Nicole vs. Cupcake #3: A whole bunch of crap

This cupcake is a mish-mash of things I wanted to try.

First I saw rainbow cupcakes.  I had several boxes of cake mix sitting around (they were on sale at the Teeter recently), so I figured I could use my gel icing colors to dye the cake batter and not fuss with also trying a made-from-scratch cake.

Second, I wanted to try a new frosting (plain buttercream is alright....).  The author of this blog I think also feels "ehh" about buttercream (it's too, too sweet for me).  And she swears this stuff is the bomb-shizzle.  Originally I was going to make a chocolate frosting whenever I made the yellow cake (because nicole loves her some yellow cake + chocolate frosting) but figured the brown of the chocolate frosting might be a little...iffy...with the rainbow extravaganza.  So I will just try the vanilla frosting.  

Thirdly, I was using a butter (yellow) cake with a vanilla frosting, so I thought I could also throw in a little chocolate...in the form of making hi-hats.  I decided only to do half with the hi-hats so I have a side-by-side comparison.

I guess you could call these "Rainbow Cupcakes with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Butter Cream...some with Formal Wear"

I didn't take any pictures of the colored cake batter.  It was a bit time consuming (not hard, but it takes more effort than just plopping the cake batter into cupcake pans...you have to color several small batches of cake batter then plop it into said cupcake pans).  Here is what I did with the colors:

• I used the wilton gel icing colors.  If you want to make a rainbow of colors you could get away with just buying a red, yellow and blue (and make orange, green and purple).  I happened to have green as well, so I used that instead of making it. 
• I used a toothpick to dip into the gel colors and then swirled the toothpick into the portion of cake batter to distribute it.  You can always add more color but you can't take away color, so it is best to start gradually
• I divided the batter (Betty Crocker Super Moist Butter Yellow cake mix--I didn't have any white cake mix, but this definitely needs to be done with "lighter" color batters) into pretty equal portions, but if you want more of one color, divide it however you like.
• red (wilton no taste red)
• equal-ish amounts of red + yellow (wilton lemon yellow)= orange
• yellow
• green (wilton leaf green), alternately, you could do blue + yellow
• blue (wilton royal blue)
• two parts red + one part blue = purple (I found that equalish amounts of blue and red gave a kinda greyish color.)  This made it slightly less unappealing but we'll see what the color looks like baked up.
• I started with the purple and went backwards through the rainbow.  I just plopped the batter into the cupcake liners and two mini-round pans (so I can have a mini-cake...yay!) at random.  I didn't try to be pretty or fancy or what not.

I baked per the package directions.  Although they baked a little too long and are a little extra golden (brown...) so the exterior colors look a little wonky (I blame my insatiable blog reader(s) because I started writing this blog as they were baking and didn't realize what time it was!).  Also, my mini-round pans domed like no body's business.  My cupcakes also domed (beautifully) but the mini-rounds are ridiculous.

I don't know why the cupcake picture isn't turned.  It is turned in my photo editing software.  I did the same thing to the minicake photo as the cupcakes but only one turned.  I just dunno. Also, ignore my dirty stove.  Anywho.  So I snacked on one of the minicakes during the day.  It was good.  Cake mix...hard to screw it up.  

On Sunday I made the frosting.  I wasn't sure if it would turn out because some people say they have issues getting it to be thick enough to pipe onto cupcakes, so I only made a half batch (the full batch requires 4 egg whites and 2 sticks of butter plus some sugar). I followed the directions on the website and it turned out well.  Once the sugar/egg white mixture was ready I just threw it into the stand mixer and let it go for about 7 minutes.  The stuff kinda looks like marshmallow fluff.  I added in the butter and kept mixing and eventually the frosting started making this definite "slapping" sound so I knew it was ready.

The texture of this frosting is just silky.  It's amazing.  I have two notes about this recipe.  It did take about 30 minutes from start to finish (not counting the time to warm the butter to room temp) with having to heat the egg white/sugar mixture and all the beating, so this isn't going to be a 5 minute-wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am frosting.  Also, I used a suspiciously old stick of butter...and I can taste it in the frosting.  The vanilla flavoring almost covers it.  But lesson learned:  DO NOT USE OLD SKANKY BUTTER FOR THIS RECIPE!!!!   This made me glad that I did not make the full batch, but I will definitely be making this frosting again--and trying some flavored versions (like making strawberry SMBC but using my homemade strawberry jam instead of store bought stuff!)

This is a cross section of a frosted cupcake (I frosted a few for taste purposes--I mean...the cake might have also canceled out the wonky butter flavor--and to make the hi-hats since the chocolate might also help cancel out the wonky butter flavor).  See the rainbow? FUN!  It's hard to see the orange vs red in the photo..but they are both there.  Now I don't know if I can handle having an un-dyed cake after this.  It needs to be a color, if not multiple colors.  I mean...look at it! It's just a box mix...but throw a little color in...and yipee!!!!  Plus...I also have enough of the gel coloring to last me about 10 lifetimes.

