Martha celebrates March with cupcakes, cocktails and, yes, clutter control

Here are some fresh ideas to elevate the everyday.

HOME CHIC HOME: STEM SKILLS

You don’t need to apprentice in ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, to create an arresting display. When placed in the right vessel, grocery-store flowers look like a million bucks and can transform any room.

CELEBRATE: FOUR-LEAF TREATS

These chocolate cupcakes, mixed with Guinness beer and topped with shamrocks (heart-shaped almond candies plus a sliver of sugared lime zest), fulfill their sweet promise: Take a bite and you’ll feel supremely fortunate.

CHOCOLATE-STOUT CUPCAKES

These cupcakes can be frosted and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to a day ahead. Decorate them with the hearts (see recipe below) just before serving.

Makes 24 cupcakes

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 bottle (11.2 ounces) stout, such as Guinness (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 lime
• 2 cups cream-cheese frosting (recipe follows)
• 96 chocolate gold hearts (gold metallic amorini hearts, $14 for 8 ounces, at ohnuts.com)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with baking cups. In a large heatproof bowl, whisk together flour, 2 cups sugar, baking soda and salt.

2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in cocoa powder, then stout. Increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat; stir into flour mixture just until combined. Stir in eggs and sour cream.

3. Divide batter evenly among cups, filling each two-thirds of the way. Bake, rotating once, until cupcakes spring back and a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks; let cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, peel wide strips of lime zest with a vegetable peeler. Thinly slice zest into 1/8-inch-wide strips. Coat strips in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar; cut into 1/2-inch-long pieces.

5. Spread cupcakes with frosting. Top each with 4 gold hearts (to form a shamrock) and 1 piece of sugared lime zest (to make a stem). Serve.

CREAM-CHEESE FROSTING

Makes about 4 cups

• 16 ounces cream cheese
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Beat cream cheese with butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla and salt. Frosting can be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 5 days.

MAKE & GIVE: LOTS OF LUCK

It’s easy being green with these super-simple do-it-yourself bracelets: Simply slip a charm ($8 for 20 similar ones, firemountaingems.com) on a leather cord, and secure it with fisherman’s knots.

HOW-TO:

Shape a 12-inch cord into two overlapping circles, then use one end to tie a knot around the core circle. Repeat with the other.

SIP & REPEAT: POT OF GOLD

Spotted at the end of a rainbow: an Irish whiskey sour. To create this magically delicious cocktail, put 1 egg white in a shaker; shake until frothy, 30 seconds. Fill shaker halfway with ice; add 5 ounces Irish whiskey, 2 teaspoons superfine sugar, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 1/3 cup fresh orange juice. Shake 30 seconds. Wet the rims of two short glasses with an orange slice, then dip in gold sanding sugar. Add ice; pour in drink. Serve, with an orange slice, lemon and lime cherries (available in grocery stores and at amazon.com), and the traditional Gaelic toast to good health: “Sláinte!”

QUICK FIX: PEPPERMINT OIL

This natural extract multitasks almost as much as you do. Keep a vial on hand for life’s sundry little nuisances, from a nagging cough to creepy crawlies.

1. Mixing a few drops in hot water and inhaling the steam can help calm a cough. (But it’s powerful stuff, so don’t do this more than three times a day.)

2. Soothe a tension headache by rubbing a few drops onto your forehead and temples for a relaxing, mildly numbing effect.

3. To repel spiders, ants and aphids, add 10 to 15 drops to a spray bottle of water and spritz on problem areas, including plants.

INSTANT UPGRADE: GREEN GIANTS

Useful in gardens, tomato cages are also ripe for repurposing as pretty plant stands. Cut off the spiky feet with a clipper, then spray-paint the cage gold. Set it on its wide end, and fit a pot inside.

Sources: Gilbert & Bennett galvanized tomato cages, 42 inches, $32 for 5, homedepot.com. Krylon Premium Metallic spray paint, in 18-Kt. Gold color, $7 for 8 ounces, michaels.com.

CLUTTER CONTROL: RACK ’EM UP

Adding to your collection of cozy accessories is the fun part of staying warm all winter. Keeping track of them — not so much. A fix for the woolen avalanche waiting in your closet: Mount two cafe rods on the back of a door. Hang hats and mittens on curtain clips above, and drape scarves below.

Sources: Home Decorators Collection standard cafe curtain rod, 28 to 48 inches, in Satin Nickel, $5; and clip rings, 1 1/4 inch, in Brushed Nickel, $9 for 7, homedepot.com.

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 5:23 PM.