Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

I want to go everywhere I haven't been, and back to everywhere I have been.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Sand & Surf Cupcakes...and Life's A Beach

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Sand & Surf Cupcakes: So perfect for a summer BBQ or beach-theme party! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Are you a beach person?
I am...it's in my New Jersey DNA.
From the time I was a little kid,
the beach has always been there, ebbing and flowing
alongside the milestones in my life. 
Wherever my next home may be, 
I don't think it can be too far from the ocean. 

To me, there's nothing like a day at the beach...
except for maybe a nap on the beach...
or a shower after a beach day. 
Yeah, life's simple pleasures.

Living fairly close to the ocean 
was definitely the best thing about growing up in NJ.
In just over an hour, your could drive "down the shore" 
to spend the day slathered in baby oil and iodine,
in the full, blazing sun, perhaps with a reflector in hand.
Sitting under an umbrella? Unheard of. 
Oh, how we didn't know what we didn't know!

Sand & Surf Cupcakes: So perfect for a summer BBQ or beach-theme party! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes


I remember one day, my friends and I cut school to go down the shore.
(Be True To Your School? Nah! 
We were high school seniors and already accepted into colleges, 
so we figured, what the heck. 
As we were driving south on the Garden State Parkway,
my friend's mother was driving north...
She spotted us with her eagle eyes, as we were quite conspicuous 
in our Little Deuce Coupe -
 a yellow Volkswagon Beetle convertible.
Busted!
I think we went anyway, 

and suffered the consequences when we got home.

 Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

The beach always seemed to be a backdrop for the best of times...

A post-senior prom overnight at a beach house down the shore 
(how in the world did my parents ever let me go?)
I am telling you right now, Junior Goo Shoes will NOT have that same privilege!
Renting houses at the Jersey shore for a couple of summers ... 
We were college Girls On The Beach! 
 
Taking my first "share" in a house on Fire Island, when I started working in NYC, 
and continuing that for 10 years...
That was Fun Fun Fun! 

Meeting Mr. Goo Shoes during one of those summers in Fire Island...
Ah, the Summer of Love.

Movin' on up, and spending summers in the Hamptons with a group of our friends...
We I Get Around, oh, yes I do.

Having Mr. Goo Shoes asking me to be 
his permanent Surfer Girl on the beach of Westhampton.

  Buying a house in East Hampton, because God Only Knows that we thought 
there wasn't going to be a Baby Goo Shoes (read about it here).
But we were wrong :)
 
Sand & Surf Cupcakes: So perfect for a summer BBQ or beach-theme party! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Is it any wonder that we picked these birth announcements?


 Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Boy, this is turning out to be a pretty sappy post.
Time to switch gears and make some cupcakes.

I wish I could take credit for the design of these cupcakes, 
but I saw variations of them all over Pinterest.
I combined a few ideas to try make them my own.
 All that's needed to decorate them 
are a few ingredients and a somewhat steady hand.
I tinted the frosting with Sky Blue Icing Color.
The waves were made with Sparkle Gel for cakes, cookies and cupcakes. 
The sand? It's just brown sugar.

Sand & Surf Cupcakes: So perfect for a summer BBQ or beach-theme party! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

Vanilla Cupcakes:
(Yield: 15-16 cupcakes)

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract  
1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350°
In a medium bowl, add cake flour baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with a whisk and set aside. 
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds. 
Add sugar, and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds. 
Add vanilla and oil; beat.
Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half the flour mixture. Add half of the milk, then the rest of the flour, and the rest of the milk. Beat until just combined. Scrape down the side of the bowl.
The batter will be thin. Pour batter into a muffin pan prepared with paper liners. Fill liners about 2/3 full.
Bake cupcakes 12-14 minutes.
Cool in pan for 2 minutes; carefully lift out of tin and finish cooling on a wire rack. 
Frost cupcakes when completely cool.
Note: Double the recipe for an 8 or 9 inch cake. 
 

Buttercream Frosting:

I pound box confectioners sugar 3 3/4 cups
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
3 -4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, with electric mixer at low speed, combine sugar, butter, milk and vanilla.
Beat at medium speed 1 -2 minutes until creamy.
If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency. 

For Blue Icing:
Add drops of Icing Gel (or food coloring), one or two at a time, to achieve desired color.

For Waves: 
Draw squiggles with Sparkle Gel.

For Sand:
Dip edge of cupcake in brown sugar.

Sand & Surf Cupcakes: So perfect for a summer BBQ or beach-theme party! | Ms. Toody Goo Shoes
  
So, I'm sitting here on my deck on a glorious afternoon, 
itching to hop in the car and head down the shore to Catch A Wave.
I could be there in just over an hour, which would get me there by 4pm.
Oh, Wouldn't It Be Nice!
Hmmm...Two hours on the beach, 
and then I could drive home in rush-hour traffic.
I think not.
I'll just have to crank up the Beach Boys,
and eat one of these Sand and Surf cupcakes, instead.
These days, I have to take the beach in any way I can get it.



Linking With:
Tweak It Tuesday



14 comments:

  1. Cute cupcakes! I did not grow up around a beach but did spend summers on the St. Lawrence river with seaweed and sand in the rocky water! I am always drawn to the water and have always wanted to live by it. I have to settle for the creek flowing behind my house.....after the rain the rushing water sounds great!

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  2. Those are the cutest cupcakes! They would be so cute for a summer birthday party. Your birth announcements were adorable! You were very lucky to grow up so close to the beach. I wish I lived closer.

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  3. Those are adorable!! There is nothing quite like a beach vacation, is there? We are an hour away as well and don't get there nearly enough. Love the Beach Boys theme! And my, that Jr. Goo Shoes was one big baby!! lol Pinned these!

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  4. Love the birth announcement...too cute. Your cupcakes look wonderful! Too pretty to eat. Ha ha just kidding...I'd be eating one immediately !

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  5. Oh, what cute birth announcements and what cute cupcakes. I am at the beach right now and have been going my whole life. My grandmother lived in Pensacola, FL and I spent many hours burning (literally) in the sun. I am paying for that now and have been ordered to stay completely out of the sun. Luckily, our condo on the beach has a shady corner on the balcony, so I can still enjoy the sound of the water. Loved all of your stories of adventures at the beach! Hope all is well!!

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  6. Yum , I definitely like the look of these!

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  7. Adorable cupcakes - you've got me humming that song!!!! Yes, I believe I was meant to be born and raised near a beach - sigh! I guess I just appreciate it so much more when I have the chance to be at one.

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  8. Cute, cute, cute cupcakes, Amy. Like you- I LOVE the ocean..and it calls my name even when I am land-locked in the Midwest. I just spent some time on the ocean and am already missing it- xo Diana

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  9. Your Junior is just a little less than a month older than my kid. Are you also wondering, like I am, "Where did their childhood go? Slow down!" Love the cupcakes.

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  10. I need to get back to the ocean sometime soon. I grew up in California and skipped a few classes to get there myself ;)

    Cute cupcakes!

    xo,
    rue

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  11. Growing up on Long Island, I can relate to this post. And since my first job was in a bakery, I can relate to the cupcakes too! ;)

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  12. I live a few minutes away from the beach, but being busy with the renovation, your cupcakes are probably as close I'll get to the sea today!

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  13. Such cute cupcakes! Thanks for joining Home Sweet Home!

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  14. Hi Amy, I just had to read your NJ titled blog. There is nothing quite like the beaches in Jersey. What memories came to me while reading about yours. Thanks for sharing. Milena

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