So, the only time I allow myself a blog title that’s not a song is for Cupcake Monthly. I’ll admit, I’ve missed a few months. I may have to start calling it Cupcake Quarterly though, since my plans for the future include reigning in my sweet tooth. Anyway, several weeks ago, our dear friends Dave (of Team Carpentry) and Abbie’s lovely son, Eli, had his first birthday. And I was enlisted to provide his first ever(!) cupcake.
Of course I happily complied, also baking a more adult palate cupcake for a gaggle of kids and parents at the most beautiful countryside BBQ one could hope to attend in summer. Aside from some mighty large mosquito bites (even on my forehead, even after double spraying myself and wearing long sleeves and long pants) I have only lingering memories of delight and wonder at beauty of the place. Lush wooded forest abutting abundant green pastures, view in the distance of mountains, and a fire pit to rival all fire pits – yeah, it pretty was amazing. But the cupcakes… well, I must thank Martha Stewart for those.
On the menu: (Lemon, my addition) buttermilk cupcakes with a cream cheese-lemon-raspberry frosting and Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Yeah, even weeks later just thinking about them makes me happy. They were delish, if I do say so myself.
If you’re trying to recreate my version of these, note that the lemon-raspberry frosting, while undoubtedly delicious, was almost more of a filling, and I sort of just made it up as I went along. (I macerated raspberries in a little lemon juice and sugar and added them to a basic cream cheese frosting recipe.) Since it was for kids, and especially Eli, who hadn’t really had much sugar up to that point in his life, I used way less sugar than would normally be called for. I also used fresh raspberries (since Eli likes them, and ate them regularly), and the juice from the fruit, and the lemons made the frosting sort of soupy. I won’t deny that I was disappointed by the consistency at first, but the flavor made it worth the mess it was to eat them. I used Martha’s recipe for cream cheese frosting for the Red Velvet cupcakes.
Some pictures of the cakes, lovingly baked by myself and my niece, and of the birthday boy enjoying his first bit of tantalizing sweetness. Cupcakes are lovely treats, and the recipes above are stunning. Make some, explore new ideas, get cooking. It’s good for you.
Enjoy! xoxo
