Cupcakes Galore

For a moment after I wrote my B post, I considered picking up a pregnancy/post-partum theme.  Some letters just scream out to you.  E could be epidural, L for labor, N for nursing, and V for, um... oh yeah, vitamins.  I decided against it though; not quite my style.  So the winging it will continue.

Today I made cupcakes.  My sister is getting married in May, and she has asked me to make the cupcakes for her wedding.  I'm still a little unsure of exactly what I was thinking when I said yes.  She's having a candy bar, and I suppose I thought that she just wanted some cupcakes as part of that.  I don't think I realized that the cupcakes were going to BE the wedding cake until much later.  I have all the confidence that I can make some delicious cupcakes, but typically, wedding cakes are supposed to be pretty.  That is where things get tricky for me.  Frosting and I don't really get along when we have to spend a lot of time together.  We like each other, we just don't work well together.  Sort of like hook-up buddies.  I'll get intimate with frosting, but we've never had a relationship.

Now though, it's practice time.  Today I made lemon cupcakes.  One quick pointer before I go further, if you bought cupcake liners but lost them, go out and buy some more.  I know it's a pain to make another trip, especially if you have to load up the kids, but it's worth it.  Do not, (unless you are good at this sort of thing) try to make your own liners out of parchment paper.  No matter how cute and simple the woman on the online tutorial makes it seem, it's not worth it.  If you do make them, however, and have already filled them with batter, just stop looking for the other liners.  I promise, when you find them, the feeling you will have will not be joy.

Notice how these do not have homemade parchment paper liners

The extra frustration aside, I'm fairly happy with how they turned out.  I pretty much followed this recipe, but doubled the zest to punch up the lemon flavor.  I always forget how much I love lemon, but these are delicious!.  They're like a little bit of summer in your mouth.  I know the pretty factor needs to be upped a bit, but as far as flavor is concerned, these are definite contenders.  Now who wants to help me eat these 22 cupcakes?