Classic Vanilla Cupcakes

Whew! This last week was crazy busy! Between benefit enrollment and various other work issues along with a birthday party, it was a lot going on. Last Sunday was Boss's Day and last Wednesday was my Boss's Birthday, sooo... I had to make her some cupcakes! :-)  She's just a classic vanilla cake-type of lady, which is perfect for a simple birthday dessert. 

When I'm making a quick and simple cupcake (or cake for that matter) I usually just use a boxed cake mix and "doctor it up" to make it taste more homemade, but I ALWAYS make the icing/frosting/butter cream from scratch. Making the butter cream from scratch really makes the cake. The best boxed cake mix that I have found, is Duncan Hines. The recipe calls for eggs, water and vegetable oil. To make a boxed cake taste more homemade, I use milk instead of water (you can use chocolate milk for a chocolate cake) and unsalted butter instead of oil. The cakes taste more moist and have a richer flavor!

After mixing the batter, I scoop it out with an ice cream scoop - the cupcakes come out the same size and cook evenly. I also bake the about 10-20 degrees less than what the recipe calls for (i.e., if the recipe says to bake at 350 degree, I bake at 340 degree for cupcakes and at 330 degrees for cakes - they bake more evenly that way).

Once the cupcakes are finished, let them cool completely before piping the butter cream on top. I made a simple vanilla butter cream for these cupcakes - it was one that I received from my cake decorating instructor and it is delicious! And so simple too! One recipe of butter cream is more than enough to top a batch of cupcakes (and I am very generous with the butter cream!) but you may need more (say 1 1/2 of the recipe) to cover a 2-layer cake.

 
Pipe the butter cream on the cupcakes in any way that you wish and Enjoy!

My First Ever 'Culinary Carolinian' Blog Post!

My name is Melissa and I am a 20-something born and raised in North Carolina. After I graduated, I moved down to South Carolina where I currently live, work, play, & bake! I work in Human Resources by day, but by night, weekend, and even in my day dreams, I am a foodie! I worked in a restaurant/café all through college and I loved it! It was more than just a part-time job – it taught me a lot about business, customer service, and about food presentation. I have always loved fine-detailed work (decorations, food presentations, etc.) and even though it is extremely important to have food taste good (I mean, otherwise what is the point, right?), how it looks plays a big role in what draws someone to eat your delicious creations.

Food has always been a bonding-thing for me and my family. A lot of how I remember moments and places in my life is from the food I experienced. You name a place and if I have been there, the first thing that comes to mind would be something I have eaten at that location. My grandmother used to be a cake decorator and one of the ways I was able to bond with her (living 1,350 miles away is a bit difficult!) was to take cake decorating classes. I loved being able to create something with my hands and the complexity of making something that is so delicate, beautiful. I love food. I find it to be very pleasurable and enjoyable – I live to eat, not eat to live.

My senior quote was by Winnie the Pooh – “Even though eating honey is a very good thing to do, there is a moment just before you begin to eat it which is that much sweeter.” My weakness is sweets and I find them to be very comforting, not just in the fact that they contain carbs (which are comforting just by nature) but that they seem so “homey”. You give someone a cake or something baked and they light up! It reminds them of simple times and brings a smile to their face. That is what I love to do – bring joy and happiness to others and I hope this site shares that with all of you!

 “Food is essential to life; therefore make it good.” – Truett Cathy, Chickfila

With this blog, I hope to share my triumphs, lessons learned, and challenges I experience along the way with trying new recipes. (And no matter what I do, I will always make a mess – guaranteed!) I try to find simple ways (short-cuts, if you will) to things; almost like a “semi-homemade” approach. Making something completely from scratch is very rewarding, but often finding the time can be difficult. I hope to share some short-cuts & tips too!

I will primarily have posts containing “sweets,” however life is not all about cakes & cookies, so I will share some other creations as well :-) 

Since this is my first blog, I really hope to receive your comments! I highly encourage comments, disagreements, suggestions, or criticisms with anything I post (PG, please). I will have a place for comments at the end of every post.

Thank you so much for being here and reading Culinary Carolinian! 

"Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it."  -Julia Child

"Be good at something, it makes you valuable... Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome."   -Randy Pausch