Definitely not called FUN-dant

Baking and decorating has definitely been a learning process for me. more like a learning JOURNEY, truth be told.... a long, long endless journey.

I say that not because I'm not enjoying myself... but more because no matter what I do, I'm finding ways to improve myself, either in skill, recipe/tools, or process. That's a good thing.




frustrating at times, but ultimately good.




A long time ago, I experimented with fondant. I bought the wilton pre-made kind, and I used it to cover my daughter's butterfly shaped cake for her 2nd birthday. It was fairly easy to work with, but bleh. the taste was GROSS. chewy. and bland.


As I took a bite into the cake i had worked so hard on, I immediately felt disappointed that all of my efforts got covered up by a flavorless chew-toy.


Long story short.. that experience has prevented me from really experimenting with fancy-looking cakes because again... I refuse to compromise the taste of a cake. Cake should be EATEN. otherwise.. might as well make a playdoh centerpiece and stick candles in it, knowwhaddahmean?



So I did some asking around for better tasting fondants. I got a few recipes, and decided to go ahead and try this marshmallow fondant to cover my 4 layer white cake that I had filled with a home-made strawberry buttercream.


I'm guessing that I made the fondant a little too dry, because I had a considerable number of cracks.





and ripples.






*sigh*



(I made a larger one and a smaller cake, thinking I could keep the small cake for cutting and picture taking, and donate the larger cake to the bake sale... but since THAT didn't happen.. I kept the larger cake.)



At any rate... This marshmallow fondant certainly tasted better than the store-bought kind. and with a little bit of piping and well placed roses... you could almost say the cakes look nice.






of course.. the proper camera angle does wonders. cause this picture is pretty unforgiving of the cracks and ripples.




Again. learning process. I have a few other recipes I can try, and I sincerely think that the more I work with fondant, the better I will get.


For now, however... I'm going to stick to a well placed camera, and some pretty gum paste flowers to distract the eye.






of course... making a great tasting cake under all of those cracks can certainly help sway any critics from being TOO harsh.

Hilariously not funny

So.. if you follow me on twitter or facebook, you'll know that I was busy this past week making cakes for this weekend's bake sale at church.

imagine the HILARITY that ensued when I took the bounty below to church and realized the bake sale is being held NEXT weekend, on account of the holiday weekend.

DOH!

the good news is that our neighbors got a share of cake pops and cakes, and our dinner guests will get obscenely large pieces of cake tomorrow.

yes. I am officially a Yankee Doodle Dumbass.

Happy Independence Day, gang!

Really Rosie

Last week I tried my hand at making gum paste roses.


I figured it was time to start pushing my personal envelope in the decorating arena. I mean.. I'm doing well in regards to cookies... but my cakes. *sigh* my cakes need WORK.


So.. instead of diving right in, I decided to see if I could master just one little aspect of cake decorating... decorative roses.


I made my own gum paste... which wasn't that hard to do. but like my challenge with Elmo... I clearly needed a LOT more red at this point.





after I had a decent shade to work with... it was all about making little balls, flattening them out, then wrapping them around each other.




I got better with each one I did... or at least got faster.



I also decided to make just a few roses of a yellow shade.... that I ended up using on a chocolate cake.

The thing I think I like most about these roses is that they can be made well in advance of when you actually NEED them. Considering most of my baking and decorating has to happen in the small windows that I am not actively parenting the kids (which.. by the way, during summer is like ALWAYS) I appreciate the whole "set it and forget it" mentality with gum paste.

I still dislike that gum paste has no real flavor, and essentially will break you teeth if you try to eat it... but hey. they look nice. And every rose has a thorn, right? it's only fitting that gum paste roses have a snag factor, too.

stay tuned for my post about the cakes!

Never say "Easy"

I should have known better. By very nature of my mom's maiden name, Murphy, I SHOULD have known better.

Who would have thought that a simple character-cookie like Elmo would have been such a monumental challenge?

Clearly *I* didn't... because I told Cathy that it would be EASY to do cookies for her son's second birthday.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

HAH.

