Friday, February 19, 2010

Eating My Words: Cupcakes RULE!


My apologies for dropping off the face of the earth last week. Sometimes, as much as I hate to admit it, real life gets in the way of blogging. :) I'm back now, and possibly better than ever!
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A while back, I mentioned on this blog that I've never met a cupcake that I liked. I've often wondered if it's because they usually come in a hideous configuration like THIS, or if it's because there are delicious cupcakes out there far, far away from me, and I'm missing out.

Well, the lovely Lizzy Mason offered to hook me up with a good cupcake recipe, and sent me THE COMPLETE MAGNOLIA BAKERY COOKBOOK.

Lizzy, it's official: I love both you AND cupcakes!


I finally dared to make one of the recipes this past weekend using this mixer from the 1970s (seriously) passed down to me by my mother. This thing is like a cross between a dust buster and a bucking bronco and only has three speeds: Off, Fast, and KILL. My husband had also run off with the big mixing bowl to use in one of his many projects, so I had to use a tiny bowl and rotate out ingredients.

Despite these challenges, I managed to actually make a batch of Magnolia's black bottom cupcakes, which are fluffy and chocolatey on the bottom half, and have a rich cream cheese top half (YUM!).



My one criticism of the book, which contains a ton of delicious receipes I'm dying to try, is that there are no pictures. As you can see here, my cupcakes were less than beautiful because I had no clue how the cream cheese was supposed to be spooned on to the top. However, they were chocolatey-creamcheesetastic, so I'm not complaining too much!


So, now I'm a believer. If you love cupcakes, I'd recommend the recipes in THE COMPLETE MAGNOLIA BAKERY COOKBOOK. If a novice like me can do it, anyone can!



*disclaimer--this book was sent to me for free as previously mentioned. FTC, you should really try some cupcakes.

Has anyone else used any good cookbooks lately? Any recommendations for the baking-challenged?












12 comments:

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Yummy! I gotta get me one of those books, because I want one of those cupcakes!! :-)

Unknown said...

I smiled the whole way through that post. Now I want a cupcake, damn it.

Roxy said...

"Off, Fast, and Kill." I think my mixer and your mixer were made by the same company. This was such a great, funny post! Magnolia cupcakes are awesome at the shop. I can't imagine being able to create that goodness at home. I have to try this cookbook.

Rebecca Knight said...

Shannon: They really were awesome! :)

Sarah: I'm sorry to do that to you. That's worse than having a song stuck in your head!

Roxy: I'm going to have to try out the Vanilla cupcakes, next. Apparently those are the most popular at the shop :D.

Abby Annis said...

Those look yummy! Thanks for the recommendation. :)

Tere Kirkland said...

OMG, those look delicious! I love black bottom cupcakes.

One of my favorite cookbooks is The Three Ingredient Cookbook. I can't remember the publisher, but it's exactly as advertised!

Scott said...

The Cake Doctor is a fantastic cookbook that uses premade cake mixes in every recipe. The majority of the recipes are real easy to make, though there are one or two that take a bit more time. I always pull this book out when having people over for dinner because I know I'll be able to find something to make. My favorite is the Holy Cow recipe which calls for caramel sauce, Butterfinger candy bars, and a ton of other stuff! YUM!

S

Lizzy Mason said...

I'm so glad you made them! I'm also super jealous because I have about a foot of counter space in my kitchen, so no space for a mixer. But I love the sound of yours--what personality! I have an avacado-colored crock pot that might have once been friends with your mixer. :)

Perhaps I'm due for a jaunt to Magnolia.

Stina said...

I'm not a huge cupcake fan either, but I so want to try those. Yum!

Ann said...

It seems you have been coverted and are now a full fledged cupcake fan. Your cupcakes look delicious by the way!

B.J. Anderson said...

Mmmmm, cupcakes. I think I'll make some right now.

Rebecca Knight said...

You guys are killing me with all the cupcake love! Now I have to make more :D.