The hi-hats were essentially chocolate mixed with a little oil.  You dip the frosting of the cupcake in (or if you are insane the entire (unwrapped) cupcake) and wait until the chocolate set.  The blog I got it off of said hers set in about 15 minutes.  After 2 hours mine were firmer but still a bit soft.  I don't know if it was a bit too warm or humid in my apartment, but I'm sure a quick trip into the fridge/freezer would solve that.

I thought the chocolate with the vanilla was lovely.  Minus the wanky butter taste.  The chocolate still couldn't cover that.  But had this process been skunky-butter free these would have been totally delightful.  Unfortunately the rest were thrown away.  Next time...next time...

In summary:

• rainbow cupcakes: a little extra work (and mess to clean up) but fun
• swiss meringue butter cream frosting: fantastic--as long as you don't use wonky butter
• hi-hats: great for a taste of chocolate

Road Trip: Part 4

April 5, 2009--Drive back to NC

It was a pretty standard drive.  Hit traffic a few times.  Stopped at the world's slowest McDonald's. Blah Blah Blah.

This song is a good song to end the Road Trip posts on.  It's called "Hymn to the Garnet and the Gold."  It is not FSU's alma mater, but it should be.

Road Trip: Part 3

Note from Nicole: When I went on this road trip and started writing up the posts about this road trip, I was in a much different emotional state.  I still want to capture that state but some of the sadness and being miserable might be overshadowed by currently being happy. Also, I am getting bored with writing so many blogs lately, so I'm getting less type-y with them.

April 4, 2009--the Garnet vs. Gold game.

So I walk into the stadium.  As I was walking to find a good place to find a seat I noticed that some of the concession stands were open.  It was time for dinner!  Another hotdog! (what?  I had been on a major hotdog kick at the time and I was craving them all the time.)  I got a seat like 4 rows up from the field.  Shortly after I ate my hotdog, the fun began.  First, they had the school's mascot, Renegade and Chief Osceola.  He didn't throw the spear into the field (nor was the spear on fire), but I was glad that he was there!  Next, the football team came out to start their warmups.  I took most of the photos during warmups.  I tried to get a good picture of Bobby Bowden, but he never came closer than midfield.  I tried to get pictures of other coaches to varying success.  Then I was just taking random photos.

I took a few during the game, but mostly I tried to watch the game rather than trying to time my photo to catch the action.  I also took some photos of the post-game fireworks.  I had wanted to record video of it, but I was having issues making my camera record (I have now figured it out and it's a little weird getting it started but now I know it is weird getting it started).  I have put most of the photos I took into a slideshow featuring music from the Marching Chiefs (who were also at the game and I found  out, the spring game is when they pick the new drum major, or at least that is what the women next to me said).

Now...sad girl status.  I was happy to be at the game and I did enjoy it.  But I felt like a complete loser that I was at the game alone.  I had no one that wanted to go with me.  Now, let me clarify I am meaning a difference between someone who would go with me vs. someone that wanted to go with me and wanted to go to the game.  I still feel like a loser about that.  Actually, that is a general loser theme in my life.  Things I want to do, places I want to go, no one to go with.

Anywho... Without further ado, here is the video.  The songs in the video are: FSU Cheer, Warchant and 4th Quarter Fanfare (all recorded by the 2000 Marching Chiefs). 

Note#2 from Nicole: the video I made is slightly larger than blogger's size limit.  I'm scheduling this blog to post without trimming the video down, so if there is no video here I didn't get to trimming it down.

Five-fer Friday: Countdown to Reunion #2

Second part in a three part series. Part one was "top songs"

This Five-fer is going to chronicle the top 5 movies of my senior year of high school.*

1. Titanic (December 1997)
2. Men in Black (July 1997)
3. Saving Private Ryan (July 1997)
4. Armageddon (July 1997)
5. Air Force One (July 1997)

*I actually looked at the top grossing films from 1997/1998 and looked to make sure they were released from about July 1997-June 1998 (I included the summer before my senior year since lots of "blockbusters" are released in the summer...my list my rules)

Road Trip: Part 2

Note from Nicole: When I went on this road trip and started writing up the posts about this road trip, I was in a much different emotional state.  I still want to capture that state but some of the sadness and being miserable might be overshadowed by currently being happy.

Saturday, April 4, 2009--everything but the game

Ah...the big day.  I had plans of getting up at a reasonable time and heading out into Tallahassee for the entire day.