I'm not going to bore you with ALLLL of the details... but the highlights of my journey into the depths of believing that Elmo was truly the spawn of Satan include:

not being able to find an Elmo-shaped cookie cutter ANYWHERE, thus having to CREATE one from scratch

not having enough 'red dye' to create an Elmo-y shade of frosting, thus having to stop mid-mixing to go buy MORE red dye to get out of the pink realm.

in new jersey, because I was at my parents' house.

waiting 12 extra hours, unable to do anything while I waiting for the 'it's about time it's finally red' frosting to harden. only to find out that it NEVER DID, thus causing me to have to...

THROW AWAY entire first batch of cookies and re-create, roll, cut, bake, and apply new first
coat of "oh dear lord I have to make red again" frosting.

before 9am, because that was the day I promised to take my kids down the shore.

Re-attack the final detail pipings so they have a chance to dry before being packaged up and sent off to the birthday boy.

only to find out the post office did not offer 2nd day air, and had to ship them overnight.



*sigh*

don't get me wrong. This project was a GREAT experience, and I was so so sooooo happy to do it. but MAN! issue after issue! Here's a look at the final results:

Elmo- take two... but with a NICE shade of red

They may look like they're smiling, but they're really laughing at me

Elmo heads together with the centerpiece cookie

From paper to product-- using clipart and the invite for inspiration

all wrapped up and ready to go

Ultimately, I think that this was a great reminder that I shouldn't take anything for granted... and like baking itself... the slightest variation with technique, ingredients, and/or location can create exponential differences in the final product.

There was no question ever I wouldn't get this project done. Cathy is a wonderful woman whom I've met through the internet. She has a heart of gold and is just a KIND person in general. Of course... having a 2 year old myself... there is absolutely NO WAY on this green earth that I would send her son anything that didn't look like Elmo. There was absolutely no room for failure in this project... and I feel pretty confident that Cathy and her birthday boy, Liam, were pleased with the final results.

I know my daughter Rhena was.

kid-tested and Elmo Approved!

Happy birthday, Liam!!

Little Boy Blue

Back in the beginning of the year, I was sitting in a playdate with some friends, and the conversation subject got around to working.. pre-and-post motherhood, that is.



I, of course, told my tale of engineering days gone by, to not working, to thoughts about becoming a teacher, then to the present, which is trying to make a go of Stepford. Right around that time, my husband Troy had finished putting up the first draft of a website for me. It was exciting step for me in this small business journey, so of course I wanted to share with my friends.



One of my friends saw a set or two of the onesie cookies I have done in the past, and asked if I would be able to make something for her sister's shower, which was to be held in June.




I rarely turn down an offer to make cookies for someone. I've found that not only the experience itself of making and decorating the cookies, but the actual PROCESS of working with a customer is completely invaluable. Naturally, I eagerly said yes, and set her date in my calendar.



Although I had done onesie cookies in the past, this project presented some great learning points for me. The location in which the shower was being held was a Tea House, and while completely adorably quaint.. space was limited. I was now challenged to find a vertical way of displaying the favor cookies, but yet would still be under the umbrella of Stepford-classy.



My client and I tossed around several ideas, and as a result, I am now the owner of a few cupcake display stands. Thanks to her and this project, I now have a way to creatively display the favors, should a client want that. I know that for some folks, this step may be a given, but it was a great lesson to me in that my product still has to look good after it leaves my hands.



Outside of that, and a few swallows of time-management lessons, this project was an easy one. Well, ok, EXCEPT for when, the night before the event, I completely scrapped about 20 some-odd cookies because the blue frosting I made dried more int eh teal family, and nowhere like the baby blue that the invitation boasted. oops.

Invitation-inspired colors

All in all, however, the project came out great, and I'm pleased I was able to do it.

all set up at the Tea House

Up close and personalized

detail view of favor tags and 'cake topper'

That's a wrap!

I need votes!

so the voting period has begun for the ice cream cupcake challenge!!

