Project: Cupcakes 1 (with recipes!)

Okay, so I've been lagging on updating my blog. Blame my new toy/phone. But I've still been doing projects.

The first: Cupcakes.

I didn't take any pictures of them, but they really weren't that impressive. I don't even remember what color the icing was. Oh, white and pink. But they were really delicious and easy (and healthier than usual), so I'll post the recipe.

BANANA CUPCAKES

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 mashed ripe banana
Water equal to cake mix recipe
Applesauce equal to amount of oil in cake mix recipe

You basically replace the eggs with mashed banana and replace the oil with applesauce and follow the directions on the box. How much banana equals one egg? Eh, guess. I used almost a whole medium-sized mashed up banana to replace three eggs. Spoon it in the muffin liners. Bake them for the minimum time given on the box and keep checking on them until a toothpick comes out cleanly.

I also added semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter and it gave a nice textural difference.

CINNAMON CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CUPCAKES

1 box chocolate cake mix (or devil's food or milk chocolate or...)
1 can of pumpkin pie puree (make sure pumpkin is the only ingredient) (and the smaller can, not the big one)
Water equal to cake mix recipe
Applesauce equal to amount of oil in cake mix recipe
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix cake mix, water, applesauce, cinnamon, and about 2/3 of the pumpkin puree can (no oil or eggs). The batter will be thicker than usual, so add a little more applesauce if you think you need it (can you tell I just kind of play it by ear?). Spoon it in the muffin liners. Bake them for the minimum time given on the box and keep checking on them until a toothpick comes out cleanly. This usually takes me longer than the maximum time given, so be patient.

I sometimes add different spices. Cardamom is my favorite. =)






Easy peasy. Healthier. No cholesterol. Low (maybe even non-) fat. Possibly vegan (I haven't checked the box mix ingredients).

Then I made some SUPER yummy pseudo buttercream frosting with just powdered sugar and butter. Ooooh my goodness, was it delicious. How could it not be with those two as the only ingredients? Piped some swirls and roses. Voila.

Other than that, my other project was laundry, which is far less interesting or informative to read about. Except that I finally bleached our white curtains and they're white again!

Project: Cake 1

So, in keeping with my New Year's resolution, I completed a project in the first week of January.

Okay, so my mom wanted me to make a cake for a birthday party and I made it the project. But nonetheless, it was a project.

She gave me a lot of liberty as far as design goes. "Something for two women. Maybe pastels." There were a million things I could have done. When I get that much room for creativity, I like to try something I've never done before. Learn something new, ya know? Last time, I learned how to make buttercream roses. So easy, but so pretty. I figured I'd try fondant roses this time. I had all of the tools to do it and now I had a reason. So I made them. I didn't make as many as I planned on doing because, although they are easy, they take a loooong time to make. I got to use some Styrofoam circles that I purchased for but did not end up using for our wedding (tomorrow is our 1 year anniversary, btw). That was pretty... resourceful.

I like doing both frosting and fondant on cakes because a lot of people don't like the taste of fondant and it gives a lot of textural interest. I didn't have enough shortening for the recipe that I was following for the buttercream, so I had to improvise. And it tasted really good, if I do say so myself.

Baked two 10 inch round chocolate cakes, two 6 inch round white cakes, and one 8 inch round chocolate/white marble cake, stacked and frosted 'em up, stuck in the flowers, piped borders/dots/leaves/letters, and there you have. A cute little birthday cake.

It's definitely not perfect (crooked lines and slanted words), but hey. Considering I've never taken a single decorating class, I think it is quite cute. And I heard it was yummy, too. My mom and one of her friends at all of the flowers, haha.

Next project: decorating cupcakes! Jenelle and I are taking a break from our baking nights to do a little decorating. =)

I know I said my first project would be to clean out my trunk so I could find my camera, but my mom got me an iPhone for my birthday. Now I can procrastinate on that project a little longer, haha. Yay for a new fun toy!!