So instead, I slept in and leisurely got up and got dressed.  I planned to head to the Garnet and Gold store to pick up any "necessary" FSU items, eat lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Tally and then head to campus and wander around and go to the game.

I leave the hotel and for the life of me can't remember any of the backroad shortcuts, so I decide to stick to main roads.  I head down N. Monroe to eventually get to Appalachee Parkway.  As I am driving down the road I am just surprised at how much I have forgotten.  There were a some places along the road I remembered, like the Prince Murat Motel (which...based on the exterior and location...NEVER STAY THERE), but most things I was like "wha...?"

As I am about to turn onto the road to head to the mall (and thus the Garnet and Gold store) I pass the state capital.  I laughed as I remembered all the protesters that were hanging out after the 2000 Presidential election.  Cause...Florida played a critical AND controversial role in that election (Please no comments about it..if there are any I will delete those comments entirely.  That election is said and done and was 8 YEARS AGO..time to let it go.) 

But I digress. 

The "necessary" things I found at the store included: two tshirts, a visor (that was on sale! yay!) and a framed photo of a picture of the marching band (circa 1955) spelling out FSU.  It's black and white and there is a horrible shadow on the field from the press box.  I love it! (I would take a picture of it...but since it was someone else's photo (or a print of that photo) I am buying...I don't want to)

After the mall, I took the long way to campus, heading down Tennessee Street (kinda the main drag in front of campus).  Again there were quicker ways to campus, but they were really really fuzzy in my head--plus I didn't mind the roundabout way. Driving down Tennessee, I could already tell how different FSU was.  So I got my initial peek at FSU and headed towards one of my favorite restaurants in Tally, Gordo's.  Unfortunately....I didn't abide my by original plan which was to get to Gordo's pretty much when it opened.  When I drove by it was PACKED.  So no Gordo's for Nicole :o(

I went ahead to the stadium to park and was just going to wander around campus until it got closer to game time.  As I was heading towards the stadium...I had no idea where I was going.  I mean....there was a ginormous stadium on my left...so I wasn't lost, but I wasn't sure what road I was on.  So I go and park and cross the street (uh...Pensacola St....maybe?) and go towards campus.  I see the new additions that have been made to the baseball stadium....and I notice the crowd around the circus.  Which...there was going to be a performance from the FSU Flying High Circus that day.  I was walking past when I stopped suddenly and thought...why don't I go to the circus?  So I did!

I bought a hotdog and lemonade (which were overpriced) and made my way into the tent.  It was a really great show.  I had never gone when I was a student at FSU, but better late than never.  (It was hard to get decent photos in there, plus I was missing things in the beginning fiddling with the settings on my camera trying to get a good shot.  So I finally stopped and just watched the show.  This is the one decent picture I got.)

As I was watching the circus I realized a couple of things.  1) why did I never take the class?? and 2) if I would have known about the lovely fellas who participate in the circus.....yeah...  I mean, these boys are mere wee ones now...but I would have been ALL OVER THEM back in the day.  Seriously.  Not that they all were nice to stare at....but plenty of potential distractions.  Plus...really...I think my life will never be the same having never learned the Spanish web.

After the circus I started my hike of campus.  I can't even describe how different it is.  I was just looking at everything completely flabbergasted that i didn't take one. single. picture of the campus.  The new chemistry building? No picture.  The new med school buildings? No picture.  The new on-campus apartments? No pictures.  All the new statues? No pictures.  You get the drift.  

As I hiked across campus I made sure I went through Landis Green.  Which is this big field area surrounded by dorms (including Landis Dorm...) and other buildings.  It was full of girls laying out in their bikinis (it was sunny and upper 70s that day).  A group of people playing football.  Some random students filming something.  People sitting on the grass reading, playing on their laptop, etc.  The students may change (the first iPods came out my senior year and most students didn't have their own computer let alone laptop) but the fact that they congregate on the green remains the same.

I took a break and sat on a bench outside the Westcott Building. And the Westcott Fountain.  Where birthdays are celebrated by getting thrown into the fountain.  I don't know why. It's just tradition.

I continued to walk north along Copeland Avenue and noticed that Bill's Bookstore had moved into a bigger, nice building.  Also, PotBelly's was gone (ok...maybe this is just my memory messing with me, I used to think it was on the corner of Copeland and College...but the interwebs are telling me they are still there, just a bit further down College...or maybe they moved into a bigger/nicer building because their website says v. 2.0.  I dunno).   I walked up to the school of music and decided to make my way back across campus.

I passed two girls who were trying to get into a gated parking lot.  Their student id wasn't working...so the driver (who was in an SUV) was just going to break through the gate.  I didn't stay to see the outcome.

I walked by one of the biology buildings and saw the greenhouse.  Then comes all the random statues.  I think many of them were gifts...or maybe done by FSU students.  I dunno.  My favorite was "dog without head."

