I applied to a job I really want. It has to do with my degree (Psychology), it
would relocate me to my best friend (they do exist!), and I would FINALLY get
some experience so that I can get a job elsewhere. Also, I am being recommended to it by an
employee in the program (you can’t get anywhere without knowing people if you
are perfectly average in every way).
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I stress
bake and cook. I just like to measure
things and give it to people. I don’t have
a house to renovate (unless you consider my sister’s my house). So I wander over to my sisters, use all her
bowls and fridges and the stove and I allow my anxiety to be forgotten while I
measure cup by cup and concentrate on not burning my skin or cutting off my
fingers. I tend to spill, burn, cut,
drop, or generally ruin things if I don’t pay attention. So I pay attention and forget everything
else.
I needed these this week.
I need to concentrate on perfecting the complex buttercream frosting. I needed to measure the flour and the salt
and all the ingredients. I needed
something to come out perfect. I needed
these.
I was concentrating so hard that I didn’t have a chance
to take pictures. The only picture is
the beautiful cupcake. But I don’t care. They were delicious and pretty and people
seemed to like them.
Sometimes, you just need a win. This was it.
Now that I think about this, I think I halved the recipe
and made it much harder than it had to be, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I also made things mini, as per usual now.
So, I started with the frosting because I needed it to
cool and settle and I had time to let the cupcakes cool.
2 large eggs, separated
Half cup of sugar
Two-thirds cup milk (I only had buttercream… it worked
out fine)
One third teaspoon vanilla (I rarely measure vanilla
extract)
2/3 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves (did not measure)
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1.
Whisk eggs yolks and a quarter cup of sugar on
high speed until pale and thick.
2.
Bring milk, vanilla, and mint leaves to a boil
in medium sauce pan. Remove from
heat. Whisk a little into the yolk
mixture. Pour the yolk mixture into the
pan with the milk mixture. Whisk to
combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring
constantly, until candy thermometer reaches 185F. (freak out, try to find sieve without letting
temperature rise, don’t spill, freak out, make noises) Strain through fine sieve into a heatproof
bowl and discard solids. At this point,
I tried to use an ice bath, got lazy, put it in a fridge, and stirred occasionally. This is not what Martha says to do but to “set
bowl in ice bath, stirring mixture until cool.” I have a life Martha, this is
not happening.
3.
In another bowl, cream butter. Once other mixture is cooled enough, add
together and beat. Then, in ANOTHER bowl
(I had a lot of dishes to do this day), heat egg whites and other quarter cup
sugar over water until sugar is dissolved.
Remove and beat until stiff peaks form and it is cool to the touch. Add the egg white mixture to the
butter/minty/yolk mixture and beat until smooth. (Martha then says to add mint extract, but I
omitted it and the frosting was PERFECT.)
Then the cuppiecakes:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp vegetable oil (I
normally over-measure the oil to make sure they’re moist)
1 tsp pure peppermint extract
¾ cup warm water
1.
Preheat
oven to 350F. Whisk flour, cocoa, sugar,
baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, extract, and water. Beat until combined.
2.
Divide batter about 2/3 of the way full. Make for 11-13 minutes if mini, about 20
minutes if standard size.
3.
Frost as desired once cooled.
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