Baby Pool

Let's have some fun! 

Make your predictions now and we will share the news in a super fun way on Wednesday, June 1st. Click HERE to enter our baby pool! In fact, make all baby predictions here and please let's get competitive people...in a really loving manner of course :)

*Helpful hint: "Baby Dos" is due October 31st*

My favorite cupcake tips!

My last post was deep, emotional, and a little needy...so...I thought naturally let's follow that up with my favorite cupcake baking tips! 

Cupcake images via: me :)

Let me just say I love everything about cupcakes! I love the endless possibilities they possess in terms of creativity and design, I love the heartache and headache they give me when a recipe fails, and I love the pure joy I get when they turn out beautifully! But most importantly, I love to eat them...I mean duh right?!

Backstory: I have this amazing family of cooks who have tried their hardest to teach me how to bake my entire life. However, baking was something I didn't understand and frankly had no interest in until one day...I just did! Now baking has ballooned into a full blown obsession of mine and I believe it is because of how difficult it actually is! I mean I started something seemingly simply, yet countless failed attempts and tears (for real) later proved to be anything but. To be a consistent baker, to truly understand the science behind the ingredients, is difficult and I am determined to succeed at it (see obsession). 

So, in my pursuit of perfection I began to study the science of baking and I have learned so much since my very first vanilla cupcake! 

said first vanilla cupcake

After books, articles, videos and lots of trial and [mainly] error I've decided we should all bake more homemade cupcakes and below is a handy list I've compiled of my favorite baking tips to ensure that yours come out flawlessly:  

Tip #1: Start with ingredients at room temperature

This tip is #1 for a reason, it is the most important! Numerous times, while in a rush, I've used ingredients right out of the refrigerator and it makes a huge difference in your baking! When your eggs are not room temperature your cakes fall flat, quiet literally, and you do not get those beautiful rounded, springy tops once they bake. Now, I have cheated a bit on this step and placed my eggs in the microwave for a few seconds and that seems to work as well. However, I still think you get the best results by just letting them sit out and slowly come to room temperature. Furthermore, room temperature butter is needed to get the proper creaming of your butter and sugar, which is often the first and most important step in your cupcake recipe. When creaming your butter and sugar make sure to whip butter first in your blender, at a low speed before slowly adding in your sugar. By using room temperature, unsalted butter and slowly adding your sugar you are ensuring that your ingredients emulsify correctly without breaking them down. Also, I have yet to be able to over-whip in the creaming stage, you want your butter to be very creamy, but over-mixing does become a problem later on: see Tip #6

Image via: Tinytestkitchen

Tip #2: Use unsalted butter

Before baking I had know idea there was such a thing as salted vs. unsalted butter, but holy cow in the baking world it's huge and it matters. When a recipe calls for unsalted butter go to the store, pay extra, and buy unsalted butter. Your recipe is telling you, you need to control the amount of salt and by adding another salted product (like salted butter) it will change the taste and texture of your end product. Furthermore, unsalted butter holds up way better in your buttercream recipes! Believe, me if you have ever got the slowly sinking and melting away buttercream look, this is an important ingredient to have! 

Image via: all-foods-considered

Tip #3: Study your recipe

Do not skim your recipe, read it thoroughly! Why...because science again! A baking recipe is not like a cooking recipe it is not a suggestion. You need to know your ingredients and measure them out carefully, especially baking powder and baking soda. They are not the same, although they are both leaveners, they are chemically different and when mixed up it makes a huge difference in the structure of a cake. Additionally, I often times get distracted or interrupted while I bake [hello, 3 year old] so I find it helpful to check off my ingredients as I go! Trust me, I've learned this tip the hard way...

Every recipe I have is marked in some way or another!

Tip #4: Use pure vanilla 

I am a super frugal [cheap] person! However, quality ingredients make a difference in baking and the biggest bang for your buck and taste-buds, in my opinion, is the switch to pure vanilla extract. Come on it is not that much more and it really changes the flavors of your cakes and frostings I promise!

Bonus tip: use clear extract to keep a crisper, white frosting. Dark extract will make your frosting a more antiqued color. 

Image via walmart.com

Tip #5: Alternate wet and dry ingredients

Martha Stewart first taught me this :) I split my wet and dry ingredients up and pour about 1/3 of my mix in, in an alternating manner. This ensures that your ingredients get properly mixed together and if you use a slow mixing speed it doesn't break down any of your ingredients. I always end my mixing with a liquid just to keep those batters super smooth. 

Tip #6: Be mindful not to over mix

Once you are past the creaming stage (butter and sugar) of your cupcake (or cake) recipe be mindful not to over mix your batter. Mix your ingredients until they are just combined. This will keep those important air bubbles in tact [science] and allow your cakes to stay airy and fluffy. 

