It's Martha, Bitch! Vol. 2

Hey y'all! This week I attempted Martha's raspberry cheesecake recipe for my cupcakes. This particular cupcake doesn't call for any frosting, because the top of the cake is supposed to be sooo pretty (all red and white swirliness.)
Let me tell you all, this recipe gave me hell.

It's basically a mini cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, and a raspberry swirl. I had Greek food this past weekend, and I finally bought some Rose Water (my new favorite thing EVAAAR!). I added a tiny bit to my pureed raspberries...holy crap it was so awesome. Incredibly fragrant, and the flavors married wonderfully. Take that Martha! I jazzed up your recipe!

I also made her whipped cream frosting for these...just because I thought it would look and taste nice.



First, the recipe called for me to cook them "until set", or like, 22 minutes. I guess I didn't really know what "set" meant when I pulled them out, because it was a tad bit early. I put them in the fridge to cool for 4 hours. These instructions confused the HELL out of me--there is definitely a word missing in that part. It's understandable...it's not like Martha has time to beat the living daylights out of EVERY person on her staff for ridiculous mistakes like typos and omissions!

Anywho, Trey and I figured that out, and came to the conclusion that the cakes needed to be baked for a bit longer. They were not firming up like they needed to. After a few more minutes in the oven, they got to the proper firmness, and then I cooled them again.

Ultimately, these guys were super rich and super dense, and though they tasted alright, I could have added a bit more of the raspberry to each one. Maybe I will try these again another day!

It's Martha, Bitch!

Hello Bloggoverse!
I know, do NOT even point your cranky finger at me "Laaarrie! It's been almost a WHOLE DANG YEAR since you last blogged!" I KNOW this, man. Here is what you need to know to get caught up:


1. Awesome boyfriend/partner/homedude--whatever you wanna call him. He is the best. Look at how big his head is. LOVE that guy.


2. New Hizzle. Rent hizzle, actually. I thought I was going to buy a house in the recent past, but turns out that just relocating to a bigger place (for not hardly any extra money a month) was smarter for the time being. Still cleaning, decorating, and luxuriating the place, but it's primo.


3. Job is AWESOME! Still teaching at NSU, and it gets better each year. Recently finished NSU Art Camps (for the like, 4th year or so? Hell I dunno.) These kids rock, and they threw me a birthday party last month. Hope you didn't miss it.


4. Labertha's Brief Return! She came out (haha...) and judged the annual SAI Lady Of The Night pageant (complete with Patrick Nagel-inspired poster designed by moi!). She even sang the national anthem! Buy her album, you lying bitches! Sales do not seem to reflect what some of y'all keep telling me...


5. I got some new ink, y'all! I heard this Natasha Beddingfield song while I was driving one day and well...I'm a big crybaby...and thought, "Every story in life should end this way." So I committed to making that happen. The video is not as to-the-point as it seems at first, so watch all the way through. Twice. Check it!

So, yeah-you should be all caught up! I will fill in the blanks as we go (in future blogs.) ANYWAY, the point of THIS blog is to tell you all about what I am taking on NOW.

MARTHA!

I am venturing on a new weekly task! I got this awesome book called Martha Stewart Cupcakes.

I plan to bake one of her recipes each week (a la Julie and Julia)! It's gonna be "Larrie and Martha, Bitch!" Why "Martha Bitch!"? Well, check this out.

Here is the first result of this baking interest I have developed (thank you, Cupcake Wars, Master Chef, and Food Network Challenge. DVR is a bitch.) These are Snickerdoodle cucpakes with gum paste buttons and finished with cinnamon-sugar dust. Yummers!

Tune in next time kids! I don't know which I am making next, but you may see cupcakes the next time you see me!