Cupcake Mania

We can't help but smile when we see a cupcake. However, too much of a good thing can be hmmm, quite hazardous to one's health, and after last night's marathon cupcake baking session, I don't think I can face looking at another cute cupcake again today (and perhaps tomorrow) and not feel nauseous...

You see, my lovely friend J, who's a teacher, celebrated her birthday today by sharing around some sweet treats amongst her teeny students. She'd pre-ordered about 30 boxes of cupcakes from me for this purpose and never one to say no, I unwittingly agreed. Hey, I could handle it! I didn't give it much thought until it was time to bake the darn things. I realised with some dismay that in order to fill up all the boxes, a substantial number of uninterrupted baking hours was required! And more extra time to frost, decorate and pack the cuppies the following morning. Yikes.

Bear in mind that I hadn't enlisted any help (it's best for QC, being the prefectionist that I am) so everything from A-Z was done by moi moiself. Oh, there were some points during the long, hot session in the kitchen when I wished I was the Hindu Goddess Durga (pictured right) who had 10 arms and would've been very "handy" in the kitchen. Haha.. I hope I haven't just offended anyone here as it wasn't my intention to make fun of any type of religion, but I was just saying. Never mind, forget it - pronto.

Back to the cupcakes, I made four different types and stuck to what I thought children liked - basically anything chocolatey and with a bit of fun colour would be a guaranteed hit. Of course, I wasn't going to indulge them totally, so I also hid some bananas and oranges somewhere in them cupcakes. Sneaky. I fervently hoped they wouldn't find out and would eat them anyway!

A bit like Willi Wonka's Chocolate Factory in the kitchen this morning, I'm afraid.

Silver boxes waiting to embrace the cuppycakes with open arms lids. Don't you think the lids look like they have arms though?

(Clockwise from top left: Orange cake with orange buttercream, pure chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, banana choc chip cake, red velvet with choc ganache)

All packed up and ready to be delivered to J. Happy Birthday, Teacher J!

Btw, the children must've liked the cuppies because in the afternoon, some parents called up wanting to order some more. Oh, the thought of one more cupcake..... (eyes rolling upwards).