The night before the bake sale my boyfriend and I went to try one of the cupcakes we made. Since it was my first time making it I wanted to be sure it was perfect. Well thankfully we gave it a try! The oreo was completely stuck to the cupcake wrapper. We could barely pull it off and when we did it had most of the paper stuck on it. So naturally I begin to freak out. It was decided that we would just have to wake up early the next day and try again.
Next day we wake up at 7 and are going to give it a go but now I'm nervous the same problem might happen. I was going to leave the oreo out of the bottom and do everything else the same but to be honest I wasn't thrilled with my icing either. It is getting later and later so i decided to make something a little more...."semi-home made". My boyfriend ran to the store for me and bought white cake mix and cream cheese frosting. I chopped up the oreo's as i had before, threw them in flour and mixed them in the batter. I threw them in the oven, let them cool and decorated them the same as the original batch. We raced off to the city and got there only a few minutes late.
The bake sale seemed to be a hit. My cupcakes looked great and people did buy them, so that makes me feel good. I was surprised to see everyone had their treats all wrapped up and tagged with their name or blog. I did not : ( I wasn't sure what the protocol would be for an event like this so I felt totally unprepared. Thanks again to my boyfriend's help he drew me up a cute little sign and it looked much better. And because every entry needs pictures....
I can't say the whole mishap didn't bum me out big time. I know that everything is about trial and error and I know that I will learn from my mistakes. I really do want to give the original recipe another try. Especially the icing! I am determined to make good icing. I have attempted before and never does it come out right. I am beginning to think it is all because of my lack of a mixer. I have been buying a lot of things lately- ingredients and supplies and such- but a mixer is a bit pricier. It is starting to become quite a pain mixing my hand. Everything would be so much easier with Fred. Yes, I named my unborn mixer. He is the pear colored one and I love him without even having met him. One day.....
My whole world changed when I got a mixer. Christmas of 2008 my mom bought me the smaller kitchen aid model for Christmas, and I let it sit in the box for months. I was so used to mixing by hand (especially because I bake vegan most of the time), that I didn't really think it was necessary. I don't know WHAT I was thinking. I pulled it out when making a cake last summer, and now I use it at least 4 times a week. It makes a HUGE difference for your frosting.
ReplyDeleteOf course, now I'm totally greedy and eye up the professional ones in their pretty colors...
And your cupcakes were a pretty big hit! I didn't get to try one, but I think they sold out by the end of the day!
I have trouble with hand-mixed frostings too. Like Sweet Swallows said, with vegan things, it can get kinda tricky. My stand mixer isn't a fancy Kitchenaid one, although I'd love to have one some day. Mine is just a simple stand, with a removable head so that it also doubles as a hand mixer. And to tell the truth, hand mixers are a blessing when it comes to doing a fluffy buttercream frosting.
ReplyDeleteDon't get discouraged - baking is a lot of trial and error and you're on the right track!!
That is really great to hear they sold out! I wish I could have stayed longer that day.
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