Red Velvet Cupcakes. Totally into Ace of Cakes.

I have recently become obsessed with baking. I think this is a trend that is going to spread to others, if they aren't currently part of the baking obsession. Baking is NOT my forte, in fact, I usually try to stay far away. This Spring I tried to make banana bread from a mix mind you, a mix, it exploded in my oven. It smelled like burnt bananas in my house for months. Apparently there is some rule about not filling the mix to the edge of the baking tin that everyone knows but me. I suppose people learn these things as they grow up, perhaps from a parent, or caring aunt, however since I wasn't big into sweets (except cupcakes), so I didn't make the requisite brownies, etc, as a youth so I didn't learn. SO... now I am learning. This baking kit was inspired by the show Ace of Cakes on the Food Network. I love to watch how they make cakes into owls and buildings, and the cakes are so cute! The cakes cost $8 a piece, but for a special event, and if I lived in Maryland, I would totally go to them for some novelty cake.

To indulge my baking obsession, my sis gave me a kit of cupcake mix for Red Velvet cupcakes which she gave to me because of the Steel Magnolias reference to armadillo cake, which is popular in the south, although my grandma never made it for us as far as I know. I made these cupcakes and the light "dust" of mix that settled on all of my surfaces was red, so note to the wise, these cupcakes are red, and turn everything red! This mix turned out cupcakes that were really tasty, and made by Sprinkles Bakery. You can buy the mix at Williams Sonoma, so I might try a few other flavors, since these were SO good. I am somewhat of a cupcake afficionado, and these blow away the cupcakes made by the Magnolia Bakery and the Cupcake Cafe in NYC. I think I could actually move to live near these cupcakes. You can order them by the dozen in 26 flavors.

YUM!