Sugar Care

This piece of candy cracked me up! How appropriate for my life!

There has been a lot of talk about cupcakes lately in my life. The creation of them, the eating of them, and, mostly, the sharing of them. I just celebrated my birthday on Monday (It was fantastic, by the way!) and the majority of my presents added to my already growing baking collection. Off-set spatulas, cupcake carrying case, and a beautiful cupcake cookbook.

My love of cupcakes is pretty well-known in my family and even my friends. If you know me, there is a good chance you have become a member of my test kitchen. Always good to have many members to test out cupcake creations such as this:

Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Curd and Cream Cheese Frosting

But, my love of cupcakes has a deeper meaning in my life. Right now, the creation of these cupcakes has become a way to support and surround a friend of mine. At the beginning of this year, her husband was deployed and we, essentially, adopted her and her family.

Once a week, we get together and bake to our hearts content. My husband jumps in and takes care of the kids while we reside in the kitchen for a few hours. He does this with great joy in his heart; his gift to her. We, meanwhile, mix, stir, bake, discuss, and, in the end, sigh with satisfaction as our creation comes to life. Each week we exclaim that this cupcake is even better than the last.

We keep building our play book of cupcake creations. Taking pictures and jotting down notes, so that ultimately, if our pipe dreams come true, we will have all our cupcake recipes ready for a true bake shop.

So, if you are enjoying a cupcake creation from our Tuesday night adventures, know that behind that delicious treat there is a lot of love, laughter, and care. There's more to that sugar, butter, and vanilla mix than just a well-crafted concoction. There's a whole lot of "sugar care" in that cupcake.