Birthday take 2!

Ok, so I think we finally got it right this time!

If you remember the recent cupcake disaster of 2010, then you'll know that things could only get better from there. I knew that a mediocre cupcake wouldn't do. This is a first birthday people, the official anniversary of her escape from the womb! I had one goal: to make the perfect giant birthday cupcake. And I didn't care how many boxes of cake mix had to die before I got it right.

Since the first cupcake was a disaster, I had to change my game plan. And that meant changing the cake mix. If I were feeling more adventurous, I would try to make the actual cake batter myself. But, it being Haley's 1st birthday and all, I would rather the pressure of making the cupcake taste perfect fall into the hands of the Pillsbury Doughboy rather than on me. After all, the guy has been making cake way longer than I have.

For the trial run, I tried Duncan Hines yellow cake mix. The cake came out pretty mediocre. The texture was crumbly and the flavor wasn't anything special. After surveying my baked good options, I decided to give Betty Crocker a try to see if that one turned out any better. I also made a different icing since the first one, which was a homemade cream cheese frosting, had an overpowering powdered sugar flavor. This time around, I went for a homemade buttercream which I had tried once before with success.

Everything turned out perfect! The cake actually came out of the mold easily and held its shape instead of falling out in pieces it did last time. The taste was 100% better too; it was crisp and brown on top and moist and delicious in the center. It also rose so well that I had to shave the top and bottom pieces down so I could stack them (my favorite part because Patrick and I got to eat the extra pieces.) What can I say? We took one for the team. The frosting was great too, it was creamy and not overpoweringly sugary like the last one. Oh, and no more red food dye. I don't want my child dyed red after she stuffs her face.

I think I'm ready to do this first birthday thing! Well, in a manner of speaking. I'm ready to make the cupcake, I'm still not ready for my little Haley bug to grow up :(