A flash of childhood

This was a creation of my own. Thought I would try something that would remind me of when I was a child. I made a coffee and cinnamon cupcake with a Mexican chocolate frosting. I have had a busy week and I have not been able to upload my post, since this cupcake was made a week ago.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting


The other day I made strawberry cupcakes and they were pretty dog gone good, but the Frosting although good didn't come out right. There were fresh strawberries in the batter and frosting. The frosting was to be a meringue butter cream. Not quite what I ended up with. I am not sure where I went wrong, it could have been when warming the egg whites and sugar. I was afraid if I warmed it too long I wold cook the egg whites, but it was the consistency the recipe called for. It was to be warm and smooth once the sugar dissolved. Or it could be that I didn't whip it stiff enough, so that when I added the fruit it became runny.

No matter, because it was still delicious and they were all eaten up.

This is a difficult time of year for me because I had to pass through the days that marked a year since my oldest son Robert passed away. I turned to baking because when I am baking I can feel my son with me and it keeps him close. And the bonus is that my two other boys are happy when they get to taste my goodies created with love. Robert always asked me to bake him a cake, sometimes I would and sometimes, well I wouldn't. But that wouldn't stop him he would bake it himself. I miss him very much. Trevor and Kevin are lights in my life that keep me sane and grounded. I thank my God for them everyday. My husband is my rock but me baking is hard on him because he is diabetic. So I think I will substitute splenda for some of the sugar in my cupcakes from time to time. That way he can enjoy them without the guilt.

Well everyone, Till next baking time.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting



Ok, Ok I know I have already done this one, but I was not happy with it.
It wasn't red, it cooked up a brownish red color.
So I went out and found the red gel paste food color.
As I was preparing the batter,
all I could hear was Florian from cupcake wars saying he couldn't taste the chocolate,
so I made sure the chocolate was present.

It cooked up beautifully. I definitely had RED velvet.

The cream cheese frosting was also better than last time.
It was smooth and creamy and lite.

I will tell you that eating to many red velvet cupcakes does strange things to the body.
It colors your poop to be frank.
At one point my seven year old came to me and said
"Mom I have blood in my poop".
I had to explain to him that we had eaten too many cupcakes and it would go away.
Kids are so cute and do say some of the darnedest things.

Till next baking time.

Streusel Cupcakes


On Father's Day I decided to make a streusel cupcake. I love these. The cake itself isn't sweet but it's complemented by the crumbly streusel topping and little bit of sugar glaze that is drizzled over them. I could have eaten a dozen all by myself.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to make another cupcake, because the dog ate the last batch and that is just frustrating as all get out. But I did. I enjoy the baking because it makes me feel closer to my son who has gone on to Heaven before me. He always loved cakes and guilting me into baking them, but now I enjoy it because I know he would love the homemade flavor instead of the box version.

Well anyway this was a good cupcake and I just happen to love coffee cakes. Right now I feel at a bit of a loss as to what to say. I just can't stop thinking of my son Robert, It is a week away from the one year anniversary of his death and I can't stop thinking about him. I want to keep these posts on a happy note but it can be hard sometimes.

Not sure what the next cupcake will be because I have started jumping around in my cookbook. So until next baking time.

Snickerdoodle

Yesterdays cupcake was fashioned after a cookie.
The snickerdoodle.
This ended up being a nice and lite cake.
It smelled like a little bit of heaven while it was baking.
To me it smelled like cinnamon pancakes, yum my favorite.
The recipe called for the seven minute frosting
but I had to veto that one.
After trial and error I have come to realize
that I really don't like that frosting.
Its like a marshmallow that keeps getting stiffer and stiffer.
So I opted to make a whipped cream frosting.
Perfect choice.
It added to the light fluffiness of the cupcake.
Then dusted with a little sugar and cinnamon.

This morning was a bit disheartening
after going to reach for a cupcake
and realizing the damn dog had gotten to them again.
I will say it was partly my fault
for not putting them away and leaving them on the counter
where she could reach it.
But with seven other people in the house,
one would think, that if I went to bed early
because I was tired and had to work the next day,
that someone, anyone would assist me and put them away for me.

This is the third time the dog has feasted on my cupcakes,
leaves me not wanting to make anymore.
I don't know, just not feeling up to much lately.

Till next baking time.

New York Cheesecake

The other day my youngest son, Kevin came to me with a piece of paper,
keep in mind he is only seven.
And on this piece of paper was a recipe he found on the internet for a cheesecake.
He asked me for two days if I could please make this on my next day off,
and he placed it on the frig, with a note that read
"please make".

How can you turn something like that down.
Well Friday morning I got up and cooked two cheesecakes.
Funny enough I had never cooked a cheesecake before,
I always bought them pre-made or got the box of instant mix.
Wasn't very hard, I think the hardest part
was letting it set in the refrigerator for six hours.
But the cheesecake was so rich and flavorful.
I couldn't believe I made it, well worth the wait.

So needless to say I took a cupcake vacation and created cheesecake instead.
Back to cupcake tomorrow.
I believe the flavor of the day will be snicker doodle.

Until next baking time.

Mocha Cupcakes w/
Coffee Floavored 7 Minute Frosting







Yesterdays cupcake was a little piece of heaven for those with a love for coffee. Coffee in the batter and coffee in the frosting. Not to sure about the texture of the frosting, at first it is soft and creaming but as it sets its more like a marshmallow, with a firm out side and gooey inside.

Did you know there was such a thing as instant espresso powder. I didn't.

Its been hard making time for cupcakes because we have had allot going on here. My husband has been working on starting a business and we found a location so now we are getting underway to get things going, we are shooting for a mid September open date. we have also been dealing with the after math of Great Grandma playing bumper cars in the driveway, she ended up totaling two cars, hers and my mother in laws. Grandma is fine though.

So again i wasn't able to do as much as I wanted with my cupcakes. The next cupcake is a zucchini spice cake.

So until next baking time.