Throw a ‘Cupcake War’ birthday party

Not long ago a friend of mine threw a birthday party at home for her 11-year-old daughter themed on the popular Food Network series, Cupcake Wars. It was a big success. Even for grumpy middle schoolers, cupcakes slice through boundaries and are universally popular, and an element of culinary competition makes them that much more fun. My friend started with buying a few cupcake makers, finding them on sale at the time at Michael’s. They usually cost around $20 and can also be picked up online or in stores at Wal-Mart or Target. Rival makes a model that bakes seven mini cupcakes in about six minutes. You can also make basic cupcakes in advance, or order them undecorated from a bakery. For toppings, she used store bought and homemade frostings to which the girls could add one of several extracts for additional flavor. She included Nutella, peanut butter, bowls of cut fruit, dried fruit, popular and unusual candy, nuts and bits of crumbled bacon, assembling all of the tools and toppings on tables outside. The girls were given a time limit to come up with their top creations. Three neighbors and family members served as judges, and crowned the Elvis Special,” a peanut butter and banana cupcake with bacon, the winner. The grand prize was a new cupcake maker. Everyone had a great time. “I was so much fun to see these girls forget the everyday pressure,” my friend said, “and just cut loose and have fun.”