Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice: Part II

Disclaimer: Before you read this, you should probably get one big "that's what she said" out of your system. I apologize in advance.

The pumpkin spice cupcakes were a HUGE hit! Everyone who had one basically gobbled it up one one bite. (Get it? Gobble? Turkey? It's almost Thanksgiving? Okay fine.)

Following a process I learned at Yum Cupcakery, I decided to make some extra cupcakes to turn into cake truffles. Then I had this stroke of genius. Why not make Bakerella's famous Cupcake Pops?

(Source - Bakerella)

Uber cute, right? And she makes it look SO easy! Well, our cupcake pop attempt was a miserable failure. I made at least 3 big mistakes. Don't get me wrong, the cake pops we made were DELICIOUS, but they did not look anything like the adorable cupcakes on a stick above.

I wish I could give you a specific recipe for what I did. Bakerella recommends one 13x9 baked cake (from a box or from scratch) and one can of frosting for her cake balls. I tend to just eyeball it. I think I had about 9 cupcakes leftover and about 1/3 of the container of cream cheese frosting -equal proportions as above. I added a little extra powdered sugar (maybe about 1/4 cup) to try to stiffen it, called it done, and rolled the filling into balls to be dipped in melted chocolate and candy.

Well, I was wrong. Looking back, because of how moist the pumpkin spice cupcakes were, I should've added much more powdered sugar and/or frozen the filling for longer. Bakerella's method of using the cookie cutter to shape the balls into cupcakes just didn't work out for me, partially because of the consistency of the candy and partially because of the size I was trying to use. My lovely sous chefs, Jungle M and Jungle K, told me I should give up and just make round cake balls instead.

Just chilling.

(man, I am punny today)

It wasn't stiff enough, so they weren't quite round (okay fine, you're allowed another TWSS here). I didn't melt enough chocolate, so they weren't quite cake pops. The chocolate didn't cover the entire filling, so they weren't quite sealed. Lucky for me, literally no one I served them to knew the difference. We dipped the pumpkiny goodness in melted chocolate and/or orange candy melts (available at Michael's).

Festive! Jungle K was not pleased.

And then we added sprinkles and/or M&Ms. Someone had the wonderful idea of dipping the cake pop into a bowl of sprinkles to make sprinkle-coated pops!

One of the most important food groups.

Cake pops drying in my makeshift candy holder

(on my incredibly messy kitchen table)

Then we wrapped them in little plastic candy wrappers and tied orange ribbons around them... precious! Overall, it was a delicious disaster. But I am not discouraged! I fully intend to try the cupcake pops again the next time I make a batch of cupcakes. I really think the key to pop success is stiffer filling, longer freezing time, and deeper dipping chocolate. But they were a crowd pleaser nonetheless, even if I was kind of disappointed with them. Until next time!

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice, Part I

I've already expressed my undying love for cupcakes. I also love fall - my birthday, college football, leaves changing colors - it's wonderful! So why not combine the two for my first NYC cupcaking adventure? This recipe comes courtesy of my wonderful sorority sister over at Living in Lilly. I altered it ever so slightly, mostly because New York grocery stores don't believe in butterscotch.

The All-Time Best Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 (3.4 oz) package instant butterscotch pudding

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

Cream Cheese Frosting

And LOTS of candy for toppings!

ALL the candy.

My Alterations:

- I used instant vanilla pudding instead of butterscotch pudding. Butterscotch wasn't available at any of the 4 grocery stores I went to, but after some research I learned that the big difference between the two is the use of brown sugar.

- So I took out a Tbsp of the white sugar in the recipe and added in an extra Tbsp of brown sugar. It didn't mess with the consistency at all; they were still some of the most moist cupcakes I've ever had!

- Instead of the spices, I used 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Seasoning. Since I'm new to the kitchen here, I didn't have many of the ingredients, so buying the blend was significantly cheaper. If you have an established spice rack, going with the individual ones is probably a better idea.

