Baker: Me
Boyfriend Extraordinaire, Assistant Baker and Official Taste Tester: Devon Milton
There is no mission to accomplish, I would just like to write about baking cakes and cupcakes and other things besides baking.
When I told my colleague that I am going to blog about my recent obsession got a distinctly confused and said, "why not politics?" I stared at him in disbelief, "why politics?", "well thats what you study, isn't it?" Of course I'm not going to write a blog about politics. I think one gets overwhelmed by politics wherever you go. But we don't eat enough cake.
I was inspired by another colleague's red velvet cupcake creations with cream cheese icing. Last year she made the most amazing red velvet cupcakes with a cream cheese icing and little flowers on them. Each cupcake was packaged in its own little clear plastic box. It was delicate and decadent and as beautiful to look as it was a treat to eat.
I was inspired. I only got around to fulfill my dream of baking something that beautiful roughly a year later.
I mustered up the courage to ask for the recipe and she brought me the book. "Cakes, to celebrate love and life" by Callie Maritz and Marie Louise Guy (Struik Lifestyle). I was enthralled. I copied nearly the entire book, every recipe looked special and I had so many ideas, I'd bake a cake for this person, and bake these cupcakes for that event, I had years worth recipes. But that wasn't enough. I had to have the book. I set out on a mission, and found the book at the second bookstore I went to.
I was armed with enough recipes to last me a while and enough events this year to fill my cake baking calender.
I set off with the most obvious choice of all the recipes. The one that got me started, The Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing.
I was going to bake a batch of cupcakes for a Friend's birthday. I didn't think anything through. I had the recipe, I needed a couple of ingredients, decorations, clear boxes and TIME! I got my ingredients, got my decorations and set off baking a batch of 30 cupcakes at 3pm, needing to leave for Pretoria at 6pm. Knowing nothing about baking, decorating, and no capacity for time keeping I was sure that I had more than enough time for everything.
We had a house full of people, a busy kitchen and time was running out. (I didn't foresee that I would run out of vinegar, or Bicarb of Soda or oil, all kitchen basic's right? Devon as trustworthy and reliable as he is, was in his car and set of to get lunch and my missing ingredients and bigger boxes.) The first batch was a little oily and practically fell apart the moment I took them out of the oven. Being in too much of a hurry I didn't panic I simply put the next batch in trusting that something somewhere would go right and I would in the midst of all the batter get at least 20 decent looking cupcakes.
The best looking ones were selected the icing was made by Devon and my sister and I got the troops together to fold the boxes (little pyramids) I dressed in a hurry and we were off at 7pm.
What a lovely gift idea that was. Most people asked if I did it for a living (I do not wish that I baked cakes for a living) and best of all my friend was just as excited. I hope I brought her a little bit of the magic that I experienced when I first tasted my first Red Velvet Cupcake!
My next adventure: Russian Tea Cake with a South African Twist
