Cupcakes a la Pioneer Woman!

When I watch the Food Network, I always find something yummy to try.  On Saturday, I watched The Pioneer Woman—she has tons of great recipes, and this one looked fab!  Why do I always pick the ones without pics?  After a trip to the store to get the buttermilk, cream and bittersweet chocolate, I was all ready. 

 

I actually followed the directions and got all the ingredients measured up and got the batter made and in the oven.   Oh, yeah, I need another cupcake pan—I have a 12 and a 6, both over 30 years old, and I think it’s time for a new 12. I rejected the ones that I saw, so I just borrowed my daughters pan.  Look at that really bad pan!!

 

 
Against my better judgment, I sprayed the heck out of the pans, and didn’t use paper liners.  Everything went together as planned until it was time to get the cakes out of the pan.  Out of 24, 6 came out great.  The rest tried to stick or lost part of the cupcake.  Time to take a break with my diet coke and contemplate what to do with ugly broken cupcakes that need fluff squirted in them. 

 

I just went ahead and squirted the fluff as if they were all good.  I was a good girl and didn’t even lick off the icing tip between cupcakes.   MMMmmmmm!

 

Time to spoon the ganache over! 

 

The finished product.  Someday, I will learn how to stage the food, but don’t hold your breath. 

 

If I were to make these again, I would just use a dark chocolate cake mix, and make only half of the fluff.  I have at least half left over, so I called my daughter over to take it home with her and she is going to use it on some cupcakes she is making with the kids tonight.  There will probably be some left still…any takers??

Old Office Chair Re-do

I have wanted to update my sewing chair forever.  I never saw some fabric worthy of the change, until I saw this.  Got it at the Goodwill Store.  More about that here.  Anyway, I went and came out $6 poorer, but I now owned about 2 yards of this dec fabric, various mesh sports clothes to cut up for American girl doll sport clothes, an Ann Taylor Loft coat, and a dump truck.   Anyway, back to the chair.  I have just a cheap office chair with black plastic arms and legs.  After looking at the fabric with no light on, I thought there was red on it.  So I painted the plastic red.  Upon further inspection, it was a dark pink, so back to the store for a new color.  Telling this is way too fast.  With our wacky weather, you can paint one day, then it’s way too cold for the next few days, then finally warm enough to paint again with the pink color.  Then you just cover the old upholstery with the new fabric, tucking in firmly.  The bottom chair, I stapled the fabric around the bottom.  I LOVE my new chair!