Bake me a bug...

Today we had a garden party at our house for the kids in our kids' community group. I was sweating bullets. And that was hours before the kids even got here. I baked cupcakes this morning. I had a new bug pan I wanted to use...

My first batch was ok. I poured too much batter in the wells of the pan, so they kind of overflowed a smidge. By the third batch I was a pro at those bugs. Ok, not a pro. I don't think I'll ever be a pro in the kitchen, but I do give it my best effort.

Here is a picture of the ones I made for the kids. Yellow cake (my favorite) and a whipped strawberry icing with sprinkles. I like whipped cream icing, but I wasn't a fan of the strawberry flavoring. But hey, the kids didn't complain...

Of course as with my life, there was something comical about getting to the very unexpected finish line. The first hiccup was mixing. I don't have a mixer because I'm a budding baker. So I use a little elbow grease to mix everything. I mixed all the wet ingredients together. I was trying to get it to an even consistency. There was a yolk that was avoiding my most avid attempts to destroy it. A quick flip of my wrist and about half the bowl ended up on me, the countertop and the floor. Sigh. Ok, start over.

I get farther along this time. The batter is mixed as well as I'm going to be able to do it by hand. Its time to oil and flour the pan so the little bugs come out of the pan easily. The oil I pour on a paper towel and wipe into the pan. The flour I would get pinches of and blend them into the pan. Well. Too much flour. Ok, how do I get flour out of the wells? I know. Air. Air will get the flour out instead of me trying to wipe it out and mixing it even more into the oil I've just wiped on the pan. First attempt was too soft. Second blow was a bit too hard. Considering after my puff, a huge cloud of flour ends up all in my hair, the sink, and apparently in my lungs cuz I start coughing flour.

God and I laughed a lot this morning. It was just me in the house so I talked with Him while I baked. And yes, I totally prayed that those bug cakes wouldn't be a disaster. The frosting was a little tough. And the sprinkles are like food glitter. Grr. They went everywhere. But my favorite kinds were the ones where I had made a vanilla glaze for. I ended up using a paintbrush (brand new) to brush on the glaze...