My Favorite Recipe

Just last week, I finally discovered my go-to vanilla cake recipe! I've had such bad luck in the past with vanilla cupcakes, that I was determined to find a successful recipe. So I did! Here's its background story.

I went to a high school just 2 blocks away from well-known NYC bakery, Billy's. I knew a couple of people who worked there, so I would often visit them and get free cupcakes. It was bliss! They made the most amazing vanilla cupcakes, and I'm sure my friends knew the recipe, though I never bothered asking. However, just the other day, when googling "the best vanilla cupcake recipe," one of the top results happened to be "Billy's Vanilla/Vanilla Cupcakes". Not only that, but it was posted on Martha Stewart's website. I made Anthony visit numerous supermarkets in the hunt for non self-rising cake flour (which is extremely hard to find). Eventually he found a box and boy, oh boy, was I thrilled!

The recipe yields around 30 cupcakes, which was perfect, since we had all our friends over for the Giants/49ers game. Anthony made pulled pork and it was absolutely delicious. Nothing went to waste, which is a miracle in my household, so it was the ultimate success. And the Giants beat SanFran and made it to the Superbowl!

I can't stress this enough when I say, "if you follow this recipe to a T, you will not be disappointed!" Only use the ingredients that this recipe calls for. Don't try to use substitutes for the non self-rising cake flour, it really won't come out as perfect. Also, and this is very important, do not overfill your liners! It will destroy your cakes, I promise you. I made this mistake once. Another tip is to never over-beat your batter. Keep that in mind when making any recipe - especially this one. Without further ado, here it is:

Vanilla Cupcake recipe: (yields 24-30)

1 3/4 cups non self-rising cake flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 T baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 sticks butter

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract (not pictured below)

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

2. In your mixer, gather all your dry ingredients and give it a good stir.

3. Cut your 2 sticks of butter into cubes, and add them one at a time into your bowl, mixing thoroughly each time.

4. Add your eggs one at a time. Mixing thoroughly after each addition.

5. Pour your vanilla extract into your milk. Add your vanilla-milk into your batter in 3 parts.

6. When all your ingredients are blended, scrape the sides of your bowl and give it a good mix with the scraper, just to bring it all together.

7. Scoop your batter into your liners, dividing evenly. Only fill up 3/4 of the way.

8. Bake in preheated oven 17-20 minutes. Until toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting recipe: (makes enough for 14-18 cupcakes)

2 sticks softened butter

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup marshmallow creme

2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 T milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Gather all your ingredients, leaving out the milk, and mix till everything is blended.

2. Add milk till a consistency to your liking is reached. Usually 2-3 T.

3. Pipe away and decorate! We used chocolate shavings!

Last but not least, share these babies with your friends and family -- they will love you forever! I made this recipe yesterday when visiting our friends and their 3 kids. Their 7-year old told me, "this is the first time I ate a whole cupcake!" And guess what? That's one of the many reasons why I bake. Because it makes my loved ones happy. Why do you bake?

XOXO,

Marge

My Christmas Present

Long time no see, huh? I've been so busy with school and work! Now I'm on break though, so I had some time to organize my life. I finally opened my Christmas gift from my boyfriend and mom: an awesome KitchenAid stand mixer!

I had so much fun playing around with it this afternoon. My plan was to make red velvet cupcakes, but turns out I have really crappy food coloring gel at home, and it's time I go buy something better... So these just turned out to be your average chocolate cupcakes. I also did not do so well with piping the frosting. I'm a little rusty! However, they still turned out delicious. I took pictures of everything and I'm going to share the recipe with you here.

Chocolate Cupcake recipe: (makes 20-22 cupcakes)

1/2 cup softened butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 T distilled white vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Also, make your life easier and get your muffin pans ready.

2. In your mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla extract.

4. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar.

5. Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Stir into the batter just until blended.

