Who can resist an intriguing party? Daisy Buchanan certainly couldn’t. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s debutante in The Great Gatsby was quite fond of the good life! I had such a ball coming up with my cupcakes, inspired by this literary masterpiece. As I decorated each cupcake I was inspired by beaded dresses, rhinestone encrusted purses and sparking cocktail glasses. I just adore the edible peacock feathers I found…they are so much fun! Perhaps you might like to make these goodies for your next soirée!
Decoration
3 edible peacock feather shaped wafers per cupcake
Sliver edible beads
Gold edible pearls
1 martini glass per cupcake
Vanilla Cupcakes
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Next, in a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Then add in the rest of the ingredients, and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour the batter into lined cupcake pans.
Bake for 18-20 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool so you can frost and decorate.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
First, with an electric mixer, beat the vanilla extract and butter in a medium bowl. Then slowly mix in the powdered sugar, and beat. Now pour in the milk. Lastly, using the electric mixer, beat the mixture until it is smooth and fluffy.
Now glitz up each cupcake with frosting, edible beads, edible pearls and edible peacock feathers. Put gold edible pearls in the bottom of a martini glass to create a flat base. Place a cupcake in the glass. Repeat for all cupcakes.
Makes 14 cupcakes
Note: If you prefer an easier version use store bought cake mix and frosting. Or…just pick up undecorated cupcakes and embellish them yourself!
(The edible peacock feathers are fun to nibble, but you may want to be kind to your teeth and not eat the edible pearls. Please let the edible beads melt in your mouth!)
