Baking cupcakes.... it all started with a dare to post about food and finished with a notion of something good to eat. haha!
For some it's all about the choice of ingredients - organic, farm fresh, store bought, whatever...
For others it's about the recipe and process - the combining of ingredients, the stirring, mixing, blending, whipping, the frenzy of fun.
And then there are those who only care about the end result.... how you get there doesn't really matter to some - as long as you get there.
But that's not me!
For me it's about all three - the taste, the process and the final satisfaction I get when something turns out right, turns out to be delicious.
If you knew me well you'd already know that I love desserts - and if asked - yes, I would rather eat dessert first and perhaps skip dinner altogether.
Aside from this dire love of tasty treats and baked goods, who has time to beat and mix stuff by hand?
Certainly not me!
... that's why I use a Kitchenaid... yes, I do and I will admit I love their appliance so much that I would gladly do a commercial if asked.
Posted below are pics of my latest venture into baking... a sort of step by step if you will.
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First, I added my cake-like ingredients into the bowl and mixed them up like there's no tomorrow... not me, the machine... I just stood and stared in wonder and amazement at it's planetary action!
I stopped the mixer and admired the lusciousness - it's hard to believe I did that in just a few minutes isn't it? Well... I didn't, it did!
Look here's the muffin pan - prepped and ready to receive that silky, gorgeous batter. Please notice the Halloween cupcake papers. I had to use my hands to place them... it wasn't too hard to do.
Now look at what's happened - okay, I'll admit I had to do that by hand too, but it didn't kill me. I used a measuring cup to pour the chocolatey goodness into the muffin wells because I think Martha's idea of an ice cream scoop is sort of lame. - No, I'm not a Martha hater... normal sized ice cream scoops are too small to fill the papers, measuring cups are not.
20 minutes later... that and the use of my oven and these choco-babies are bursting to pop right out of the pan. Did you see them jump?
While they were baking I broke out the second Kitchenaid (did you notice that?) I have two, and yes it may sound a little (okay a lot) pompous to some - but if you own one, you'll want another - especially if you covet really good appliances like I do.
Anyhow, as you can see it too has made light work of my frosting - well this one batch of milk chocolate frosting.
Ah, the money shot... okay not yet, but they are looking rather tasty aren't they? Do you like the glaze I used on the ones with sprinkles? It's from a recipe at Allrecipes.com - "brownie frosting" I think it was called - it's simple, fast & easy! Although I did have to dirty a pot and use my hands again to make it.
After the pic above I got to thinking (yes, sometimes it is dangerous when I think) but I thought maybe you'd rather see my cupcakes "fluffed up" and "staged" for the pic.
So of course I felt like I had to take out a cake pedestal, arrange the cupcakes (although by this point I'd rather be eating them) and just in case you were thirsty I provided a cup of coffee in a Fire King Jade-ite mug no less. Only the best for you (and me)... oh yeah and aren't my Fire King Turquoise mugs awesome??? They're only in the pic because I adore them... and no, please don't ask to use one for your coffee... they are generally for display purposes only.
Last, but certainly not least I took one final picture of these delectable baked goodies.
You know (or at least I know) I did something really good when my child actually washes his hands just so he can snag one from the plate! YUM... and they are really, really good... except for the brownie glaze - it was dreadful! ~ Lori
