Mmmmm, cupcakes

If you've been reading this blog, you know that I'm a lover of cookbooks. In a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living, there was a plethora of cupcake recipes and decoration techniques, which inspired visions of me becoming an expert cupcake maker. So I've been eagerly awaiting Martha's latest cookbook on cupcakes. Because I'm supposed to be eating healthier these days, my husband was confused as to why I was buying a cookbook of cupcakes. But that's how much I love cookbooks. Even if I don't make the recipes, I like reading them, looking at the pictures, and imagining myself making them.Yes, I realize this is weird. I'm ok with it. Luckily (for me, not my coworkers) we had a staff lunch here at the Library yesterday, so I had an opportunity to try out a couple of the recipes on my coworkers. I made the peanut butter chocolate cupcakes (which was not supposed to have a frosting) and the devil's food cupcakes (which was supposed to have a ganache frosting). Um, Martha? A bit of a let down. First, the peanut butter chocolate cupcakes were quite dry. The devil's food cupcakes were good, but the ganache frosting was blech. And I didn't realize how long it would take to melt, and then cool, the frosting, so I didn't finish the frosting in time to ice the cupcakes I took to work. So, while good, no one wants to eat cupcakes with no icing. But the cupcake batter? Seriously delicious. I'd rather just eat it that way. You could sell that stuff in jars. Although I can hear my mother now: "You can't eat that! It has raw eggs in it!" Psshh. I've been licking bowls for years and never had a problem. I'm anxious to try some of the decorating techniques in this book though. That ought to be good for a few laughs.