Sugar and Spice (9 page)

• • •

The PLC girls gathered in the reception room in front of their towering cupcake display.

“Dad, you deserve the crown for Best Builder,” Sadie told her father.

“I love how the tower rotates,” Kylie added, admiring how the mirrored shelves gently spun and reflected the lights of the ballroom.

“Interesting,” Herbie said, peering under the bottom shelf at the display's motor. “A simple but elegant mechanism.”

Kat Grabel was the first judge to make her way into the after-party.

“Are these the cupcakes you mentioned in your speech?” she asked Lexi.

Lexi smiled. “Yes, try one, please!” She handed the judge a perfect pink velvet.

Kim took a nibble—then a huge bite. “Mmm, mmm! I wish I had a crown to give for Best Cupcake. Ladies, y'all would take the prize!”

Within minutes, all the contestants, judges, and audience members poured into the room and mobbed the cupcake display. Soon all that was left of the thousand cupcakes were a few crumbs.

“I'd say they liked them,” Delaney said, elbowing Lexi. “That Kat lady especially. I think I saw her put a few in her purse!”

Laura reached up and took the sugar crown off the top of the display. “Would you mind if I kept this for my collection?” she asked Lexi.

“Sure, if you want it,” Lexi replied, flattered.

Laura smiled. “And if you ever want to enter another Starz pageant, we would be proud to have you compete—with or without your amazing cupcakes.”

Fitzy interrupted: “But preferably
with
cupcakes!” She had a white buttercream mustache over her top lip. “They're just
so
good.”

By Sunday night, everything in Lexi's life was back to normal. She had gently placed her rhinestone crown on a shelf over her desk where she could admire it, and was working on her latest art homework—a painting of a rainbow unicorn—when her mom knocked on her bedroom door.

“There's someone here to see you,” she said.

Lexi's face lit up when she got downstairs and recognized a familiar freckled face waiting in her living room.

“Harleigh!” she squealed. “What are you doing here?”

“My mom and I wanted to ask y'all a favor,” she said. “My thirteenth birthday is coming up, and we were wondering if Peace, Love, and Cupcakes would bake for my party.”

“All the way in Atlanta? I'm not sure how we'd get the cupcakes delivered to you,” Lexi said.

“Well, you'd have to come to the party, of course,” Harleigh's mom, Bobbie, replied.

“Really? Could we, Mom?” Lexi looked hopefully at her mother.

“Your dad and I do have some frequent-flyer miles saved up,” she said. “I suppose we could fly down to Atlanta for a weekend.”

“I know
exactly
what cupcakes to bake for you,” Lexi said. “But I'm not telling. It's a surprise.”

• • •

When they boarded the plane to Atlanta six weeks later, the attendant helped Lexi place her cupcake carrier containing two dozen cupcakes in the overhead bin where it wouldn't bump around during the flight.

“Cupcakes, eh?” the man asked. “What kind are they?”

“Pumpkin pie cupcakes with cinnamon buttercream,” Lexi answered. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a small box containing four extras. “Would you like to try one?”

The man's eyes lit up. “Would I? You just made my day! Is there anything better than pumpkin pie in the sky?”

She handed another one to her dad, who was seated next to her, and took one out for herself.

“It was nice of Harleigh's granny to give us her secret recipe,” she said, taking a bite. The cinnamon and clove tickled her tongue. “Jenna was able to figure out a cupcake version in no time.”

“I'm sure Harleigh will love them,” her father remarked. “And the beautiful Olympic medals you made to go on top.”

When they got to the party, Harleigh was happily racing around, greeting friends and family. She looked beautiful in a pink chiffon party dress and silver strappy sandals.

“Lexi!” she said, running over to her as Lexi and her dad walked through the white picket gate out front. “I'm so glad you came! Wait till you see all the decorations—we did a whole Barbie theme—and the karaoke setup!”

“Karaoke?” Lexi asked. “As in you sing into a microphone? In front of everybody?” Lexi could feel her heart start to pound.

“Yup!” Harleigh said. Then she remembered that Lexi didn't love the spotlight. “You don't have to if you don't want to. It's okay.”

Lexi looked at her father, then her friend. “Are you kidding? Let me at it! Who wants to hear Katy Perry's ‘Roar'?” She jumped onto the stage set up in the backyard and grabbed the microphone. When she was finished performing not one, but two Katy Perry tracks (“Firework” was her encore), Lexi took a bow.

