Saturday, November 5, 2011
Where do I begin…I have been contemplating a baking blog for quite some time and finally got the inspiration to start one. So today, I decided to start by making a basic vanilla cupcake with a butter cream frosting, that at the last minute turned into a ‘coconut’ butter cream frosting. Now I was excited about the ‘from-scratch’ batter, since I usually go the quick ‘box’ route. The batter turned out a little runny, so fingers crossed, the final product came out very moist and scrumptious.
Now onto the butter cream. A fairly simple recipe; butter, milk, vanilla, and confectioner sugar. The trick here was to keep adding the sugar until the desired firmness was reached. And I have to say, the coconut addition added a nice complexity to the simplicity of the vanilla.
So here is where the climax comes in. As I’m thinking about how to present them, I decide to ‘toast’ some coconut for the topping. My first time toasting coconut, the best option was the broiler. The rack seemed in the right place, so in goes the pan, timer set, 3 minutes seemed right. As I multi-task making cupcakes and dinner, I smell burning… the coconut is overdone. As I open the oven door, ‘Flames of Glory’ are billowing out. I close the door, rack was obviously ‘too close’. Not sure what to do, no fire extinguisher in the house (Note Taken: BUY EXTINGUISHER ASAP!). I open the door again in hopes of the flames decreasing, but no luck, they are still rising looking for a way out. So my last thought is 911. I think to myself, ‘This is not a good way to start out my blogging/baking experience!’ Smoke alarms sounding off, chasing my cats, boyfriend pulling up for dinner and here come the fire trucks, lights a-blaze and sirens singing.
Imagine the humiliation of explaining to the Firemen… ‘I was toasting coconut for my cupcakes!‘. Luckily the flames extinguished by-themselves, the alarms turned off, and here I stand with a house full of firemen. I explain my new blogging venture, which they seem amused by and offered to ‘pose by the evidence’…posted below.
In the end, the cupcakes turned out quite delicious, minus the ‘toasted coconut’, and I have to say I will probably not be making anything that requires ‘toasted’ coconut for quite sometime.
Many thanks to the Firemen of Station #54! I owe you some ‘Fabulously Sweet’ cupcakes!
Well that must have been quite an exciting night for you! The cupcakes look great! Making cupcakes from scratch might be a little difficult, but sounds like it was all worth it in the end. Funny story about the ‘toasted’ coconut and the firemen. Hahaha! Glad they were in good spirits about it, but hey, when you make these again, do it with the toasted coconut, it could add that extra little something, taste/presentation wise, that puts it over the top! Just make sure you buy that fire extinguisher first or notify the fire department beforehand. Keep up the good work!
I’m going out to buy a fire extinguisher this weekend. It is a must now, especially for the baking I plan on doing! I will probably attempt the toasted coconut again, since I love coconut, but this time on the stove top!
That is a great story – love the firefighter posing in your kitchen! I have never tried to toast coconut in my oven – but if I do, I will be sure to have the local fire station on standby : )