Cupcake Wars!

A couple of months ago J and I were hungry...Wait...we're always hungry....

And we also wanted to go on a date...

Seems simple enough--go get some food.

Unfortunately, we're also poor...

So we decided to have cupcake wars in our kitchen using things we had on hand.

I use the phrase "cupcake wars" loosely because it turned out to be J taking photos of me making cupcakes more than a competition.

We picked two cupcake recipes, Red Velvet and Lemon, out of a lifestyle magazine I get. Click here to read another recipe I adapted from the magazine. 

I'm not going to post the recipes here because they're pretty basic...just look on pinterest, it's been covered. The idea is, take your man to the kitchen and cook together!

Or as in our case, your husband will play with his new camera while you do most of the baking...still fun!

Here some of J's photos. I picked ones that highlight some cupcake simple baking tricks to make the cupcakes come out a little more delicious.

Invest in a stand mixer. It's not absolutely necessary but
it just makes everything easier and  more fun.

There are a lot of ways to separate eggs. This is my
technique. It's old fashioned but it gets the job done.
(Using the whites without the yolk makes the cake whiter,
fluffier and less fattening. ...I just added that last attribute
because it sounds good. If you care about fat, you probably
just shouldn't eat cupcakes.)

I squeeze a lemon just like anyone else, I just liked this photo.

I pipe icing out of a gallon baggie with the corner cut off.
To fill the baggie I put it in a glass then pour or scoop the
icing in.