As Katherine so fabulously stated Step 1 of her post, baking is so much more fun when you're with friends!
This is not my first friend-baking experience. Earlier this academic year, I was invited to join three (allegedly) marvelous bakers after a First-Friday Concert we all went to in downtown Petaluma.
It was late at night when we made these Carrot-Cake Muffins, and to add to that, we also had to stop at a drugstore along the way to pick out raisins, because that is no simple task.
All was going well, I even got to pour in the cinnamon!
Then when it became time to eat these culinary creations, we were disappointed to see that our muffins had turned into snicker doodles with extra baggage on the bottom.
(I take full blame for this failure, seeing as in my moment in the lime light, I poured far too much cinnamon in on accident and tried to cover by explaining to my friends "Well, you can never have too much cinnamon.")
I tried to make cookies with my friend Madison a few weeks ago-- they became more of a cookie brittle than a soft and chunky cookie.
In summation, my baking skills plummet when working with friends, and so I, understandably, had fear for the worst in this next baking extravaganza where not only we would be baking, but also baking Gluten-Free. (YES, there is a difference between mainstream and Gluten-Free baking.)
To Begin,
we arranged who would bring what ingredients to the house that Katherine was house-sitting, so we didn't have to use the owner's food.
I gave her the list of what I had, and what I needed, and she took care of the latter.
(Ingredients for frosting highlighted in yellow)
I would bring:
1 3/4 cup gluten free flour (I mix White Rice flour and Almond flour)
1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons of unsweetened coco powder
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
gel paste food coloring (for vibrant colors)
and 1/2 pound powdered sugar
Katherine took on:
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 cup milk
11/12 soften butter (to be split between the cake and frosting, 3/4 stick and 1/4 cup respectively)
and we would borrow 4 ounces weight cream cheese from the owners of this mystery house.
There are all of our ingredients, safely on the table after what I will call the Coco-Car Incident of 2014.
We brought what we needed to make Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cupcakes and Cream Cheese Frosting, because let's face it, homemade frosting is so much better than store-bought.
Next,
We carefully considered which bowl would be best for photo purposes. We landed on a metal bowl, seeing that red batter would look lovely in it.
I so wish I could show you what I'm talking about, but I, ironically, did not get a picture of it. Visit Katherine's page if you wish to see.
Now, We Cook
In order to be fair, Katherine and I took turns adding the ingredients to the bowl. We were really doing quite well, and I was rather proud of us for not having too many mishaps!
And then Katherine put the butter in.
"Oh, wow! That looks like a lot of butter!" I said.
"Yah, but that's okay, who doesn't like butter?!" She said.
Moving on.
We add the coco and sugar, then Katherine began to cut up the butter chunks so that they'd be easier to mix in.
That still looks like so much butter.
"You know I said 3/4 of a stick of butter, not of a cup?"
"...Wait are you serious?"
After much laughter, we removed half of the butter she originally put into the mix and saved it for the frosting. That was the first slip-up that foreshadowed a multiple of others to follow--including one that not even Katherine knows yet.
Finally, after that minor incident, we mixed together all the ingredients for the cake, except for the Milk.
"Why aren't we using the Milk, Ali?"
"Oh, it must be for the frosting."
Coloring
We were making red velvet cupcakes, but we decided to make half of the batter green to celebrate St. Patrick's day. Plus, that gave us each a bowl to mix together!
I love my gel food coloring because it can make anything vibrant. Our batter was a very lumpy and dark brown concoction, and my gel food coloring made the green cupcakes look like blended kale. However disgusting it may have been to look at, it truly speaks for this gel coloring. I highly recommend you purchase your own.
Mixing
Keep in mind, Katherine was house-sitting. Therefore the kitchen we were working in was not our own.
We did not know where anything was, including the electric mixer's plug in 'thingies'.
After much searching, we gave up and stirred our batter with spoons and whisks. However, this left us with butter-chunks throughout the batter that would simply ruin our cupcakes.
This is when I suggested a new practice, which we entitled 'Butter-Mashing.'
We dug our hands into that batter and mashed the butter into a smooth consistency.
By the end of this, Katherine looked like she had killed a man, and I looked like I had eaten a lot of blended kale.
Finally,
we preheated the oven to 325, and let them cook for 25 minutes.
Regarding Frosting
Remember the butter that we had to remove?
Well, we realized that it still had coco and sugar on it, therefore if used, it would taint our frosting an unappealing brown color.
The only logical thing to do was to wash it off.
We put in the butter, added our Cream Cheese to the mix, and without a second thought, I dumped the powdered sugar on top, drizzling it artistically with vanilla extract.
"ALI! I don't think that was cream cheese!"
She was right. It was Neufchatel Cheese.
"Oh... it can't be that different than cream cheese, right?"
Yes it could.
We're both wholly convinced that this frosting would taste much better if you use actual cream cheese. Note to self.
Triumph
We discovered, after laboring over whisking our cream cheese frosting together, that it was impossible.
It was then that we decided to look for our electric mixer 'thingies' once again.
After looking in the drawer that I found the electric part in, I, to my amazement, found the 'thingies' placed so nicely next to it.
Overcome with excitement, I plugged them in and began admiring the machine with a series of "ooh"s followed by a high-pitched "OH!" when the mixer switched directly to light-speed.
Katherine got a kick out of that.
So, Milk?
The time of frosting was an enlightening period. Not only did we find the mixer thingies, but we also discovered that I had asked Katherine to bring Milk for no apparent reason.
We looked back over both recopies and neither of them called for milk.
I barely even think about milk, now that I've switched to Almond Milk. I mean, it is beyond me why I asked her to bring Milk. We drank some later, while watching copious amounts of British TV, so I guess I redeemed myself a little.
Cooling and Decorating
After the Cupcakes were finished, we needed a place to let them cool. This seemingly simple task proved itself to be just the opposite; taking into consideration the two dogs who also abide in the mystery house.
We needed a surface that was not reachable by those on four-legs, and Katherine's brilliant mind came up with a lovely idea.
We left them in the bathroom for 5 minutes with the door shut-- being sure to close the toilet seat, just incase.
Following a quick spurt of British Television, we got the cupcakes out of the bathroom and frosted them, noting the disgusting nature of the green ones.
They still looked like blended kale.
And Wah-Lah!
Gluten-Free St. Patrick's Day Red and Green Velvet Cupcakes with Neufchatel Cheese Frosting!
They were actually very good, and we both ate two while watching 4 and a half episodes of Call the Midwife (Go Jimmy&Jenny).
Not to mention the Social Network sharing we did. There was a lot of that.
Katherine spent at least twenty minutes writing her instagram caption, only for it to post without all of her hashtags.
Accordingly, she began again, taking another fifteen minutes to remember and type what she had done before.
It was a lovely evening, and I had SO much fun. I highly recommend you make these with a friend, and I also highly recommend you watch Call the Midwife. It is marvelous and I was hooked almost immediately. Ask Katherine. My attachment to the show is intense.
xoxo, Ali
An Importantly Comical P.S.
It was not until I was writing out the ingredients in this blog post that I realized yet another blooper.
Katherine, I believe you, especially, will enjoy this.
We did need milk.
Yes, it's true. If you want to make the cupcakes that Katherine and I made, I strongly suggest you add the 1 cup of milk listed into the batter before the food coloring.
If you don't, at least we can vouch for the dairy-free version of this recipe.
Happy Baking!
This is brilliant. I can't believe we needed the milk. Also, I love what you did with the pictures :)
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