Cake in a Cup.

Methinks it's high time I added an entry. I was pondering for the last few days what exactly I should do for my very first project as Cakerella. It couldn't be something too complex at first, or this blog would quickly sprint to a halt when I ran out of things to outdo myself with... But it couldn't be something too boring or I would be stuck with a ho hum calorie laden bingefest sitting on my counter, begging me to take a nibble here and there, as well as add dessert to EVERY meal of the day. I have been baking alot lately and it couldn't be something I have done too recently either... The prerequisites just kept piling up.. and then I realized that ballet was starting.

What a perfect opportunity. I could kick things off with something simple, yet adorable. Also, I could get RID of some of it by pawning it off to the dance girls, and show off one of my absolute favorite recipes. But Annie, what is this wonderful recipe you speak of? And how can I do this myself so I too can bring joy to those around me with tasty treats? What recipe you say?? I'm talking none other than RED VELVET CAKE, PEOPLE!

Perfection

Red Velvet cake has been my number one for many years. Before I found myself baking to pass the time, I used to get to taste this powerhouse dessert ONCE per year.... on my birthday. Yes, it has been my birthday cake for at least the last six birthdays.... and it will be seven in four months. I wonder if they will make me bake my own.... :(

Anyway. My mom has a wonderful red velvet recipe that's tried and true.... but I had experimented with a few recipes on the internet in effort to outdo her. I have to say that it didn't go so well. While they were delicious, nothing beats the red velvet cake I have grown up patiently awaiting all 364 other days of the year.

Madagascar Vanilla Extract... only the best for Cakerella

I decided that instead of a messy cake that I should go with something a little more accessable... Cupcakes. The important thing I have found with cupcakes is to watch them VERY closely. Due to their large surface to volume ratio, they could be completely underdone one minute, but overdone in two. Mine turned out perfectly soft and velvety, but I probably could have taken them out about a minute earlier. They were SLIGHTLY dryer than I would have liked. To compensate for this... I made a double batch of cream cheese icing. Believe me, no one complains about double cream cheese icing (Except my little brother, so I iced one with chocolate peanut butter frosting).

Don't be shy with that icing....

I didn't want to ruin all that yummy frosting with some sugary gum paste... so I wrote the letters to "WELCOME BACK DANCERS!" in slivered pecans. I thought it was quite clever, and added that telltale crunch that the Brewerton Red Velvets are famous for.

Cute, right?!

The cupcakes were definitely delicious, I had three on the drive home from ballet. They were a sweet end to a definitely bitter realization of how out of shape I really am. When your pointe shoes feel like 2 x 4's again... it's quite a blow to your ego. It's a dancer thing.

All the girls! Sorry Tandy, cut you off.  Sucks.

Gorgeous color I was not expecting.... only had half a bottle of gel coloring on me.

The ladies, graciously agreeing to be my guinea pigs!

In the beginning, there was nothing....

.... And then there was cake.

Oh cake. The holy grail of desserts. There are few things that can tempt me more than a piece of red velvet cake slathered with cream cheese icing. But so many people are just butchering the idea of cake and dessert in general... yeah, I'm talking to you Betty Crocker.

Dessert is something fairly new to me. We never really did the whole dessert thing while I was growing up and so I have taken it upon myself to make sure that we make up for lost time.

I'm hoping to cover a lot of ground in the next few months... especially with the holidays coming up. PRIME BAKING TIME. I have a few goals in mind.

One, I wish to further my knowledge of culinary arts in general. I eventually want to be able to make a variety of things without having my eyes glued to a cookbook for desperately needed guidance. From my understanding, each ingredient that goes into something has a standard effect on your product. Flour thickens, butter enriches... that sort of thing. I learned a lot about this trying (and ultimately failing) to recreate a certain cookie of unknown composition.

Two, I want to work on my presentation. There have been very few things I have baked that haven't come out of the oven tasting wonderful. You can never go wrong with two pounds of butter. However, they are lacking the finesse of more practiced hands. Hopefully as I progress though this blog I will acquire more skill (and tools) to allow me to improve the quality and beauty of my creations.

Three, to develop patience. This is mostly influenced by my inability to wait until cake is completely cooled to frost it (See: Goal Two).

As this blog progresses and expands I hope to exemplify by my failures (as well as successes) the precise art that baking entails. And who knows? Maybe through this blog I can convince people to chuck that nasty box of cake mix and create something real, fresh, and delicious for themselves.