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Cookies and Cream Cupcakes, Hershey's Chocolate Cake and THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!


My daughter's 9th birthday party last Saturday was a true success! She just won't stop saying "Thanks for the party Mom" so I guess she really had so much fun! 

Just like what I've said last Friday, the party was just a simple one...but I made sure that the food and games will make Clarise's 9th birthday party fun and memorable for her and her friends.

 

I cooked her favorite Macaroni & Cheese and Filipino Style Spaghetti. I baked some Cookies & Cream Cupcakes (which Kate of A Spoonful of Thyme shared on her blog two weeks ago). I topped some with mini-oreos and oreo crumbs, and some with halved mini oreos and m&m's to make them look like owls.

I wanted to add something wizard related so I made some Pretzel Wands (the idea of which I got from Kaboose). Clarise and her friends really liked them!

Clarise requested me to bake and decorate her birthday cake...so even though I'm really not into cake decorating, I did it for her. I made a chocolate birthday cake with  a combination of chocolate  and Buttercream frosting (the recipe of which I got from hersheys website). It wasn't perfect I know...but she really liked it which is what's really important.


We also served Foster Farms Chicken Nuggets and Pepperoni and Cheese pizza from Papa John's. For the games, we had Cast The Best Magic Spell, Pass Around The Wand, Pin the Wand on Alex's Hand and PiƱata Busting. I also prepared a wand making activity for them.  

From the sweet smiles I saw on their faces, I can really say that they all had a great time...and I'm so happy and proud! 















It's true that the party preparation was kinda exhausting for me...but it was all worth it. Nothing compares to the joy of seeing Clarise so happy...and knowing that I made her 9th birthday celebration worth remembering!


Now, let me share with you the recipes for Cookies & Cream Cupcakes and Hershey's Chocolate Cake.

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
  • 24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 8 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 2/3 cup sugar
  • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I used the remaining cookie half.)
For garnish:
  • Oreo cookie crumbs (Made with the remaining four cookie halves.)
  • 24 Mini Oreo cookies


Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. 
2. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. 


3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract.
4. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the half and half and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the coarsely chopped Oreos until evenly incorporated, be careful not to over-mix.


5. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


6. Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with mini Oreos.
Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 Tbsp half and half (Use additional to get the right consistency to pipe the frosting, about 3-4 total.)

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add half and half and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.
* Makes about 3 cups of frosting.

 

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Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 ¾  cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾  cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

Procedure:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost cake. Makes 10 to 12 servings.
VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.


     


Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
  • 2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
  • 3cups powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Procedure:
Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 4 cups frosting.



24 comments :

  1. Man that looks like an awesome party! I bet she will remember it for years!! I am your newest follower from the finding new friends blog hop over the weekend. I am one of the hosts! Stopping by to say hi. Sorry for the delay in following I was out with the flu all weekend!! Hope to see ya on all my blogs :)

    http://myowngrocerygame.blogspot.com/

    http://firebutterflyjewels.blogspot.com/

    http://mommysmenuplanning.blogspot.com/

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  2. how cute was that party!? what a great theme - all the girls look so happy! :D

    those little owl cupcakes are so gosh darn cute - perfect for the wizard theme!

    thanks so much for linking up to mangia mondays!

    -kristin

    http://delightfullydowling.blogspot.com

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  3. Everything looks good and delicious to me! Party looks like really fun and treats are very cute. Im sure everyone loved it :)

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  4. I can see from the pics how much the kids enjoyed themselves, what more with all the effort you have put in.

    Amazing cakes and wonderfully presented.

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  5. Wow! What a party! Love the Cookies and Cream Cupcakes! Please link up at Muffin Monday and share your recipe. Thanks!
    http://www.talkingdollarsandcents.net/muffin-monday-peanut-butter-muffins

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  6. Now that looks like a great party! Thanks for stopping by my blog - I've liked you back on Facebook and will be back to enjoy your great recipes!

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  7. Thanks ladies! I am truly glad that Clarise and her friends and Cherlin all had fun! It was really worth all the effort! :)

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  8. belated happy birthday to your kid.. birthday cake sure looks grand..

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  9. Stopping by from Tuesdays at the Table, hello! That birthday party looks fabulous and I'm adding the cookies and cream cupcakes to my to-be-cooked soon list, yumm!

    Now a follower and looking forward to checking out the rest of your blog. Stop by if you have a moment :-)

    Jessica
    www.dinnerwiththeshivers.com

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  10. Looks like your daughter had a fun party! Your flan also looks amazing. BTW, I have a daughter-in-law from the Philippines:)

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  11. So glad you stopped in! I'm following back. :-)

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  12. Oh my..you know your daughters are so lucky to have you as their MOM. You might as well add Arts and Crafts on your blog.You are a gifted one. Feel ko na ring mag attend ng party!

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  13. love the pretzels! I want to do that at my next party, thanks!

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  14. What a fun birthday party!! The cake and cupcakes look amazing!! Thanks so much for linking up to 2 Maids a Baking!!

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  15. Wow! No wonder your daughter was so appreciative. You really put together an amazing party for her special day. I bet the kids were blown away when they spotted all the wonderful goodies. The cupcakes are so colourful and delicious looking.

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  16. Oh my stars - what a great birthday cake and party - delicious! Your daughter looks so adorable and happy! Success mom! thanks for sharing this with us at the hearth and soul hop!

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  17. I am glad you joined in on the blog hop!

    I would like to invite you to join in on a WEEKLY RECIPE LINK PARTY I host on my blog.

    http://larkscountryheart.blogspot.com

    "Made it on Monday" is open for link ups every Wed.-Sat.

    I hope to see you there soon. :)

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  18. What an amazing party!!!! And the food looks fantastic! Both the cupcakes and the cake look so beautiful: you did a great job! I loved looking at the pictures! And... happy belated birthday to Clarise! :-)

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  19. Happy Birthday to your little princess. From their cute little faces i can understand that they had a great time and all your trouble and effort was worth it Tina! Everything looks relly beautiful!

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  20. Thank you for the comment of my blog! I love the bright colors of the birthday party. Those pretzels with the candy on them look delicous.

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  21. Wonderful site! So glad we are now followers of each other. ;-)

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  22. This birthday party looks like the bomb! And those cupcakes really make it explode :) Nice one!!!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  23. Hi I'm just a beginner and I'm gonna try bake the cookies n' cream cupcakes... So may I ask what u meant by 1 cup half and half in the Oreo cupcake recipe??
    Thanx and the cupcakes looks really delicious! 

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Here in the US, half and half is a dairy product consisting of half light cream and half milk. If you can't find it where you are, you may substitute it with 1 tablespoon melted butter, plus enough milk to equal a cup. Hope that helps! Happy baking!

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