As some of you may know, I am not the only female in my family with a penchant for food. Aside from the obvious interested parties (me, my mother), my twin sister Alice is a beast in the kitchen as well. And not only that, but she is married. Do you know what this means, my little chickadees? It means she has every delightful dish, serving utensil and gadget that a foodie could want. Kitchen Aid mixer? Check. Wire cooling rack? Check. Recipe for deadly, butter-soaked cupcakes? CHECK. Did I mention Al is particularly talented in the Dark Arts (and by that, I mean baking)?
Recently my cupcake-loving sis entered a neighborhood Cupcake Bake-off in her Brooklyn neighborhood. Not one to venture lightly into a competition, good ol' Al decided to make some cupcakes that would stun, terrify and enchant all who encountered them. CHOCOLATE OATMEAL CUPCAKES WITH MAPLE-BACON BUTTERCREAM?!? MARGARITA CUPCAKES? WHAT?!
Please read her guest post below for a true account of a Cupcake Queen. AND she was interviewed and photographed by the Daily News!!!
[Note: Alice was misquoted here. Instead of ""Home bakers should be afraid of experimenting with savory flavors." the quote should be "Home bakers should NOT be afraid of experimenting with savory flavors." DUH!]
"The cupcake trend sweeping the food nation for the past few years is going strong in Brooklyn. How do I know this? Because I was one of 65 entrants into the 3rd Annual Cupcake Bake Off put on by The Brooklyn Kitchen. Last year, I was but a mere cupcake enthusiast, showing up to Union Pool, a local watering hole, to sample cupcakes and beers (which go together great, btw. I recommend a light, citrusy weissbier or hefeweizen!). I was so envious of all those proud cupcake bakers, standing behind their adorable little 'cakes and happily explaining flavors and decorations. Next year, I vowed, that would be me. So, on Monday May 11th, I spent 9 hours baking and 2.5 hours basking in the glory of Cupcake World.
I have had a recipe from the New York Times bookmarked since February: "Chocolate Oatmeal Cupcakes with Maple Bacon Buttercream". "WHAT?!" I squealed when I stumbled upon it. "BACON?!" So, duh. Decision made. An unutterable, ungodly amount of butter was used to make these cupcakes, as documented in my photos. I nicknamed them "Lil' Heart Attacks", which is very appropriate. I made 2 dozen of those little charmers, I also made a dozen of what I called "Margarita Cupcakes". They were basically lime cupcakes with a lime zest buttercream icing, sprinkled with grey sea salt. I only made a dozen of those and they flew so fast I didn't even get to sample one! From what I heard, they were very light and moist and tasty. Check them out here, on a local NYC blog. They were lugged over to Union Pool in my handy dandy cupcake carrier that was a wedding gift...that I registered for (thank you, Kasia!).
I had such a blast just sitting and chatting with the sugared up crowd. I had entreaties from a guy to make trays of them for a party, who declared "these are the cupcakes from a girl you take home to mom". The Daily News came by and took photos and interviewed me. I am quoted in the online article, but my picture made the printed version! My only regret is that I didn't have very much time to schmooze around with other contestants because I was manning my Bacon Station. Luckily, the nice girls sitting next to me amassed a major cupcake stash. I seriously think they had almost one of each! They were very generous and let me snack on their horde. Thanks, anonymous cupcake hoarders!
Alas, I didn't win anything. But I had such a nice time scarfing
cupcakes, sampling other bakers' wares, and enjoying the spring evening
that I don't even care. Next year, next year....."
