Change
is such a silly things. So many things
cause it and everything is changed eventually.
And
change is just. so. constant.
You
can’t really escape it. You might as
well embrace it, right? That’s the saying anyway.
I
can’t tell you if I made anything between Alabama Weekend in ‘Toga and this
delicious cupcake or if I’m missing cupcakes in between. It was a hectic month (September), and that
was a long time from now.
I
made these cupcakes when Kahina’s twins were still in the US. I made these cupcakes when I still lived in
NY, 10 minutes away from my sister. I
made them before my sister was pregnant, before I quit my jobs, before I had my
own dental insurance, before I had an apartment I paid for, before I had a job
that helped the world, before I went back to the restaurant I worked at senior
year of college, before I had a KitchenAid, before Laura moved back to
California, Hannah moved to Australia, Brenna moved to Salt Lake City, before I
had vacation time at work, before I moved in with my best friend, before I
dated and broke up with a good man, before I kissed a girl I really like.
Like
I said, a lot of things change in the world and in my world.
My
love for cupcakes is not one of them.
I can
still remember what happened in the past six or seven months. So many things, but I feel like it was just
September. How do you blink and a half a
year passes?
How
do you blink and a crumbly pound cake with vanilla bean buttercream no longer
exists in your mouth, but only in your memory?
I had
a discussion with Kahina when I made these.
She thought she was making a joke about opening a bakery and making
cupcakes instead of looking for a job or working a job that made money. I told her that it was a serious desire,
something I would do in a heartbeat if debt and logic didn’t bog me down. As a corporate woman, it was a funny
thing. I’m a funny person. Not in a “I can make a joke” way, but in a
way that who ever I’m talking to doesn’t ever really seem to understand
me.
But
they can understand these.
I
made these by cutting the recipe in thirds.
1 1/9
cup of all-purpose flour
2/3
tsp salt
1 1/3
stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3
cup sugar
1/3
tsp vanilla extract
3
large eggs, room temperature, slightly beaten
1.
Combine dry ingredients. Preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.
Cream butter and sugar. Beat in
vanilla. Add beaten eggs slowly. Slowly add dry ingredients.
3.
Divide batter among 12 lined (who forgot liners? This girl) cupcake tins. Bake for 20 minutes.
4.
Easiest cupcakes ever? (except for the divining by three… because the original
recipe called for 9 fucking eggs.)
Vanilla
Bean Buttercream Frosting:
5
large egg whites
1 cup
plus 2 Tbsp sugar
Pinch
of salt
4
sticks of unsalted butter
1.5
tsp vanilla extract
1
(ish) vanilla bean
I
cheated a lot on this frosting and ignored Martha.
1.
Combine egg whites, salt, vanilla bean scrapings of beans, and sugar in a
heatproof bowl over a bowl of boiling water.
(I skipped the separating of the larger pieces and blah blah) Whisk
constantly until the mixture is warm and the sugar is dissolved.
2. Remove from heat at that point, and
whisk/mix/whatever you can for a long time until stiff (but not dry?) peaks
form. Continue (forever) until it is
fluffy and glossy and completely cool (touch the bottom of the bowl). (I assume this is wayyy easier with a kitchen
aid, but I didn’t have one at the time. Sometimes change is so, so good.)
3. With the mixer on medium-low, add the butter
a few tablespoons at a time. Once a
whole freakin’ pound of butter is added, mix in vanilla. Mix until smooth.
This
was easy, just long with a hand mixer.
Add sprinkles. Because they make everything better. Right, Brenna?
No comments:
Post a Comment