So, today I decided to make cupcakes. Real life, home made, no pre-mixed boxes of cupcakes. I can’t say the idea came to me without help. An online friend, @antibob, has a new cupcake website where she makes a new cupcake each week and shares her recipes.
You know where this is going, right?
So, here’s the recipe that inspired my project: Deep dark chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
I mean – look at her pictures! Don’t they look lovely?
This is where it all starts to go down hill. Ya know, the part of the ‘cooking fun’ where I’ve hit my head and suddenly thought that *I* could make something as pretty – or heck, even half as pretty.
I did manage to get the cake batter made and into the cups without to much trouble – of course, not being a cupcake connoisseur myself, I didn’t know how much of the batter you were supposed to put into each cup – so I winged it based on the pictures. For the most part – I didn’t screw that up…although I did have a few ‘half filled’ cups when they came out of the oven and naturally, a few that totally ran over the top…but I’m a trooper – I kept going.
I let them cool and started making the frosting.
Delicious peanut butter frosting. It’s so good. Tastes just like Reese’s Pieces. Mmmm
Anyway – this is where we started having problems, because I don’t care how much mental prep you do – if you’re not an awesome cake/cupcake decorator – this WILL be your end result:
If you laugh at me, I will throw them at you...
Granted, ugly cupcakes taste just as good as pretty ones, so this was my saving grace. However – be forewarned that people that live with you (I’m no longer going to consider them ‘family’) may say things like, “Eww mom, is that supposed to look like poop” and “It’s ok honey, you just had bad…tools”.
Also be forewarned that you should NEVER try to use a pastry bag unless you’ve had the proper training. Also – those cute little shaped tips? Ninja Throwing Stars have nothing on those bad boys when they start flying across the kitchen, ask my old man.
I want to make sure I reiterate, they are delicious and I will make them again – I will not, however, attempt to be Martha Freakin Stewart in the future. I’m already planning on making this as a cake, with layers of the frosting…that’ll be good and NOT ugly 
The recipe and inspiration are courtesy of The Weekly Cupcake, who you can also follow on Twitter.
That caption, below the cupcakes – totally not an empty threat.
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*ducks* I’m sure they TASTED wonderful.
YAY!! So glad you made some! Believe me, the first time I tried to pipe on frosting it wasn’t pretty. At all. And I’m pretty sure I have photographic evidence of it too. Also? The first time I made a butter-cream (a normal butter-cream, not a peanut butter one) I didn’t use enough powdered sugar so as soon as you tasted it you got instant heartburn because it was like eating pure butter. SO GROSS! Don’t give up! It’s so much fun when you get it down to a (sort of) science.