It’s fourth week at Lawrence. Yes, I said it. For big schools, that might not mean much, but since we’re on the trimester system fourth week equals stress over mid-terms (eek!) and papers. In an effort to release some of my stress before hump day, I knew I had to do something productive but completely unrelated to school work. The other night I was perusing the web and I found this fantastic website, Bakerella. This baker extraordinaire offers do-it-yourself delectable recipes for baked goods. Anyway, her recipes are very user-friendly and I am a firm believer that when the going gets tough- bake! And that’s exactly what I did tonight.
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ue to the sparse cooking materials I brought with me to school, I knew that I wouldn’t be making much from scratch. I had the most stressful day today and while I knew I didn’t want anything to do with my homework and research papers, I did want to do something. I decided to bake! Baking works wonders for de-stressing my mind and giving me some much needed sugar as a pick-me-up. With a box of Betty Crocker yellow cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, frosting, and edible pearls and little hearts I was able to whip up some schnazzy cakes in no time! You need: a cupcake pan, a bowl, a whisk (or a fork…work with me), and the cooking goods mentioned above and you can bake away your stress while making beautiful cupcakes for you and your roomies to delve into!
Bakers Tip: Your local arts and crafts store (for us Appletonians it’s Hobby Lobby) should have a baking section with plenty of options for baking pans, cake decorations, a variety of frosting colors and more. Ask around in your sorority or use the trusty Google search to find the store nearest to you!
These babies are AMAZING. And they look a lot more tedious to make than they actually are. I wish I could take credit for these creations but, again, Bakerella is the one who deserves it! They’re called cupcake bites and if you’re baking with a buddy (which I HIGHLY recommend) you get into a rhythm and before you know it you’ve made 30 cupcake bites in an hour and a half. Again, Hobby Lobby is your one-stop shop especially for what this recipe calls for. You need: cake mix, cream cheese frosting, melting chocolate, decorating materials, and nestle chocolate chips (which they sell at Kate’s Corner Store). I originally made the cupcake bites according to the instructions by Bakerella but this is the second time I made them so I opted to try new things. I bought colored candy melts from Hobby Lobby and melted them in the microwave in a microwave-friendly bowl. Using a spoon I poured the melted candy into my Candy Cup Mold and placed my cake balls lightly on top of the melts. After putting them in the freezer for a couple of minutes to speed up the hardening process, I popped them out and dipped the cake portion of the candy into melted chocolate chips and placed them on a napkin to dry. Before they are completely cooled, you can put a couple edible pearls on top for a polished look.
Bakers Tip: Although it may seem like a good idea at the time, don’t use melted chocolate chips as the base for the cake ball. It won’t work. Trust me.
For treats this professional looking AND cute, how can you not embark on a baking adventure? Call your girlfriends, impress your friends, and have some fun! Making the cake bites with my big sister Lizzy completely de-stressed me and we were able to fit in a few laughs while we were baking. I strongly encourage you to drop what you’re doing, at a reasonable hour of course, and bake something that you’ve never baked before. Let the wonders of Bakerella inspire you!