I would SURE love it if you took a minute to go HERE or HERE to vote for my Coconut Creme Identity Crisis cupcakes!!

The GOOD news, other than me totally being your bestest friend for voting.. is that every voter gets entered in a drawing to win some cupcake cards! how cool is that???

(very cool. trust me on that!)

so please. don't make me beg. (at least not TOO much)


go HERE and ignore all those other delicious looking ice cream cupcakes, and vote for my Coconut Creme Identity Crisis cupcakes.

please.


cause I'll love you forever like that.

The Coconut Creme Identity Crisis

I love to bake. y'all know that. But it hasn't always been this way. Long time ago.. back in the days of me being gainfully employed, I would have EASILY told you that I preferred cooking to baking.. because baking was so.. PRECISE. a little too much of this or not enough of that, and you're looking at floppy, vanilla-scented pancakes that taste like paper plates. (not that I'd know ANYTHING about that... or maybe I would. hmmm.)

However, since 'retiring' from my life as an engineer, and consequently assuming the life-long role of 'mommy'.. I have found I have a real JOY for baking. like.. REAL JOY. like.. my house is imploding from hostile laundry-takeover and the kids are jumping to and from the couches well over 4 feet apart. on hardwoods. and yet... this happy HUM comes over me as I hear, smell, and taste my way through another baked creation. JOY, I tell you.

But I'm an engineer! not a baker! no.. I'm a mommy! but the baking! ohhh the baking.... SO yeah. so what if I'm in my upper thirties and just now figuring out what I want to be when I grow up? chalk it up to a good old fashioned identity crisis, right?


At any rate, I've really been making a concerted effort lately to dig in and get to know others that operate (either by hobby or profession) in the trade of baking. I've begun following new blogs, connecting with other Twitters (twitterers? tweeters? twits??)... anyways.. I've been meeting new folks. and this is GOOD! cause WOW! the TALENT that exists out there is AMAZING!!!


One of the best things that has come of this new venture into discovering me is that I found out about a contest. Now y'all KNOW I love a good contest! I'm always trying to score stuff from Erin Cooks, and that Bakerella's always hosts contests I can't pass up. But THIS, people. this is different.



THIS.. is a CHALLENGE.



Can you BELIEVE I've never entered a baking challenge before? I KNOW! so with my new ice cream maker attachment in hand.. I knew it was a sure sign I had to pop my proverbial cherry and enter.


And seriously. cupcakes? and ice cream? together? booyakasha! I was SO down for that!


Now, the PLANNER in me had a TON of flavor combinations I wanted to do... but the PROCRASTINATOR in me waited til the VERY LAST few days to even begin creating something to qualify as an entry. So... upon finding the super-easy-my-kid-could-do-it ice cream recipe, I decided to go with something of the coconut persuasion.



I am SO HAPPY I DID.


First of all.. this recipe I found for Coconut cupcakes is AMAZING! I'll do a full post on the cupcakes soon, but go ahead and check it out (when you're done reading this post, of course! no need to hurry off now, ya hear?) NUTMEG! using nutmeg added such a GREAT layer to the flavor of the cake... oh! seriously the best coconut cake I've had in like.. a LONG time.



it took me a few dozen cupcakes to REALLY figure out the proper amount to put in the liners (so as to leave enough room for the ice cream, and the ALL-important crunch layer) Turns out this a mistake I did not mind.



Oh.. and I had NO LUCK with my silicone flower pan. I thought I'd be cute with a flower-shaped cupcake? nope. wrecked the first two trying to release the cakes. then decided to eat the others out of spite. oh.. the things I put up with for the sake of art!



Now that I had the cupcake portions made and the ice cream made.. it was time to make the magic happen. Now, I COULD have just slapped the two together and called it good. or GOOD-GOOD cause coconut cupcake? GOOD. coconut ice cream? GOOD. But this is my first challenge, and I wanted to do it right. and besides.. what's a ice cream cake without a crunch layer? that's right.... these cupcakes needed some crunch.

