When Life Gives You Dry Cupcakes, Make Trifle

 
This week for the patrons of my beer dinners at the Nook Tavern, I made cupcakes (or at least attempted to).  Now, I hate cupcakes!  Maybe it's because I'm a guy and just don't "get it," but I find these little culinary bastards to be annoyingly fussy and exhaustively pretentious.  There I said it.

So Friday night I was all set for a bake-athon...I had a recipe from Martha Stewart for the cupcakes and a handy raspberry buttercream recipe from Southern Living.  After dirtying every dish in my kitchen, the only fruits of my culinary labors were dry, dense cupcakes and some pepto bismal colored frosting. 

This is what pepto bismal would look like if it were turned into frosting

All I can say is, Martha has failed me for the last time!

Which is when I had a "Chopped" moment and realized I could make trifle! Cake, layered with pudding/ creme, and topped with a healthy dose of whipped cream is always good, and with the help of the liquid portion the cake wouldn't seem so dry.

I did manage to salvage the last dozen cakes by adding a little milk to the batter, but the first 48 weren't so lucky.  

I would never force either of recipes on someone, let alone dedicated fans and readers...but the photos might provide some needed inspiration for Valentines Day next week. 

I think we'll be seeing more of this bowl around the blog

Cupcakes, pre-bake

The cupcakes from hell