Something happened on the way to motherhood. Instinct kicked in and I'm suddenly in the throes of an almost primal hankering for domestic competence - to bake (among other things).
** Dukan Dieters Beware: Proceed with caution. Sugar and carbs ahead - This was a MAJOR cheat day. **
All for fun, folks.
It’s almost surreal, like walking through the woods and having Disney’s forest friends crawl out of the bushes and break into song; all while two bluebirds rush down from a leafy branch to wrap an apron around my waist and tie it off with a perfectly shaped bow.
Cue orchestral soundtrack.
You must know that before I moved to the Bay Area from Manila, I had no idea how to make rice - on a rice cooker. Not only did I have to re-learn a few things, I had to learn kitchen and household basics and how to whip up meals with what we had in the fridge. The first few months was a crash course on homemaking.
Now that cooking a pretty decent meal is somewhat second nature to me, I figured it’s time to venture out into the unknown, to challenge myself. Besides, much practice is needed for years of bake sales and birthday parties, school projects and sleepovers, but more importantly - to satisfy an immediate craving.
A few weeks ago a good friend had brought homemade strawberry cupcakes and it was incredibly tasty and fresh that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. She’s had years of experience (like her entire life) and I, on the other hand, the hungry novice had to look up how to sift flour without a proper sifter. The depth of my baking experience was limited to pasta, a box or two of brownies and tollhouse cookies. On second thought the cookies probably shouldn’t be counted.
I suppose I could have made it with store bought cake-mix but the invariable challenge of a completely fresh, home-made cupcake made it all the more appealing. I googled strawberry cupcakes and found this recipe: I fortuitously had everything in my pantry. But then again it’s probably because fresh = simple ingredients.
CUPCAKE:
1/3 cup fresh pureed strawberries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature (I only had fat free milk so that’s what I used)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature
FROSTING
1/2 cup fresh strawberries pureed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
Pinch of coarse salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
You can find the complete recipe HERE.
And so after Mandarin was fed, changed and strapped in her high chair, I rocked out to our nineties playlist and my hand mixer and I went to work. The cake was simple enough, a little bit of elbow grease using a hand mixer, but with fruitful results. The recipe’s cupcake yield was for a dozen but somehow I ended up with 6 mini cupcakes. Not quite sure how that happened because my muffin tins were almost full.
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| Improvised sugar sifter. Score. |
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| Ready to bake! |
The frosting recipe only called for three tablespoons of fresh strawberry puree. Three tablespoons!? Three tablespoons is hardly enough, so I tipped my measuring cup and let the berry goodness swirl into ribbons of strawberry delight.
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| Sweet Berry Goodness. |
Hello Lover.
How you like me now.
This may just be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I mean, they weren’t perfect of course. They tasted pretty good, possibly less sweet next time around. The frosting could’ve been smoother; still I was incredibly proud I created these lovelies with essentially flour, sugar and strawberries. All while my little helper cheered me on.
Happy Weekend!
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