So even though y'all KNOW I can make my own graham crackers.. I went ahead and used some good ole Scooby Bones. and how could I not? I mean.. just LOOK at Scoob! Even HE seems to be giving me a secret smile letting me know I'm on to something good here.




I crushed the 'bones' up, mixed with sugar and butter, then baked the pressed-down mix in the oven. cause YES.. I wanted the crunch layer even SWEETER and BUTTERIER (is that a word?) than the regular grahams.


Topped the cupcakes with the crumbled graham cracker crust, then topped that with the coconut ice cream. (yes, a few are missing from the pan, since I wanted to test the cupcakes. I wasn't sure if baking such a small amount would dry out the cake.. but I was pleased to find out that even that little layer of cake was moist and delicious!)



After those set, I topped with a simple whipped cream. store-bought, at that, cause you know.. deadlines and all. I used my piping bag to make up for the lack of home-made, if that earns me any points back!




once they had time to freeze a little more, I began the picture taking.



Ladies and Gentlemen.. I give you...

The Coconut Creme Identity Crisis

It's a cupcake! no, it's ice cream! but it's got a pie crust! and whipped cream! Do I eat it with a fork? a spoon? my hands? aaaah!! I'm so confused!


Yes.. to pay tribute to my very own identity crisis... I offer you an identity crisis in food form. and GOOD FOOD FORM IT IS!




My husband Troy tried them, and agreed with me that these are in the "holy Mother#*&%er these are Mother#*&%ing GOOD" category. but we like coconut. we could be biased.





YOU, however, my readers, are not! (ok.. maybe one or two of you are, and that's totally cool with me!) ACTUALLY, I'm counting on a FEW of you to be biased and tune in later this week so you can VOTE FOR ME so I can win this challenge.


If you're curious, you can check out the blogs of the co-hosts of the contest... Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious. then, of course, tell them how great I am. and that I deserve to win. or.. you know.. maybe just vote for me once (or twice or like 20 times. )



At any rate.. this was SO MUCH FUN to do!! SO glad I took on the challenge of a challenge, and I totally look forward to doing another one. but maybe next month or something. I'm so full of coconut right now, it's a little hard to move.. much less bake.

Screamin' for Ice Cream

So anyone who follows me on twitter or facebook already knows that I did indeed get an ice cream maker attachment for my kitchen aide. (enter MUCH rejoicing here!)

Unfortunately, in my attempt to thank my folks for buying me such a wonderful toy... well.. I kinda bombed!

I HAD tried to make a cheesecake ice cream for all to enjoy during the last day of their visit last week, and I THOUGHT I was on to something. I even made a graham cracker crust to crunch up and swirl in!

Unfortunately, the recipe itself just didn't pan out. You see, it called for using a pudding mix.. ad while it DID provide a DEAD-ON comparative taste for cheesecake... it never really gave that 'ice cream' texture. it was, for all intents and purposes.. frozen pudding. bleh. even MORE bleh?? 10 minutes after sitting on the counter because I didn't want to finish mine? it still had the pudding texture. it just wasn't as cold. boo!

So now, you can probably imagine... I'm feeling the pressure. determined to get a good batch from this $100 toy... I researched some recipes and went to bat again. I was gonna make it work if it killed me this time.

(now in case you were wondering if I'm really that crazy-psycho-perfectionist... ok.. maybe a little... but I'm really not. I was just under the gun to create an ice cream to go with my entry for the ice cream cupcake challenge I was entering. Fear not.. I had already source a store that sold a hearty version of the flavor I needed in case I botched up yet another batch.)

So here I am... ready to make some coconut ice cream happen.

I got all my ingredients... and yes.. I was sure to get CREAM OF COCONUT.. not coconut MILK.

whisked it all together and poured it in the maker. well.. ALMOST all. I was a little sloppy, and there were some coconut flakes that went AWOL... but not so many that you'd miss them.

so just like those lame late-night commercials that beg you to 'set it and forget it'... I did just that. I let the machine churn its fatty-goodness contents, and I got us a nice batch of coconut ice cream.

