Another Excuse to Bake

Is it ironic that I’m writing about baking less than 24 hours after a healthy eating post? Maybe if I gave up baking, those extra two pounds I’d like to shed would fall off. Oh well.

It seems at least once a week or every other, I get the urge to bake. You’ve seen this in past posts of cupcakes and cupcakes and occasional cookies. I fight the urge quite often, but for “special occasions”, I give in. And by special occasion, I mean last week’s kickball game. The coach mentioned how much he loved my baking, and there were a few ranger cookies waiting for him at our next game. (Ranger cookies involve Wheaties, coconut, and oats, and the last time I’d made this recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook was with my favorite babysitter in the fifth or sixth grade. I never forgot how good they were.)

This week it’s german chocolate cupcakes I’m baking, and the excuse is my boss. Out of town for his birthday last month, he never received a cake or office celebration, but he did mention german chocolate was his favorite kind of dessert. Last night, I picked up the ingredients and got to work at 8:45pm. By the time 10:30 rolled around, I didn’t think I’d ever get to bed. And that’s when the frosting gave me problems.

Stir the mixture over medium heat for ten minutes, Martha Stewart said. So I stirred and stirred and stirred. Twenty minutes later, and it still was not thick! I yelled for my kitchen mentor, Lyn, and she advised me to turn up the heat a bit - the bubbles weren’t bad, because it meant the air was escaping and hence, making the sauce thicker.

“Wow, baking is kinda scientific,” I said. Me and my bright observations. Duh!

I guess this is why I may never be amazing in the kitchen. I’m much, much better with words. Look! I can spell evaporate!

Yet, even with the much-needed advice, the sauce still didn’t turn out correctly. Instead, I heated it too long! The goop barely made it through the sieve, and I refused to take such a frosting to work. I’ll be re-buying the ingredients tonight and trying the mixture again. Meanwhile, my perfectly-moist cupcakes are stored and awaiting their topping. Wish me luck!