Cupcake Love

Due to the recent events of birthdays and Halloween, I found myself back in the baking business, which I do not mind at all. Mr. Tall had a Halloween potluck up at his company's headquarter in Tustin, so I volunteered to bake up something for him to bring. I was delighted by the fact that the potluck also entailed a food competition because, as much as I hate to compete, I love the thought of prizes. I had a few cans of pumpkin puree left over from the Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake so I thought I'd bake something that had pumpkin in it. I had found a fantastic recipe on Posey’s Party Cakes's blog of Pumpkin and Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

The recipe was so enticing not only because the cupcakes contained pumpkin but also because Mr. Tall is a big fan of Mexican chocolate. The recipe was simple and combined ingredients that I would have never thought would go together well like pumpkin and Mexican chocolate. The cinnamon cream cheese frosting topped off the soft cupcakes nicely especially with the hint of spice from the Mexican chocolate. I just sprinkled the cakes with shavings of remaining chocolate, and it was ready for the potluck. Unfortunately, the cupcakes didn't win the top prize, but I still thoroughly enjoyed making them. I think I would like to bake up this recipe again because I had read on another entry of Posey's Party Cakes that if you toast the cinnamon before combining it for the frosting that it releases the essential oil of the spice so the cinnamon taste is stronger.

Round two of cupcakes galore was for my co-worker Nishanthi's birthday. She is a self-confessed peanut butter lover. I also knew that she loves Resse's Peanut Butter Cup so I thought what would be better for her birthday than Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Frosting! I found the recipe on the Food Network website. It was so simple and made a perfect batch of 12. The cupcakes combined chunky peanut butter, which gave them a very tasty crunch, and just the right amount of chocolate chips to not be overwhelmed by the rich, chocolaty ganache frosting.

When I was still in school last year, I had a lot more free time and was able to bake quite often. But now that I'm working, all I want to do when I come home is veg out on the couch and get hypnotized by the television. But baking is definitely one of the things I will always truly enjoy. I love cooking and baking for others; I must have gotten that personality trait from my grandma, who would always made sure that our family was always well fed. Like most children, I was a picky eater, and one of the few things that my grandma was able to get me to eat was rice and pineapple. What an odd combination, I know. Interestingly, it's really reflective of the inclination of my taste buds toward things that are sweet and sour.

Anyway, if anyone wants any of the recipes that I have experimented with and can't find them online, let me know and I can post them.

Enjoy,
Little Miss