“Well, somebody certainly came out of her shell,” Mr. Poole said. “I'm proud of you.”

“Cupcakes and karaoke.” Lexi winked at him. “Who could ask for anything more?”

Green Tea Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

6 ounces (1 stick plus two tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1½ cups sugar

2 eggs

⅔ cup milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons green tea (matcha powder)

½ tablespoon baking powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until it's creamy. Beat in the sugar, a little at a time, until the mixture turns fluffy.

3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well.

4. Beat in the milk and vanilla until combined.

5. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, green tea powder, and baking powder. Add these dry ingredients to the liquid mixture slowly and on low speed until combined. Then beat on medium speed for about a minute more until smooth.

6. Fill the liners with the batter, about two-thirds full.

7. Bake for about twenty-five minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

8. Cool the cupcakes for at least fifteen minutes, then frost and top them with your fave decorations—or fondant shaped like sushi, à la PLC!

Green Tea Buttercream Frosting

2 tablespoons half-and-half

1 tablespoon green tea (matcha) powder

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (preferably Plugrá), room temperature

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1. In a small bowl, mix the half-and-half and green tea powder to form a paste.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until it's creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Add the sugar, one cup at a time on medium speed, and the green tea paste. Beat until the frosting is light and smooth—and a gorgeous, light-green color!

Pink Velvet Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

½ cup sugar

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), room temperature

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup buttermilk, room temperature

⅛ teaspoon pink gel food coloring (use more for a deeper pink color)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. For these pink velvets, we like pink liners or shiny metallic ones.

2. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. Beat in vanilla.

3. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add half the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture with half the buttermilk. Finish by adding the rest of the dry ingredient mixture and then the rest of the buttermilk, beating well after each. Beat well after each addition, but be careful not to overbeat! The mixture should be smooth but not soupy.

5. Finally, add the food coloring till you achieve the perfect shade of pink for your cupcakes. The gel coloring is pretty concentrated, so use a very small amount for a paler pink.

6. Fill each cupcake liner two-thirds full with batter. Bake approximately twenty-five minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

To make the special, surprise star cake within a cupcake:

1. Follow the above cake recipe, leaving out the food coloring (or you can use another color like purple for a colored star), and pour the batter into a greased, nonstick nine-inch round cake pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

2. When the cake is done, allow it to cool. Then use a small, 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out mini stars. Remove and set aside twelve of them.

3. Spoon a tablespoon of the pink velvet batter into each liner. Put one star into each liner, and press it point down into the batter. Spoon the batter on either side of the star and over the top of the star so it is completely covered. (The liner should be approximately two-thirds full with batter.)

4. Bake approximately twenty-five minutes, or until the top of the cupcake springs back when you push gently on it. (Careful! It will be hot, so have a grown-up check for you.) Checking with a toothpick won't work well since the baked star is in the middle!

5. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting. When you bite one, you'll see stars!

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1 (4-ounce) white chocolate baking bar

⅓ cup heavy cream

1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature

1 (2-pound) package confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Break the white chocolate bar into small squares and place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Add ⅓ cup heavy cream, and microwave on medium (50 percent power) for about thirty seconds. Stir the mixture and put it back in the microwave for another thirty seconds, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Do not overcook! Once the chocolate is melted, allow it to cool for approximately twenty minutes at room temperature.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter at medium speed until it is creamy.

3. Slowly add in the sugar and the remaining heavy cream (¼ cup), beating at low speed until blended. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla until light and fluffy.

4. Frost your cooled cupcakes with a knife, spatula, or a piping bag. Decorate them with whatever you like: sprinkles, chips, candy, or fondant stars like Lexi's!

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

1 (15-ounce) can of pumpkin

½ cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

¾ cup condensed milk (sweetened)

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

2. In the large bowl of a mixer, mix the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and condensed milk together until combined.

3. Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda, and mix until well combined.

4. Fill the liners two-thirds full with batter. Bake about twenty-five minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes fifteen minutes before frosting them.

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature

3¾ cups confectioners' sugar

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy.

2. Slowly add in the sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low.

3. Add the milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat on medium for about two minutes until frosting is smooth and light. If it's too thick, you can add 1 tablespoon more of milk.