Welcome!

Ah, the inaugural post. Is it silly to think that all beginnings should involve cake? First word: cake; first day of school: cake; first child: why not some cake? "Firsts" are a cause for celebration, and cake is associated with celebration. So, in honor of this first post (of many, I hope), there will be cake. And a fun fact: I’m not all that crazy about frosting/icing. I’m a strange one, I know. I love me some {good} cake; it’s just the dollop of frosting on top usually gets scraped off. Maybe it’s because I haven’t come across any frosting that’s really wowed my tastebuds (most are just greasy and gross and others toothache sugary), or maybe it’s because they just put too much on there. Has anyone tried those "two-bite" cupcakes; half cupcake and half greasy sugar? Seriously, the ratio of frosting to cupcake is like, 1:1, and I feel like just a smear is enough sometimes. Just a little something to complement the cake. 

I had a hankering for chocolate cupcakes the other day, so I went to the Google and one of the top hits was this recipe. Really, the pictures suckered me in; they looked so lovely, I just wanted to grab one right out of the picture. The recipe calls for vegetable oil; with only olive oil on hand (I like it for cooking, not-so-much for baking), I substituted what I did have….yogurt. The result: slightly gummy, nice and chocolatey cupcakes. Oh, and I took the frosting on a test drive too (for some odd reason there was a can of coconut milk in the pantry); it was pretty darn good; there may be hope for me yet.

Sometimes some whip and strawberries are all you need :)
  

Chocolate Cupcakes (adapted from Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes) 

 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 cup yogurt
1 cup water

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or 180 Celsius) and break out the muffin tin and liners.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, then add the wet ingredients and mix together until the batter is nice and smooth with your weapon of choice (spatula, wooden spoon).

3. Pour an equal amount of batter into each muffin cup and place in the over for about 20-25 minutes (or when a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean).

4. Remove from the oven to cool to room temperature (although nothing beats a warm muffin with a swig of cold milk ;) )