Scraping by with only the most basic supplies and severely limited time, baking and cooking has taken a backseat to school work I’m afraid. The ideas for new recipes don’t ever stop of course, each exciting combination of flavors suddenly occurring at random as per usual, and as a result, my little notebook only grows fatter with scrawled titles and partial instructions to attempt. Frustrating to no end, but the stars never seem to align in favor of trying these new concepts anymore. Of course, if I were to stop baking altogether I would probably explode… Or something equally violent. So it’s back to the tried-and-true file, and for the first time in months, I turned back to my favorite cookbook of all time: VCTOtW. Come on, tell me you didn’t see that one coming?
Whereas some people might see baking in general as a skill requiring patience, whipping up this batch of cupcakes felt like such incredible instant gratification because- Just think- No need to make notations, write down my adjustments, tweak, try it again, and then possible even again. Of course, since I just can’t keep my culinary muse quiet for long, I did make some changes to the classic Cookies and Creme recipe that never fails to please. I just so happen to have Ginger O’s on hand, and despite my desire to hoard them all to myself, I figured it would be best for everyone, my waistline included, to share. Ending up with just the perfect number of cookies to top the cupcakes, there were none left for the frosting, so in order to spice things up a bit, I decided to make a cinnamon frosting instead. Just add about a teaspoon of cinnamon to your favorite vanilla base, and voila, a whole new spicy sensation!
Amazing what an incredible difference those such tiny changes made- It was an entirely new cupcake altogether. Even for someone who’s not exactly a chocoholic like myself, I could have easily consumed half the batch without assistance, thanks to that delightful combination of spices. Admittedly, it was pretty nice to just bake for the sake of baking, and without attempting unthinkable stunts that may or may not work… But I hope that I’ll be able to make this arrangement work out better soon.
Perhaps I should start by getting more pans than just those muffin tins.