Well, that took a while...

Before I got married, I used to say I operated on "Sarlo Time" (Sarlo being my maiden name). I was typically late for everything. But my husband's number one pet peeve is being late, so I had to adjust. I've done really well over the past 9 years! But it looks like I'm updating this blog on "Sarlo Time" since here it is the end of September, and my last update was in February.

The issue isn't that I haven't been cooking, but that I haven't been taking pictures while I cook. By the time I get home from work it's almost 6pm, and I'm scrambling to get dinner on the table so we can do homework, read, and have some time for fun and games. So pausing in the middle of cooking dinner to get good pictures is not even on my radar. I think I'll have to bring my camera downstairs and leave it there so I can at least take a few snapshots along the way.

One thing that I usually do is take pictures of my cupcakes with my iPhone. It's always right next to me and it takes pretty good pictures. Like this one of the White Russian Cupcakes I made for a Christmas party at work last December (Sarlo time!):

 

 

Once upon a time before I had a child, I played ice hockey with a group of great men and women, and we became fast friends and drinking buddies. Often our drink of choice was White Russians, and these cupcakes came very close to the original!

 

So, here's the good: this scratch recipe is so easy to make, and the frosting is so good you want to eat it with a spoon - forget the cupcakes!

 

And the bad: they needed more Kahlua brushed on top. The cupcakes were good, but didn't really have as much Kahlua taste as the frosting.

 

White Russian Cupcakes

adapted from Baked Perfection

makes 24 cupcakes

 

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used 1 ½ cups of all purpose and 1 cup of cake flour, both sifted)

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup sugar

12 tablespoons butter, softened

2 large eggs and 2 egg whites

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

1/4 cup Vodka

1/2 cup Kahlua, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl or in a stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until combined. Add egg and egg white, one at a time. Then add the vanilla, Vodka, and 1/4 cup of Kahlua. Gradually add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions, ending with the flour mixture.

Bake 17 -20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcakes comes out clean. While the cupcakes are still warm, brush the tops with the remaining 1/4 cup Kahlua. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Kahlua Buttercream

½ c butter, softened

½ c crisco

4 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

3 - 4 tablespoons Kahlua

Beat butter until creamy. Add salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add Kahlua 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.