Red Velvet Cupcakes and Reese's Cupcakes (again)

My brother-in-law graduated with his MBA this year! We were all so proud of him. To make it even better, he got his degree from Texas A&M. Since it was a surprise party that my sister was planning, she asked me to make cupcakes for it. I decided on two very very popular ones--red velvet cupcakes and the same Reese's cupcakes from the other graduation party I did. I put the rolled fondant diploma on the red velvet and the same Reese's cap on the chocolate cupcake. I was really happy with the turn out because I thought they both tasted better than the last time I'd made them. There's something to say about practicing! You learn a lot every time you make any recipe. Congrats to Zane for earning his MBA!

This time making cupcakes was a hoot for a few reasons. The night I made the red velvet (from a REALLY great recipe I have for a red velvet cake), things all went smoothly until I was placing the cupcakes into the oven. Now, anyone who knows the process of a red velvet cake knows it's not exactly the cheapest or fastest recipe (in comparison to others of course). I opened the oven and saw that there was a spot of red batter running down the pan so I licked my finger. I almost dropped the pan! I forgot to add sugar! I turned to the counter and saw the opened sugar container with a partially-filled measuring cup. It cracked me up so much because I almost would've cooked all of them and had them at a party! So, into the trash they went (after my husband tried it and did his signature gag reflux, even if he does eat things like durian. Apparently this sugarless red velvet batter tasted that much worse than durian. YEAH RIGHT!). So, another batch later (with all the sugar it needed), they turned out much better. I decided to fill these with THE best cream cheese frosting I've ever used. I am not one to love frosting, but this kind turned out to be divine.

So, after making the decorations to top them off, I loaded them into the car and that particular day it just happened to be hotter than usual. Well, the cupcakes noticed too.

I literally watched the peanut butter cream cheese frosting slide off about half of the cupcakes. It was so frustrating because there was absolutely NOTHING I could do about it. So, I watched it slide down, down, down...I got there and had to deal with it. Everyone was so nice and it all turned out to be okay, but I learned that YOU almost ALWAYS need to plan as if something like this would happen. Didn't I learn enough from Duff? Buddy?