Brownie Cupcake Birthday Cake

For Aurora's 1st birthday I wanted to make a cake. To many of you that probably sounds pretty easy and you would whip out a fabulous cake in seconds.

 I, on the otherhand, have never really made a cake. I figured this was another challenge for my blog.
 I researched some different ideas and I thought these cupcake cakes looked relatively easy. 

Here are couple of my inspirations:

(Although I was pretty sure my cake wouldn't look like this one...)

I'm not a big cake person myself, so I went with a Brownie Cupcake Cake with Cream Cheese frosting.

I used my favorite brownie recipe:

1 1/3 c. flour

3/4 c. oil

1 t. baking powder

2 t. vanilla

1/2 t. salt

3/4 c. baking cocoa

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together; add cocoa to dry ingredients and set aside. In separate bowl beat eggs well. Add sugar gradually to eggs. Mix in corn oil; add vanilla. Mix well into dry ingredients. Pour into a greased muffin tin or with liners and bake at 350 for 20 mins.

I borrowed a mini muffin tin from Tammy for the stem and leaves and used my own muffing tin for the flowers.

Of course Martha has her own recipe which I did look at to see if I should change anything about my recipe or directions. What would we ever do without Martha?

I had planned to make my own cream cheese frosting too but then Aurora woke up clingy, grumpy and sick the morning of her party. I wouldn't deserve the title of Domestic Goddess if my baby didn't come first. So I didn't get the chance to make the frosting.  I used store bought cream cheese frosting and with the help of my friends who were at the party tinted it with food coloring and iced the cupcakes right before we ate them. Sometimes we all need just a little help from our friends. (If you listen hard you can hear the Beatles singing quietly in the background).  

Not too bad, eh?

I was pleased with the result.

They looked good, tasted good and they were pretty easy to make, liked I hoped they would be.

I think I may have earned another golden spoon even if technically I cheated a little bit.