Cupcakes Are Forever

by Sheryl Berk

  Sadie’s reading was a quote by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick: “On a team, it’s not the strength of the individual players, but the strength of the unit and how they all function together.”

  “When I read that quote, I thought of us,” Sadie told her cupcake clubmates. “Together, we’re unbeatable.”

  Finally, it was time for Meredith and Kylie to give their commencement addresses.

  “I have learned a great deal during my time at Blakely,” Meredith began. “I’ve learned about responsibility…what it means to have people follow you, worship you, and want to be you.”

  Jenna groaned. “Oh boy, here she goes.”

  Meredith looked over at Kylie, who was standing beside her at the podium. She paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued. “Someone I admire is the great actress Meryl Streep. And Meryl said, ‘The formula of happiness and success is just being yourself in the most vivid way that you can.’”

  Kylie gulped. Was Meredith talking to her? It sure sounded like an apology for all the mean things Meredith had done and said to her in the past.

  “So in closing, I just want to say ‘Do you!’ Don’t worry if people don’t get it at first. Sometimes it takes time. But Meryl and I see the potential.”

  The audience erupted in thunderous applause. Lexi, Sadie, and Jenna could barely believe what they’d just heard.

  “Well, that was unexpected,” Lexi said. “Maybe Meredith is finally growing up.”

  “Maybe she’s feeling sentimental,” Sadie suggested.

  “Maybe she hit her head and has amnesia,” Jenna joked.

  Next, Kylie took her spot at the podium. She read her recipe for success, then added a few words that weren’t on the paper in front of her. She took a deep breath and spoke from the heart: “When I came to Blakely, I was the new kid. I didn’t know anyone. I felt like an outsider. But you became my family.” She felt the tears stinging the corners of her eyes. “I’ll miss this school and all of you each and every day. No matter where the future takes me, you’re part of me.”

  At the end of her speech, everyone in the auditorium stood and cheered. Mrs. Carson handed Ms. Shottlan a tissue, and Juliette hugged Kylie so tightly she could barely breathe.

  “Have I told you how proud I am of you?” she asked her prize pupil.

  “I’m proud of myself,” Kylie said. “I did it.”

  “I never had a doubt,” Juliette said. “Not from the moment I met you, Kylie Carson. Just knowing you has made my life sweeter than a cupcake.”

  “Oh my gosh!” Kylie suddenly remembered. “The graduation cupcakes! I left the juniors in charge!”

  “Then let me give you your diploma so you can go check on them,” Principal Fontina said. “It’s alphabetical order…lucky that your last name starts with a C!”

  She took the podium. “I would like to congratulate all our graduates today and hand out some certificates of achievement with your diplomas.” She called a few names before Kylie heard hers. “Kylie Carson,” Principal Fontina said. “We would like to acknowledge you as Student Most Likely to Succeed.”

  Juliette gave Kylie a little shove, and she went up to receive her award. “No pressure,” Principal Fontina joked. “But we’re all expecting great things from you.”

  Kylie looked out in the audience. She saw her parents, her teachers, and her cupcake club smiling and clapping. She thought starting PLC had been the greatest moment of her life so far—but this came in a close second.

  • • •

  When Kylie reached the cafeteria, the juniors had already re-piped and reassembled the entire display. All that was left to do was line the cupcakes in a perfect semicircle around it.

  “Does it look okay?” Brynn asked nervously, seeing Kylie come through the cafeteria door.

  “It looks more than okay. It’s perfect,” Kylie said. “Really. We couldn’t have done any better ourselves.”

  Nathaniel was covered head to toe in frosting. “I have never piped so fast in my life!”

  Roxy counted to make sure all the cupcakes had made it back onto the platform. “I get five hundred and five cupcakes,” she told Brynn. “I counted twice.”

  “Oh, that’s because I always make extras,” Brynn said. “Just in case.”

  “It’s just enough,” Kylie said.

  “Enough? For what?” Brynn asked.

  “For each of the juniors to taste the sweet reward of their hard work.” She handed one to Roxy. “Go ahead. Take a bite.”

  Roxy smiled and almost gobbled the cupcake whole. “A cupcake inside a cupcake inside my tummy,” she said. “Yum.”

  “Double yum,” Whitney said, peeling back a wrapper. “Who knew cupcakes taste so much better when you make them yourself?”

  Nathaniel simply licked some of the icing off his fingers. “I feel like a cupcake,” he said. “I’m frosted.”

  “You look like a cupcake,” Clementine teased. She tossed him a cupcake, and he caught it in one hand.

  “Hey!” she said. “You might have the makings of a really good juggler!”

  “And you have the makings of a really great president,” Kylie told Brynn. “You kept a cool head and stayed organized.”

  “Is that what you do?” Brynn asked.

  “Well, I try. I’ve had my moments of panic.”

  “Like with your graduation speech?” Brynn said.

  “Yeah. But I got through it…with a little help from my friends. And that includes all of you.”

  Brynn smiled. “I’m your friend? Really?”

  “Always,” Kylie said.

