My New Dwelling and Chocolate Frosting

Remember when I wrote about how stressful my life was and I lost my urge to bake?

You can read about it here.

The truth is after my little rant things started to look up. I found a jazzy new apartment in a trendy new neighborhood, and I had a craving for chocolate frosting. The job thing on the other hand…still a work in progress.

But, I took some time to stop whining to do something extremely special. One of my closest friends is moving back to her home and naturally we needed to celebrate.

I could write a whole sentimental statement about this amazing woman whom I am going to dearly miss, but I don’t want to cry, so I’ll spare the feelings. Onto the cupcakes

Last week, I wrote about my newfound love for box cake mixes, and that is still true to this day. For this going away party, I was given the task to make some cupcakes and I happily obliged. In this scenario I wanted to do something classic to pair with the vanilla bean cake.

Enter chocolate frosting.

I love chocolate frosting, simple as that. I think it is the perfect topper for cupcakes, the most divine filling for layers, and the best heap at the end of the spoon. This recipe I found is honestly so easy that anyone can make it. I found the original recipe at Baked Bree.

Try it out!

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened 
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• ¾ cup cocoa powder, sifted 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons milk

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 1 minute until smooth. By 1-cup additions, add the powdered sugar on a low speed. On a low speed, add the cocoa powder. Mix at a medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the extract, and milk and mix for another minute until desired consistency. Use immediately and store at room temperature.

Box Mixes and Cupcakes

When I started baking, I had a strict rule. No box mixes. I thought to myself, hey if I’m going to be serious about this, I need to eliminate using boxes. To me, using a box mix felt like cheating a recipe and I didn’t want to start a hobby surrounded by cheating.

However, my tune started to shift. Often times, when I wanted to practice piping on a cake, I didn’t want to waste a whole chunk of flour and sugar only to have it consumed by me. I thought my fresh ingredients should be utilized by paying customers.

So I bought a box mix.

Nowadays, I think box mixes aren’t as awful as I thought they were. There’s a plethora of options, whether it be Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines. My biggest issue with the boxes was the ingredients, but now that I have access to Trader Joes and Whole Foods, that’s no longer a problem. My newfound love for box mixes was something that gradually added on. Here’s why.

1.     They’re good for practice. You know how a box mix is going to taste. It can help you distinguish the uneven temperature in your oven, or simply how long to bake a cake for.

2.     They’re cheap. Correlates directly to #1. Box mixes are cheap and they’re everywhere. I’ve bought a box at CVS and even 7/11!

3.     You’re able to modify them. When you think about it, box mixes at their core, are basic dry ingredients that are interchangeable. You can add butter instead of oil, whole milk instead of water. Some people add in pudding! Anything is possible.

4.     They are not intimidating. Everyone can master a box mix. One of the key ingredients to being a great baker is confidence and if a box mix is going to help you feel better about your skills, I say go for it.

So, as a minimal hoarder of box mixes, I picked up a Trader Joe’s Vanilla Cake Mix. I sought this recipe, as it was an exact replica of a recipe I utilized before, just cheaper! It had vanilla beans within the mix. Boo-yah! I followed the mix’s directions and made vanilla cupcakes. Delicious and easy.

For the frosting I made a homemade strawberry buttercream, which was flawless and also super easy! I decorated these cupcakes simply and made them for World Baking Day, which was on Sunday.

At the end of the day, no one cares if you use a box mix. They care about the cupcake you’re dangling in front of their faces.

Gilly’s Strawberry Buttercream

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 3 to 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/3 to ½ cup of Strawberry preserves
• 1-tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3-tablespoons heavy cream

1. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 1 minute until smooth. By ½ cup additions, add the powdered sugar on a low speed. Once added, mix at a medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in the strawberry preserves, vanilla and mix for 1 minute. Add the heavy cream and whip until smooth and creamy. Add a droplet of pink food gel for color.

Bakation

I’ve been on a bakation (baking + vacation).

It wasn’t intentional.

As much as I would love to focus all my time and energy on Gilly’s, I am accepting of the fact that I can’t. As much as it annoys and frustrates me, I need to accept that I am a graduating senior who has to pay attention to her life.

Like many millennials, I am graduating college. This is extremely terrifying and exciting at the same point. I would argue that 75% of the time I am relaxed about the whole process. I eagerly apply for jobs, do my academic work, and look for apartments. System is down.

But for the past week, I hit a low. The apartment I loved was sold to someone else. HR departments never reply as quickly as I hoped. I’m giving showings of my current apartment like I’m a full time real estate agent. With all of this and more, I have lost my bakspiration (baking + inspiration). The stress made me sick too and that’s just annoying.

Today when I was on the phone with my sister, I was drafting cheesecake recipes and apart of me just felt like “blah”. So, as the accepting human that I am, I am accepting that I don’t need to bake every other day, (yes I usually bake every other day), and allow myself to focus on my impending graduation.

With that being said, I drafted a lovely cheesecake recipe today and I hope to get it out soon! In the meantime, chocolate chip cookies will suffice.

Stay patient, stay kind!

                                    -- Gilly