cupcake love

Yum, yum. My Mom got me the best baking book EVER and now Sadie can enjoy moist, decadent cupcakes. I should probably explain: one of the main reasons we have been baking so much around here - apart from the fun factor - is that Sadie is allergic to both dairy and eggs. This makes sweets and desserts especially hard, but luckily the vegan route has been very kind to us. The cookbook Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World is hands-down amazing, and already we've adapted the recipe to make a full-size cake and it had none of the density of my previous cake attempts (sorry to Sadie - at least we'll get it right for birthday #4!) It was a sad day when we took Sadie to a birthday party and there was not one single thing she could eat, so now, cookbook in hand, we can bring along cupcakes and share around. Everyone wins.

Also, cupcakes are pretty much the most fun food to make. In the first photo Sadie is grouping sprinkles, which would appear to be a very serious matter. And icing? What kid can resist licking that sweetness off their fingers? Sadie was smitten with the chocolate icing from this batch, which yielded enough to top two dozen cupcakes (half chocolate, half vanilla). Note to self though: making two dozen cupcakes over a two day period is not good for your waistline...or Jay's. I guess it's not just kids who are smitten.

(And P.S. - what a fantastic cover design too. I just never want to put this book away.)