Something Sweet

"And when I'm feeling down, I can always count on cupcakes... because cupcakes understand!" - Unknown

Let me put this out there right away: I love cupcakes. I love to bake them, I love to decorate them, and I especially love to eat them. I don't like the extra poundage they can bring (but that's a whole other story!)

Would I say I'm "good at cupcakes"? Probably as good as someone with a box of cake mix* and no stand mixer can be... and now that I've adjusted my powdered sugar to butter ratio in my frostings, I think I've gotten a bit better. ;)

Easter '13 - Lemon Coconut Nest Cupcakes

So what to do when you love to bake and love to eat what you bake... but don't fancy becoming 6000 lbs? Follow the old adage "to give is better than to receive" and share your goodies with your coworkers (and your roommates!)


 Due to my sweet obsession, my coworkers now wait expectantly every holiday (at least every major holiday) for me to bring in my cupcake shaped carrying case (yes, I carry cupcakes in a cupcake) filled to the brim with themed goodies. They like to eat the cupcakes, I like to see them eat them, and I love to get treats out of the house.

You always see those lists about the perks/pitfalls of working in an office (see this hilarious post from Buzzfeed here) and they mention cakes in the kitchen on every birthday. My company definitely isn't like that - these holiday cupcakes are just about the only desserts that come through our doors. I'm not sure if it's the flavour combinations or the sugar rush that excites my colleagues, but the treats seem to go over like gangbusters. And who doesn't love an ego boost like that? ;) 

Xmas 13 - Cherry Almond Snowflake Cupcakes

You can call me a baking nerd but one of my favourite parts of the entire process is planning out the decorations the holiday theme calls for - do I go whole hog and create little characters (like the Mummy cupcakes I made for last Hallowe'en) or do I just use Bulk Barn odds and ends to go somewhat abstract (the green cupcakes with gold coins for last St Patrick's Day come to mind). 

Now that I've awakened my sweet tooth, it's about time to plan for this Easter. Lemon chicks? Carrot cake rabbits? Stay tuned...

*For those of you who think it's cheating to use a boxed cake mix, it's not. The cake mix is a base to use while you experiment with other additions.