- Taryn also provided a homemade Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. Since I don't have a stand mixer (or even a hand mixer right now), I decided to opt for the can of frosting. I'm usually really opposed to this, so if you can go homemade, I highly recommend it. But anyone who has ever tried to make frosting without a mixer feels my pain on this one.

- I also doubled the recipe (actually I made it twice in a row), so I could have leftovers to make cake truffles... which I'll talk about later!

Roomie D with the massive amounts of butter that went into our 48 cupcakes

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups.

2. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, beat together butter, white sugar and brown sugar. If you have a standing mixer, use the paddle attachment. If you're poor like me, do it by hand and skip the gym that day.

Ouch forearms.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend before adding the next.

5. Beat in the vanilla and pumpkin with the last egg.

6. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. I tend to do half the dry ingredients, make sure it's totally mixed, and then add in the other half. Habit, I suppose.

7. Pour the batter into prepared muffin cups.

Ready to bake!

8. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes

9. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

10. Top with cream cheese frosting and delicious decorations!

Our naked cupcakes just waiting for a wardrobe

So How Did They Turn Out?

I'll be the first to admit it. I am a cake snob. I expect my cake to be moist yet springy, dense yet fluffy, and all around delicious. These cupcakes were PERFECT. This recipe is practically foolproof. It's just the right amount of spice, and the pumpkin puree makes them yummy and moist - so moist that you can see a few of them shedding their liners in that picture up there! It was a great recipe to get back into the groove of baking to. I HIGHLY recommend it!

But of course, a cupcake is more like a muffin until you put it's topping on. I bought this starter kit from Michael's. It comes with three frosting tips, a filling tip, and a handful of disposable pastry bags to start you off:

(Source - Shop Local)

My roommates had never piped frosting before, so teaching them was SO much fun for me. I was definitely in my element. Some examples:

Piping the standard cream cheese frosting

A perfect little pumpkin cupcake!

Roomie S piping little green grass

Pumpkin Patches! How precious.

The Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcake

(covered in cinnamon sugar)

All our pretty cupcakes!

So there it is - the first cupcake adventure in our dorm kitchen. Success!

Do you have a favorite fall or winter dessert recipe?

Hello Cupcake!

For those who don't know, I've always loved baking. But before I get into my first cupcaking excursion in a city of cupcake snobs, you need a little background info. Last summer I had the great pleasure of interning with Yum Cupcakery (now Sarkara Sweets Cafe). It was one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had; I didn't want to leave, but New York was calling. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the first of the Things I'll Miss about the Swamp:

(Source: Sarkara Sweets)

Yum/Sarkara is owned by Stephanie and Susan Claire Browning, two lovely young women following their dream of serving delicious sweets to the good students and people of the Swamp. Their concept is one-of-a-kind (at least I've never heard of anything like it); think Coldstone or Build-A-Bear for cupcakes. Various flavors of cake are already prepared, along with a smorgasbord of cream cheese buttercream frostings. Customers come in and select their cake, filling, frosting and topping(s). A few pre-made cupcakes are there for the grab-and-go type (or indecisive/intimidated first timers).

Vanilla cake with coconut frosting, gold pearls and a fondant flower

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

They wonderful pull-apart cupcake cakes and other yummy things for catering orders. They also have a strong following of people with dietary restrictions; they offer gluten-free and vegan cupcakes, along with treats for those on the raw food diet. I've never had the raw, and the gluten-free is (naturally) a little funky for someone who isn't used to non-wheat flours... but the vegan is DELICIOUS. Sometimes I chose it over the regular cupcakes!

Hello Kitty Pull-Apart Cupcake Cake

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

Now I know a lot has changed in the months since I worked there, but Stephanie and Claire's generosity and kindness will never change. These girls love creating new recipes, tweaking and perfecting until everything is absolutely perfect. In my summer at the Cupcakery, I learned so many random things that I would have never learned otherwise. For example, if you can trick your brain into thinking it's eating the most peanut buttery goodness by just adding a touch of sesame oil. There is always a market for unconventional flavors. Cake should be hand mixed, no matter how much it hurts your forearms or you look like a crazy person stirring moonshine on the bayou.

