Groundbreaking and Mardi Gras Cupcakes!

Every year our little CAC serves between 250-300 kids.  These kids come to the CAC to tell their story in a safe, child friendly environment, instead of an interrogation room at the police station or in the office of a CPS investigator or DA.  This is a pretty big deal.  Some of these kids have quite a story to tell and they really need to feel safe and comfortable before they can tell the biggest secret of their life.  We do a great job making them feel at ease.  We have movies, games, a Wii, doll houses, cars, action figures and all kinds of fun stuff.  We also stock our kitchen with the best snacks and drinks in case some comfort food is in order.  And, most importantly, these kids are so brave and strong!!! However, for all the good that we do, there is more that we could be doing, we just don't have the space.  In our current location we are unable to offer on site counseling services or on site forensic medical exams.  This is a problem because it means that most of our kids are not following up on the counseling referrals and getting the counseling they need to move forward.  This also means that the kids who need medical exams must go to the hospital and start all over with their story in a new place that wasn't built to feel safe and child friendly. 

So... about three years ago our staff and Board of Directors embarked on a Capitol Campaign to build a new facility that would allow us to provide not only child friendly forensic interviews but counseling services and forensic medical exams as well.  It was a very exciting day when we realized that all the money had been raised and we were ready to build!!!

On March 8, 2012 we had our groundbreaking ceremony!  It was a wonderful, blustery day.  We invited the community, all of our partners and team members to come out and celebrate with us! 

And of cours,e no celebration would be complete without ... CUPCAKES...!  I made 200 chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and decorated them in Mardi Gras masks and crowns and glitter to remind everyone about our Mardi Gras 5k that was coming up in two days! 

Here is the recipe for the chocolate cupcakes.  They are straight up Martha Stewart!

Naughty Chocolate Cupcakes
(these were named by my friend who prefers that I use splenda and other "good" ingredients to make cupcakes...)
Ingredients
*3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder         *1 1/2 c unsalted butter (3 sticks)
*3/4 c hot water                                      *2 1/4 c sugar
*3 c all purpose flour                              *4 large eggs (room temp)
*1 tsp baking soda                                  *1 tbl plus 1 tsp vanilla
*1 tsp baking powder                             *1 c sour cream
*1 1/4 tsp coarse salt

Directions
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
~Melt butter and sugar together in a sauce pan until combined.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium speed until mixture is cooled.
~Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth.  In another bowl sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
~Once butter mixture is cooled, add eggs one at a time and mix until just combined.  Add vanilla then cocoa mixture until combined. 
~ Reduce speed to low and alternate adding flour mixture and sour cream.  Mix until incorporated. 
~Fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake for 15-17 minutes. 

I like to cool my cupcakes in an airtight container to help seal in the moisture.  This takes a while, however, so if you need these cupcakes quickly you can cool them on a wire rack. 

Chocolate frosting

Ingredients
*1/4 c plus 2 tbl cocoa powder
*1/4 c plus 2 tbl hot water
*1 1/2 c butter (3 sticks)
*1/2 c powdered sugar
*pinch of salt
*1 pound of milk chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Directions
~Combine cocoa and hot water until cocoa has dissolved.  With mixer on medium high speed beat butter, powdered sugar and salt until pale and fluffy.  Reduce mixer speed to low and add melted nad cool chocolate beating until combined.  Beat in the cocoa until combined.  Pipe onto cooled cupcakes. 

For the decorations I colored white fondant green, gold and purple and used small cookie cutters to cut out masks and crowns and dusted them with disco dust.  For the cupcakes that were not topped with masks and crowns I used edible cake glitter in green, gold and purple. 

These cupcakes were so much fun!  Everyone loved how flashy they were and they really helped us get into the Mardi Gras Spirit for our 5k! 

And here we go!  Soon we will be in our new building, helping kids get everything they need to navigate through the rough waters they have encountered.  What an exciting time to a part of the CACCC!