Back to Creating: German Chocolate Cupcakes

I’ve been quite busy, in case you didn’t notice.  And the last update was about how burnt out I’ve been feeling.   So I’ve been looking for new things to do, ways to help change the world.  I am pushing uphill to try to feel more and feed people less.  But cupcakes are still a way that I’ve been feeding people. 

Living near a real German woman has made me question things.  Like how to say streusel.  She started yelling at me in German on Easter because I said it a certain way.  I still haven’t found out what she was shouting at me.  I also question why these are called German Chocolate cupcakes.  But I made them.

The batter was tasty, but I don’t really like coconuts.  Or pecans.  But I toasted the pecans myself.  And I made the Coconut-Pecan frosting.  They were well-recieved.  Some people, smart people, actually knew what they were.  Otherwise I was left mumbling things about Germans and chocolate and coconut and nut allergies. 

Perhaps I could have cut a little neater, dried the frosting a bit more, strategically places the pecans to show the beauty of the frosting, but I figured they were meant to be eaten.  And my sister agreed, even if she doesn’t like coconut either.  (Could it be genetic?)

I made some more streusel cupcakes on Easter.  I played with puppies.  I played with twin babies.  And I made some pretty delicious food in the past few weeks.  I think I might be switching to cookies when I feel burnt out again.  I might be able to handle that.  We’ll see.  This week, I’ll be watching All American Rejects instead of baking.  Woo! Eighth grade all over again!  (Meet Rosie! :)) 

Don't Judge, Sweet Nostalgia: Betty Crocker's Boxed Cupcakes

I have been feeling burnt out.  I have been feeling tired and sore and sick of work.  I long for the days when I had no worries.  When the money I made went straight into my savings instead of into my checking to be used.  When the only caffeine I drank were the cold, sweet sips from the bottom of my mother’s tea.  When I used to walk around outside at 7AM in my Aladdin nightgown during the summer to find my father.  When the only fighting was the bickering between me and my sister (which I’m glad has since subsided, but it was nice when that was the only kind of fighting). 

When did I learn what passive aggression was?  When did work become something I needed to do instead of what I wanted to do?  When did my big toes become so calloused that I can’t feel them?  When did the weeks start to blend together to the point that three months have passed without me noticing? 

I went back to my old favorites.  I wanted something I loved.   I wanted to sleep.  I wanted easy.   So I bought some fruit, sushi, and boxed cupcakes (the best kind).  I bought canned frosting.  I wanted my childhood.  I wanted my fairy tale.  Fairy tales exist, even if only in my memory.

They were topped with rainbow sprinkles, because who doesn’t remember rainbow sprinkles in their childhood?  They were topped with Betty Crocker chocolate frosting.  They were nostalgia.  It was wonderful.  I ate three.  I took days off.  I will recover, just slowly.  I miss my friends.  

It Did Not Catch Fire: Pineapple Amaretto Cupcakes

The choice was not mine.  Like many things in life, I could not find something that interested me this week, so I let someone else choose.  I also made them on Sunday instead of Saturday.  The chosen cupcake included liquor I don’t care for, with many kinds of almonds, and pineapple.  The gentleman chooser has since decided that he is most definitely allergic to almonds. 

It was a fun new thing to try though. Although, if I could go back and do things over, I’d make sure my amaretto could flambé and the pineapple was ready before I warmed up the sugar.  You live, you learn.  I did get to try the amaretto my aunt made me for Christmas once though. 

They were topped with really plain whipped cream, so we added a little vanilla and some sugar.  Had I not been afraid that he was allergic to almonds, I probably would have halved the vanilla and added a little bit of almond extract, but anaphylactic shock is scary to me. 

They look pretty.  Not as pretty as Martha’s, but I can handle this.  I also ran out of time.  So many problems.  But they were nice to look at.  

Happy St. Patty's Day!: Brown Sugar Poundcake Cupcakes

My mother is about three-quarters Irish.  What we inherited in the Irish is a propensity for heavy drinking, being loud, and getting rosy.  I have very little Irish pride.  Sometimes I’m told I look Irish, but I think that’s just the dark hair and freckles.  I don’t even have the light eyes that look Irish.  But on St. Patrick’s Day, what good is no pride?  So, I made some delicious cupcakes for the day. 

