CUPCAKES!!

My new thing is cupcakes...of all kinds and flavors! So far...I've made a coca-cola cupcake--which was a major flop, and sourcream cupcake with nutella icing-yumm! and my favorite so far, a ginger cupcake filled with pear compote(cooked fruit stuff) and a pear ginger whipped buttercream topped with candied pears. SO GOOD!! As my husband called them "Adult Cupcakes" and not in the sense that they are inappropriate, but they are for a more sophisticated palate ;) to me they just tasted good! My next cupcake is going to be a fluffernutter cupcake and a chocolate cupcake with grand marnier ganache. I'll keep you posted on those! I'm also still tweaking the basic cupcake recipe...here's what i've got so far

1/2 cup of softened butter or margarine--butter for more melt in your mouth cupcakes and margarine if you're on a budget, either will do

1 cup of sugar

1 1/2 cups SIFTED--very important! no one likes lumpy cupcakes!--cake flour

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream or buttermilk--if you dont have either you can mix 1 tbsp. lemon juice with 1 cup whole milk minus 1 tbsp and let it sit for a little bit(Still only use a half cup though!)

1/2 tsp of salt--I know, doesn't sound important, but it really brings out the flavor!

1 and a little less than a 1/4 tsp of baking soda

vanilla extract--however much you want :)

1/2 cup hot water

beat sugar and butter together, add each remaining ingredient one at a time until all combined and beautifully smooth!

cook at 350 degrees about 15 minutes until a toothpick or knife or whatever you have handy--skewers in my case ;)--comes out clean

hope you enjoy!!!!

oh! I also got my french book today! Plan on cooking my way through a good portion of it. No it's not a Julia Child book, actually Alma Lach, but its so good and full of useful information!

Buen Provecho!