A girl makes cupcakes, that's what she does! With lots of little helpers. I let Miss D. pick our Easter project out of a great cookbook she got for Christmas, called Hello Cupcake! by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson. Miss D. picked the Easter egg cupcakes seen on the bottom of the page here.
Compared to most of the cupcakes in the book, these seemed manageable. I was greatly relieved, because as you know, I do not bake, and I am also painfully devoid of any kind of "crafty gene." Crafts and I don't mix. I mangle crafts, if I do not manage to kill them outright. I don't know how Martha Stewart manages things--that witch--and I never will.
I also cheated like hell.
I used a Sprinkles cupcake mix from Willliams-Sonoma. And jarred icing. I know, I know, this is a pathetic start to a food blog of any worth, but our weekend was packed with activity and I hate to bake and, well, I suck, okay? You knew all about my suckage from the first post in this blog, so don't expect a girl to change overnight.
Miss M. and Miss D were so excited about the cupcakes (and made so much racket and havoc) that I was actually able to entice my Supercool Stepkid R into the kitchen. When cupcakes win out over Grand Theft Auto 4, you know you've got a good project going on.
The Sprinkles cupcake mix--dark chocolate--came together easily as per package directions and the girls found the batter irresistible.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIko9XlECLLayk6ECBuwrFUp4EfeJo-KAsDZup46JFDqJD0UUTz69rxCKSTbLpRuB6vnjHrrBWspr9AznPsJJXjX5TOzIcl4ybuzfgDI0C6iWeTq-bpz7k6PvCgUsbI00URvz-BCLJcihp/s320/Not+Bad+for+a+Cheater+Mix.jpg)
They baked up dark and rich and promising, much better than I actually expected from a mix. Wahoo! This is easy peasy stuff!
Not so fast, caterpillar. The next step involved trimming graham crackers into attractive egg shapes using a template and a serrated knife. Ummmm, have you ever tried to trim a graham cracker? You know, those graham crackers that are scored so that they are easy to break into sqares, not ovals?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJKpVeQKui-D7ggGy4v3U4kC59R6Y3dRyKDs4y-jtlYu9MfusZpGWhO3mE1MOswVUmp76BXv3Lsb-3WevxYJs3bYYkl4sgI33-VQ21NiQEIzJ_aErqcxl3hzU6u47XRExUXw5U1bfyJ2A/s320/R's+Impossible+Task.jpg)
Thank God for Supercool Stepkid R, because he patiently trimmed an ENTIRE box of graham crackers down to TEN successful egg shapes. It was a mess! We did discover, about halfway into the process, that it was a little easier to cut them if we slightly dampened the tops with water. Desperation breeds invention.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkEr1K38Yuh57bKvALapNaUHittNaK_85wGeZRfMZSrHyBV-nIWoeewVqiFPNK4yh5q8-DgWKWyPCUmaH7bfYXUKsRqcJq_3nUY5zq5dxoDl03IHTebiD3SLBtf2T8wsUsboV7tkr4JuR/s320/R+with+his+Weapon+of+Destruction.jpg)
The rest of the process was much easier. We frosted the graham eggs, rolled them in superfine colored sugar, attached the eggs to the top of the cupcakes with a little dollop of frosting, and embellished accordingly.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlKWHDAPIxFkfmA2F-YgzThyphenhyphenMHDofiWofdjIjwcm3Kt4tMt1W_lJbGESv9BYPGwy95QF9YPoogdgdEcA5lT4fTPJUjEHZ1DmV9Sh7qp6RzZL5He0GaATIDh3JB24tnmtiA0hpm4bqdSXO/s320/Miss+D.+sugaring+things+up%21.jpg)
I thought our finished product was a reasonable facsimile of the cookbook photo. And yeah, we cheated like bandits, but we had a lovely time and got good and silly and messy. R did make a cupcake that looked eerily like Frank the Bunny from Donnie Darko, but we got over it.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOcLzqIshXjtn5Ze9LdvZTI259E7hcWK5wvWZ_Fv9wdy4F3qbsi6qMjsjNFBQY0yzUVq3lBKzhQrxtwmhNsl_myNdSK7wFdgR-hPGeEQjvyYwChBUNXlPn2x0VwTm7XPfOU-zhqhstBRZ/s320/R's+creepy+Frank+the+Bunny.jpg)
So perhaps I shouldn't really count this Easter cupcake episode as an official start to Family Meal Rehab, but it wasn't a bad way to spend a few hours on a gloomy afternoon. And I got my 16 year old away from the Grand Theft Auto 4!! Am I proud or what?
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Awesome those look great!
ReplyDeleteIt is not cheating; it is creative baking.
ReplyDeleteI just snorted water out of my nose when I read about your Donnie Darko treat. You are a rock star, my friend.
ReplyDeleteWe love us some Donnie Darko in this house.
ReplyDelete