Go Frost Yourself

Cupcake:  Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ugh! Cheesecake Cupcakes! Yes, I thought I had it.  I was high off my peanut butter cupcakes that I lost my mind and decided to take on the beast — cheesecake cupcakes.  I wanted to go big or go home!  So, where am I?  Sitting on my couch at home.  And for the life of me, I can’t tell you what I did wrong.  Text messages were racing back and forth from Upstate NY to little old Rhode Island.  My aunt is the cheesecake queen, amazing, and it was her recipe.

Now, I can’t explain the wave of emotion that rolls through someone when they watch their cupcakes rise like the mountain to Mohammed (well not exactly, but they looked good).  The taste was on spot, too.  And then it happened.  The drop.  The drop in the cupcake as it was taken out and cooled.  I held it together the first time, I really did, but a meltdown occurred when the unthinkable happened: the second batch dropped, too.

My meltdowns occur in a 3-step process. 

1.) I begin to talk to myself. 

2.) I walk around with the thoughts that were once in my head now being said aloud.  So please feel free to picture me in the kitchen saying, “I don’t understand what went wrong….”

3.) Finally, I let out small grunt that ends up being high-pitched.

There is a video on YouTube from the motivational speaker, Sam Glenn.  Just type in the airplane story and you will laugh your head off.  Without ruining the video, I can just say that his point is well taken.  The cheesecake cupcakes dropped, they did!  However, that does not dictate how the rest of my day is going to go.  Not everything is going to fall apart or come undone.  So after my high-pitched grunt, I have a choice.  Usually the grunt allows me to release a little built up tension, clear my head, and then bam! 

I am able to find another way.

I look to my left, I see the brownies that I just made, and to my right, brand new little parfait glasses.  So, I decided to stack my goodies.  I took the best little parts of the cheesecake and mixed them with the brownies.  To top it off, I whipped up some frosting and raspberry glaze.

And when they arrived at their destination, no one until now was any wiser that it was not the original design.  But we will meet again cheesecake cupcake!

Tip: Be creative and have a back-up plan.  But don’t let on that it was Plan B.

Cupcake: Cinnamon Sugar Puff Umm Pumpkin Cupcakes

 I must give a proper shout out to my brother.

 Did he help make the cupcakes this week? No.

 Did he run to the supermarket to gather eggs after the other adult in the house accidentally kicked the grocery bag containing the eggs? No.

 My brother did something a little more important.  He provided the wonderful name for this blog.  Let’s just say that he - whom I love dearly - always has such an endearing greeting for me when I see him.  So, it seemed fitting that as I was talking aloud about beginning a new blog, his boisterous answer at first seemed like a greeting than a catchy title, but alas, it was his suggestion that won. And so “Go Frost Yourself” was born. I am filled with so much strength, love, and laughter from my family it is ridiculous.

Now on to the cupcake, which were pretty simple to make this time around.  I dabbled with a little buttermilk instead of regular milk.  And I have to say that it does make them moister.  Everything was flowing smoothly. I even used a new flour sifter.  Now as I stated, these baking sessions are my moments to decompress and allow thoughts to just flow.

So why in the world if things were going well would I veer?  That is a great question, in so many ways.  I would like to say that like life, some things are out of your control but the truth is the nutmeg was in my hand.  I just wanted to spice things up a little… so I added pumpkin.  But then I realized I couldn’t just add pumpkin without adding more spices to balance that pumpkin taste. And before you know it, you look and what you thought you began with is no longer.

It then became a challenge.  The hard part of this is to create something that is even better then the original recipe or to just hold onto the important parts of the original to try the next time.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to go off course but if you do, use a proven mixture or if it is you, stay true to whom you are inside.

Cupcake: Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

On February 9, 2012 @ 8:04 pm, I made my first attempt to start a baking blog.  I began a journey making cupcakes every week.   My idea was to share my adventures in baking with you as I made one cupcake a week.  There were 52 different kinds of cupcakes that were on their way to being made by the end of the year.  But here we are in November and I have to admit that I lost my way.  My thoughts are not many of us can say that reached their goal the very first time.  However, it wasn’t until last night that I began to see that I was not getting out of my own way. 

I am not a very strong writer.  That is what truly rang in my ears each and every time I posted.  So you may be asking, what has changed?  Did she take a writing class?  Is this a ghost writer?  None of those things but I am owning my energy and changing my I am statement.  I am a really good baker and able to tell a pretty funny story.

So for those of you craving some good laughter, look no further, because you’ve found it. I know what you’re thinking — “Really? Hearing about making cupcakes every week will make me laugh?”. Sure it will! So stop rolling your eyes thinking how does the word “laughter” get attached to making cupcakes.  Here’s what I can tell you: I am an amusing and hard-working person with a pretty decent IQ with one little secret.

I am slightly absent-minded, and have the ability to create a hurricane within a room in seconds.

Usually, my first attempt at baking is disastrous. Two examples that are constantly regurgitated at family functions are:

1.)  The time I put 2 cups of salt in Black Bottom Cups instead of sugar. I made a call to my Aunt to ask her why they tasted so bad, which was when I discovered what I had done. She was with my uncles, whom she felt compelled to share this nugget of information.

2.)  When I used a number + mnemonic combo to remember how to make crepes: 4-2-1 & EMF. That should have translated as 4 Eggs, 2 Cups of Milk, and 1 Cup of Flour, but my mind somehow remembered it as 4-2-1  FEM: 4 Cups of Flour, 2 Eggs and 1 Cup of Milk. As a result, I created what I consider to be a nice base layer of concrete or hockey pucks for my nephews.

My family is all about food, and when you make a mistake in the kitchen, you never live it down. Over the last two years, I have lost two of my uncles who brought our family meals to life.  One uncle for the ability to make them and one uncle for the ability to show up as everything was just about ready to be served along with taking the one recipe to his grave that we really wanted.

I began to bake again today.  The phrase “from scratch” was terrifying to me, but not anymore.  Instead of can I do this which was the original mission, it has become sharing a little fun and knowing that this time gives me a moment to reflect. 

I am in the middle of Hurricane Sandy as I write this and I am still that hurricane inside that destroys my kitchen. My kitchen is decent size but doesn’t have a lot of counter space, so I have considered strapping a cutting board to my dog so that he could help me in my madness. 

Tip:

If you run out of confectionery sugar in a snowstorm and insert sugar in its place, it may be (okay, it is!) a good idea to melt it first….  or the frosting may be a little crunchy. And if all else fails:  Go Frost Yourself.