circles on mine.
3. Now take a toothpick, and carefully drag it from the center of the cupcake outward, so that the gel gets carried outward to create a cool spiderweb effect. That’s it!
I love the idea of gender-reveal cupcakes to let everyone know if you’re having a baby girl or boy. I first learned about it from my friends Sophie and Katherine who own Georgetown Cupcake and star on DC Cupcakes on TV. Katherine revealed she was having a girl by serving her shower guests pink-cream-filled cupcakes. But that’s not the only surprise you can add to a cupcake! I admit it: I like to keep my friends and family guessing…
A Cupcake Inside a Cupcake
How cool would it be to bite into a chocolatey cupcake and discover a mini vanilla one inside? Simply bake the inner cupcake first. I like to bake a flat cake in a sheet pan, then use a round or heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out a “mini” cake. When you are filling your cupcake liner with batter, only fill it halfway. Place the mini inside the batter, then cover with more batter on top. Bake for about 20 minutes. This is a great trick to use for Valentine’s Day! You can put red heart shapes smack in the middle of your cupcakes!
Go with the Flow!
After your cupcake is cooled and baked, use an apple corer or a butter knife to cut out the center of the cupcake. Fill with pudding, caramel, marshmallow fluff, fudge, fruit preserves, or anything that has a gooey or oozey texture. Now frost and “cover up” your surprise. When you bite into it, the filling will pour out!
A Sweet Treat
I like to bake my friends’ and family’s fave mini candy bars right into the center of a cupcake. Dad’s is a peanut butter cup or a mini Snickers, but Mom and I prefer Twix! I’ve even done a rainbow marzipan cookie inside—colorful and cool, don’t ya think?
Mix It Up
I like to add texture to my cupcakes, so I’ll mash up candy bars, cookies, even bananas, and add them right into the batter.
Whip It Up!
Instead of plain frosting, try something a little lighter—like fresh whipped cream or meringue. It really lets the flavor of the cupcake shine through, especially if it’s rich and chocolaty.
Serve It Up!
Instead of an ordinary dinner, serve your family something hearty and savory baked in a cupcake pan! I’ve done baked ziti cupcakes, spaghetti and meatballs, even meatloaf topped with mashed potato frosting. Simply bake your meatloaf or meatball recipe in a muffin pan (spray with non-stick cooking spray first so it slips out easy), then top with “mashies” and a little gravy. Yum!
It’s no secret that I like to bake, and I have a huge collection of cupcake recipes to rival even Kylie’s! I’m always on the lookout for something fun and new—and I found it in Megan Seling’s book and blog (Bake it in a Cupcake: 50 Treats with a Surprise Inside; www.bakeitinacake.com)! Basically, there is nothing this woman is afraid to put in the middle of a cupcake, and I love that element of surprise and adventure! I asked her to chat…
Carrie: Why is it cool to add an element of surprise to a cupcake?
Megan: Cupcakes are so great on their own—they’re practically the perfect dessert—but the inside of the cupcake has always felt a little empty to me. The bottom of the cupcake is the perfect size and shape to hold a piece of candy, a miniature pie, or a brownie bite, so why not hide something in there? People get really happy when they take a bite and discover that their cupcake is holding a secret treat—it’s like getting a second dessert!
Carrie: What is the weirdest thing you have ever baked in a cupcake?
Megan: Oh, man, I have had a lot of weird baking experiments. I tried to put Dr Pepper and jelly beans in cupcakes, and that just tasted gross. And while I love gummy worms and Starburst candy, they don’t really work in a cupcake, unfortunately. When you bake them into a cupcake, they turn into gross, sticky puddles of goo. The sugary candy just melts and sinks to the bottom, and all the colors blend together and everything turns a greenish brown. Eww! I definitely wasn’t expecting that. It took forever to soak the burned sugar bits off my cupcake pan. I’ve also baked mini marzipan brains into cupcakes. They taste great, but some people get really creeped out by the idea of biting into a brain…even if it is candy.
Carrie: How many cupcakes have you made over the years? What have been your faves?
Megan: I have baked a lot of cupcakes—I’m sure I’ve baked thousands over the years. My absolute favorite is the pumpkin-pie-stuffed cupcake. Pumpkin pie is one of my favorite desserts, and the creamy texture of a pumpkin pie works really well with the texture of the cake. I also really like the lemon-bar-stuffed cupcakes—they taste like lemonade!
Carrie: How can kids learn to be amazing cupcake bakers?
Megan: The most important rule: don’t be afraid to experiment! Sometimes the best and only way to know if your idea will work is to try it. And if it’s a disaster, that’s okay too! Not everything you bake will turn out how you expect it, and that certainly doesn’t mean you’re a bad baker. Just move on to the next idea. The first
time I baked a mini pie into a cupcake, I didn’t think it was going to work, but it did! And it was delicious.
Also, practice really does help. When I started baking cupcakes, I was really quite bad at frosting them—I didn’t know how to use a pastry bag, and all my cupcakes looked kind of goofy and sloppy. But I practiced with different kinds of decorations and I got better at it, so don’t get discouraged when you first start out. As you bake and make things, you’ll learn what you’re good at and be able to bring your own flare to your creations.
Carrie: What’s the secret to a delicious cupcake? What are the elements it must have?
Megan: Butter! Butter definitely helps make really delicious cupcakes. But the thing I really love about cupcakes is that there are no rules. You can have a cupcake with chocolate glaze instead of frosting. You can make cupcakes in different shapes like square or heart shaped, or you can even serve a cupcake upside down!
Carrie: Why are cupcakes cooler than any other dessert? Even cronuts and macaroons!
Megan: Cupcakes are so great because they can be as easy or as fancy as you want them to be. If you don’t have much time, whip up a batch of basic cupcakes with a box mix, or if you’re feeling a little more adventurous, make the batter from scratch and throw in some experimental ingredients. You can keep things simple and frost them with a traditional swirl of vanilla frosting, or you can get crazy and use all kinds of sprinkles, fondant, and other decorations. Cupcakes are so versatile. Which isn’t to say cronuts and macaroons aren’t good too—in fact, maybe you should try to bake them into a cupcake!
The lobby concierge at The Savoy Hotel handed Kylie a large envelope. “For you, miss,” he said. “It was just delivered.”
Juliette raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Kylie, who would send you a letter all the way here in London?”
Kylie held the large cream-colored envelope up to the twinkly chandelier on the ceiling, trying to see inside. “I have no idea.”
Sadie peered over her shoulder. “It looks very fancy,” she said. There was gold wax seal on the back, stamped with some sort of Coat of Arms. And it was addressed in a swirly calligraphy script to “The Cupcake Club.”