i like saying yesno.
no, it’s not yesno like yez-noh,
it’s
yes-no.
you say it like that. don’t ask me why,
but i like adding it along as a random suffix to questions
i’ve been asking lately. like:
you like cupcakes, yesno?
i’m gonna go out now, you coming, right? yesno?
did you just fart? yesno?
(note: i didn’t actually ask that last one.
i’ve been watching nigahiga lately, and man
i love his “nosy people” video.
“did you just fart?”
“WHO’S YO DADDAE?”
yeah, i’m prone to bathroom humour, sometimes.
who isn’t?)
anyway, go to here and ask me a few questions!
yes, i got formspring, too.
i have 0 questions asked.
it makes me a little sad.
oh well, i’m not looking to be über-famous or anything,
but i like to think that some people are interested.
you are interested.
right?
right. :)
anyway, i also have some FOOD to show you!
is this what you came for, or is this what you came for?
am i right, or am i right?
right.
i make no sense.
it is 1.38am over here in china. i probably shouldn’t be up.
but i AM, so i guess i’ll be classified as a “night owl”.
you know i woke up at 12 noon the other day.
my first super-super late sleep of the summer.
god. it felt… not wonderful. i felt very sore.
i am GETTING OFF TOPIC.
this is NOT GOOD.
because the topic for rumination and mastication today is…!
CUPCAKES.
a few days ago (about a week ago, maybe) my sister was craving cupcakes.
nice, white, vanilla cupcakes, with vanilla frosting.
just to let you know, i didn’t bother with the frosting.
i halved the recipe,
and i did something that may be blasphemous to you…
i halved the sugar. from half a cup to a quarter cup.
here is the original recipe, from How Sweet It Is (a totally awesome blog, by the way.)
from How Sweet It Is
makes 6
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 1/4 cup butter
2 1 egg
1 2 teaspoons vanilla
contents of 1/2 vanilla bean (omitted)
1 1/2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 1/4cup milk
Preheat oven to 350.
Cream butter, sugar, and eggs together until fluffy. Add vanilla and scraped vanilla beans. Make sure vanilla is mixed into batter.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients.
Pour into cupcake tins and bake for 20-25 mins at 350. Let cool, then frost.
my mom enjoyed these.
personally, though, even with my extremely non-sweet tooth…
too unsweet for me.
and again. too much baking powder, maybe,
because they turned out like this:
i think they look like little scones/biscuits, don’t you think?
i used my dear mother’s method for baking with our
crappy top-only oven, by putting the sheet in first
to heat up with the oven, and i still think
that they came out a little undercooked.
the bottom was fine, though.
the middle, tasted a little floury to me?
but keep in mind that i halved the sugar.
i’m starting to regret it now, but at least they were enjoyed
by all that tried them.
these were just out of the oven.
this was literally letting off steam in my hand.
now, i considered frosting them
with this very nice frosting recipe that i saw featured
on Tasty Kitchen maybe about 2 months ago.
i made it for a friend’s birthday party, but…
sadly, it was sort of a fail.
i don’t think it was the recipe’s fault; i was baking at a friends house,
we made brownies for the birthday cake for the birthday girl as a present
(from a MIX. i am appalled at myself for letting this happen,
but we were a little short on time.)
i think it was the ingredients we used:
- the flour’s colour was too yellow. i think it was some kind of semi-wholewheat flour.
- the sugar… it was coarse sugar. the recipe calls for granulated sugar. enough said.
- we were in a hurry and frosted the cake right out of the oven, despite my constant cries of “let it cool! let it cool!” i was told to shut up because we were in a hurry, frosted the cake (yes. the frosting melted. sad, sad days.) and were out the door.
i was considering making the frosting again for my sister’s cupcakes,
but considering the atypical, non-flat, un-cupcake-like tops,
and the labour of thickening flour and milk,
creaming one STICK of butter with sugar,
it was more work than the cupcakes themselves.
so i skipped the frosting.
the cupcakes were consumed mighty quickly, so i don’t think
that anybody minded.
here’s the recipe for the frosting, titled
“That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had“.
it wasn’t, but i’d make it again just to be sure.
here you go!
That’s the Best Frosting I’ve Ever Had
Added by missydew on August 12, 2009 in Desserts, Frosting/Icing
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 10 MinutesServings 12 Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 cup Butter
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)
Preparation Instructions
Bake your favorite chocolate cake and let it cool.
In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) Stir in vanilla.
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then add the cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.
Grab a spoon and taste this wonderful goodness. If there is any left after your taste test, spread it on a cooled chocolate cake.
Cut yourself a piece and put it on a pretty plate. Grab a fork and prepare to experience the most divine pairing you can imagine. This frosting on chocolate cake is to die for. Sure, the recipe sounds strange — it has flour in it — but it’s sublime. Try it, you’ll see. You’ll love it so much you won’t go back.
besides, it says it’s for chocolate cake. so.
next time, baby!
**
Do you have formspring? Add me! :)
Hey Wei Wei,
Those cupcakes do not look too bad. If it was me personally, I still think I would have kept the same amount of sugar, but just omitted the butter for apple sauce and the eggs for egg whites. I also always have to frost my cupcakes. I have too much of a sweet tooth when it comes to cupcakes, so too much cannot be done to them.lol. Thanks for sharing that frosting recipe, it sounds great :) I cannot believe you are still awake at 1 in the morning. That is just crazy to me because my new bedtime is usually at 9 since I have to wake up so early for work.
-Court
It wasn’t so much about the fat/calories of the cupcake, but more about the sheer sweetness of it. My mom doesn’t like ANYTHING too sweet, and our entire family has this lame, lame sweet tooth, so I only decided to cut the sugar. Thanks for the tips, though! :)
The frosting recipe is definitely good. It churned out to be like whipped cream that time I made it, except it was sort of gritty from the coarse sugar. Make sure you make it with granulated :) (NOT icing, by the way).
I wouldn’t be sleeping at 1-3am if I had to wake up early for work, too. I woke up at 12 noon today… Ah, the joys of summer. :P
Wei-Wei
Hey Wei-Wei, I love your new blog-home! First off, thanks for your sweet words. They never fail to make me smile and I truly appreciate it. You’re right, no one is perfect but we can always be the perfect version of ourselves. I need to regain my footing on recovery once more but I will do it. Thank you so much for offering your support and for reminding me that I am not alone. <3
Also, your cupcakes look amazing! You really have a flair for baking and it's wonderful seeing the yum-yums you've been creating with each new post! Well done hun. You should be well proud of yourself!
Love you much
Nat xoxo
Hey Nattie! Thanks for dropping by – YOU never fail to make me smile, lovely girl! I’m glad to be able to provide some encouragement. :)
Wei-Wei
Gosh your precious. I am going to start adding yesno to my questions! Its totally something I would say.
My word is: Merh.
Pronounced: er like “her” not “air”
Use it. Love it. Abuse it.
Merh. Love it. Definitely love it.
Hi lovely :)
Thanks for your adorable words on my blog.
Those cupcakes look to be the perfect balance of light sweetness. I wish u could bake me some goodies to snack on during the week! haha…
Btw, are you from China?
I’m over here in socal, hope you’re having a wonderful summer :)
Stay strong xoxo
Floey
Haha I would if I were there! :) I’m from Taiwan, but I live in China. It says so right on my about page ;) (It’s the one labeled “i…” by the way, in case it was confusing :S) Socal is awesome! Really hot, though, right? I’m definitely feeling the heat where I live.
Thanks for dropping by! :D
Wei-Wei