when obsessive late night baking and photography happens to good people.

I'm in a wedding this weekend (that explains the French manicure), and I wanted to bring along treats that I could eat while everyone indulges snacks all day and cake at the reception. So, after the rehearsal dinner, I started a baking project at about 10:30 pm. I was inspired by Karina's latest cupcake project: Vanilla Cupcakes with Mocha Icing. I made a number of alterations on both the cupcake and the frosting recipes, one of which was omitting coffee from the frosting and using Dandy Blend, and garnishing with raw cacao nibs and a dusting of cocoa powder. They look lovely, don't they? I really can't wait to eat one of these tomorrow. Er...wait, make that today, because it is well after midnight and I think I'm turning into a pumpkin.

Speaking of pumpkins, I think this recipe has great promise for something resembling pumpkin cupcakes with something resembling cream cheese frosting. However, I will be using squash instead, since it turns out I'm a little allergic to pumpkin, and will have to come up with some sort of clever substitute for cream cheese (I have a few thoughts on that). I think cupcakes will be my new baking obsession. This recipe is awesome; Karina truly is our favorite gluten-free goddess.

In the meantime, this baking-obsessed, apron-clad bridesmaid is off to bed. Today is a big day, and I need to be well-rested to wear a strapless dress, walk down an aisle, smile for about 8 million photos, and dance like tomorrow will never come.

Sweet dreams of cupcakes and love.

Comments

[Betsy]

Those look great!

The cupcakes too...j/k. (Your nails do look fab!)

[Ricki]

They look great! Hope you have a wonderful time at the wedding. :)

[Rhonda Lewis]

Love the title of this blog posting! Have a great time at the wedding - hope you aren't too tired.

[Ariana]

I hope you'll be posting this recipe soon! It looks great!! :)

[Kim]

The wedding was a blast, thanks for all the happy wishes! We all looked lovely and had a ton of fun. Weddings are always such a great event.

As for the cupcakes, the frosting was the best part. The cupcake itself needs some tweaking. Karina's recipe may be flawless, but my adaptations need some work - they were a little to dense, and I think I added a little bit too much chia meal, the mouth-feel became gummy pretty quickly, and they tasted a little too "chia"-y and not sweet enough to be a true cupcake. But the frosting was good. I'm going to stick with this recipe though, and see what I can do with it - there's promise there, and now that I've had a taste of cupcake, I want more! : )