Thursday, December 31, 2015

I like my cupcakes tall, dark and frosted...

Being the particularly lazy person that I can be at times, and since I'm on vacation, I felt like I could justify my lack of motivation once my alarm clock went off at 10:00AM. Now 10:00AM probably sounds like a reasonable time to get out of bed but understand, since I had baked cupcakes until the wee hours of the night and didn't hit my head to the pillow until around 4:00AM, my body was seriously letting me know how much it hates my late night antics. 

So after a lazy morning of washing dishes and spending a horrendous amount of time goofing around with my makeup, which came out pretty stink-in awesome, I decided some time around 4:30PM that I would finally venture off to the store and pick up that annoying carton of heavy whipping cream. Ugh, I hate when I forget stuff.

So after getting in the car and determining that between the two stores of equal distance, the one located more closely to my husbands work was so much more appealing then the other, I went on my way... 

This may be a good time to share that I've struggled with ADD since I was a child but I've learned to overcome it, of course (Okay, maybe not all of the time). 

...Just as I hit the traffic light that happens to either turn towards the grocery store or point you straight towards my husband's office, I found myself driving straight. So, why not? After all, I had spent FAR too much time painting my face to waste it on the dairy section of the grocery store. Instead, I would surprise my husband at work! Woohoo!

It worked, DINNER AND A MOVIE!!!
(I may have fallen asleep for half of Star Wars. Hey, I was tired. I went to bed at 4:00AM, remember?!)

All this to say, 5 hours after my original plan to go buy heavy whipping cream, I finally found myself at the grocery store sharing my makeup talents with the dairy aisle.

And what do you know? It's Midnight!

There was mixing, whipping, melting and tears. Okay, maybe not tears but there were moments of sheer panic and fear when I thought I ruined my frosting. But in the end I was delighted in the results of my drawn out baking excursion.

Here you have it:

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes 
with Ganache and Blackberry frosting



and

Dark Chocolate Orange Cupcakes
with Ganache and Blackberry frosting











Wednesday, December 30, 2015

In the beginning, there were naked cupcakes...

While normal people prepare for bed, turn on their reading lamps or even turn off their bedroom lights, this seems to be just about the time when my internal clock says "Lets bake!" I don't know why, but I've always been a notoriously motivated night owl. 

For me, there is something peaceful and creative about the night. For my husband and neighbors, I'm sure it translates into obnoxiously inconvenient sound but I always try to do my best to keep it on the down low. 

Tonight, I felt inspired. What if I made some cupcakes? I've been doing some thinking, exploring my baking interests and in doing so, I've been on a bit of a baking spree. 

Tonight's confectionery experiment: 
Chocolate Ganache Blackberry Cupcakes 

Oh the thrill! 

Though my adventure in baking did not turn out quite the way I imagined, I decided it will have to do for now. My blood pressure may have risen once or twice and I may have inserted a few curse words here or there, sorry mom but in the end, I got the cupcakes baked and they turned out beautifully. 

Unfortunately, that is also where my story of this particular midnight bake off ends for the evening. Turns out my fridge does not have a heavy whipping cream dispenser in the door, much to my dismay. 

So with extreme annoyance and regret, my decorating will have to wait until the morning. At that time, I will venture forth to the local grocery store and buy every last carton of heavy whipping cream they have, just to make sure I remain appropriately stocked (I will probably only purchase one). But in the mean time, please enjoy this single picture of my beautifully naked, chocolaty cupcakes.