Cupcake anyone??

I miss Sunday evenings at home baking! I miss shopping for ingredients, finding cute cake decorations and cupcake holders and last but not least I miss tasting the final delights!

So on Friday afternoon I was propositioned to prove that this baking I speak so fondly of was in fact a reality and not just a figment of my imagination. Of course I saw this as a challenge and decided to prove to my colleagues that my status of Cupcake Queen was well deserved!  Visits to Migros and Coop directly after work proved futile. How does one translate self raising flour into German? 

A quick trip home and with the help of google translate I was back en route to the shopping centre armed with a lengthy shopping list of goodies.Of course, all my baking equipment is sitting pretty in Ireland so I had to buy everything from cupcake holders to trays and seives. After spending a small fortune I returned home satisfied with my purchases!

I finally decided on three different flavoured cupcakes:

1. Naturally, chocolate features on this list so I decided on double chocolate chip with dark chocolate frosting.
2. A coffee and pecan variety also tickled my fancy.
3. And finally, a simple vanilla and white chocolate.

I started with the vanilla, followed by coffee and finished off with the chocolate. Each variety was allowed to cool while I made the frosting. I am no stranger to chocolate frosting as this is my speciality. I tried the coffee variety on several occasions too so this was straight forward enough (lesson for next time - allow the coffee to chill before adding to butter so as to obtain a less greasy frosting). The white chocolate and vanilla proved a little challenging though. I'm not sure whether it was insufficient chocolate, too much butter or too much milk, but there was nothing that could be done to thicken it. It tasted spectacular but looked unimpressive!

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my return to the world of baking. I was pleased with the end result and am now determined to perfect my vanilla and white chocolate frosting.

Looking forward to tucking into these in work tomorrow...

However, one slight logistical challenge - how do I transport 32 cupcakes to work??? Maybe if I eat some more, there will be less to carry!!!!

Will check back in tomorrow to update on how many made it to the office!

Auf Wiedersehen,

Ciara x