I went through the student union and it has changed a bit.  There was the cafeteria-type place that was gone.  (been replaced with fast-food type stuff).  Then where the fast-food type stuff had been...is now a Chili's restaurant.  Like.  A freakin' Chili's is on the FSU campus.

I crossed Woodward (oh buzzing noise to let pedestrians know it is safe to cross...you have not changed) and decided to go into the FSU Bookstore.  I walk in and was informed it would be closing in about 10 minutes.  So I decided to just look at their trailer hitches (I have been looking for a particular one forever and can't find exactly what I am looking for).  As I was leaving I noticed some people who were getting turned away...and I knew them!  It was some people from the Seminole club up here in NC! (what are the odds...)

So I stopped and chatted with them a bit.  Talked about how different the campus was and blah dee blah.

I then decided to head back towards the stadium.  By this time it was close to 5pm.  The game started at 7pm and I wanted to walk around the new baseball/football stuff and get something to eat.  So I walked around the stadium exterior.  It's really nice and they've finished building the university center around it.  I went to the green area outside the stadium where all the day's activities had been set up.  I noticed that everyone is starting to pack up, so I buy a drink and decide to go into the FSU store at the stadium.  I stopped by the Unconquered statue.  That thing is much larger than I thought it would be, plus it is pretty high off the ground (no doubt to discourage drunk people and precocious children from climbing on it).  And no, no real photo.

I went into the store and milled around to kill some time.  I debated if there were any other "must have" things in there but decided that I had spent enough money already.  Then I noticed a mass of people moving inside towards the stadium.  I went and joined the mass and lo and behold, the gates were open for the game.  So in I walked to the stadium that I had not been in since August 31, 2002.

Road Trip: Part 1

Note from Nicole: When I went on this road trip and started writing up the posts about this road trip, I was in a much different emotional state.  I still want to capture that state but some of the sadness and being miserable might be overshadowed by currently being happy.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Today was just getting from NC to FL.  Google Maps told me it would be a 9.5 hour drive.  Meh.  I figured I would fall somewhere between the 9-10 hour mark depending on how fast I drove, if I hit any traffic and how long of a stop I made.

The drive was pretty uneventful for the first half.  Just driving in moderate traffic.  I made two random mixed CDs and brought Jim Gaffigan's new CD for the drive.  I listened to the local radio stations (in NC) until they started petering out, then I switched to the first mixed CD that was chock full of fast-paced and more upbeat songs.  And really, I did feel like listening to Big Pimpin' on repeat for about 30 minutes.

I followed the first mixed CD with the new Jim Gaffigan CD.  And really...they didn't put the most funny bits in the tv special.  Like seriously at one point I was laughing so hard I almost drove off the highway.  But I can't remember for the life of me what exactly he was talking about....

I next put the second mixed CD in (which was a random assortment of more sappy songs)...and that turned out to be a bad idea.  Those songs got me contemplating, which eventually led to me getting upset.  And crying.  Again.  I mean, I am seriously getting sick of crying and just wish I wouldn't do it.

About this time I was near the halfway point (mileage-wise) of the trip.  That meant I had drove 309 miles.  I decided to wait a little longer to stop because I didn't need to get gas quite yet and it was still a little early for dinner.  Finally, I made the decision to stop because it was kinda like "why not?"  and boy I am glad I did....

About 20 miles further from the stop (where I did fill up gas), I hit stopped traffic.  We moved about 20 feet.  Then stopped.  Then moved about 100 ft.  Then stopped.  You get the idea.  And of course this always happens when there is an exit NOWHERE in sight.  So I was glad I had a tank full of gas, an empty bladder and some food and beverage to occupy me.

Eventually I got through that mess (was due to an teeny fender bender on my side and rubber-neckers gawking at the multi-car fender bender on the other side) and it seemed to be smooth sailing from there. 

I finally hit I-10 and from there it was a straight 2.5 hour drive to Tallahassee.  I can't tell you how calm I felt the closer I got to Tally.  And how I felt like I was going home.  I was driving west into the setting sun and traffic was light so it was going to be a nice end to the drive.  I was less than 30 minutes from my hotel, I figured I would get there at about 8:30, which would put the total trip to just over 9 hours.  That would give me time to check in, unpack and relax.

Until...

A sea of brake lights.  Both lanes as far ahead as I can see.  We are technically moving...but not much.  I don't know if it is construction or an accident.  I figured it was an accident since by this time it was about 8pm and this area isn't really a place where they would need to do night-time construction.  I mean...it took 45 minutes to go less than 5 miles.  Finally we come across a little sign that says "right lane closed, 1/4 mile."  I am in the left lane....I don't know if that is for real or not since I don't see the people ahead merging left.  A semi beside me puts his blinkers on...so I let him in front of me.  We crawl another 1/2 mile or so and then BAM...the right lane is closed.  So of course we get the line of assholes that want to floor it and shoot over at the last second, causing the left lane to have to stop.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  And to add insult to injury, by the time I got to where the lane closure was, the men were picking up the cones to open the right lane back up.

