Cookies and Candids

Becky’s birthday party on Saturday was themed Hot Pink/1920’s so I had to come up with something to help me with my lack of costume (I don’t own any hot pink clothes! How is this possible? I’m shocked at myself). I figured that everyone would forgive me for not dressing up if I had a batch of delicious vegan cupcakes in tow, and so when I woke up in the wee hours of the morning I whipped some up.

Inspired by these gorgeous cupcakes, I adapted Lindsay’s recipe only slightly by adding a teaspoon of almond extract to the cake batter and another teaspoon to the frosting (making them a little more like these cupcakes). I also added about a teaspoon of Raspberry Jam piped into the center of each cupcake to give it a little more pink and a little more flair. To do this step, wait till your cupcakes are completely cooled, and then fill a pastry bag with the Raspberry Jam (or other filling). Use a round tip to pipe a small amount of the filling into the center of each cupcake. Use a spoon to smooth the filling down into the cupcake, if necessary. Once the cupcakes are filled, fill another pastry bag with the Almond Icing, fitting the bag with a large star tip. Pipe the icing onto the tops of the cupcakes, concealing the Raspberry filling.

I did learn a valuable lesson in patience while baking these rosy pink cakes. When I took them out of the oven, I immediately unwrapped one and tried to take a bite – However, this is when I thought disaster had struck! The cupcake was stuck to the wrapper. I’m not talking about a little bit of crumb sticking to the paper, I’m talking full-blown cupcake-attachment. The cupcake itself split in half, chewy middle crumbling about while the sides were glued to the pink paper liner. It was impossible to eat, extremely messy, and I was truly upset about this. I couldn’t understand what I had done wrong (I followed the recipe exactly, except for adding almond extract, and I baked them at the right temperature, and I trust Lindsay’s recipes). I was sad about it, but I decided to let these cupcake babies cool and I would frost them anyway; I didn’t have time to bake a whole new batch for the party the same night. After filling and frosting, the cupcakes looked really nice, but I was hesitant about how they would be when people tried to eat them. I brought them to Becky’s house, worried I was going to cover all her guests and their fabulous 1920’s/Hot Pink attire in frosting and cupcake messes. However, when they began consuming the cupcakes, the wrappers peeled off perfectly! I was so relieved.

After a little internet-research, I’m realizing this was a silly mistake and I should have known better about it. I’m trying to excuse myself from this freak-out and tell myself I was simply acting so hasty because I was tired (I had woken up at 6am after staying up late the night before…) but really I think I was just rushing around too much and being quite impatient to try the cupcakes! They smelled so good coming out of the oven! So, here’s a new lesson to remember: Let cupcakes cool (at least partially) after taking them out of the oven before unwrapping them. This will give them time to settle and solidify in their final baked state, and they will come out of their wrappers much more easily. And, this rule can apply to other parts of life besides baking: Just a little patience will do you a lot of good!