They were brown sugar pound cake cupcakes.  Pretty delectable.  It was a Bailey’s Irish Cream Frosting.  It was SCRUMPTIOUS.  (I ate some at work with Girl Scout Shortbread Cookies and graham crackers.)  All in all, I created a cupcake that I enjoyed whole-heartedly. 

I made a stencil.  Then Matt made a better one.  So I stenciled four cupcakes and dusted the rest with the sugar because I was much too lazy to try to do them on every cupcake.  ALSO, work.  It sneaks up on you sometimes (every Saturday) and I had to wash my hair (because I rarely do). 

My sister said that these were number two best cupcakes (with my sense of taste).  She likes the birthday Streusel cupcakes a little bit better.  Success!

(Do I employ the use of parentheses too much? It’s the way I think, I swear.)

Where'd you go to school?: Boston (Cream Pie Cupcakes)

I went to school in Worcester.  It’s what people from not Massachusetts calls Boston.  It’s not true.  Worcester is wonderful in its own way.  Worcester has Corner Grille, Evo, Park Ave, Main South, Clark University, Baba Sushi, wonderful people, and four years of my life (and lots of my money). 

Boston is also beautiful.  It’s where I wanted to go to school, but somehow, I didn’t want to apply to any of the schools there.  So when I visit, I enjoy it.  I like the T and the stores and the beers and the food and the people and the sights.  One thing that Boston also has is Boston Cream Pies.  So I made some into cupcakes because Martha said I could.

Do I like pastry cream?  No.  Do I love semi-sweet chocolate? Not really.  Was the batter delicious? OF COURSE. (Did I eat one? Nope.)

What's up, Doc?: Carrot (Cake) Cupcakes

I have a funny thing about carrot cake.  My best friend likes them a whole lot.  She loves them with cream cheese frosting. She thinks it’s hard to find a good one. It was the first “sweet” thing she ever ate, at the age of one.  She and I lived different lives. 

I like carrots.  They’re good for your eyes (beta-carotene for the win!). They are crunchy and sweet. If you eat a whole bag of baby carrots on a car ride, you want to vomit when you reach your destination. They can fill you up and make you less hungry. You can eat them with some sugar as a kid (for no reason at all).

If you cook carrots, I’m not a big fan.  If you make carrots into a cake, I am less inclined (READ: NOT INCLINED AT ALL) to eat the cake.  Add cream cheese… you’ve lost me entirely.  But alas, I am running out of cupcakes that I truly want to eat in the book, so I made these.

I think the coolest part is that Martha told me to “finely grate” and I was too lazy, so you can see the carrot inside! But maybe I’m just weird and don’t eat carrot cake and know that’s how it comes.  Anyway, these were the first week of March.  I’m behind.  

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! (to me!): Streusel Cupcakes

I turned twenty-three a few weeks ago.  I decided to open the restaurant in order to get out and drink a large margarita.  Why in the world would this ever be a good idea, you ask? It wasn’t.  I had forgotten my birthday was the weekend after a Tuesday Valentine's Day.  I had forgotten that it was February break in the Capital area. I had forgotten I WOULD NEVER GET OUT. But I made myself some breakfast cupcakes so that I could enjoy the cupcakes on my birthday.

Although I’m not German, these were delicious! The base was soft and moist, the top was crunchy and sweet and crumbly.  And if I had waited for the glaze to dry to take the picture, it would have been white and beautiful.  

They were messy in the pan because I didn’t give a butt at all.  My dad had come to visit for his and my birthday, so I had very little time. No one seemed to mind that they were messy.

 I was also given a donut to start the day from Lisa. With a candle. What a lovely human being.

And then some people from work made me a beautiful old-lady cake. It’s the thought that counts and I love them all.

And then Bomber’s gave me a free margarita! YUM! My sister even came out to celebrate with me.  She’s a champ because she woke up six hours later to save lives.

Also, I missed the week after my birthday for a party in MA.  These week’s cupcakes will be posted eventually.  J