So if baking really is a science then baking with an infant at your feet is rocket science. It is raining today and not the "oh isn't it lkovely to get a bit of rain to break up the heat" kind of rain. It is really coming down. I had every intention of brining Austin to teh library for sing-a-long but he fell asleep so we baked instead...well I baked and he limbed my kitchen. Things went a little like this:

Huge crash- tupperware is all over the floor.

Cry- Austin is trying to get into the lazy susan

Bang- Austin is beating the dishwasher with his dishes

Big bang- Austin is beating the dishwasher with a wooden spoon and laughing about it.

I started out with the Cherry and Almond Teacakes (p.93) only I didn't have any kirsch so I used amaretto instead. I had bough some cherries for Austin and realized that I had to use them up. Some went to cherry puree to get mixed in yogurt and the rest to my cupcakes. I managed to get through the mixing of ingredients without too much trouble. Austin was loudly banging on a bowl with a wooden spoon (he redirected his enthusiasm from the dishwasher). I tried to tidy up while the batter 'rested' (one of these days I would like to get some rest) but realized that I was fighting a lost battle with a 9 month old. SO I spooned up the batter (why didn't Martha's peeps just put the cherries in the tins and then add the batter? I made such a mess with this one!) and then put the little man down for a nap while the cakes baked.

So I had about an hour...little guy is asleep, now was the perfect opportunity to clean my kitchen, so logically I made a batch of Carrot Cupcakes. There are lots of carrots in the batter and it smelled heavenly. They are out of the oven cooling and at some point in the very near future I'm going to make the cream cheese frosting to go on top of these...but for now I'm going to go back to playing with Austin, who is up from his nap, and letting him destroy my house for his own adventures!

The first batches

My backyard is overflowing with rubbarb. Every summer is seems that more rubbarb grows and I never do anything with it, so I let my friend's mom clean out the patch. There was a little bit left when she was done so I thought I would try to make the Rubbarb Cupcakes with Whipped Cream (p. 33). Once I started cooking I realized that I didn't have enough rubbarb to make the rubbarb vanilla bean topping so I will have to try these again after my rubbarb patch has refreashed in August. Overall they were really nice, light and not too sweet. Austin really liked these ones too, he tried to grab the full cake out of my hands and he is getting quick!

Sobeys had a sale on blueberries a couple of weeks ago so I bough some and attempted to make the Blueberry and Cream Cupcakes (p.42). The batter base is very similar to the Rubbarb Cupcake, only I used buttermilk in the batter because I didn't have any whole milk on hand. It made the batter just a tad acidic but the cooked up just fine. The whipped cream topping gives keeps these cupcakes from becoming too heavy.

The last batch that I made last week was the Devil's Food Cupcakes (p. 34). Now there a cupcake I can sink my teeth into! Choco-holics beware! The batter is so yummy that you'll want to lick the spoon, bowl and beater. The Chocolate Ganache Frosting was a bit of a challenge. After 1.5 hours in the fridge it still wasn't thick enough to pipe so I diped the top of each cupcake in the ganache and then used the emersion blender to thicken the frosting up. I then piped a flower on top of each and thenfinished it off with a little silver candy. They were perfect to send to my cousin's bachlorette party (I missed out on a good night thanks to some mystery illness that stayed with me for 48 hours).

Humm...what to tackle this week?...

My new project..Cupcakes & my creative spirit!

For sometime I have had a pretty close relationship with Martha Stewart...not the personal connection but my obsession with all "good things". Although Martha did send me a lovely note at my wedding (I'm pretty sure that my cousin Laura had something to do with that though) I've never had the opportunity to meet Martha outside the pages of Martha Stewart Living or through the CBC when I used to have the opportunity to watch Martha weekdays when Austin would do nothing but nurse for hours on end.

Long story short, I need a hobby. My days are filled with chasing my sweet little man around the house and cleaning up after him. I love what I do but I need to unleash my creative side again. It's been a long time since I decorated a cake (check out my Gimme that Cake photo album on Facebook for pictures) and I don't have time for anything too time consuming. For my 29th birthday this year, Gordon and Austin gave me a new cookbook, not just any book either...Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book and a cupcake caddy. The logical thing for me to do is to bake....all "175 inspirational ideas for every's favorite treat". I'll have to do 3 recipies a week to cover them all this year and that just might not be practical but between birthdays and holidays I just might be able to pull it off. I admit I've been inspired by the previews of Julie & Julia. I don't expect to get a book deal or a movie but maybe, just maybe I can inspire someone to bake or create something for themselves. Right now I'm doing this for myself...and for G's coworkers who will be getting to eat my treats because if I keep them at home I will never lose the last 5lbs of baby weight or the 30lbs of wedding weight that I'm working on getting to disapear! Humm..Martha there is an awful lot of sugar in that book!!!