Cupcake Crumble

My friend's boys came over and watched Rome while we went to see Terminator Salvation. (I really liked it!) I told them to pick out a recipe from my new cookbook and I would make it for them. They picked Marble Cupcakes. Great, I wanted to make those. They started out okay, but I knew something was wrong when the batter was really thick. It worked for swirling the cakes, but they never rose and they turned into muffin or cookie texture. Not cake, but still tasty. Then, the frosting. I used frozen cream cheese and it would not set up. I added more sugar, but it was still a very runny glaze. Nothing like the picture. Ugh. I tried to drizzle and marble the frosting anyway. I used chocolate sauce because I don't have caramel. (you know that dumb food color thing) They turned out okay, but I think they look more like spider cakes than marble. The boys liked them and they were still tasty so I guess it doesn't matter. 

I am starting to think there is something missing in these recipes. High altitude maybe? I don't know.

Today's Favorite

Or Cupcakes to the rescue! I have been having a hard couple of days. I have to keep the house pretty 24/7 so people can come and see it. Which means that I feel like I can't do anything! I can't bake, it's messy. I can't let Rome play, it gets everywhere. I can't scrapbook, it is all packed away. It has made me very "irritable" as Josh puts it. All I do is watch TV and pick up everything right when Rome puts it down. Seriously, not very fun. Well, last night I decided to make cupcakes. I love cupcakes and while I was in SLC I got this great book. It was at Anthropologie. I spent way too much time in there (more than an hour) for the amount of things I could actually purchase (very little). I was with Alexa and she could and did purchase enough to cover me. Anyway, I found this book called Cupcake Heaven. I leafed through it and about 3/4 of the way I decided I Had to Have It! It is so great! It uses normal ingredients, tells you how to decorate, and the recipies only make 12 cupcakes. Perfect for a late night baking fix! I made the dark chocolate celebration cupcakes. They only took me under an hour to make and decorate. I am sure a normal person could do them in 30 minutes or so. They were so delicious! I feel so much better now.