The taste was so good! and I'm not just saying that cause I didn't screw it up. I really did like the ice cream! and it's going to be great for using in my entry for the ice cream cupcake challenge. but I'd for sure do this again (maybe add some pineapple bits a la pina colada? or chocolate chips? mmm... yeah. I'll do this again!)

eventually I'll take on one of those crazy ice cream recipes that calls for you to boil egg yolks and make custard and such before chilling then adding to the machine... but I'll save that for one of my 'I've had too much coffee' kind of days.

even though I linked to the recipe above.. I'll re-type it here for you. cause I'm feeling generous like that. (and it's all of what... 2 steps?)

Coconut Ice Cream (as listed on All Recipes)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup milk
1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut (DO NOT USE coconut milk!!)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut (*optional, and see my notes below)



DIRECTIONS

Combine the milk and cream of coconut in the container of a food processor or blender, and mix thoroughly. Stir in cream and flaked coconut.

Pour into the container of an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

* NOTE!! the flaked coconut I used was very long. well not VERY, but a bit on the long side. i would, should you choose to add the coconut flakes, either chop them in a food processor or cut them up a little with a knife before adding in. it'll make for more even bites, and decrease the likelihood of you getting a long flake stuck between two teeth, which could cause social embarrassment or slight pain. either way.. you're welcome. I'm only looking out for YOU here.

My First Big Gig!

I had my first BIG gig!!!

Well.. it turns out all my bake sale contributions have finally paid off. A woman at my church happened to come across a batch of my Cordially Cherry Happy Janes, and she was smitten. SO smitten, in fact, that she commissioned me to provide her with 25 DOZEN of them for a volunteer appreciation party she was charged with hosting.

(insert big huge smiling Carrie here!)

This project was a true exercise in time management, as well as a chance to create invoices and receipts for my budding business. I'm PROUD to say that the creation of and delivery of this job was done seamlessly. like.. I was done before 9pm the night before seamlessly. (I KNOW!! awesome, right??)

signed, sealed, and delivered!

In hindsight-- I COMPLETELY undercharged this order. I have no shame in saying that because it WAS an event for church, and it WAS my first big order. But yeah... The church got a GREAT deal on these... I probably averaged about $4/hour BEFORE my costs were taken out... MAYBE 25 cents/hour profit.

but that's GOOD. all part of the lessons learned!

In addition to those things, I feel I have a better understanding of ground rules and expectations when it will come to ordering and payment. I was a little bummed that it took about a week AFTER the event to be paid for the work, and when I was, the check was made out to A Taste of Stepford. (which meant I was unable to CASH the check because at the time I did not have an account set up under the fictitious name of Stepford)

But everything is a step forward in this journey. I do find it slightly meaningful that it was an order from church that forced me in the direction of above-board business practices such as proper account naming and licencing... but that's just me.

The bottom line is that I accomplished my biggest order to date with timeliness, style, and a great product.

and I got PAID.

Whe-hoo!

WINNERS!

Thanks so much to all of you who participated in my "Fan Appreciation Day" Contest! there were a number of first-time commenters, as well as my loyal readers who honestly... make this whole blogging aspect worthwhile!

so THANKS!

Now, I know I said I was only going to have TWO winners for every fifty comments, but I decided to let the random number generator choose THREE comments. (honestly? I made a big batch this time, and I have to get rid of them before *I* eat them all!!)

so thanks to the random number generator...

I can happily say a hearty congratulations to:

1. DIANA

2. CATHY

3. NANCY

I will be contacted you each very soon to make sure I have your correct mailing address! THEN, I'm off to the post office to mail your prizes!

Thanks again to each of you for playing as well as all of the promoting that was done! I've got a few more Jane Flavors I've been thinking about, so you never know when I'm going to do another contest!

xxoo!

Fan Appreciation Day - A CONTEST!

