Day 7: Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes

Ohmygod these are delicious! They're also a big hit with my housemates, which is nice since half the fun of baking is bringing a smile of satisfaction to the ones you share with. Unfortunately, they weren't the perfect cupcakes I was hoping for. I only had half the amount of red food coloring the recipe called for, so they didn't turn quite "crimson." But that's alright because they were still a nice, deep red that passed as more than satisfactory in my eyes. The real bummer was the frosting. I made the buttercream frosting that I made for the first two batches of cupcakes, but this time it turned out really runny and dribbled down the sides. I think I made the mistake of melting the butter and shortening when I should have used an electric beater to just cream everything together. For some reason, I am really resistant to electric mixing tools. It seems like cheating...and it takes joy out of using your own arm power to get everything mixed just right. Maybe this is a wake up call--if I want perfect cupcakes, hand-made is not the way to go.