So, ok.  No BIG deal.  I am still like 20 miles from my hotel, construction is done it's not that late.  So I'm going.  I see the first exit for Tally.  I momentarily debated taking it, but decided to just stay on the highway and take the exit my hotel is on (since it is RIGHT OFF the highway).

I regretted that decision.

I am less than 5 miles from my exit and we stop.  AGAIN.  For more construction.  Luckily, this was just a teeny area of closure (and the guys were actually working on the road).  And once it opened back up it was to 3 lanes and not just 2.  So I floor it to my exit.

I am waiting at the light to turn right (it has two lanes turning left and two turning right off the highway...and everyone has to wait for a green light).  The lights are green.  I am in the inner right lane (because my hotel is on the left).  I am getting into the far lane when some car zooms past me on the left. 

Now, let's break this down.  I am in the left of two right-turning lanes.  I am turning into the left-most lane on the road.  A car passes me on the left.  I'll wait a sec and let you do the math.

Ok?

Yeah...WHERE THE HELL DID THAT VEHICLE COME FROM???????  Luckily the asshole zoomed by me because I didn't see him until he was past my car.  My only thought is that he (or she...I dunno) ran the red light.  Like...big time.  I mean, when the main road light turned YELLOW...there was no one there and no one was close enough for me to see headlights.  Given the time it took to change to red and then my light to change to green...a car came through the intersection.  Sheesh.

But finally I get to the hotel.  I didn't do too much researching on it...and also was trying to keep things on the cheaper side so I wasn't expecting a really nice hotel.  I didn't realize it was the kind where the doors are on the outside.  But no biggie.  I checked in in about 30 seconds and went to my room.  My only complaints about the room is that it has a slight musty smell to it (like it needs to be aired out...not like wet stuff sat in here for awhile).  Also...the bed doesn't have a fitted sheet on it...so there are two flat sheets.  That kinda skeeves me and I don't know why.  But alas...it is 11:30, I have driven about 630 miles today...and I might have gotten some bad tan lines while driving.  It's time to sleep.

Five-fer Friday: Countdown to Reunion #1.

In two weeks I will be heading down to FL for my 11th high school class reunion (things didn't get planned in time to make it for the 10th).  Class of '98! Woot!

In honor of this blast from my past, the next three Five-fers will center around the class reunion. I will probably write a post about the reunion, but probably not really post any pics or anything.  I kinda want to keep my blog semi-anonymous, so I don't like to post pictures of me or people I know on it.  

To start it off: Top 5 Songs from 1998* **

1. Next--Too Close
2. Brandy and Monica--The Boy is Mine
3. Shania Twain--You're Still the One
4. Savage Garden--Truly Madly Deeply
5. LeAnn Rimes--How Do I Live

*this is from the Billboard Hot 100 list.  Other lists are slightly different, but the top 10's were generally pretty similar also including songs such as: Celine Dion--My Heart Will Go On, Goo Goo Dolls--Iris, Natalie Imbruglia--Torn and Matchbox20--3am

**I also realize that some of these songs might have actually been released in 1997 or been released AFTER my high school graduation in 1998.  

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Unless you are me...mine are worth more like...300-400.  Heh.

I am not a photographer.  I take mediocre pictures.  Don't get me wrong, every now and then I take a photo and wow...I even impress myself.  

I think the best picture I ever took was from a disposable camera on a trip to Europe. I was at this university in London (long story short--I was staying in the dorms with a bunch of other U.S.  high school kids during the summer) and there was this old building on the campus (the Founder's Building).  It was gorgeous.  The building itself was shaped like the outline of a square so that it had a huge courtyard in the middle.  

Me and some of the other kids on the trip were walking up this path towards the Founder's Building. There was some tallish grass and trees lining the path and we came around this curve and you could just see a corner of the building.  So I stopped and took a picture...and it came out beautifully.  Right now it sits in a small frame (since it's just a 3x5 print), but eventually I want to get the picture printed in a larger size (I have the negative somewhere...)

Anyway...back to bad pictures (and yes...I took a picture of a picture. Hee.  If you look closely you can see my hand in the reflection on the glass in the frame on the left side).  I have plenty of photos that include rogue bits of fingers over the lens.  I have corrected that problem to make sure I keep my fingers just on the edge of the camera.  Now my problem is that I don't really know how to use my camera and I don't really know what I need to do for certain lighting/conditions.

