i heart homemade

i have officially sworn off cake mixes sold in grocery and specialty stores. they just don't even compare to the taste of real ingredients. try this recipe and you'll agree.


before you pour the batter into the pan, dip a spoon in the bowl for a quick lick. mmm...mmm...good. and for those of you rolling your eyes because who really has time to make a cake "from scratch," i swear to you it won't take you much longer than it takes to dump ole betty or duncan into a bowl. seriously.

i didn't use the buttercream recipe that goes with the cake...too complicated. instead, i scoured the internet (i do that often) to find this recipe for chocolate frosting from our best bites. oh.my.goodness. so good for being so easy.

now, here are two tips i think you should know about (that i discovered on my own, thankyouverymuch).
1. if the recipe calls for ingredients to be at room temp, they must be at room temp before mixing. don't question me, just do it. and, it is really important that the room temp be set at, oh, maybe 75 degrees. you want the butter to be really soft, warm soft not cold soft. i made the most delightful batch of cupcakes on a warm thursday and i made a not-so-delightful batch on a rainy saturday. the difference was vast. the thursday cakes were moist, light and fluffy while the saturday cakes were moist but very dense, heavy. same with the frosting. and microwaving the butter just doesn't cut it.
2. use an ice cream or cookie dough scoop to transfer batter from mixing bowl to cupcake cups. you will have completely uniform cupcakes. it's amazing, really. i used to have some cupcakes that were very tall and some that were very short which always made it a pain to decorate. not anymore. i only have a mini or small scoop which worked out fine. you might have to experiment with different sized scoops to find the perfect one. this is definitely a secret well kept. i was so happy to have discovered it all on my own!!!

i also discovered martha stewart does have some easy tricks up her sleeve. that woman typically drives me nuts but i swear she really is a genius (with a really great staff). i found the recipe for white chocolate ghosts here. super easy and super fun to make. kids and adults went ga-ga for these little guys.