A Week of Cupcakes

This week was not only my spring break, but it was also my son's 6th birthday!  Both of these events couldn't have come at a better time, because I was both in the mood to relax and try some new things AND I was thinking that I wanted to do more cupcakes instead of sheet cakes.  Cupcakes are great because they are portable and portion-controlled.  For someone who likes to pig-out like I do, you can't go wrong with a cute little cupcake!  I wanted to make something from scratch, since I had the time.  I went out and bought the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  Wow, there were so many cupcake recipes that I didn't really know where to start at first.  I finally decided on a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting that I added cocoa and ginger to.  I also tried to make the espresso creme, and this turned out terribly.  Working with agar (make a jelly-like texture) is not the easiest thing ever and my filling tasted too much like arrowroot because I put in, well, too much arrowroot.  Luckily, my kids thought that was the way they were SUPPOSED to be!  Score!  That was on my son's actual birthday.  We just had another party for friends and family today at a local children's museum.  It was a great party, but this time I decided to make plain old vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting...and they were GREAT!!!  The best cupcakes I have ever made, and the recipe was super-easy.  I was very proud to show up at my kids' birthday party with 2 dozen freshly homemade cupcakes...it looked like I worked very hard, but I did not...I should have sprinkled a little flour on my face.  I plan on trying many more varieties, especially since I purchased a super-cool pump thing to "shoot" out frostings and fillings.  It rocks my world, and I now have a passion for cupcakes!
PRACTICAL TIP: Make a bunch of cupcakes when you do...more than you need.  Individually wrap the ones that you don't scarf up that day, and then freeze them.  Having individual cupcakes around is perfect for when you take your kids to a birthday party and they cannot eat the cake (maybe next time offer to make cupcakes for the whole party?).