  They heard the crowds pouring out of the auditorium and heading for the reception. Principal Fontina was the first one through the door. “Is that Blakely? Made out of cupcakes?” she asked, amazed.

  “It is,” Kylie said proudly. “It was Nathaniel’s idea.”

  The boy looked at his shoes and blushed.

  “Well, I can see our cupcake club is in very good hands for next year,” Principal Fontina said, commending the juniors. “You chose your successors well, Kylie.”

  Jenna, Sadie, Lexi, and Delaney joined their BFF—but by the time they got to the cafeteria, almost all of the five hundred cupcakes had been devoured.

  “I saved you one,” Roxy told Jenna. “I thought you’d be hungry after the ceremony.”

  Jenna hugged her. “Muchas gracias!” she said.

  “The juniors did it,” Delaney said in disbelief. “I can’t believe it, but they did.”

  “I can’t believe this is our very last day at Blakely.” Lexi began to tear up again. “We’ll never walk through those big, red doors again!”

  “I hate those big, red doors,” Sadie said. “They almost ruined our cupcakes this morning.”

  “I love them.” Kylie considered. “I love Blakely, and I love all you guys.” Now it was her time to get teary as she drew her friends into a group hug.

  “Well, it’s a good thing we named the club Peace, Love, and Cupcakes, then,” Jenna pointed out. “There’s a lotta love goin’ on here.”

  Kylie looked around the cafeteria. Everyone she had come to know in the past two years was gathered there. It felt surreal—like this was all a dream, and tomorrow she’d wake up again and attend her fifth grade classes. But fifth grade was over; Blakely was over.

  Lexi read her mind. “Don’t be sad,” she said, squeezing Kylie’s hand. “PLC forever, remember?”

  Kylie touched the cupcake charm around her neck.

  Forever and ever, she thought.

  Confetti Circus Cupcakes

  Makes 12 cupcakes

  1 2/3 cups flour

  ½ teaspoon baking powder

  ¼ teaspoon baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

/>   1 cup sugar

  1 egg

  ¼ cup sour cream

  ¾ cup milk

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  ½ cup rainbow sprinkles

  Directions

  1. Have a grown-up help you preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Since this is a rainbow-riffic recipe, I chose 12 that were each a different color of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple—then repeat!

  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

  3. Place the stick of butter in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for about 30–45 seconds (depending on how cold the butter was in the first place).

  4. Add the sugar to the large bowl and whisk. This butter-sugar mixture will be gritty. Let it cool in fridge for about two minutes.

  5. Stir in egg, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.

  6. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until the batter is thick but smooth. No lumps please!

  7. Slowly stir in the rainbow sprinkles, but be careful not to overmix. The sprinkles will start to bleed their colors if you stir too much.

  8. Fill each of the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18–22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

  9. Have a grown-up remove from the oven, and let the cupcakes cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

  Rainbow Swirl Frosting

  1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

  3 cups confectioners’ sugar

  ¼ cup half-and-half

  2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  blue food coloring

  pink food coloring

  yellow food coloring

  Directions

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and confectioners’ sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy.

  2. Scrape the bowl, then add the half-and-half and vanilla extract, mixing on low for 1 minute then increasing to high until the frosting is creamy and smooth. Add a bit more powdered sugar if it seems too thin or dot more cream if too thick.

  3. Divide the frosting into three small bowls. Add food coloring to the frosting. You decide how light or dark you like the colors to be.

  4. Spoon a bit of each color into a piping back fitted with a swirl tip. Pipe away! You can also top your frosting with a few rainbow sprinkles if you like!

  Cupcakes

  Makes 12 cupcakes

  2 dozen miniature cupcakes, either homemade or bought, with frosting on top, and chilled for at least an hour in the fridge

  1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, softened

  2 eggs

  1 cup sugar

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 cup cake flour

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  ½ cup milk

  Directions

  1. Have a grown-up help you preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

  2. Remove and set aside your mini cupcakes from the fridge. Peel off their liners if they have them.

  3. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until combined.

  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

  5. Add the flour mixture and milk to the ingredients in the mixer, alternating between each addition. Beat until smooth, but don’t overmix!

  6. Fill each cupcake liner halfway to the top with batter. Place the mini cupcake in the center of the liner, and pour a little more batter on top of it, just to cover the mini. Place in the muffin tin on top of a cookie sheet to prevent it from spilling over.

  7. Bake for approximately 20–25 minutes until the top of the cupcake is light golden brown.

  8. Have a grown-up remove from the oven, and let the cupcakes cool for 15 minutes before frosting. Personally, I like a rich chocolate buttercream on these (see recipe below), but you could also compliment your mini flavors. For example, if you have a peanut butter mini, you could do peanut butter frosting on top of the whole cupcake.

  Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

  6 tablespoons butter, softened

  3 cups confectioners’ sugar

  ½ cup cocoa powder

  1/3 cup milk

  1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  Directions

  1. Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy.

