Ugly Prom? Cute Cupcakes

I have fun friends ... in case you hadn't figured that out by now? This weekend we had tons-o-fun together! We had a beer tasting on Friday night (a full blog recap to come once I get pictures from Dave), the 4th Annual Ugly Prom on Saturday night, and a day by the pool and dinner at Ted's on Sunday night. Whew. E-X-H-A-U-S-T-I-N-G. But it was so delightful!

Saturday I managed to steal the WHOLE morning and most of the afternoon to myself, which of course I used for baking. Alone time is hard to come by these days, but I guess that's just one of those adjusting-to-married-life things that comes with time. I love my husband a lot, but sometimes it feels like the only space I ever have to myself is when I'm cooking in the kitchen. Though usually when I'm cooking I ask him to come sit in the dining room so we can talk and spend time together while I cook. Oh, the newlywedded bliss!

So Saturday morning, I set to work on the "space cake" for Ugly Prom. (Ugly Prom is exactly what it sounds like ... we dress up in ugly prom outfits and have a party. It's really a lot of fun.) This year's theme was SPACE! Thus, I was tasked with the making of a space-themed cake. I decided to go with my tried-and-true Chocolate Stout Cake, but used a Young's Double Chocolate Stout instead of my usual Rogue Chocoloate Stout, and it made a huge difference. So delicious ...

The flavor decision wasn't nearly as difficult as choosing a decorative theme, because you can do a lot with space. So I decided to do space cupcakes featuring sugar cookie stars and planets. Perfect! So I made 48 cupcakes, an 8" round cake to top the cupcake stand, 60 sugar cookies, and oodles of buttercream. The end result?