Day 9: Happy Cupcake Day!

Last night, as I was waiting for my soy milk to coagulate (not a sentence I ever thought I'd type), I called my mom to update her on my progress. After a couple of minutes, she asked a fairly worrisome question:

"Are you making cupcakes?"

Maybe she hadn't understood what I was talking about.

"No, Mom," I replied, "I'm making tofu. TOFU."

"Right," she said. "I got it. But what about cupcakes? For tomorrow? You could bring me cupcakes for Mother's Day. Or...no, never mind. You're doing a lot. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

"But...cupcakes would be good."

So I did what any crazy person would do - around 11:00 last night, I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes. I left them unfrosted until today; I spent Mother's Day at my parents' house, where I made chocolate-orange buttercream and was able to share these with my mom:



They made for one happy mama.

Chocolate-Orange Buttercream Frosting
6 ounces butter, softened
3/4 cup cocoa powder (plus a little extra as needed)
2 2/3 cup powdered sugar (plus a little extra as needed)
1/3 cup milk
1 tbs. vanilla
2 1/2 tbs. fresh-squeezed orange juice
2 tsp. orange zest
A splash of blood orange bitters

1. Cream the butter.
2. Add the cocoa powder and powdered sugar; mix while slowly adding the milk. Continue to mix until all of the ingredients have been integrated and the mixture is of a spreadable consistency.
3. Add the remaining ingredients; mix well. If the frosting is too thin, add a little more cocoa powder and/or powdered sugar - a teaspoon or so at a time until you've reached your desired consistency.
4. Spread on cupcakes, or cake, or toast, or your fingers. Enjoy. Makes about two cups of frosting - enough to liberally frost a dozen cupcakes and have a bunch left over.