That coupled with the fact that I'm not really a picture taker.  I often feel weird just randomly taking pictures.  Even when I am a tourist visiting something.

So with my recent discovery of iMovie, I am going to fix that problem.  I am going to dig out my camera manual (which I just have a little point-n-shoot digital camera..I will master that before I spend some serious $$$ on a better camera) to see what the settings actually are and things I can manually adjust.  Then I am going to read up on actually taking the photos.  

Then I just need to go to town and take pictures of EVERYTHING.

So, my loyal reader(s) might get to benefit (or be tortured) with this new thing.

Nicole vs. Cupcake #2: Really Long Cupcake Name...

This recipe is for : Chocolate Cupcakes Stuffed with Strawberry Chocolate Ganache and Frosted with Chocolate Glaze and Buttercream.

Ok, after typing just the recipe title I need a nap!

I think it is safe to say why I tried this recipe. That recipe title is ridiculous. I was like "hells yeah!" I sort of gave a preview to this recipe in a previous blog post, about how I might be mildly allergic to chocolate (at least to very large amounts of cacao). But I think the components of the recipe were good, so I imagine that together it was just chocolate insanity. Here is the recipe as per the website with my notes/comments in green.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes

~8 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven [I got exactly 8 cupcakes, and that was even scraping the bowl AND beater to get every last bit out, but the recipe author mentions that this recipe is easily doubled or quadrupled or whatever you need very easily]

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temp [see, mini recipes like this is why I ADORE that Land-O-Lakes now has little pre-wrapped 1/2 stick packages. That way, I don't have a half stick of butter sitting in my fridge starting to taste like a medley of stuff in my fridge...cause...blech!]

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg, room temp

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup high quality unsweetened cocoa powder like Valrhona brand [I just used the regular Hershey's stuff, but if you are a sucker for insane amounts of chocolate...use some high percentage cacao stuff]

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

2 Add egg and beat until well combined.

3. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.

4. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine

5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.

6. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. [my cupcakes tested clean at about 15 minutes. I mentioned before how they had a crater in the middle, after some internet surfing and finding some comments from the blog author about this same cupcake recipe here I see that I probably just overfilled my cupcake liners. Mine weren't as disastrous looking as her photo, but next time I'll err on the side of caution and only fill about half full. But anywho, the cupcakes were still delicious tasting...and you can cover craters with frosting]

Strawberry Ganache Filling and Ganache Glaze

4.5 ounces (128 grams) Valrhona 85% cacao (or any bittersweet chocolate) [I used some Ghirradeli 60% cacao stuff]

3/4 cup heavy cream [I got an 8 oz. (1 cup) carton of heavy cream...and made butter with the leftovers! heee! it's easy to make butter with heavy cream. Just put it in a leak-proof container (it is easier to work with smaller batches--I used a gladware container) and shake, shake, shake. First you will hear it sloshing. Then you won't hear it sloshing (it will kinda look like thick whipped cream at this point). Keep shaking and you'll hear some more sloshing and at this point you should have some soft butter-y looking stuff and some liquid. I drain the liquid and shake shake shake some more. Viola! You have butter. If you want to make salted butter, just throw in a bit of salt in the beginning. Making butter is a skill I learned in the second grade, woot!]

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

pinch salt

1/3 cup strawberries, diced

1. Chop chocolate and transfer into a heat proof bowl.[I used a 2 cup pyrex measure cup so that I made sure I had plenty of room to stir since I tend to make messes if the container is too full...I would imagine for me if I made the full batch I would need to use my 4 cup pyrex measuring cup]

2. Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream over the chocolate.

3. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined [initially, it was gross looking, like little tiny strings of chocolate in the cream. Just keep stirring and it'll eventually turn into a nice chocolatey brown...chocolate mixture].

4. Add vanilla and salt. Stir until combined.

5. Divide the ganache in two approximate equal portions. In the first portion, mix in the chopped strawberries. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill. [since I had cratercakes and didn't have anything to fill and decided to do just a pool of the strawberry chocolate stuff, I made a half recipe just to use for the puddle of chocolate. I am convinced that this is the component that my body was NOT agreeing with. So I think I will avoid any high percentage of cacao chocolate from now on]

6. Leave the second portion on the counter to cool down. You want the filling to thicken up before the glaze. Once the filling is think, fill the cupcakes with it. Then glaze with the glaze. [Obviously, I didn't do this step, I just put my bowl of chocolate in the fridge while I waited for the butter (to make the frosting) to come to room temp, so I don't know time-wise about how long it would take to get the stuff cool enough]

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-3 cups powdered sugar

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy.