6. Scoop the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.

7. Bake in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes. Until toothpick comes out clean.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe: (makes enough for 12-15 cupcakes)

1 cup softened butter

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 T heavy cream

1. Cream the butter until it is light and fluffy.

2. Gradually add the sugar. Do it slowly so that it doesn't go everywhere.

3. Add the vanilla extract.

4. Add the heavy cream. Do it till it reaches a texture that is to your liking.

5. Pipe away, baby! (Try and do a better job than my boyfriend and I did!)

Last but not least, have fun with them and enjoy! These were supposed to be festive NY Giants cupcakes -- we made it to the playoffs and have won our first game, sending Atlanta home! They were supposed to be red velvet, and the frosting was supposed to be blue... However, nothing turned out as expect. At least they were delicious, and that's all that really matters in the end.

Next weekend my best friend is coming over and we are baking some more! I'm going to record everything and post it here later on... It's great to be back!

XOXO,

Marge

Not a bad week after all

Just to update you on what's been going on since my last post: I no longer feel like total crap. The weekend is almost here, which means I will be going to Salem very soon, and I think I did well on both tests I took this week. I know I totally aced my C++ exam, but I have a very good feeling I will be happy with whatever grade I get from my Linear Algebra test. My only issue was that I couldn't remember how to write my answers the way that he likes them... There's only so much I can do though. I'm still a little stressed over my Physics exam, I can't wait till that's over with. Although, to be honest, it would mean that my Chemistry test is around the corner again. This semester is killing me!
I need a vacation that lasts 6 months after this semester is done. Which won't be happening. Matter of fact, I don't think I'll have that long of a break till maybe the day I retire. It's a bit upsetting, but I'll get over it.
XOXO,
Marge

Long time no see

I'm tired, frustrated, stressed out, sad, and I don't know what else... As you can see, things are not going too well.
I took a Differentials test last Thursday and it was bad! I'm telling myself not to stress out too much because it's only been one test, but that's not working out. We're already halfway through the semester, it's time to start worrying. I'm freaking out because my Physics exam is coming up and I haven't studied at all. I'm a little worried about my C++ exam later on this afternoon. I did well on the last one, but this one is a little tougher because I haven't been keeping up with the work. I got my Chemistry grade back (60% of it) and I did awful. I think that's what I'm mostly upset about. There are a lot of different ways to bring that grade back up, but that's not the point. The point is that I worked and studied super hard and it didn't pay off in the end. I completely abandoned my other courses because of this test and it wasn't even worth all of my effort. Now I have tons of more work that piled up in my other classes that I need to catch up with and not even a good grade to balance this bad situation out. Just shoot me now, please.
I do have some good news though. Friday we celebrated my birthday with Anthony's family. It was great, because I had a delicious dinner, a yummy cake, his parents got my Tiffany bracelet fixed and got me an extra charm as a birthday present, and Connor (ahem, Lauren) made me an awesome picture portrait with a photo of Connor and I in it. Couldn't have asked for anything more, both gifts were amazingly meaningful and made me a happy girl!
On Saturday, I went out to the city with the Reddit girls for karaoke. It was super fun, and I sang so much! On top of that, one of the girls got me a beautiful (and incredibly delicious) Mocha cake. It was the sweetest thing and made me so happy!
I invited 2 of the girls I met last September at our first Reddit gathering over on Sunday. It was a pretty mellow Sunday and nothing too special happened. I made some chocolate chip cookies, and I must admit, I've become quite the expert cookie-maker. I'm proud of myself. The Bears totally destroyed the Vikings, and that made my day! The Giants beat the Bills as well... That was a wonderful victory because the Bills have been doing so well. It was a close game, but we came on top in the end.
This concludes my weekend. This Friday we're finally going up to Salem, so I'm sure I'll have tons to share when I get back.
XOXO,
Marge

Meet Sally

Our friends Joe and Rachel got married yesterday. I'm so happy for them! I choked back a few tears the best I could, but after a few drinks, my insecurities got the best of me. Anthony and I took a picture together where I literally looked pregnant. It was terrible! I cried so much because it was really upsetting... I need to lose weight now! It's back to the gym tomorrow (finally) and no more junk food.

