I Like to "Lance"... Uh, Break it down...

On Aug 7th, 2011, at 7:11pm, my 3rd child was born. Who would have thought that my heart could fill with even more love for my family? AJ has brought so much joy to our already happy family, that when his birthday approached, I knew we had to do something special. First birthday's have become kind of a phenomenon. My sister went CRAZY with her daughter's first birthday, and it was incredible. It took her months to hand make all sorts of party favors and decorations - I was in awe, and a bit worried. I mean...how was I going to top that?!? Well, I quickly decided that I couldn't, so I'd keep it low-key. Besides, I have 3 kids, a husband, 2 cats, a job, and a blog to take care of!

Anyway, one of AJ's favorite things is Yo Gabba Gabba. If you've seen it only once, you probably think it's the most bizarre show ever created. If you've seen it multiple times, you probably love it and know 1/2 of the songs, along with all the character's names! That is where we are. AJ gets sucked into Gabba Land on a daily basis (I know - bad mom who lets her baby watch tv...eeek! Please reference earlier comment about having 3 kits....a husband...pets....you get the picture) Needless to say, we went with a Yo Gabba Gabba theme. I decided early on that his "smash" cake would be the boom box, and that we would serve cupcakes for the other guests. I was hanging out on Etsy and found this lady who sold mini DJ Lance glasses that you could put on cupcakes. I had to have them so we could have DJ Lance cupcakes! Before I knew it, we had DJ Lance cupcakes planned, but no flavor in mind! Panic - "How can we have over the top cupcakes to serve that are chocolate with orange frosting?" We mix the chocolate and orange flavors together and come up with Orange Chocolate Cupcakes...with Orange Buttercream. Yay!!

Orange Chocolate Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream

For the cupcake:
1/2 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1/4 c water
1/4 c orange juice

For the Frosting:
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c shortening
2-3 tsp water
1-2 tsp pure orange extract (depending on intensity you desire)
4 c confectioners' sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, which is about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, combining well. Add vanilla. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, soda, and salt. In a medium measuring cup combine milk, water, and orange juice.
Turning your mixer on low, begin alternately adding flour mixture and liquids to your mixer bowl, beginning and ending with flour.
Bake cupcakes for 15-17 minutes, or until tops bounce back when touched. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack.
While cupcakes cool, you can work on your frosting.
Combine butter, shortening, 1 tsp water, and 1 tsp extract in mixer bowl. Cream together at medium speed, for about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed and add sugar, about 1 cup at a time, until incorporated. If frosting is too thick, add more water, until desired consistency is met. If you want more orange flavor, add a few more drops of extract.
Pipe frosting on cooled cupcakes, then enjoy!!