I really should have cleaned today. or did the laundry. or prepped dinner so I'm not left scratching my head in a mad scramble trying to feed everyone when we get back from my daughter's dance class.



instead... I made a new Jane. And while I will have a full post describing the newest Happy Jane up soon... I thought I'd make the introduction short and sweet.

meet the "Fanna Banana"

There's no monkeying around with this Happy Jane... She's got a banana cookie base (which happens to be egg-less, by the way), a white chocolate and banana cream center, and then she's topped with a generous coating of extra dark and bittersweet chocolate.



These Janes were inspired because both my husband and son are fans of bananas (get it.. fanna banana = fan OF banana??) and every now and then I like to make the guys in my life happy. Then I figured.. why not make some READERS happy, too?



So here goes, gang---



I'm going to give away TWO sets of 6 Fanna Banana Happy Janes for every FIFTY comments I get on this post. All it takes is a comment telling me what YOU are a fan of. (well, that, and the random number generator picking your comment number!)



(wait.. back up.. what do I mean 2 sets of 6 for every fifty? Did I not drink my coffee today or something?)



so it goes like this: If I get anywhere from 2-99 comments on this post, the random number generator will pick TWO comment entries to each have a half-dozen happy Janes mailed to them. if this post sees 100+ comments? then FOUR winners will be chosen. 150+ comments? SIX winners. you get the drift. I will, however, limit the number of winners to 10. not that I can even IMAGINE this blog post getting more than 250 comments (snort! hah! maniacal laughing like you can't imagine going on!) but in the CRAZY chance that I DO get more than 250 comments, I'm going to keep the winner count at 10. otherwise I'd be in the poorhouse trying to ship these girls to all the winners! That's fair enough, right?





so while I'm at it.. here's a FEW other little tiny rules:

• 1 comment per person with a valid e-mail address so I can contact you, please!

• do NOT forget to say what you're a fan of! Keep with the theme, people!

• Winner must reside in the continental USA. (I don't want them spoiling or melting before they have a chance to even arrive!)

• ALL COMMENTS must be received by 9am EST TOMORROW, FRIDAY MAY 15th.

BONUS ENTRIES! want to be able to leave another comment/get another entry? Here's TWO MORE WAYS TO ENTER:

• OPTION A - Link to this contest on Twitter! afterwards, come back here and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet. (URL can be obtained by clicking the timestamp below your tweet)

• OPTION B - Link to this contest on your blog! afterwards, come back and leave a comment with the URL of your blog post linking to the contest.

Not bad, eh? Three chances to enter, and since I'm going to say that a person can only 'win' once... the odds are pretty good on the spread.





Good luck! now spread the word, so I can spread some appreciation!

_____________________

Thanks so much to all of you who entered! I'm certainly a fan of people who enter my contests!

Speaking of contests... this one is officially CLOSED!!! check back later for the WINNERS!!!

The Secret Lives of Cupcakes

Cupcakes remind me a LOT of people. Cupcakes.. much like people... all are different. different shapes, different colors, some good, some bad... and let's face it... there are pretty ones, and there are ones you don't want to be caught in public with.

Consequently.. you just don't know about a cupcake til you get under the wrapper and sink your teeth into one. (please note.. I do not suggest taking wrappers off of or sinking teeth into people. this might not go over very well with people that don't know you very well...)

Today I made a simple vanilla cupcake for my daughter and her friend that came over for a playdate. Then I topped with a very simple chocolate ganache buttercream frosting.

I'm sure the kids were happy enough with the very idea of cupcakes.. and CHOCOLATE frosting.

but I'd be a liar if I didn't say that it made me happy to watch them discover that their cupcakes were techno-blue with chocolate chips inside.




I guess secrets aren't always a bad thing.


Very Simple Vanilla Cupcakes (adopted from the book 500 Cupcakes)

1/2 cup (1 stick) sweet butter, softened
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 cup self-rising flour (I used all-porpose)
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract


Preheat Oven to 350F, place 12 paper baking cups in muffin pan.

