The Offset Spatula

The new year arrived, and so did Pongal (the Tamil harvest festival). I was given the task of making dessert for a family gathering which gave me the perfect opportunity to bring out the first bake of the new year. I had received Crazy about Cupcakes from a friend as a Christmas gift and decided to peruse it for inspiration.

I decided chocolate was probably the safest bet for this group of 20 or so. Not too many people I know turn the other way when they’re offered something chocolicious

I baked straightforward chocolate chip cupcakes but decided to give people a few options in terms of what went on the cupcake. I went through a sort of “Additive Decorating Experience” and here are the 4 that I ended up with:

Clock-wise from L-R: The
I don’t do frosting: Cupcake dusted with powdered sugar
Simplicity: Cupcake with Vanilla frosting
À la Sprinkles: The Simplicity version with a single chocolate chip resting atop the frosting
Caffeine Kick: How about multiple chocolate chips on top of the cupcake with some espresso powder dust?

Well, I was planning on making mini-cupcakes and I didn’t know that this recipe was for a normal number of muffin-sized ones. Can you believe it… I ended up with 80 mini cupcakes! Needless to say, I had plenty for both family and for my colleagues at work. And I’m happy to report that the first bake of the year was shared with and enjoyed by a LOT of people. Happy 2010!

PS My personal fave was the Caffeine Kick.