Erin Wooddell
On Tuesday evening I had two choices: Bake for work or iron. It only took me about 2 milliseconds to make a decision, because—come on—ironing? Yeck. It's my least favorite chore on a good day.
Where I'm living, I sadly lack a lot of basic baking ingredients, due to the fact that my roommate still hasn't cleared me a shelf in the pantry, so my dried food is still sitting in a milk crate on the floor. Buying flour, sugar and all other baking necessities seems silly, since I have absolutely no storage space.
That meant baking traditional Christmas cookies was out of the question.
As I drove home from work, pondering what I wanted to bake, I thought about this upcoming weekend. I'm meeting up with some girlfriends from college for a holiday gathering that will include brunch, manicures and shopping. I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to some serious girl time.
Thinking of them, I remembered a baby shower we threw for one of the girls last spring. I made cupcakes that we enjoyed so much, we ate them for breakfast, after lunch and for a late-night dessert. So as I stopped at the grocery store, I decided to make those cupcakes again in honor of seeing them this weekend.
Since I didn't have the dry ingredients at my disposal to make a homemade cake, I bought Betty Crocker's Double Fudge Chocolate Cake box mix. With this recipe, the more moist the cake, the better it all tastes. (Devil's Food, I've found, tends to be a bit on the dry side.)
This mix made about 28 cupcakes. I felt like I was baking forever! While they cooled, I mixed up my favorite homemade chocolate icing. It's a simple and easy recipe, and incredibly delicious.
On Tuesday evening I had two choices: Bake for work or iron. It only took me about 2 milliseconds to make a decision, because—come on—ironing? Yeck. It's my least favorite chore on a good day.
Where I'm living, I sadly lack a lot of basic baking ingredients, due to the fact that my roommate still hasn't cleared me a shelf in the pantry, so my dried food is still sitting in a milk crate on the floor. Buying flour, sugar and all other baking necessities seems silly, since I have absolutely no storage space.
That meant baking traditional Christmas cookies was out of the question.
As I drove home from work, pondering what I wanted to bake, I thought about this upcoming weekend. I'm meeting up with some girlfriends from college for a holiday gathering that will include brunch, manicures and shopping. I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to some serious girl time.
Thinking of them, I remembered a baby shower we threw for one of the girls last spring. I made cupcakes that we enjoyed so much, we ate them for breakfast, after lunch and for a late-night dessert. So as I stopped at the grocery store, I decided to make those cupcakes again in honor of seeing them this weekend.
Since I didn't have the dry ingredients at my disposal to make a homemade cake, I bought Betty Crocker's Double Fudge Chocolate Cake box mix. With this recipe, the more moist the cake, the better it all tastes. (Devil's Food, I've found, tends to be a bit on the dry side.)
This mix made about 28 cupcakes. I felt like I was baking forever! While they cooled, I mixed up my favorite homemade chocolate icing. It's a simple and easy recipe, and incredibly delicious.
Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing
From the kitchen of my very talented mother
Ingredients
Directions
So if you need to bake for an upcoming holiday party, but you have limited time or ingredients, give these cupcakes a try. It's a simple way to spruce up boxed cake mixes.
*This recipe can also be altered to make a vanilla version. Simply remove the cocoa from the equation, and add more confectioners sugar to thicken the icing.
From the kitchen of my very talented mother
Ingredients
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 c. butter
- 2 c. confectioners sugar
- 1/3 c. baking cocoa
- Dash salt
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Directions
- Beat cream cheese and butter until soft and well blended
- Add rest of dry and wet ingredients until mixed and smooth
- Spread over cooled cupcakes. Store in fridge.
So if you need to bake for an upcoming holiday party, but you have limited time or ingredients, give these cupcakes a try. It's a simple way to spruce up boxed cake mixes.
*This recipe can also be altered to make a vanilla version. Simply remove the cocoa from the equation, and add more confectioners sugar to thicken the icing.