Here's what's a-bakin'

... cupcakes, of course! ;)

It's hard to believe that March is quickly moving right along.  The pinnacle of my baking stress will reach it's completion next Friday:  3 concerts in 7 days.  Plus, the ever illustrious "privilege" of proctoring for yet another beloved SOL testing session on top of that.  (If you find yourself chuckling and/or puzzled by "SOL testing", feel free to read here to discover what exactly that means...)  THAT being said, I am baking this evening.

Pictures will follow shortly.  But here is what you can look forward to (especially if you work with me! ;) ):

Almond Joy Cupcakes

(Almond cupcakes, chocolate ganache, coconut sprinkles)

Simply Vanilla Cupcakes

(perfect vanilla cupcake, vanilla cream cheese frosting)

Sooo... hold on to your taste buds!  The pictures are still in the oven! ;)

Oh, my... I have an update:

I had a bit 'o batter left after rationing out my delicious almond cupcakes.  So, I wisely poured it into a small ramekin.  I hang my head in shame and confess:  I couldn't resist.  I wanted a taste.  And then I had a brilliant idea:  top with leftover strawberries and freshly whipped cream.  The result?  Sheer divinity.  I mean, I know I have said it before, but I'll say it again:  sigh in my heart divinity.

No, you're right.  Half of it is gone-- before I thought to take a picture!

What happens when I'm stressed:

I bake.

Pizza Hut style pizza.

 A lot.

Chocolate on chocolate cupcakes.

But it's a stress release for me.  Plus, I love to give it all away and share with those I love.  So this weekend I baked SEVERAL Pizza Hut style pizzas.  They were delish.  Yes, I said "they".  (Don't judge me.  I did my exercises.)

I found the recipe on Pinterest (of course), but I'm going to tweak the recipe a bit more.  And when I do, I'll post my changes (of course ;) ).

Naturally, I doubled it.  I mean, hey.  If one pizza is good-- what will a hundred be like?!  But here are my little step by step photos of what happened...

I made the dough in my lovely Kitchen Aid mixer.  (If you've been following my blog, you know how I love that thing!)  I then divided it (the dough) up, rolled it out, and put it in some greased cake pans.  During the rising period, I put plate on top to give the dough that "dipped" contour before topping with yummies.

After allowing the dough to rise (around the plates) for about an hour and a half, I then sauced and topped!

One of the changes I'll make next time:  a little more sauce.

Also, I'll be adding a little more EVOO to the outer crust before baking.

The pizza was yummy.  I'll be trying it again in the near future, I am sure!  Make sure you put enough oil in the pan before you add the dough to give it that "Pizza Hut touch"!  But my family loved it very much! :)

In regards to those chocolate cupcakes...  

Those were divine-- if I do say so myself.  But I must also grudgingly confess that I over-mixed the batter, and they came out denser than I would have liked. *sigh*  I guess I was taking my stress out on the ingredients.  Lol.  But the frosting.  Oh.  The.  Frosting.  Give me a minute, would you? *sigh*  It was just sinful.  As in, you will be willing to do an extra 20 30 45 minutes on the ellipitcal sinfully good.  No, I am serious. 

Rich Fudgy Chocolate Frosting:

Using the paddle of your lovely Kitchen Aid mixer, whip 2 sticks of room temperature butter.  I mean, whip it and whip it good.  (I'm a bit stressed, if you recall)

Add 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 cup Hershey's Dark Chocolate cocoa.

Begin to incorporate on LOW (do you really want that spraying all over your kitchen?!).  It will look very chalky and not at all like frosting of any sort.  Have patience.

While still on low, gradually add in up to 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream.  You want this stuff to still be thick.  And creamy.  And divine.  Add about 2 tsp. vanilla (I love vanilla.  It is perhaps my most favorite thing.  Ever.  I will confess that as a general rule, I always-- and I do mean always-- put in more than a normal person would in any recipe.)  If it is really thick, you can add a touch more cream.  If you've gotten excited and over-poured the cream, don't panic.  Just add a bit more powdered sugar.

Remember that whipping you did at the beginning?  Do it again.  Let that stuff just incorporate and get perfect.  Then you can either eat it with a spoon smear it on your cupcakes or pipe it out, which is generally my preference.  Regardless of what you do with it:  enjoy it! :)

Whew... I made it...

