Busy Day

All day today I meant to sit down and blog, but you know, it was hard to do! I kept finding one more thing that needed to get done, one more thing to capture my attention.

I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat and I was bone-tired yesterday. Not mentally, I could just feel the weariness in my bones all day at work. That didn't stop me from doing a bunch of stuff today, capping the day off with pumpkin muffins, chicken pot pie for a hungry boyfriend's dinner and red velvet cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting.

I managed to clean house, get some laundry done, and tidy my office. I also managed to get some design work done.

I would like to apologize that this post isn't particularly witty or well-written. I'm tired. And that bone-weariness is back. I am patiently waiting for Heather and co. to arrive, as they're coming to stay with us for a couple days to ski and enjoy Bend. Partly why I did the cleaning and the baking. Though I partly did that for fun.

Let me leave you with the recipe for the cupcakes because they are damn good. Not too sweet, just right. If I do say so myself. And I shall follow soon with pictures.

Promise.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
For the cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Now, I've given you the recipe a la the Food Network website. Copied word for word. Now, I read the reviews and every one said the recipe was a little greasy, so I only put a cup of oil in the cake instead of a cup and a half. They turned out delicious. I also did five teaspoons of cocoa powder instead of 2 just to make them a little more chocolatey. Scrumptious!

Enjoy!

Ciao,
kc