Let Them Eat (Cup) Cakes

I like to try new recipes. When my family gets in a food rut, the first thing I do is go the internet and find some new things to try. It keeps our menu interesting and I always let my fam decide whether to keep or toss the recipe. Because no matter how much I love something, if my kids won’t eat it, it is a waste of time and money. Although I have been known to feed them hot dogs while Kev and I sup on something delicious…

As I was making plans for Malia’s upcoming birthday, I knew I wanted to make blueberry cupcakes because she looooooves blueberries. But cake recipes present kind of a challenge for me. Not only do I live at a fairly high altitude, but due to my food allergy kid, I have to bake without milk and eggs. So it can get interesting…and fairly disgusting when things don’t work out. I have a couple of tried and true cake recipes that I can always fall back on, but I get bored. And when I eat a super fluffy, light cake (egg-free cakes are usually much denser because eggs are what give cakes that lovely lift) sometimes I just feel a need to reach for the sky…or at least have my cupcakes accomplish the task. So when I found a cupcake recipe that looked delightful I decided to give it a go. Even though the blogger who posted it is in Napa Valley which is a whole lot closer to sea level than the mountainous region in which I live. And in spite of the fact that it included eggs, butter, milk, and buttermilk. I was completely undeterred by the fact that changing out a bunch of ingredients and messing with the proportions of half a dozen more was going to make the task daunting.

I’m smart enough to know that a new cake recipe requires a test run, so that was this afternoon’s task. The batter tasted lovely, but I knew that taste was not going to be the issue. Texture was going to be the issue. So as my kitchen filled with the aroma of vanilla, almond, and blueberries, I kept my fingers crossed. And when I pulled those little capsules of hope out of the oven and saw that they had that pretty little dome that is so often missing in an eggless cake, I was encouraged. And when they cooled and I broke one open, it was nice and tender, airy and just a touch chewier than the egg version would be. And not too sweet which is perfect for a cupcake that is destined to be covered with purple frosting. In my opinion, a success.

Honestly, I’m totally proud of myself. In the past seven years, I’ve come a long way from crying over my 1-year-old in the allergist’s office. I’ve never been a horrible cook (Thank you, Mom, for making me learn to cook!) but I think I’m a better cook now. I’m more confident with making substitutions and changes to recipes and I’m more willing to try new things (although I’m still not a fan of beets and plain zucchini--blech). I no longer rely on a can of “cream of anything” as a recipe staple and I’ve discovered a number of recipes that are just as fast and easy to prepare, taste much better, and fit our allergy needs. Life is good. And my kitchen has become a place of great creations. And most of them are even eatable…