Cupcake Love

Making these is like therapy for me.  Whenever I’m having a bad day, or I’m stressed, baking a batch of cupcakes just calms me down and clears my head.  The measuring and mixing take enough concentration that everything else slips away for a while.  And there is nothing more comforting than the smell of something sweet and yummy baking in the oven.

I’m not much of a baker- oddly, a lot of people who like to cook and can cook decently cannot seem to bake, or so I hear from Rachel Ray- but I have a pretty good grip on the art of the cupcake, after much practice.  I’m at the point now where I can’t just make a simple vanilla or chocolate frosted cupcake, and have to try umpteen variations.  The latest batch was 1/2 vanilla chocolate pecan and 1/2 cherry chocolate pecan.  I use a recipe that I’ve cobbled together from different bits, so can’t claim it as my own, but it works every time.  In a hurry I wouldn’t have a problem using a mix rather than from scratch, though generally the texture is much nicer when it’s all homemade.  The boxed mixes tend to be a little spongy and less cake-y.

Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cream 2 and 1/2 cups of white sugar with 1 cup of butter, add in 3 lightly beaten eggs.  Add in 1/2 tsp of pure vanilla extract (not artificial) and 1/2 tsp almond extract.  Add to this 1 cup of milk.  In a separate, large mixing bowl sift together 3 cups of flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, and a little more than 1/4 tsp baking powder.  Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry.  Beat for a couple of minutes until the batter is mostly smooth.

Line cupcake tins with paper liners, and fill about 2/3 with batter.  Place in the preheated oven and bake about 22 minutes, until tops are golden and springy.  Watch your first batch carefully, since ovens vary, and mine runs a little hotter than others.

Cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to fully cool before icing with whatever you choose.

Enjoy!

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