Birthdays Abound

Only now finishing out the first two weeks of January, I’ve already been witness to more ear-splitting renditions of “Happy Birthday” this year than I’d wish to recall. For some inexplicable reason, it seems that birthdays tend to travel in groups, so I find myself sharing this time of celebration with many other fellow Capricorns. In fact, a certain friend of mine happens to have a birth date that falls only one day later than my own! After a brief query and the ubiquitous response for “something chocolate,”I took no surprise in this sort of response and already had a recipe in mind. Planning to bring them to school a day early due to the awkward placement of the weekend, Thursday evening found me measuring out the ingredients for the Brooklyn Brownie Cupcakes from VCToTW.

Now, I’ll admit that it was a somewhat rushed effort and I wasn’t giving them all the love and attention they deserved, but I’m still disappointed that they fell slightly, as evidence by the following photo. I thought I portioned them very nicely however, careful not to overfill as the book had warned… No matter, they still tasted heavenly. In the future, I would certainly be interested to try this one again with more exact measurements, and a closer eye on the cupcakes as they bake, though.

Of course, I switched up the ingredients based on what I had on hand, and to take into consideration what would be more “school appropriate.” The bourbon was removed in place of more soymilk, but wanting to maintain a complexity of flavor, joined by the addition of a dash of instant coffee. They were topped not with the suggested frosting but the old standby of some chocolate ganache that was taking up valuable real estate in the fridge, just begging to be used up. Finally, as with anything that calls for walnuts, I substituted pecans which I simply find to be more agreeable. Personal preference, that’s all.

Despite the small set back of their shape, they went over very well with the birthday boy and everyone lucky enough to get a taste. Regretfully, there were only enough ingredients to make one batch, so there wasn’t a single whole cupcake remaining by the end of homeroom. Atleast I can be fairly confident in reporting that they were a success, no matter the final height.

And no, the irony of bringing in someone else’s birthday cupcakes on my own birthday was not lost on me. Just have a cupcake and everything will make more sense.