Almost perfect cupcakes

I hope all my Canadians readers enjoyed a long post-turkey nap. My mother the most amazing turkey. Really, and the woman has a way with stuffing I will never understand. (She gave me the ingredients, yet they don't taste as good when I combine them.)

This year, I was tasked with dessert. The last few years, I made a Bavarian Apple Torte, which while delicious, had been done to death. It was time to throw this thankful harvest repast to the next level. The Boy had been insistant all week that he was going to be making dessert. I asked if I could guide The Chef in his culinary escapades and he said no. (Uh oh. There was going to be a discussion.) Then I flew the cupcake idea at him. I would make the cupcakes. (He could help with pouring in of the ingredients if he liked.) His major contribution would be decorating the cupcake. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached an agreement.

Me, I got the mad negotiation skills with the seven year olds. Suppose it helps that I have the equivalent of The Bomb eh? -- for the childless, it's no screens. No TV, no Wii, no computer, no Gameboy. It's harder on me than on him. But I digress.

Step one pick up the cake decorations. Go to Laura Secord, get chocolate Halloween goodies and cupcake toppers jujube type thing. There may be a whole sub-cult of cake decoration of which I am not aware. Then off to bulk barn for candied corn and creamy pumpkin thingies. (I think these are too sweet and yucky. Still they like them.)

I found the perfect cupcake recipe. Well, I didn't know if it was the perfect devil's food cupcake, but it looked like the kind of baking I could handle. I quickly look at the ingredients and decided I had them ALL except for the cocoa powder. Can't make up my mind about frosting vs. ganache vs. butter cream. Off to the store I went. Find the organic Camino cocao powder. Pick up buttermilk and whipping cream, dark chocolate just in case, it's needed for the frosting. Rush home, pull out the ingredients.

Pull out the flour. That's not 2 cups. Damn. Ok. Top up with whole wheat flour. Next eggs, yup. Sugar. Vanilla... who runs out of vanilla? I do. Walk off to Herb and Spice. Pick up vanilla. The local flower shop called Wild Willy's has a weird bridal display. Complete with wedding dress. But the dress is on a mannequin. But the mannequin has no head. I wondered if it was a comment on bride's acting like they've lost their heads or a rather twisted gothic Halloween display.

Snag vanilla. Stop at Bridgehead for a Chai latte. Bridgehead. Love this 'hood. Rush home to me dry ingredient. About to add vanilla and butter, decide I need to measure the milk. Open the fridge... no milk...
Look behind the bag of carrots, under last night's pizza left overs. Off to Loeb for milk. Damn damn damn... really I can't rely on my mind. Old age. Whip up a mad batch of cupcakes. Test one. Oooooooooh. Good cupcakes -- even without icing.

Sunday morning, Peruse the food blogs, decide on a dark chocolate frosting. (Make a mental note to use the buttermilk before it expires.) I don't like frosting much. This I could almost eat out of the bowl. Mental note. Tell Betty Crocker, she's lost a customer.

Dispatch the little one. It's showtime for boyo. He decides on fancy gummies, Halloween sprinkles, candied corn and those pumpkins. Nice sense of esthetics.

(Apologies for crappy photos.)

Comments

[Dagny]

LOL. I too have had those kind of baking experiences. I find it's a result of being so cocky when I write my shopping list that I don't bother looking in the cupboard or the fridge. "What? I always have that stuff."

Oh, and although I am childless, I completely understand The Bomb. Back in my teaching days I would sit in conferences with parents. They would say, "What should I do?" and I would answer, "Perhaps you could try removing the computer, the TV, and the XBox from your child's room." I remember having my mom take away my stereo headphones, my TV, and my phone when I was growing up. I was devastated. Who are these folks that a childless woman has to point these things out to them?

Oh, and please tell The Chef that the cupcakes are very pretty.

[Penelope]

They look fabulous! Loving the look on The Boy's face like "Yeah, so I made these, alright?!"
I don't do baking...at all. I can bake house-bricks, or occasionaly frisbies, but nothing you'd actually want to eat. Lil Miss P is the Master Pattisiere Chez Penelope and I am eternally grateful! ;o)

[Marcy]

The Bomb is the shiz! That baby works like a charm. It only took 1 time of throwing out a couple toys (yeah, I'm mean LOL) to get them right. So now when Mom says "You do X or Y will happen" They know what will happen HAHAHHAA

Those cupcakes look yum yum good!

[XUP]

This is exactly why I don't bake -- too many necessary ingredients. Of course, when I don't have something I just substitute it with something that resembles it somehow that I DO have. Now, this usually works very well with cooking, but baking? Not so much. I've learned you have to be pretty precise and follow the directions as written or else.

[alison]

Very cool cupcakes. Now I want cupcakes. With skulls on them.

[gkgirl]

heeheehee...
ah...the joys of baking...
:0)

but they turned out awesome...
hmmm..
i'm hungry now.
:0)

[Selma]

The chef rules. Those cakes look fantastic. I often have baking experiences like yours. I had a good laugh when I read this but I just can't argue with the end result - very impressive!

[Richgold]

Love the t-shirt. Love the cupcakes. (BTW if you get into a baking frame of mind and don't mind starting off with a box cake, I heartily recommend the text "The Cake Doctor". I've had it for eight years and it's saved my bacon a couple of times when I've had to produce on short notice. (Let me know if you'd like to borrow it for a month or two, just for research purposes of course! ;-)