Red velvet cupcake with champagne frosting, pink pearls and red sugar

- a personal favorite

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

This experience changed my life. Baking became a ritual. There was something soothing and repetitive about following the natural order - sift dry ingredients, cream butter and sugar, add wet ingredients, add eggs one at a time, alternate dry ingredients with milk into wet ingredients. It was everything about science that I liked, except you got to eat the end result. When I took vacations or didn't work for a few days, I missed the process.

Chocolate cupcake with blueberry frosting and chocolate sprinkles

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

I loved the look on someone's face when they tried something new for the first time, or when they remembered just how important it is to do simple things perfectly. So many tips and tweaks went into a simple chocolate or vanilla cupcake - they had to be flawless. And who cares if I had red velvet batter in my hair that day? I just had to get the last scrap of it out of the giant mixing bowl and into Flaubert, the piping bag. For me, the most rewarding thing was talking to a parent with a child with Celiac's who had never had a birthday cake before... until Stephanie and Claire.

Chocolate Cookie Monster Cupcakes

(Source - Yum Cupcakery)

So, in short, although I've always loved baking, and I've always had a thing for cupcakes, working with Yum/Sarkara made it more than just a thing. So now, in my most stressful times, I find space in my schedule to bake cupcakes for friends. I don't mind being That Cupcake Girl. I don't mind passing out baked goods to the security guards in my building, my students or a slew of professors. I certainly don't mind having a cupcake or two around (although I could do without frosting). So although this is far from a cooking blog, expect a recipe or two. I want this blog to be about everything in my life, and cupcaking is a big part of my life. And since I'm currently watching Julie and Julia, I leave you with a quote:

"You know what I love about cooking? I love that after a day when nothing is sure (and when I say nothing, I mean nothing) you can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. It's such a comfort." - Julie Powell

Next up... my first NYC baking adventure!

You Say It's Your Birthday

Why hello there long lost readers! Today is my birthday! Most of you probably know that I like to extend my birthday celebration as long as humanly possible, so the festivities are FAR from over. But I did want to give you a little recap/rundown of what my first ACTUAL birthday in New York City entailed...

Starting with the day BEFORE my birthday!

MONDAY NIGHT, October 11

I met one of my oldest and bestest friends, Jungle M, in the Upper West Side for cupcakes with her and her papa, who was visiting for the weekend. I know New York City is the mecca of cupcakes, but in my opinion, there's really only one place to go.

(Source - Crumbs Bake Shop via Ready Set DC)

Yes, Crumbs Bake Shop, the love of my life, the bane of my diet. It was as delicious as ever, and the company was fabulous of COURSE. I got a Devil's Food Cupcake, which I sadly forgot to take a picture of. I did however capture my cupcake from the last visit, the Baba Booey (chocolate and peanut butter). I preferred the pb & chocolate one... shocking, I know.

Personal Photo of Pure Deliciousness

After delicious dessert, I headed to Trader Joe's to pick up a few things - and this time, I actually mean a FEW things. I wanted to spend less than $25 and I didn't want more than one TJ's sized reusable bag full of groceries. I hit my limit, both size and money, almost exactly. And the free coffee samples were the perfect temperature, which almost never happens. As always, the service was perfection. Strangely enough, I did not use my allotted once-per-visit TJ's impulse buy. Does that mean I can allow myself two next time?

I came home, finished some homework, watched some TV, relaxed... typical Monday night stuff. I also wrote a 5-page letter to my pen pal. Yes, I have a pen pal. I absolutely love it. It's so old school! She sent me a fabulous Halloween care package and it totally made my day. The handpainted bat she made me is hanging on my wall. And - honesty hour - I may not take it down after Halloween.

I stayed up a bit for some birthday wall posts, texts, and phone calls at midnight, and finally crashed, ready to teach early the next morning. What's funny is that I went to bed thinking that my actual birthday wasn't really going to be that special this year. I wasn't going to get to do anything touristy or outdoorsy. It was supposed to pour all day. I planned on going to the gym between teaching and taking class. I was going to cook myself lunch and dinner to save time and money. And I was okay with all of this, because life is about growing up, and that was just what I expected.

