Cupcakes On a Mission

Amanda has been wanting to go on an international missions trip for quite a while.  Sarah, Eric, and I went to Bris Bris, Costa Rica with a group from our church for 10 days in 2005 (?), and and Alex and Eric went back the following summer.  Sarah spent a month in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the summer of 2009,  volunteering in a school for orphaned and destitute  5-7 yr olds.  These experiences expose us to cultures and living conditions very unfamiliar to us as Americans, and help to develop in us a heart of compassion for God's children all over the world, not just in our little piece of it.  This August, Amanda has an opportunity to go to Uganda for 10 days with a group being led by a friend of ours, who has a ministry called Ten Eighteen. www.10eighteen.org  

They will be conducting a sports camp for street kids from the slums of Kampala, as well as distributing clothing and shoes and also going on a one day safari to see the African wildlife around Lake Mburo.

In order to go on this trip, she will need to raise about $2700 ( depending on the final cost of the airline tickets )  This number seems insurmountable, but we KNOW, because we have seen with our own eyes, that God is in the miracle business and provides for us in ways far beyond what we can ask or imagine.  So we are trusting and making plans in faith that the funds will come.

She and I have come up with a fundraiser that is already getting some interest from our friends. We are both devotees of the Food Channel, and lately I have had an obsession with "Cupcake Wars" and baking gourmet cupcakes!  So we came up with "Cupcakes On a Mission"!  We are offering a different flavor cupcake each week. which friends can order in exchange for a donation of $12 for a dozen or $6 for a half dozen.
These are the flavors:

Jan.31–Feb.5                                                                                           
Mexican Hot Chocolate -  chocolate cake with a kick of spice topped with a mound of cinnamon buttercream and a dusting of cocoa

Feb.7-12                                                                                                          
Carrot Cake -  dense moist carrot cake studded with walnuts and pineapple, topped with a decadent  cream cheese frosting

Feb.14-19                                                                                                     
Chocolate Mint-   rich devils food cake filled with chocolate mint cream and frosted with a mound of smooth pink peppermint buttercream

Feb.21-26                                                                                              
Chocolate Peanut Butter  -  moist chocolate cake filled with peanut butter cream, dipped in silky chocolate ganache and topped with a swirl of peanut butter frosting

Feb.28 –Mar.5                                                                                                     Pumpkin -   moist pumpkin spice cupcake topped with out-of-this-world maple cream cheese frosting

Mar. 7- 12                                                                                                            Boston Cream -  golden sponge cake filled with smooth vanilla cream and double-dipped in dark chocolate ganache

Mar.21 -26                                                                                                          Chocolate Chip Cannoli -  vanilla cupcake  filled with chocolate chip-ricotta cannoli filling and topped with sweetened whipped cream and chocolate curls 

Mar. 28 – Apr.2                                                                                              

Mocha Cappuccino  - mocha chocolate chip cake  topped with a coffee meringue buttercream

Apr. 4 -9                                                                                                   

 Sweet Coconut -  moist coconut cake topped with a mound of vanilla buttercream sprinkled with more coconut

Apr. 11 -16                                                                                                            Strawberry Lemonade -  tart lemon cake with chunks of fresh strawberries topped with a swirl of sweet strawberry buttercream

 Boston Cream

Pumpkin - Maple

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Mexican Hot Chocolate