Sweet Like Candy

I'm not sure how you feel about Starburst candies - but if you like them then you will probably LOVE these:

Pictured above are: cherry, lemon, and orange Starburst cupcakes.

In preparation for a coworker's upcoming birthday I tested cupcake and frosting recipes that taste like the colors of the candy rainbow. Starburst happen to be her favorite candy and I have made it my goal to turn everyone's favorite sweet into a delicious little cupcake!

They are pretty good but oh-my-goodness are they sweet. Maybe just a little too sweet with a little tang of sour - just like their candy counterpart!

Anywho - here's the recipe:

Cupcakes:
1 box Super Moist White Cake Mix
3 egg whites
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Gel food coloring

Follow the directions on the box to make the cupcakes. My little twist is that I whip the egg whites to a meringue first. Once the ingredients are incorporated divide the batter into thirds and add food coloring to the desired color.

I also think we could flavor the cake as Starburst but I didn't have the time or the patience this time round.

Frosting:
1 stick butter (room temperature)
4 - 5 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 package each of cherry, orange and lemon UNSWEETENED Kool-Aid

Whip butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the sugar and milk to the desired consistency. Divide the frosting into thirds. Slowly add the Kool-Aid mix into the frsoting, tasting as you go. I used about 1/4 tsp of each. I think using the full packet would be overwhelming - so be cautious when adding the flavor.

Top the cooled cupcakes with the frosting, matching the cherry frsoting to the red cupcakes, lemon to the yellow cupcakes and orange to the - well - orange cupcakes. These monochromatic little packages are beautiful.

Dust off the old blog

Two things that are true about me:

1. I have never been good at keeping a journal/diary.

The thing that is funny about this is that the first blog post I ever wrote was almost exactly one year ago. Every diary from my childhood has the following: A promise to be a diligent daily writer followed by 6 pages of drivel, 300 blank pages and a final page confessing how lazy I had been at keeping my promise. Here's to hoping this is not the "final page"

2. My behavior is seasonal.

I get this crazy cooking/cleaning/exercise/eat right/look good bug right around every turn of the season. Yesterday was the first day my symptoms manifested and today was no better. Here is the current list of symptoms observed thus far:

My house is spic and span - as it clean as it as been since the turn to winter.
I made Jonathan go on a 3 mile walk with me yesterday.
I applied self-tanning lotion today.
I went to Old Navy and purchased a few cute tops.




I am marinating chicken and....
I baked a Plum Cake Tatin.



Oh. My. God.

Truth be told, the Tatin is the reason for this post. The second I plated it and sprinkled confectioners sugar on top I grabbed the camera and my laptop and thought, "the world must see this."

So here it is world. The Tatin... the tempting Plum Cake Tatin. Swoon.



Please note the caramelized sugar that rests atop the fresh juicy plums that rest atop the moist sweet cake that rests atop the warm juicy plum syrup that has pooled on the plate.

Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten herself. Find the recipe on foodnetwork.com.

The crazy cooking/cleaning/exercise/eat right/look good bug has clearly not set in completely.


....Unless you consider that I am about to grab that Tatin and eat right now.