Place all ingredients ina medium bowl and beat with electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Spoon mixture into the cups, bake for 20 minutes. (I have a convection oven, and took mine out at 18 minutes)

Remove pans from oven and cool for 5 minutes, then remove teh cupcakes and cool on a rack.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to three months.

yields 1 dozen

___________

Feel free to add in whatever mixers you feel appropriate to show a little bit of YOUR inner self.

We added techno blue food coloring and a gabzillion semi-sweet chocolate chips. (Playdates just seem more fun with a gabzillion chocolate chips.)

getting there is half the fun

So I've been on a mission lately. Not only have I gotten it into my head that I need to make a cupcake counterpart to every Happy Jane flavor I create... but I also want to enter the Ice Cream Cupcake challenge this year.

Two things need to happen for me to accomplish my goals. First... I need to get an ice cream maker. I was TOTALLY hoping to get one for Mother's day... but I got a lawnmower instead. I'm not going to talk about that here, though.. because I do try to keep from using profanities on this blog. So whatever. I'm still ice cream maker-less. But I'm not too worried. my husband may MAKE the money, but I control the budget. There shall definitely be a belated mother's day ice cream maker coming my way soon.

So the second thing is that I need to figure out how to make a good graham-cracker cupcake. I don't mean a vanilla cupcake with a graham cracker bottom. I mean.. "holy cow.. this tastes exactly like a graham cracker.. but it's a cupcake!"

I found a recipe online that I used yesterday.... but the problem is that it's in grams. gar! So I made some conversions and did my best to re-create this recipe.

The 'batter' ended up being VERY THICK. like "am I making muffins or scones here?" thick.

Nonetheless... they baked up fine. At least by looks anyway. to taste one out of the oven was not what I had hoped for. They tasted a bit... well... bran muffinish. I mean.. they were OK.... but not roll over and find a glass of milk good or anything.

But I thought... let me forge forward. you never know what they'll taste like after I pipe some buttercream in there and cover them with chocolate. Oh wait.. did I say buttercream? Yeah... I did. Marshmallow buttercream, as a matter of fact. thick, sugary, make-your-teeth-hurt marshmallow buttercream. SURELY that would balance the neutral graham taste of the cake.

But wait... because I was looking to re-create my More than S'mores Happy Janes in Cupcake Formation... I needed to get some chocolate. Thank you, Trader Joe's... this ought to work nicely in a ganache layer on top.

and nicely it did. I spooned a little on each cupcake, and sprinkled with a few graham crackers for garnish.

When all was finally set... I excitedly peeled away the paper to see the treasure that would greet me. Looks good, no?

Of course... there's no point of piping in the buttercream if you can't see it in there... so here's a cross-section for you.

All in all... it was... lackluster.

I know!! so sad!!! I was really bummed it wasn't spot on. I even typed out the recipe with the conversions so I could include it here on my blog... but I don't feel right sharing it.. cause it wasn't good enough.

All in all... I need to tweak the recipe a little. I think... because I used an entire portion of graham flour... it was a little on the dry side. next time I'm going to use a mix of the graham and white all purpose flour. and instead of non-fat milk, I'm totally gonna break out the full-fat moo-juice. that little bit of fat helps to make a moist cake.. so I need not to skimp on that.

Also?? I need to pipe in MORE buttercream. The cake wasn't BAD... but with the grainy/branny/neutralnessof the cake, and the dark dark bitterness of the chocolate ganache... you really need a bit more punch of sweet for balance.

So hooray for the pictures... but fingers crossed that I can get this right. I really do want an authentic graham-cracker tasting CAKE... and when I DO get that magic combo down.. I will re-post with the winning recipe.

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let it be known that I am currently doing my best to personally get rid of all these 'bad' cupcakes. They may not be great... but I'd hate to see all that good chocolate go to waste. Besides... I figure, with every one I eat, I'm one bite closer to figuring out how to make it better. I better stop messing things up, though... summer is coming, and my bathing suits will not appreciate all these mistakes I'm eating!