how to cure the snow day blues

i really don't have the snow day blues (i love snow days, since i'm not making them up!!), and i especially love it when the husband is home, BUT i know some of my teacher friends (who have already had 3 snow days) do have the snow day blues. how did i "cure" mine and the husbands? by baking, of course. a little while back (on said snow day) my friend ashley asked on FB if everyone bakes during snow days, and i said..........YEP. what else is there to do?! might as well eat delicious baked goods!!!



so.....for your viewing pleasure (and for some people that live in my area, eating pleasure) i made devil's food cupcakes with mocha buttercream icing and milk chocolate swirls. i took the devil's food recipe from martha's cupcake book.

then i found the mocha buttercream icing online. i looked around for a good one, that wasn't too difficult, as i didn't have a lot of time to play with (matthew was only napping....so i didn't know how long i REALLY had to bake with). so, when i took my cake decorating class from wilton, i had a "tried and true" buttercream icing, so i went to the wilton website. it was really easy....and turned out perfectly

i made the chocolate swirls by melting milk chocolate and then piping it onto wax paper in swirl designs. i just wanted something pretty to go along with my cupcakes, i wasn't sure what i really had in mind. i just freehanded them....some turned out pretty well, some turned out kinda crappy. i will have to continue practing this until i'm satisfied with the result.


end result:



oh, and as for taste the husband's reaction (and i quote): "these are now my top." well, i'll let some other people be the judges, but that will have to wait until we are shoveled out! i hope i inspired you to bake something delicious today (or heck, just buy something delicious).....whether you had a snow day or not! did the husband get inspired, you ask?? sure did....here's a pic of what he made to cure the snow day blues. lunch!!!