Well, since we last spoke, I realized I gained 10lbs. No joke. Perhaps that's where the time went.. the gym. I haven't thought much about baking because for some reason, merely looking at dessert seems to ensure I gain a pound or three. I'm trying to control it, so baking has taken a back burner.. (ha!)
However, I am so spectacular baker girl that I am still in high demand for birthday cupcakes at work. Well okay, it's a self enforced tradition, but I don't think people mind :) We only have one August baby at work- he's the one who introduced me to Iron Cupcake. Right around the time our admin distributed the inner office calendar, people starting nagging him (including me) about his cupcake of choice. He took his sweet time deciding, and after all that time, he chose vanilla cupcakes. BAAAHHH!!! I can't explain my dislike for vanilla cupcakes. First off, it's so white (in more ways than one). Second, boring! Third, how do you make a vanilla cupcake cute for a boy?? I asked him if it would be okay to use vanilla bean because I wanted them to have a little bit of a kick, and he gave an enthusiastic yes.
I used Martha's white cake cupcake recipe for the first time, and added vanilla bean. I was not impressed. They were dry and peeled away from the paper liner. I've never had this problem so bad, but I know it is common with white cupcakes. Some people say it's because there's too much "fat," others say it's from leaving the cupcakes in the tin for too long and allowing steam to build up. I don't know what happened to mine but it was super irritating. I frosted them with a marshmallow fluff vanilla frosting and added vanilla bean there as well. The bean wasn't enough so I had to add some extract as well. All together, the cupcakes tasted fine, but nothing spectacular. Birthday boy was happy, as were all my coworkers who are so cute and excitable the entire week leading up to somebody's birthday. I'm glad they were enjoyed, but I will not be making Martha's white cupcakes again unless I can figure out how to tweak the recipe in my favor. Also, no photo. Why does this tend to happen for work birthday cupcakes?? Shorry.
Other than birthday cupcakes, I have been thinking about this month's Iron Cupcake- the ingredient is coconut. I had a couple of great ideas... and tried one of them out tonight. I call it "Kokomo Colada," affectionately named after my absolute favorite smoothie at Yumi Yogurt. Yumi Yogurt was my first job evar.. I dished out soft serve and made smoothies freshman year of high school. I loved the Kokomo Colada smoothie so much, when somebody ordered it, I would fill up their smoothie cup and scrape the extra out of the blender to save for myself. The smoothie has banana, pineapple juice, coconut, cinnamon and vanilla soft serve. DELISH! I modeled my cupcakes after the smoothie: banana coconut cinnamon cupcakes, pineapple cream cheese frosting, topped with toasted cinnamon cocount. OMFG SO GOOD!
These could definitely be winners!!!!
This is what I love about baking- coming up with great combos that work because finally I have the base knowledge to do it. I am no genius, I am not professionally trained.. but I have the basic skills and I know what tastes good.
There is also some part of me that craves being a good wifey. I like making things because I love watching people enjoy my things. Brad isn't always that person, but I still think of myself as a little wifey to him and everybody else I bake for. It's a thought I cherished.. until tonight.
I began watching Mad Men from season 1. Simply put, it's maddening. I actually teared up during the first episode seeing the way women were treated in the early 60s. I've always known of the injustice, but the show really puts it in your face. No wonder women burned their bras! Seriously. And here I am, brought up in a time where it's okay for me to wear pants to work.. and I go home and willingly put on an apron to make my man dinner or bake up a storm. Fortunately I'm not a "secretary" and Brad isn't an Ad Exec in the 60s and he appreciates my efforts, but honestly, this was a wake up call. I've noticed this huge domesticated-house-wife type renaissance among women my age. We buy into the cutesie cupcakes, aprons, kitchenware, bakeware.. and the kicker is the trend is to do it all with a vintage 50s/60s flair. As I watched Mad Men, I thought, WTF have I been doing?? Buying into a culture that was lost for a reason, that's what! Yikes.
Okay, I'm not going to stop baking. In reality I never have felt like baking was giving up my rights as a woman, and Mad Men hasn't changed that. I just feel a bit more reticent about buying into the whole mid century kitsch factor that's been so popular. A perfectly made up woman posing in the kitchen with a pink cherry apron and a bundt cake is pretty, but just not cute when I think of the implications. Still.. if you haven't yet seen Mad Men, you should! So frustrating and good!!!
Toodeloo... ;)
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