The one with the Cupcakes
I have, on occasion, been accused of being slightly competitive. I just think I have a natural tendency to want to achieve. Whatever the motivation I may have taken ‘Cake Friday’ a little too seriously. For those of you familiar with Friends I may have been akin to Monica. Considering I am living in a new city where my greatest hope of nurturing friendships is in work, I perhaps shouldn’t have been flaunting my crazy credentials so openly.
However as I am new to Library Land, this was my first chance to show off my baking skills. Having won awards in the past (Children’s Tent at the Ainsdale Show) my standards are naturally high. I was very pleased with myself for unearthing the recipe for Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes from the depths of Google. Again raising the stakes by setting impossibly high standards, as anyone who has tasted on of these little pieces of heaven will testify.
‘Cake Friday’ is a fantastic institution in Library Land. Every Friday a few colleagues bring in home baked cakes (or in my brother-in-laws case, whatever happens to be on offer in the local co-op). At 10.30am the hordes descend on the staff room, all at once, vying for the best cakes (by default that usually means the ones containing the most chocolate) whilst donating £1 to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Thursday evening arrived. I had decided to bake my cakes by hand, all four dozen of them. Why? Well it’s a case of Helen’s logic. Home baked cakes need love, love means effort, effort means baking by hand. By the end of the evening I had changed my opinion. Over four hours of baking, one minor blister and a case of temporary RSI, now I believe love comes from using an electric mixer.
Of course at least all the drama and pain that goes with my method mean that I could share my elaborate tales of baking with my work colleagues in the run up to 10.30am.
And how did the cakes go down. Well. I think. I got quite a few positive and lovely comments. Zero negative ones. But there’s no awards handed out so it’s hard to tell where they rank in the world of ‘Cake Friday’. I’m not quite sure Library Land is ready for competitive cake baking yet.
Helen, I am overwhelmed by how awesome that table looks with all those delicious treats on it! You are now better than Rachel Allen at baking. FACT.
xxxxxx
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