I thought I would share with you something fun that I came up with-

For one of my best friend's baby shower I did a cupcake buffet.
I thought it would be fun, because everyone could have their cupcakes however they wanted them, plus, cupcakes are so much easier to transport when they're not already decorated.
You can make everything ahead. So easy!

I made three kinds of cupcakes- Chocolate, Vanilla, and Lemon.
I made four kinds of icing- Vanilla Buttercream, Fudge Frosting, Vanilla Whipped Cream, and Marshmallow Fluff (That one was store bought).
I had three kinds of toppings- Sprinkles, Chocolate Chips, and Coconut Flakes.

The possibilities are endless-
You could make red velvet cupcakes, orange cupcakes, banana cupcakes, etc.
You could omit the vanilla in the butter cream and add almond, lemon, or orange extract, or some strong coffee.
For toppings, you could use mini M&M's, crushed up candy bars, nuts, etc.

I broke the buttercream into smaller batches and colored some of it blue and pink. I made cute little signs too, and put them in picture frames. I cut out small strips of paper and hot glued them to silver twist ties that I bought at a party supply store, so I could make tiny signs.

All of the ingredients were organic or all natural. Even the food coloring, sprinkles, and paper cups for the cupcakes were all natural. Whole Foods had an amazing selection.

Here is my amazing buttercream recipe. It has been featured on Smitten Kitchen. If you read the comments there, you'll see that it really is the BEST buttercream recipe.
This recipe is the largest one that fits in a 5 quart mixer. Feel free to cut it in half.

2 cups of egg whites (Approximately 14- depends on egg size)
3 Cups of sugar
5 Cups of Butter, softened
1 Tablespoon of Vanilla

Whisk egg whites and sugar together in a big metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure bowl is sitting above the water and not in it. Whisk frequently until you can’t feel the sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers.

Pour mixture into your mixer's bowl (make sure to wipe the condensation off the bottom of the bowl before you transfer it to the mixer's bowl) and whip until it turns white and about doubles in size.

Add the vanilla.

Finally, add the butter a stick at a time while whipping.

It may take a loooong time for the buttercream to come together. Don't worry- this is normal.
If it is too soft, you can chill it in the fridge for a bit and re-whip it.

This buttercream can be frozen. I stretch out some plastic wrap and plop some buttercream in the middle. I fold it up like a little package, pick it up, stretch out more plastic wrap, turn it 1/2 way, and wrap it again. It will keep in the freezer for up to six months. To reheat it- put it in the microwave in one minute increments at half power. I take it out and massage it after every one minute cycle to break it up a little. When it is softened (but not too soft!) I cut off one corner of the plastic wrap and squeeze the buttercream into my mixer's bowl and re-whip.

You can make chocolate buttercream by adding cocoa powder to taste. You can add a few tablespoons of strong coffee either by itself for coffee buttercream, or with the cocoa powder for mocha buttercream. You could also omit the vanilla and add whatever kind of extract you'd like. It's a very versatile icing.

In the near future I'm hoping to make a video showing you how to ice a cake with this frosting.
If you try the frosting, or have a cupcake buffet, please let me know if you enjoyed it in the comment section.