Confectionately Yours #2: Taking the Cake! Read Online Free PDF Page B

still happening. Will Gran make the cinnamon buns? Will we have time to play our game?
    I think I can count on the stuffing, at least.
    Even so, this is starting to sound like a holiday I barely recognize — one where the fun things have been sucked away, and only the name remains.
    Am I supposed to find a way to be thankful for this?
    Because I’m trying.
    But it’s not working.

    Cornbread Cupcakes
    (makes approximately 12 cupcakes)
    Ah, cornbread. Just like the Pilgrims would’ve had … you know, if they’d had cupcakes.
    INGREDIENTS:
    2 tablespoons brown sugar
    1/4 cup honey
    1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
    1 cup chopped toasted pecans
    1 cup milk
    1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
    1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    1/2 cup granulated sugar
    1/3 cup canola oil
    2 tablespoons maple syrup
    3/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill
    1/2 cup cornmeal
    3/4 teaspoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a small skillet over low heat, melt together the brown sugar, honey, Chinese five-spice powder, and pecans until the sugar is fully dissolved, then remove from heat and set aside the syrupy pecans to cool.
Mix the milk and vinegar in a bowl and let sit a few minutes to curdle. Once curdled, add the vanilla extract, granulated sugar, oil, and maple syrup.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones a little bit at a time, and combine with a whisk or handheld mixer until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl a few times. Add the syrupy pecans and stir a few times to marbleize the batter.
Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20–22 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.

    Mascarpone Frosting
    INGREDIENTS:
    8 ounces mascarpone cheese
    1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened to room temperature
    2-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    INSTRUCTIONS:
In a bowl, using a handheld mixer, cream together the mascarpone cheese and margarine or butter completely. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar in 1/2-cup batches, mixing completely before adding more.
Add the vanilla extract and beat on high speed until the frosting becomes light and fluffy, about 3–7 minutes.

M eghan and I are sitting on the steps of city hall, watching people go by and drinking hot apple cider while we munch on the gluten-free cupcakes I’ve made for us both. Meghan has celiac disease, so she can’t have wheat and certain other grains. I have to be really careful when I bake for her — even just a trace of flour could make her super sick. (We made these at her house.) But she’s so grateful whenever I make her a cupcake that I’m happy to do it.
    We’re playing “Love It Like Crazy!” which is a game I made up where you point out clothes or accessories or whatever that are either really cool or really hideous. It’s one of those perfect fall days — cool, but not cold. Crisp, with a blue sky and scudding white clouds.
    “Love those boots like crazy!” Meghan says to me, nodding at a woman in a pair of neon-green cowboy boots. They’re way cool.
    “Love that hat like crazy,” I add, because the same woman is wearing a fabulous cheetah-print hat.
    “Yeah, she’s got style.” Meghan grins. “Love this cupcake like crazy,” she says as she polishes it off.
    “Thanks.” I smile and take another bite. Honestly, they really did turn out well.
    “Love that bandanna like crazy,” Meghan notes. A cute Australian shepherd prances by, rainbow scarf around his neck. Adorable.
    A bald guy is holding the dog’s leash. I whisper, “Love those face piercings like crazy.”
    “Ooh, yeah, and the snake tattoo. Like crazy!”
    Ugh. She’s right. It’s the worst tattoo ever, like maybe the guy let his five-year-old draw it