I feel like this week has just been a hot mess.  Well, not exactly.  But close. And, you know.  It's funny-- as I sit here pondering what exactly it was that made it so "whew" here at the end... I'm stumped. 

Granted, there was the beginning of the SOL testing.  No, I'm not being crass for those of you who are NOT from Virginia... that is ACTUALLY what some brilliant person in the higher-ups-of-education thought would be the best choice for the abbreviation of our state mandated tests. "Standards of Learning".  Yah.  They didn't really think that one through.  (And we're the ones who are going to be evaluated each year to make sure that we are properly preparing the next generation?!  Just saying...) 

But I digress.  Yes, there was testing.  And, yes, I had minimal "free" time to recover from said testing.  But that wasn't necessarily "whew" material.  It must be something else...

As you may remember from my previous post, March is kind of a big deal for the music world.  It's our one time when we get to pretend to shine.  I have 3 different concerts coming up, and needless to say, there is a possible chance that I just might be getting a little more stressed as each day passes... getting closer to my big moment to "shine".  But more on that later...

Perhaps the highlight of my week was my time in court.  Yes, court.  As in, "All rise..." and "No talking, no gum chewing, no halter tops, no cell phones" court. 

No, I did not get arrested...

For those of you who know me, I have a very strict policy:  I am too pretty for prison.  Sadly, the registration on my car was expired. [You might recall the "Your registration is expired... as in... uh, 'AUGUST'..." incident from my previous blog-- which also includes a toe pic!]  Proudly, though, the officer did inform me that I have a flawless driving record (I'll possibly share more on that small miracle in times to come).  Which is why I headed to court-- to maintain that flawless driving record.  I was nervous that the judge would be mean.  Or that I would cry.  I don't really like to be in trouble.   But God was very kind to me.  And so was the judge. 

But the man at the metal detector was not.  Why, yes.  Did you know that you are not allowed to have any sort of electronic device in a courthouse?  I did not.  But that "gentleman" certainly did quickly inform me that I had to take my cell phone back to my car.  Why, yes.  I was parked a couple blocks away. Aaaaand  it WAS pouring down rain.  However, tempted as I was to allow a little stress tear to squeeze out, I just took a deep breath, prayed deep within my spirit, and briskly walked back to my car to deposit my fancy little phone. 

Fortunately, I wasn't quite like this.  And I was so thankful for my umbrella!

There were about 15 different people who went before me-- of which I was grateful (you know, so that I could prepare myself for what might happen-- and steel myself to NOT cry if needed.).  Fortunately for me, many of the people ahead of me were not necessarily in the running for citizen of the year month week day hour ever.  They set the stage for me beautifully. 

There were just a few basic questions that the judge asked each defendant as they (we *sigh*) stood before him:  a) What are the charges?  b) How do you plead?  c) Was the defendant cooperative? 

Wanna guess which of those 3 questions held the most weight?  If you picked "C", you are the winner.  There were a couple of guys who had to pay hefty fines b/c the officer testified that they were aggressive or argumentative.  As I walked up to the bench as my name was called, I smiled and said, "Good morning."  The judge read my charge (expired registration) and asked how I plead.  Naturally, I was guilty...  (Uh... AUGust...)  He then says, [to the officer] "It's obvious she was cooperative. [to me] I assume you've gotten this taken care of?"  I assured him I had, showed the dutifully updated registration to the officer, and waited for the verdict.  He smiles so nicely (notice:  no crying) and says, "All right.  I am going to dismiss the charges, but unfortunately you are going to have to pay the court costs.  I'm sorry, but there isn't anything even I can do about that."  That was very nice, don't you think? 

Soooo... it was rather stressful to have to drive to downtown Newport News to attend traffic court.  With non-citizens of the year.  In the rain.  But it was a relief to know that I did NOT have 3 points put on my flawless record, and I only had to pay $66 instead of the $91 (or more!) I was potentially going to have to pay. 

The highlight of my week was the rare treat I allow my children:  ice cream for dinner.  I figured we all had earned a little treat.  There wasn't much objection.  So we headed to Sweet Frog.  My kiddos were thrilled.  And so cute.  And I didn't have to cook.  Win-win-win.