I consider myself a
maker when it comes to kitchen creations. I buy staple ingredients and invent whatever edible mesh of food comes to mind. Experimenting is applauded and adding this and that from last week's leftovers is quite acceptable. Good ingredients make good food, simple as that.
Baking, on the other hand, requires diligence and precision--basically
following directions. Sure, you can improvise a bit, but there's a higher chance things can go wrong. And for beginning bakers like me, that's kinda scary.
I'm not closing any doors to home-cooked food though, made or baked. So when I went home for my mom's birthday this weekend I decided to try my hand at some dessert. And while I was at it, I figured what the heck, let's do this from scratch!
Surprisingly I found all the necessary supplies at the neighborhood Dollar Tree. From all-purpose flour to a complete set of measuring cups, I only paid a buck a piece for everything up there. What a steal! I couldn't help but snag a box of green tea either.
Unfortunately I didn't find everything on my list at Dollar Tree, which is okay because I didn't want to buy cheap vanilla extract. Bakers are investors, too, so I went with the higher priced bourbon vanilla extract ($5.99 from Fresh & Easy). I also couldn't resist the appeal of the bourbon aspect. It just sounds so fancy.
After a whole lot of messing up the kitchen with measuring, mixing, and whisking (by hand!), the cupcakes were ready after 25 minutes in the oven. The initial recipe idea was to pipe the cream cheese into the center of each cupcake so it creates a filling. But since it was a spur of the moment decision to bake in the first place, I didn't have my piping set with me. What a shame, it would have been really fun to finally use them!
Thus, my
black-bottom cupcakes had a nice layer of
cream cheese that was slightly toasted around the edges. Moist and not too sweet, I think they turned out rather delicious. Here is where I found the
recipe and inspiration for baking these tiny morsels of yummy.
Happy birthday Mom!