As you can see, we finally got a pumpkin! We went to a local business upstate and they had 4 stray kittens. The lady actually offered we take one home, but we really can't handle another cat right now. I named this pumpkin Sally and bought a decorating kit to give it some personality. I tried carving a pumpkin for the first time last year and I really didn't like it, so from here on out, I'm keeping it simple.

I think these are all the updates I have for now, I have tons of homework to do and lots of tests coming up... Pray for me!

XOXO,

Marge

October

Blah, blah, love this month, blah, blah, blah.
I don't think we're going apple picking this year because our schedule is really packed. This weekend we have a wedding, next weekend I have my birthday celebration with Anthony's family, karaoke with the girls, and we're hosting football Sunday, then the following weekend we have my birthday getaway, and we're closing the month off with birthday celebrations with my family and my best friends... I'm a busy bee!
My mom really wanted to throw me a birthday party this year, and I know she's upset I don't want her to, but I just want her to understand that I really appreciate the thought and that it means a lot to me... The reality of it is, I just don't have enough friends. I can count on one hand how many real friends I have, and to be honest, I don't think it's worth throwing a party where only 5 of my friends are present. Sure, we can invite Anthony's friends, and they too are my friends, but it really just isn't the same.
I finally took my chemistry exam today! I can't tell you how good it feels to have it out of the way. It feels like a heavy weight has been lift off my shoulders. I think I did okay. Average, if you may. I definitely passed, but I know I got a some of the questions wrong. I didn't expect an A though, not for this class at least. I know it's very challenging for me, and to have understood chapters 11 and 12 like the back of my hand is definitely a good feeling.
I'm a little bit scared I completely abandoned my 4 other classes though... I really need to start catching up otherwise I'm screwed for the remainder of this semester.
I finally get to go back to the gym next week... This makes me so happy, considering the fact I don't fit into anything anymore! I'm done hating that about myself though... I'm actually trying this reversed psychology where I say, "Oh hey, my ass doesn't fit into these jeans? No problem, I love it actually!" I mean, I keep telling myself how much I hate my body and it just continues to get worse, so maybe this will encourage my body to go the opposite direction. Who knows, right?
Here's something I hate about tumblr. I left blogger once I realized everybody headed over there, and then I realized nobody actually writes on these blogs. All they do is post and re-post pictures of half naked girls, stupid videos, dumb quotes and sex scenes all over their pages. Nobody posts about anything truly meaningful, and their pages look completely bipolar. One second there's a picture of a couple making out, and the next, there's a picture of a starving African child. No, thank you. I like people who write. I like people who take time in expressing themselves.
This is why I chose to come back to blogger -- it's more down to earth. I tried to tumble (or whatever) the other day, and it was okay at first, then it was little fun, then it meant absolutely nothing to me... Now, over here, I enjoy writing about different things and sharing my thoughts, and I also enjoy when friends and family tell me they read my blog and that they enjoyed it. I got lots of hits last month, so I suppose I'm no longer writing for myself. There are actual readers. I just wish they'd contribute a little bit, ask questions, make this page more interactive...
That's all for today...
XOXO,
Marge

Am I really that intimidating?

I'm 5' tall and still look like I'm 12 years old. However, it seems I have scared the bejesus out of my physics professor last night. He announced to the class today that for the first time in his career, he dreamed of one of his students. I was, of course, the lucky one. He said I went up to him and told him I had a question, but that I needed to discuss it with him in private. Then as I was about to ask him this question, I just freaked out completely and ripped the flesh off of his face with my bare hands. He said that he woke up and couldn't fall back asleep for quite a while. Hilarious, if you ask me. I love my professor though, so I don't want him to have that image of me now. He even gave me a new nickname. I forget what it is, I'll update this later. I feel like we've come closer together though! I know he won't be forgetting my face anytime soon...

What else is new? It's October! It's my month! So excited for all the activities! There aren't enough exclamation marks to express my excitement, actually! After this Thursday I will be able to relax a bit... Chemistry has taken over my life and it's all I think about. I dream about it, as a matter of fact. I've been dreaming about it every day since last Thursday. Make it stop, please!

I hope your October looks promising, too.

XOXO,

Marge