BIRTHDAY! TUESDAY, October 12

BOY was I wrong! First of all, a fun factoid. My whole life, Tuesday has been the busiest day of my week. I think it started back when I took dance; I had the bulk of my classes on Tuesday nights. Since then, it's just been the craziest day, always. So this month I was thinking that I can't recall my birthday ever being on a Tuesday. Then I saw this:

(Source - Learn Something Every Day via my fav Tumblrs, FYFT)

SO since this October has 5 full weekends, my birthday is on a Tuesday. Since this only happens every 823 years, this is the only time in my life my birthday has ever been on a Tuesday. Not really sure how this works, but it's kinda cool, huh?

Anyway! I woke up today, ready to teach a 3 hour long lecture on pronouns and family members. I threw on my my new purple Calvin Klein dress and headed out for Starbucks with Miss M before our class started. Class COULD NOT have gone better if I planned it! Our one student that we were concerned about (last week she kept getting frustrated and giving up) volunteered to fingerspell her name first because she wanted to show us how much she had practiced! Another one of our students said one of my favorite things ever: "Can you believe there's a whole set of people I can't communicate with? I talk way too much for that to be okay!" They are excellent. I adore them all.

After class, the three of us wandered to Tribeca to find a Thai restaurant that a friend had recommended. Apparently it was closed permanently, so we walked into the first nonsketchy Asian place we found. It was decent, but we waited far too long for our food. I didn't really care, since the company was good, and it's pretty hard to mess up Chicken Udon. We then headed back uptown to get gelato at Artopolis, one of my favorite local spots.

I did some organizing and went to class - obviously the gym didn't happen. What was I thinking? I had already blow dried and straightened my hair once today! Class was actually fun. I'm really loving the Deaf Ed first years, now that we've all had time to get to know each other! After class, I headed to the liquor store to pick up some tequila, since margaritas are an absolute birthday necessity. I ran into a current UF student there! It was crazy. Great Gator minds drink alike, I suppose. I grabbed some Chipotle for dinner (I refused to cook today, clearly), and headed home.

Oh man. My roommates are amazing. I walked in to a spread of chips, dips, snack mixes, candy, and something that was very clearly a not-so-well concealed cake. We carried everything, including the Cuervo and TJ's Pomegranate Limeade, up to the dorm lounge to watch Glee - which was EXCELLENT tonight, by the way. It was seriously amazing. Roomie S even baked me a red velvet cake with delicious cream cheese frosting! I never mentioned that it was my favorite, but I guess it just fit my personality!

More than anything, what really made today so very very wonderful was - IS - the constant flow of love I've been getting via email, phone, text, and Facebook. And it wasn't just simple "Happy Birthday!" posts that I typically send and receive... so many of these were thoughtful, even from people that I wouldn't anticipate thinking deeply of me. I had so many sorority sisters tell me that they miss me and wish I could be at initiation next week. I had so many ASL TAs tell me it's not the same without me. I had so many family members tell me how awesome our family is (like I need to be reminded!).

It sounds kinda silly and conceited, but all day all I could think was - wow, I mean so much to these people. And they mean so much to me. How lucky am I that I wound up with such kind and fun roommates? How lucky am I that I love both the people in my program? How lucky am I that the people in this city that is so far away have made it so easy for this to feel like home? How lucky am I that I have an amazing group of people loving me from across the country? How lucky am I that for the first time in my life, I really feel like whenever I reach out in any direction, there's someone right there reaching back at me.

So if you're reading this, if you've ever read this, if you've ever celebrated with me or just left a simple "Happy BDay!" message to me - thank you. Thank you for sticking with me through all or part of my 22 glorious years of life. Thank you for contributing to my life with your beauty and joy and love. My first birthday in the city was a million times better than I could have possibly dreamed - and I haven't even had a few of my celebrations yet! I can't wait to see what this year has in store.

(WOW this is long. I love you if you read this far. I mean I love you anyway, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this blog at all, but you know what I mean.)