2. Add the milk, vanilla extract, and 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat at low speed, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar to arrive at the consistency and sweetness you like. [I used about 2.5 cups of powdered sugar to get what I think is a nice sturdy consistency. This recipe made WAAAY much more frosting that what is needed for just 8 cupcakes, unless you put a TON of frosting on them. And I mean, like, a ton. I had so much frosting left over I could have probably frosted another 8 cupcakes easily. But this was a delicious recipe.]

Finished cupcake:

As I mentioned before, I never tried the finished recipe. Each individual component was good, so I imagine the final product to be just a pile of sweet, chocolate-y goodness. I might venture to make this recipe again...except with just plain ol' Hershey's milk chocolate instead of some 60% cacao stuff. The cupcake recipe and the frosting recipe are definite keepers...nice basic recipes that can be used over and over and over.

I also imagine this would be fantastic as a cake. Imagine a chocolate cake filled with a chocolate strawberry mixture and covered in buttercream. Granted, using these recipes I don't know conversion wise how much you would have to increase the recipe to get enough for a cake. Not my problem. Heh. I like CUPCAKES!!

Nicole vs. Cupcake #1: Sweet and Salty Honey Peanut Cupcakes

Note:  I wrote this EONS ago, but always had issues getting photos to upload to the blog.  Now I don't, so I have gone back and put in the photos for the Nicole vs. Cupcake posts that I had already written.

The first installment is Sweet and Salty Honey Peanut Cupcakes

I had been on a sort of honey kick. I mean, wouldn't you if you had some quasi-local honey sitting in your apartment like I did?

(sorry I didn't rotate the photo...). The recipe per the Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit is as follows with my comments in green:

Cupcakes

2 tablespoons peanuts, unsalted

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup + 1 tablespoon flour (cake if you have it, otherwise all-purpose)

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons grape seed oil or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons whole milk

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup thick honey [the recipe creator mentioned her honey had to be heated to be pourable, mine was really thick but I could pour it at room temp]

4 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/4 cup sugar

1. Chop peanuts together with the salt and set aside. If you can’t find unsalted peanuts use the salted but only add a pinch of additional salt. Taste the chopped nuts and make sure they are salty. [Now, I could have used my ridiculously ginormous food processor to chop the itty bitty amount of peanuts. I took a much more simplistic approach: HAMMERTIME! Also, I didn't measure the peanuts that I was pounding. I just threw a handful into a ziploc baggie and bang! bang! bang!]

2. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into the bowl of a standing mixer.

3. In a medium bowl, combine oil, milk, egg yolks, and honey. Stir to combine.

4. On a low setting, start to beat the dry mixture and slowly add the wet. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until incorporated.

5. Transfer mixture to another bowl. Wash and dry mixer bowl.

6. Whip egg whites with whip attachment on medium-high speed until foamy. With the mixer on medium speed, add cream of tarter and slowly add sugar. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.

7. Scoop a cupful of the stiff egg whites into the batter and stir to combine. This should lighten up the batter.

8. Transfer the batter to the egg whites and gently fold until there are no more streaks of egg white.

9. Fill cupcake cups about 1/3 full. The sprinkle peanut/salt mixture over top. Fill with batter up to 2/3s full and bake at 350 F for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. [My cupcakes were DONE by 15 minutes, and actually I wish they were a teeny bit less brown. Another commenter mentioned hers were done in half the time as well....so if you make these...watch them closely!]

Frosting

4 ounces or 1/2 package of Philly cream cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1-2 cups sifted powdered sugar

2 tablespoons thick honey

1. Bring butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours.

2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment.

3. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.

4. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and the honey. Beat until combined.

5. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. [I only added a little over a cup of powdered sugar...and I didn't sift it...it had a couple of lumps...and the frosting was a little on the thin side, so next time I would add more to get it a little more heftier]

Voila!

The taste of these is exactly as the recipe title describes. Sprinkling some of the chopped peanuts on top definately gave these the sweet-and-salty combo. The cupcakes are really really light (they would not double as a weapon). Mine were a little on the tough side, but I think that is because I overmixed them and for future baking I will try one adjustment to see if that helps. I think I would prefer to have the peanuts in the cupcakes more evenly distributed rather than in just a layer. The honey I used is a good baking honey, so you could still taste a hint of honey flavor instead of just a general sweetness. The recipe on the website said it made 9 cupcakes, I made 12 and there was still a bit of batter left and I could have gotten another 2-3. Overall these were yummy cupcakes, but I don't think I'll be making them again unless I specifically need the sweet-and-salty thing.

Hitting the Reset Button

Lately I have not been happy with things.  Some people know various amounts of what is going on, but I honestly don't feel like going into it here.  I feel like I've already talked about it enough, and frankly, I'm sick and tired of advice and just want to figure things out on my own at this point.

I've needed to get my mind off of things, just to give my brain a break.  But I find that staying in town doesn't help.  Sure, I can get distracted here and there but life always comes screaming back to the forefront.  I decided I needed to get out of town.