Tip #7: Measure your batter

When I first started making cupcakes my pans were always uneven! I would have undercooked, overcooked, overflowing, uneven cupcakes and the reason was quite simple: I didn't measure my batter when filling my cupcake liners. So now I use a every day ice-cream scoop and voila perfection; they are always even! Also, my scoop makes for an easier clean up and less batter drips on my pan :)

imagine via: usefulthings.com

Tip #8: Know your oven (no early peeking & bake in the center)

Don't be a peeker!! This is the hardest tip for me, I want to peek! I want to open the oven and look at my little babies to make sure they are all thriving, but you must fight your maternal baking instincts. Opening your oven early will allow your heat to escape and your cakes are likely to fall flat. If you must peek wait till they are 90% done just long enough to do the bounce back test (do the tops bounce back up when you lightly push on them? If they bounce back completely take them out!). Also, it's really important to know the temperature of your oven and how it bakes. Lots, and lots, and lots of times I have cooked in other people's ovens and my cupcakes have come out differently. That is because all ovens cook differently, know yours before baking! If your internal temperature is too hot your cakes are more likely to over cook, just turn down the temperature slightly. If your oven is hotter on top your cakes are likely to bake uneven and have harder tops. Make sure to bake on the center rack in the center of your oven, without overlapping your pans, to ensure proper airflow and even baking.

Tip #9: Cool cupcakes immediately 

Once your cupcakes come out of the oven take them out of the pan and begin the cooling process immediately. Of course, the reason behind this tip is to prevent over baking and a dry cake. Lots of bakers use a wire rack to cool their cupcakes, which certainly works, but I just flip a cold cupcake pan over and cool them that way. Basically, I just use the tools that are available to me and when I started baking I didn't have a cooling rack; later I realized I didn't necessarily need one. Do what works for you! 

Tip #10: Store your cupcakes properly

Your goal as a baker is to make super moist, yummy cupcakes and how you store them is a big factor in if you'll be successful! Use an airtight container to store your cupcakes and keep your cakes at room temperature if at all possible. I rarely refrigerate my cupcakes and the times that I have they dry out so quickly it is unbelievable. Your cupcakes should stay super moist for 2-3 days (or more), at room temperature, if stored properly. Furthermore, wait to frost them if you can. I like to whip up my frosting in advance, keeping it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, until the day I need my cupcakes...this is ideal of course. Sometimes you need to frost right away and that is ok! Still keep your cakes in a good container at room temperature and your frosting should be able to hold up just as well! I plan on doing another post with frosting tips that will help aid you even further in this step :)

Bonus tip: you can freeze cupcakes and frosting (separately of course) using a good freezer bag or container. Let them both defrost at room temperature the day you need them or night before. I always whip my frosting, while it is still cold, to make it nice and smooth again.

Well, there you have it friends, my favorite cupcake tricks and tips! I hope you enjoy them and find this post super helpful on your baking endeavors!! 

Happy baking!

**please if you have a baking question come up post it in the comments, I love to help!**

The waiting place

First of all I want to let you know that within this blog I will probably reference children's books more frequently than adults, but hey you write what you know! Besides, I have found that there is so much wisdom that gets overlooked at first read in a child's book. As I read to my son now, I desperately want to embark all that adult knowledge and meaning a good story has. I have to pull myself back and remember that, that knowledge comes with experiences, ones that he needs the opportunity to well...experience for himself. Have I mentioned that I also have to remind myself that he's only 3...a lot.

Back to children's books and authors: Dr. Seuss is my all time favorite and naturally my first blog post references his, "Oh, The Places You'll Go" and more specifically his waiting place. What a beautiful illustration to a place the I have come to know so well...the waiting place. The place where you are sitting around waiting for life to happen. You have hope for the future to come, but you are just passively letting the present slip away until you are in a vicious cycle of waiting for something better. I am not normally a grass is greener on the other side kind of gal! I taught myself along time ago that if you want anything to be good in life you have to put in the work (water, weed, fertilize that lawn). However, the waiting place is tricky and made me start to yearn for something more, without even noticing what I had, let alone taking care of it!

When we first moved across country it was exciting and we literally had new adventures every week. My husband and I would take our son to the zoo, the ocean, boat rides, new cities, any and everything we could experience in our new adventureland. However, that's not real life, and soon the adventures slowed, as well as our finances. We had to settle into our new normal and thus began my visit to the waiting place. I sunk into a lonely waiting place, counting the days until my husband had another day off work. He worked afternoons and was gone a lot more then we had ever thought! I stayed inside and I anxiously waited for bedtime every night. This is the first time that my son and I had spent every, and I mean every, waking moment with each other! Bedtime became a reprieve. I waited around for people to call, or text, or check on me...like it was their responsibility. I even waited around for new friends, like magically another mom would knock on my door and say, "hey you look nice, want to drink coffee and let our kids eat junk?" Making friends as an adult is no joke and I seriously wish it were that easy! "Hi random lady with a child age 7 or below, I swear I am not a psychopath, would you like to be my best friend forever?" Yeah, let's just say I was stuck; no one was showing up at my door or so it seemed. 

It had been a few months of this self pitting, waiting place behavior, before God worked in my heart and reminded me of all the answered prayers I was living, but choosing to overlook. I was reminded that I prayed for my husband to get this new job, I prayed for this move for my family. I had asked to be able to stay at home with my little guy and now I was praying for bedtime!? I had begged for a quieter life, more family time and less hectic...Have you ever heard that saying, "I still remember praying for the things I have today?" Slap in the face; I was so ashamed! Not only did I overlook my greatest blessings, I stopped doing anything and I just waited for something better to come. I became my own self-fulfilling prophecy of misery and loneliness. Luckily, I "escaped all that waiting and staying! And [I've] found the bright places where boom bands are playing." And that is were I am today! I still have days where I struggle, but since taking a more active role in my happiness I am just that...happy!

I pray more. I thank God more. I smile more. I enjoy being a stay at home mom more. I enjoy the time I get with my husband more.  I put myself out there more, hence this blog...and now first blog post :)