What I Think of Cupcakes

One day when I was making a batch of cupcakes, I forgot to add the last bit (about a quarter of a cup) of the dry mixture. Although mildly irritated, what can I do? The batter rose as it usually did and everything was really the same. I was waiting for disaster and it was anything but. In fact, the difference only showed itself in the texture of the cupcake: it was softer. I should have expected that as there was less starch and gluten to weigh the cake down. It may be smaller but I loved the fact that it didn't get tough in the fridge, as is usual with butter cakes. I know there's a lesson here and I know you can figure it out on your own.

In mid-December last year, I found myself immersed in hundreds of cupcakes. And while I like making mini cakes and cupcakes, the challenge I face is not as much in the cupcakes as it is in finding a way to store them all in my fridge. Experience tells me that I can store 400 mini cakes/cupcakes using all 3 of our refrigerators, with one of the freezers adjusted to it's highest temperature, as in the closest I can make it to not get the cakes frozen. And never was there a day during those times that I didn't wish for a walk-in chiller.What I love about cupcakes is their versatility and how almost any colored icing suits just fine; add to it a small flower and there's CUTE written all over it. In effect, it makes every girl more girly and although I am not the I-love-the-color-pink type of a girl, I can use some of that femininity once in a while, especially when I am feeling gloomy. If I'm making a lot of cupcakes, I usually line them up and just look at them... it always makes me think how smart that person is who invented the idea of cupcakes in the first place.

The only thing that would ruin my cupcake experience is if it's crumbly. I know that a soft crumb usually manifests a crumbly one which is acceptable with layered cakes, but a no-no for cupcakes. It totally gets messy when one bites into it and that has happened to me more times than I would care for. That said, I still don't think I could easily resist a cupcake, even if there's a thick creamy frosting that would color my teeth and tongue, I know I'd eat it.