I found a really cheap flight to Ireland, but seeing how I still need to renew my passport, I figured a trip like that would need several weeks or months to get organized and planned.  I know I needed to get away much faster than that.

I had a strong urge to go to Tallahassee, FL.  I spent 4 years there at FSU, and they were 4 great years.  I haven't been to Tallahassee in about 6.5 years, so I was due to go back.  Plus I just think right now, I have this huge desire to be somewhere that is a little familiar and somewhere I could think, enjoy myself and hopefully hit a "reset button" of sorts.  

I don't know how to convey the emotional draw of going to Tallahassee right now.  It is just somewhere I was at a point in my life where things were just so much more simple.  I guess part of it was being at the right school for me and being more naive at the time.  I was much more confident--because I didn't know better.  I didn't question so many things in my life--because I had a better sense of when things felt right or not.  I think being younger I was more emotionally stable because I just hadn't been through that many things.  I hadn't really experienced crappy behavior by guys, or "friends" turning on you and saying nasty things behind your back.  I didn't have a panic about my abilities with school.  I didn't worry about finding a job using my education that I would enjoy.  I was doing well with school, with my friends and with my life. 

And now, I just feel like things are unraveling into a horrendous knot that I won't be able to untangle.  I don't feel like myself lately and I don't know if it is a matter of me changing or just being completely lost.  I have seriously sat down and wrote out what is different from my life now and back then...and trying to find out if there is something I can do to just bring back the peace of mind I had with things back then.  I'm not trying to get back to my life as a 20-yr old, I just want the mindset I had then to be in my life right now.  When I had stressful periods back then, they never manifested themselves physically.  They were dealt with in stride.  And now the stress feels so overwhelming that I really just want to quit because I don't think I'll be able to see things through.  It might sound silly, but I hope being in Tallahassee will get my mind back to where it used to be.  

I picked this weekend because it is the annual "Garnet and Gold" game, that is, the spring scrimmage.  They hold the game in the stadium and have a variety of stuff going on during the day before the game.  It will give me a chance to see the campus (which I'm sure will look quite different since the last time I was there), see a "football game" in the stadium and hopefully clear my mind some.

Normally I would just post the pictures and stuff on facebook, but frankly, I don't feel like putting them up there.  I rather post them here, sharing them with a couple people who know me and potentially a bunch of random strangers. I know that might not make any sense, but there are several people I just don't want to share this whole thing with.  For the people who know me and are on facebook AND know about this blog, feel free to comment on here or on facebook.  The trip is not secret on there and I might post a couple of photos on my faceboook page.  The only thing I ask is do not disclose my blog name/address on facebook.  

As of right now (since when I am writing this, I won't be leaving for a couple of days), I am planning to post multiple posts about the trip with pictures and maybe even video because it might be a little long to put it all in one post.  But we'll see.  So be sure to check back during the week if you want to see my story about the trip.

Five-fer Friday: It's been awhile

I know, I know.

I am the bad blogger who goes on and on about planning to post more regularly.  I think I've been doing ok lately, no?

One thing that has fallen by the wayside is my Five-fer Friday posts.  The last one was...oh....back in February.

Today's five-fer is new tv shows that I watch thanks to having cable.  I did a Five-fer on my favorite tv shows before, but today's is for those shows that I now adore.

1. Rock of Love (VH1): Greatest reality dating show EVER.  Centered around finding love for Brett Michaels, the lead singer of 80's band Poison (although they still tour).  It is filled with strippers and skanks!  So much hilarity.  Produced some of the greatest lines ever uttered on tv including: "don't threaten me with a good time" and "dicksucking whorebags"
2. The Dish (Style):  It is supposedly similar to some show on E!...but I don't know because I don't watch E!  It is hosted by Danielle Fishel (or Topanga from Boy Meets World) and I just think she is darling and hilarious.  And she has FANTASTIC hair.
3. The First 48 (A&E):  This is kinda like a real life Law and Order.  Or at least the Law half of Law and Order.  Basically it follows homicide detectives and their investigation in the first 48 hours following getting a call for a homicide (which the chance of solving a homicide case drops in half if a lead is not figured out within the first 48 hours). 
4. Ghost Hunters (SciFi...or is it officially SyFy now?...which...LAME): This show follows TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) as they investigate allegedly haunted locations.  The two co-founders of TAPS (who are plumbers by day), Jason and Grant, are fun to watch (which...Grant is pretty easy on the eyes).  Generally they try to find an alternate explanation for any noises or things seen.  But sometimes they get some freaky stuff that they can't explain.
5. My Boys (TBS): okay, so I've watched one episode.  But it has Jim Gaffigan.  So I will continue watching it. What? I love Jim Gaffigan!