Week 19: Blueberry Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting

Reader, I did it: I baked the heck out of these cupcakes. I mean, things went seriously well. After the disasters I've had before, this was a very welcome surprise.

I can't put my finger on what, exactly, made everything go right. Maybe it's that I stopped trying to multitask while in the kitchen (read: cook dinner and bake cupcakes at the same time, or read textbook and bake cupcakes at the same time, or bake cupcakes while waiting for nails to dry, etc). This time, I focused entirely on the cupcakes, measuring everything precisely and reading the instructions carefully before taking each step. From the baking time to the measurements, nothing went wrong. Everything was right on in the instructions.

Things went so well with the baking that I decided to get a little creative with the frosting. I made a double batch (about 30 cupcakes) and frosted half with the maple brown butter as Ming recommends, and half with lemon frosting. I topped the lemon frosted cakes with candied lemons. I thought I could save a step by cutting the lemon slices into quarters before candying them; don't. Put whole slices into the boiling water, then quarter them when they are done. It works much better, and looks a lot nicer.

I really preferred the lemon frosting on the blueberry cupcakes. Maybe it's because I'm nostalgic for blue and yellow (the colors of my high school, law school and wedding). But after this round of cupcake baking, I have to say: Ming, you make a mean blueberry cupcake!