Baking with Frank and friends

Note: wrote this last Friday night but just now got around to posting...  Guess I've been busy!

Well, couldn't wait until tomorrow - baked the Lemon Cupcakes with Citrus Icing tonight.  I won't bore you with the recipe but if you'd like it email me (miss.morgan.rebecca@gmail.com) or, just buy the book!  (See Eating My Way to a Flat Belly).  I will tell you , though, that our MUFA in this recipe is Safflower Oil.

Frank (as in Sinatra) provided the tunes and when he tired out Michael Buble stepped in to finish out the set.  A few others helped me out along the way, too.

My late Grandma Thelma (her friends called her Petie) taught me how to take everything out and put it away as you need it - this way, you know if you forgot something because it'll still be sitting out.  Great, right?  So I used my cute little pinch bowls and such and prepped all my ingredients.  Normally, I would just take her advice and dish straight out of the box/jar/bag/whatever but I have always wanted to be fancy and use pinch bowls.  And trust me, it's worth the extra step!

Took a break to head back to the store and purchase a new muffin tin - one of the tricks to Yorkshire puddings is to leave the lard in the muffin tin and cover it with foil for next time.  This definitely warranted a new bakeware purchase!

I couldn't resist to dance my way through - Frankie sure is infectious!  I even thought it might be fun to try to juggle my lemon and orange.  Yep.  Nothing like goofing off and laughing out loud at yourself!

So I had all my ingredients together and ready to go, but I was missing one thing - a refreshing G&T.  Thank you Cross Keys pub in York for serving me my first and getting me hooked!  Cheers!

While preparing the batter I used this new little trick that I love - I was scolded once (in jest of course) for cracking an egg on the counter and introduced to the proper technique.  A lady lightly taps her egg with the bottom of a spoon and presses into the dent with her thumbs.  This just makes me giggle that there is a proper way and I undoubtedly feel obligated to do it.

Another friend that helped this evening is my amazing mother.  She taught me to always clean up as you go, and that starts with a sink full of hot, soapy water.  Sure does the trick!  While the cupcakes were baking, I was able to wash all of my dishes that I used!

Payton, my little niece, reminded me a few Christmases ago the fun of baking like getting flour on yourself or anywhere else possible and making sure you finish off cleaning the bowl.  Mmmm, that batter was tasty!

They came out perfect and smelling intensely of lemon!  Yum yum!  Now to let them cool completely and prepare the icing.

...............

Voile!  287 calories - add a glass of fat free milk and you've got a MUFA meal!

They aren't exactly the picture in the book but I am guessing they taste just as good.  The only thing I would change is buying a bigger lemon and orange to get more zest and then I would have made the glaze a little differently.  I think more fresh OJ to powdered sugar and it may have turned out a little better.  It's basically the icing used to make snow on a gingerbread mountain, but better.  =)

Survey says....   Delish!  moist, fluffy, and fresh!  Will definitely make them again!