While visiting Northern Michigan my daughter saw these adorable hamburger cupcakes in Hansen Foods of Suttons Bay. Of course we had to buy them. They were too cute to pass up. Additionally, Mamacita was celebrating a birthday & as the birthday girl if she wanted hamburger cupcakes she was going to get them by golly! Hey, she’s in preschool “by golly!” is better than “damn it!” at this age, not that she has ever overheard an adult say that phrase & thought when she dropped playdoh at school that “damn it!” was a good response. No not at all (score for parent fail!!). Anyway, the cupcakes. The adorable little cupcakes.

We bought them & couldn’t wait to enjoy them. And being that I love food, I peeked at how they were made. A very simple styling gave these sweet treats their perfect patty punch.

Make a dozen yellow cupcakes, top them with sesame seeds & bake. Make 1/2 a dozen chocolate cupcakes. Make a batch of homemade buttercream frosting, you will divide this into thirds. One third will be colored red (tomato), 1/3 yellow (mustard), & the last 1/3 will be green (lettuce). I would say you’d want a thin tip for the yellow/mustard & a wider flat tip for the red color with a tip that will give you a flat curtain affect for the green/lettuce. When the cupcakes are baked & cooled you will cut in 1/2 your yellow cupcake. The sesame seeded top will be the top of your “bun”. Then take and cut into a patty your chocolate cupcake, I’d think you’d be able to 1/2 these & shave off the more rounded tops to be flat giving you two “patties” from each chocolate cupcake. Then frost & assemble.

They would make a great addition to any party or BBQ. I know we all enjoyed them. Not only were they the cutest little cupcakes but they tasted divine. Definitely not a cake wreck.
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I have a slight cupcake problem. It’s not the cupcakes so much as the frosting. See this weekend we had family over to celebrate the eldest birth, we had already given him his gift of the baseball game. You know how birthdays are, they are time when the world as we all knew it changed. When this new person officially entered the world.
He was the first grandchild for my husband’s parents & the second by mere months for my parents. He was a miracle child for us as parents then & still is. Even if acts a fool up in here on a regular basis. He is a kid, he is supposed to be foolish. It’s why he has parents to help him make it beyond the early years. Parents who also think it’s a great idea to make a cake & cupcakes.
Why? Love? Yes, that’s part of it. He is a pretty awesome kid, as are the other rabble-rousers (again I’m being totally unbiased here). But the other part of motivation for making these treats is the frosting. Oh, the delicious buttercream frosting.
Yea, I realized I *might* have a serious problem when I was ready to dive face first into the bowl to lick the rest of the frosting out of it. Although I do think the kids did a great job helping decorate the cupcakes, we used a piping bag to frost them. It also *may* have taken all my willpower to NOT eat them ALL before the guests arrived.
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When we were married one of my absolute requirements for our wedding day, one of the things I was willing to give up a kidney or maybe firstborn for, was a beautiful cake that was light and fluffy with buttercream frosting. Buttercream frosting makes me want to get a spoon and sneak some for myself. Maybe even lick the bowl after frosting the cake. It’s a sweet treat perfect for birthdays and other special times with family and friends.

Fresh, real, homemade buttercream frosting though can be addictive. Since a frosted cake is not going to be everyday food, you can have it & know that the treat is well worth it. It’s also very easy to make.
Buttercream Frosting Recipe
What You Need
1 Cup of Unsalted Butter
4 Cups of Confectioner’s Sugar (Powdered Sugar)
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
2 Tablespoons of Half & Half (Milk Creamer)
Makes 6 Cups of Frosting
How To Put It Together
Softened your unsalted butter. Use either a stand mixer or hand mixer (we use a Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer). You’ll whip it on a medium speed. Whip the butter until fluffy, should look light & airy.
Then turn off your mixer and slowly add in your Confectioner’s Sugar. Add in one cup at a time & whip each cup into the butter. Once it’s all whipped together add in your 2 Teaspoons of Vanilla. Then slowly add in your Half & Half Creamer. Do it one Tablespoon at a time. After each Tablespoon of Creamer whip the frosting. You may need to adjust the Creamer if you want it a little thinner, if you want it thicker you wouldn’t put the full second Tablespoon only add maybe half of it. Incorporate these fully into your frosting, takes less than a minute. We added the full 2 Tablespoons.

It’s light, fluffy and perfect for frosting your treats.
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