Worst Thing I Ever Did Was Become a Broke College Kid

Hi mom,

I was watching Great British Bake Off and was very jealous of the bakers getting to make things. Knowing full well that I had already spent my alloted monthly funds on rent and a giant bowl of pineapple I decided to splurge and really break the bank to try a new recipe I've been thinking about. Also, there's a boy at my new job who is pretty so I'm bringing them into work in a vain attempt to make friends because wow I didn't ever think making friends was hard but apparently I'm not very good at it. The new recipe was really a gamble because it uses home made caramel which I wasn't sure was going to work out. Good news! It did and let me tell you, it is not something you need to be scared of. If I can do it, you sure as hell can. Also also, I got called into work halfway through baking off the cupcakes so I can also say that you can fridge your batter overnight and bake them off the next day and there are zero adverse affects. Alright, on to the recipe!

Love,

me

ps the recipe is spiced apple cupcakes with homemade caramel and a spiced cream cheese frosting sorry i didn't say that earlier

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Spiced apple cupcakes! Yields 29 ish

Ingredients:

2 sticks mostly melted and then cooled unsalted butter

1 1/3 cups brown sugar (dark or light, i used dark)

2/3 cup granulated sug

4 eggs, room temp (important my dudes that it's room temp)

2/3 cup milk

gingerbread or chai tea

3 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour (don't use a different kind of flour unless it's gluten free but no cake flour)

2 tsp baking soda

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbs fresh grated ginger

salt

pumpky pie spice

1 1/2 apples (you'll want to set aside the extra apple half for dipping in the caramel)

Recipe!

Preheat your oven to 350. Melt your butter if you haven't already done so, then whisk with the two sugars. Add in your eggs one by one, incorporating them completely before putting in the next. In a saucepan, heat up your milk with the tea of your choosing, I used the gingerbread because that was all I had, but chai will also work. You want to infuse the flavour into the milk and you can kinda test this by tasting the milk. Strain out the tea if you're using looseleaf or take out the tea bag if you're not and add the milk and vanilla to the sugar mix. Put this all aside and get out another bowl for your dry ingredients. Combine your flour, baking soda, and baking powder. The reason you're using all purpose flour is because it's a fruit batter and if you use cake flour or something else like that, it's too light and will make the fruit sink to the bottom instead of being evenly spread throughout. Also if you ever wanted to know the difference between baking soda and powder I'll add it after this section of the recipe. Add a third of your wet ingredients to the dry mix and whisk. Do this with the rest of your batter, whisking after each addition. Don't over mix, just do it until you can't see the flour anymore. Add a little bit of salt and your pumpkin pie spice. I'm not entirely sure how much I put in, maybe like a tablespoon? I just tasted it until it was right. If you don't have any, you can add some nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and all spice. Put in your ginger too. Cut your apples into smallish cubes and fold them into your batter. Line a cupcake pan with the little paper thingies and pour your batter into them, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake them for 20 minutes, rotating them halfway through. Note that because there is fruit in this, you can't accurately do the toothpick test. Instead, lightly prod it with your finger and if the cupcake bounces back, then it's done. If most of them are doing this but there are one or two that don't, take it out anyway, it'll finish cooking out of the oven.

Baking powder vs soda: Both are similar as they're raising agents, but the chemical make up is super different. Basically, baking soda is a base and powder contains baking soda but can sometimes not completley do the job by itself. If baking soda is used in a recipe, the recipe will also call for an acid to neutralise it. If not, it will leave a metallic taste in your mouth. Baking powder is usually sold as double acting, so it does its first chemical reaction when added to the batter and the second when it's heated. Baking powder is baking soda combined with cream of tartar (an acid). Baking soda is stronger than powder but powder is usually in a recipe without an acid. Note: brown sugar is considered an acid.

Good rule of thumb: 1/4 tsp baking soda per cup of flour and 1 tsp baking powder per cup of flour

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Salted Caramel! Yields way more than you need but can be stored in the fridge!

Ingredients:

6 tbs cubed salted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt

Recipe:

Heat the sugar in a pot over medium heat, stirring constantly. This part will take a while to complete, but basically what you're going to see is it will start clumping and as it melts, it will become a dark brown glossy sauce. Be careful not to burn it, and if it seems like it's not working, give it time. Mine took probably 7 minutes to melt. Don't turn up the heat, if anything, you may need to turn it down. Once it has completely melted, add your butter and stir until it's melted and combined. It will bubble so be careful. When it's melted, pour in your heavy cream slowly as you stir and again it's going to bubble. Let it boil for a minute and then transfer it to a clean bowl or an ice bath so it stops cooking. Salt it to taste, I probably used a teaspoon and a half. Let it cool, it will thicken then.

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Spiced Creamcheese Frosting: Yields: just enough

Ingredients:

8 oz block of cream cheese (surprise surprise)

3 cups of powdered sugar

salt, again

1 stick of room temp butter, unsalted

pumpkin pie spice again

1 tsp vanilla

Recipe:

Whip your butter and cream cheese until fluffy and slowly add in your powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and some salt and pumpkin pie spice to taste. Maybe a teaspoon? Fridge it if you're not going to use it for a bit.

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Construction!

Allow your cupcakes to cool entirely before doing anything else. I put a caramel layer on top of the cupcake and then piped the frosting on with a star tip and then added more caramel in a drizzle but really guys, just do what makes you happy.