I bake a lot. I bake more than I could ever consume. That's why I like having people to feed and this is one of the reasons as to why Denise came over last week after midnight. We decided to bake up a batch of cupcakes and decided on lemon with cream cheese frosting (from a can). We were lazy and wanted a quick fix. They were divine, even if they were from a box and I would totally make these again - I'm not ashamed! After baking and frosting a dozen cupcakes, (and eating a few along the way) I used the rest of the batter to make a loaf cake. I tossed in a couple tablespoon fulls of poppy seeds and the finished result was spongy, dense but light and really moist. All it was missing was a bit of tartness, which I think would be easily achieved by using a lemon syrup soak or tangy icing. I ended up eating 3/4 of the loaf myself over the course of two days. This so totally spells trouble...
I think we're going to try and make this a monthly event. 2am baking is so much fun! My waist line disagrees.
By the way, I am totally in love with these course sugar crystals I picked up from the bulk place. They are just so pretty! Denise wanted to decorate our cupcakes with yellow crystals but I wasn't going to let her spend $5 on a tiny jar of coloured sugar. What's a girl to do? Simple.
Get a zip top baggy, fill it with a couple tablespoons of sugar (the more course, the better!) and add a drop or two of food colouring. I used colouring gel. A little goes a long way, so start off with a light hand. Close the baggy up and smush everything together. In 30 seconds or less you'll have coloured sugar. It helps to let it dry a bit before using. ;)