Friday, February 17, 2012

Happy Birthday Haley

A month ago today was my friend Haley's birthday.  So a month ago yesterday I was baking cupcakes.  I wanted to take her favorite flavors and make them into a cupcake, so I took the idea of her favorite things- peanut butter and chocolate- and they became cupcakes.  I was designing the idea for it in math class... so I had to be sneaky, otherwise she would figure out what I was doing since we have class together.  My math teacher wouldn't be inordinately pleased if she realized what I had been doing either.  Of course all my sneaking was for nothing, because I couldn't remember if she preferred chocolate or yellow cake so I had to ask her... thus basically telling her she was getting birthday cupcakes.



I used my favorite yellow cake recipe, and converted it to cupcake form.  I swirled peanut butter into the cupcakes before I baked them as well.  So you may want to add a bit more flour to the batter to make up for the added liquid, it just depends on recipe you favor.  I used the one from The New Best Recipe from America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated, my favorite/go to cookbook.  Its huge, a bit pricey, but amazing!  However I hate to make people feel pressured, so use your go to recipe for these cupcakes, and I'll stick with mine.



The frosting is simple.  Just melt chocolate, add peanut butter and about 1/4 cup of corn starch and stir!  And stir some more.  Still more... you may be tempted to add more corn starch until it thickens, but then you have a corn starch flavor lingering in your mouth after eating the cupcake.  Which, and if you've never experienced this flavor allow me to tell you, is never pleasant.  So stir, and resist the urge to add to much corn starch.  I made about a cup to a cup and a half of frosting, so if you are making a huge batch of cupcakes then go ahead and double the 'recipe'... if not, please be sparing with the cornstarch.



Of course after I add the writing, and have finished with my frosting.  In fact I'm preparing to put the frosting in the fridge, I realize Haley wasn't turning 18......... she was turning 17........  That cupcake got extra frosting........

Haley is 17!

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