I have been a very bad little blogger lately. I apologize. Here's another quick and dirty rundown of what's been going on in my life:

- I had a cold - very exciting. That's honestly been occupying the majority of my time since the last post. It's also the reason I watched the Kentucky game at home on Saturday instead of going to a Gator-watching bar. Never fear, I'm better now, with just a few traces of a cough left.

- School is consuming my life. I feel like every time I catch up on my reading, my to-do list triples in length while I'm not looking. Being sick did NOT help this.

- I tried to study at Hungarian Pastry Shop on a Saturday morning. I do not recommend this.

- I tried to study by the Central Park pool on a Saturday afternoon. I recommend this if you are less prone to distraction than I am. I was mostly focused on wanting to steal every puppy who walked by... or bask in the beauty of the day.

My view (personal photo)

- I won a happy hour at the Irish pub in Midtown where we went for Roomie S's friend's happy hour a few weeks ago. I went with a few friends last night, and it was probably the most fun I've had in a while.

- Before the happy hour, I met up with my mom's cousin and her husband for dessert at a swanky hotel restaurant, also in Midtown. They are some of my favorite people in the world to catch up with. It was absolutely lovely. And, I learned the proper terminology for our relationship: second cousins once removed. It sounds so formal and distant. I like knowing the phrase, but I probably won't ever use it.

- I found a delicious Cuban restaurant with fresh mojitos, skirt steak sandwiches, empanadas, and sweet potato fries - all to die for. It's a little pricier than most of the places I'd like to frequent, but the atmosphere just makes me feel like I'm back in Florida.

- I got paid to walk to the subway and back. I was scheduled to work for the University of Phoenix's "Learn Anywhere. Learn Everywhere." project, part of NBC's Education Nation week. But the sign language station was outside, and it was raining, so I had a feeling it would be cancelled. I got the "come on down anyway" call and headed to the subway - only to get to 125th & St Nick and learn that the lesson was cancelled due to the rain (SURPRISE), and I would be paid anyway. Sweet deal.

- Two days later, I got to go to the Education Nation lesson, but more as a student than a teacher. Basically, Miss M and I just sat and signed to each other for a few hours to attract attention. It was great.

- It is beautiful outside. Chilly, sunny, breezy. It's lovely.

- IT'S MY BIRTH MONTH! 10 days until I turn 22! Not sure what I'm doing for the big day... probably not much since it's a Tuesday. But I do have something up my sleeve for that weekend!

- The other two first years in my program and I were hired to teach a six-week continuing education ASL course to unemployed adults at a local community college. We start on Tuesday; I'm only TAing this week, but next week I'll be the lead teacher. I am nervous, excited, overwhelmed, terrified, and ready - all at the same time.

- I made the excursion to Trader Joe's. It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be, minus the Chips With an Identity Crisis, which were sadly missing.

- I got trash talked by several Jets fans about the Miami Dolphins. I appreciate the effort, but I don't care about pro football, nor do I care about Florida-based pro-teams. Nice try though.

- I am not really living up to my promise of doing something fun and New York-y every day. I hope to remedy this soon.

That's all for now. I promise to try to be a better blogger this month. Happy October, everyone!

Prohibition's Here & Alcohol is Dead (Today's Fun Fact)

I have WONDERFUL news! Someone marvelous has moved into the Upper West Side!

OMG!

(Source - DNA Info)

Yes, NYC now has three Trader Joe's stores: one in Union Square, one in Chelsea and one 50 blocks down from me in the UWS. I have yet to make a trip down to visit my dear friend Joe, but it's on the agenda for the weekend. Unfortunately, also on the agenda is a separate trip elsewhere to buy wine, since this TJ's is not allowed to sell it.

Essuse Me?

(Unrelated puppy brought to you by Photobucket)

Today's Fun Fact comes to you from the prohibition-era (y'all know how I love my jazz age stories). I've been thinking a lot this week about silly, antiquated laws that have never been overturned... but it turns out some of them aren't so outdated after all. For example, the city of Kennesaw, Georgia, requires its citizens to own a gun. WHAT?! That law must be a million years old. False. Created in 1982 to protect the general welfare of the city.