  2. Add sugar and cocoa powder to the bowl, mixing well.

  3. With the mixer on medium, beat in milk in small portions.

  4. Add vanilla to the mixture. Beat on medium-high until frosting is creamy and smooth.

  5. Spread on top of each cupcake with a knife or spatula, or swirl on top using a piping bag and tip. Shh! Don’t tell anyone the surprise inside each cupcake! Let them take a bite and find it for themselves.

  I get asked all the time by fans of our book series, “How do I do start a baking club in my school?” It’s not as hard as you might think. All it requires are a few ingredients:

  Step 1: Brainstorm Ideas

  • Think about what you want your club to be and do. Will it focus on cupcakes or will you bake other sweet treats as well?

  • What will you call your club?

  • What will you do at every meeting?

  • Where and when will your club meet?

  • What is the goal of your club? To learn how to be a better baker, to raise funds for a charity through bake sales, or to hang out with other people who share your culinary passions?

  • Who can join the club? Is it open to all ages or only certain grades?

  • What adult (teacher, parent, coach, etc.) can help and advise you?

  Step 2: Talk to the People in Charge

  • Find out the person who approves new clubs in your school. Is it the principal, assistant principal, or a teacher? Make an appointment to speak to him/her and discuss what you would like to do. Be organized and ready to answer questions!

  • Ask if there are any specific rules that your club must follow. Are you responsible for cleaning up after you bake? Do you need to get all announcements and events approved in advance?

  • Make sure there is not a similar club already operating at your school. If there is, it can take away from your membership.

  Step 3: Spread the Word!

  • Create some colorful posters and flyers to advertise your new club and recruit members. Personally, I’d include a photo of a scrumptious, mouth-watering cupcake on mine (that will get people interested) and a catchy slogan: “Like to bake? SWEET! Join the Cupcake Club!” Include when the club will meet and where.

  • Ask if you can speak to your peers as a group at assembly or during recess or lunch periods. Going classroom-to-classroom is a great way to reach kids as well.

  • Create an email (your parent’s is okay) so people can contact you with any questions and you can share club news. Start a list of members’ emails/phone numbers/classes so you can reach out to them as well.

  Step 4: Divide and Conquer

  • Organize your club into positions/offices so everyone has a responsibility. If you’re starting the club, you may want to be president or copresident. You might also want a vice president (second in command), secretary (keeper of all notes), and treasurer (the person who keeps track of money).

  • Be fair when assigning these jobs. Everyone who has an office should be dedicated to making the club the best it can be. Who will purchase ingredients? Who will be in charge of researching recipes? Can someone bring in a mixer and bowls from home?

  Step 5: Consider Your Budget

  • To keep your club running, you’ll need to make sure you know what your operating co
sts will be. Some schools provide clubs with a small stipend every year. Others don’t, and you might need to charge members a fee to participate.

  • Take into account your grocery lists (ingredients can be pricey!), any equipment you might need, cookbooks, aprons, muffin pans, cupcake liners, even printing costs for making flyers to advertise your bake sales. Keep a tab of how much things cost and how much you are spending.

  Step 6: Make Some Plans

  • Look at your calendar and put down some possible dates for meetings, fund-raisers (bake sales!), guest speakers (maybe a local baker!), and excursions (visiting a local cupcakery).

  • Hold your first bake! It’s a good idea to start with the basics: a perfect vanilla and chocolate cupcake from scratch and a light and fluffy buttercream frosting. Once you get those down, you can add more complicated recipes to your repertoire and get fancy with the decorating.

  Finally, don’t forget to have fun! And don’t try to bite off more than you can chew (pun intended!). Start small and build as you go along. You’ll have the recipe for success in no time!

  Thank you to everyone who has made The Cupcake Club such a sweet success and a LONG series—twelve books! We can’t believe how far Kylie and company have come! Writing this last one has been bittersweet, but we’ve loved every minute of the journey.

  Sourcebooks, you believed in us from Day 1 and helped us create such wonderful adventures for our Cupcake Club. Thank you, Steve, Kate, Elizabeth, Alex, and the rest of the gang. We will miss you (and might have to bring cupcakes by the office now and then).

  Our families, the Berks, the Kahns, and the Saps: thank you for the endless love and support.

  All the people who have believe in the power of PLC and have worked with such passion to help us bring it to the stage (can’t wait for the new version of the musical to have its debut at NYMF Summer 2017 off-Broadway!). Jill Jaysen and the Center Stage kids, Rick Hip-Flores, Rommy Sandhu, Liz Racanelli, David Madore, Louisa Pough, Lisa Dozier King, Matt Loehr, our brilliantly talented cast (Maddy, David, Calli, Alexa, Eliza, Diego, Jack, James, Casey, Miranda Jo, Merin, Ksenia, Victoria, Chloe, Jamilah, Grace, Cam, and Tai) and our hardworking crew on the NYMF production—we are so grateful to all of you. You have embraced this story and helped make a difference. (Guys, this is just the beginning!) Bravo one and all! Many thanks to Michelle Shapiro, Erik Stangvik, and NoBully.org; we are proud to have Peace, Love, and Cupcakes: The Musical align with your organization’s goals to spread empathy and student compassion and eliminate bullying and cyberbullying in schools.