But I digress. New York state has a law, supposedly dating back to prohibition, that forbids grocery stores from selling wine and liquor. Grocery stores can, however sell beer... but wine stores cannot. Big grocery chains, such as Trader Joe's, can own one wine outpost in the state - TJ's has selected the Trader Joe's Wine Shop near their Union Square location, which is very sad for us Upper West Siders.

TJ's UWS does have a beer section. If only I cared.

(Source - Racked)

In true New York fashion, this law has turned into a culture of boutique wine shops and local brands on every block, and most people who live here just accept it as a fact of life. Recently there has been a push to repeal the law, citing that wine sales in grocery stores would boost the economy. Supporters of the law say that not only does it help curb underage drinking (?), but overturning it would put a lot of local wine shops out of business and destroy NY's wine culture. Ultimately, the proposal was shot down, but there are still plenty of people (and grocery stores!) that would like the law changed.

Before this was called to my attention in Racked's article about the TJ's grand opening, I had noticed that wine wasn't available in the three grocery stores I've been to, but I didn't think anything of it. "I don't know my way around yet, I guess I just can't find it. Maybe there are no alcohol sales at all in NYC grocery stores. Ignore that beer over there, you are imagining it. Where the heck can I find some Pink Truck around here?" Now that I'm informed about the many silly NY wine-related laws (apparently you're also not allowed to ship it, wine stores can't sell wine paraphernalia, it's pretty ridiculous), I'm a little confused.

What gives, New York state? WINE promotes underage drinking? Have you ever met a 16-year-old who is just dying to get his hands on the fruity undertones of a Pinot Grigio? NO!

Honey, I need to talk to you. Your principal called, and he's very upset about the wine tasting club you started on the playground.

(Source - Citysearch)

First of all, let's not even go into how keeping kids from drinking does the exact opposite of getting them not to drink. Maybe it's just the crowd I've seen, but underage drinkers drink to get drunk, and most of the time, they're not drinking wine. Hell, nowadays they're not even drinking beer.

Hello, my name is Four Loko, and I'm here to ruin your life.

(Source - DJ Wiky)

And also to turn you into this guy.

(Source - Recent Trends)

One concession to the supporters of this law: I have not bought wine since I came to town. I have been to the grocery store lots of times. If the grocery store sold wine, I probably would have bought wine. So congratulations, your law has reduced the consumption of wine... by a perfectly legal, 21-year-old graduate student who drinks moderately and socially, and enjoys wine with her dinner from time to time.

It's A Quiet Village

First of all, I need to apologize about my comment features. Apparently not only did I have the "approve every single comment whenever you feel like getting around to it" feature turned on, I also had it so that people couldn't leave comments without a Google ID. Now, I know MOST people have some kind of ID they can log in with, but in the interest of family who may be reading this and want to comment, I've turned it off. Hopefully there aren't any crazy lurkers afoot.

Next, I need to introduce some terminology. This weekend, I had what is called a "This Is Not A Village" moment. Backstory? My first trip to NYC, in the summer of 2008, I was with my sister visiting one of her friends. This friend ran into an old beau... in the middle of Times Square, on a Saturday night. Busiest city in the country, busiest time of the week, busiest spot in town. So for the entire walk back, pretty much all she could say was "THIS IS NOT A VILLAGE! THIS IS NEW YORK CITY!"

My "This Is Not A Village" moment was running into a friend from middle and high school in the stairwell of a friend of a friend's apartment building in Union Square. Lucky for me, I had a few hours to kill, and he had a comfy couch, a big screen TV and Trader Joe's peanut butter cups. It was great to catch up with him, but I still can't get over how surreal it was that we ran into each other that way. I knew he was moving to New York, but it never crossed my mind that I would run into him.

I'm curious about your "This Is Not A Village" moments. Have you ever bumped into someone in a place you never thought you'd see someone you know? Bonus points for Disney World stories.