Jun 5, 2011

Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Cupcakes?

By Wendy A. Jones

Friday I spent the day in the kitchen, making cupcakes. My subdivision had a garage sale scheduled for Saturday, so I had planned to sell some stuff and increase my profits by selling baked goods. As per usual, once an idea gets a hold of me I go slightly overboard.

I made seven or eight varieties of cupcakes and spent way too much time and energy making them delicious and beautiful. After the sale yesterday, I counted out the money in the jewelry-cum-cash box. I made $86.16 (and that includes money I made from garage sale stuff).

Beyond that, I still had about 48 cupcakes left over.

When I woke up this morning, late and groggy from staying up into the wee hours reading Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt (which I highly recommed, by the way, if you are a YA fan) I remembered all the cupcakes in my refrigerator. Especially the cinnamon toast ones. They are fabulous, if I do say so myself.

I am the type of person who thinks one or two cupcakes, with a glass of milk, is a perfectly acceptable breakfast. Occasionally. Once or twice a week.

But it's the first Sunday of the month--fast Sunday in Mormon homes across the world where we go without food or drink for two meals and donate the cost of those meals to people in need. In addition, fasting increases spiritual strength. Win-win, right?

Yeah, tell that to the cupcakes.

One of my favorite scriptures is in Mosiah 3:19. "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

I read this scripture sometimes and consider it a largely mental process--the submitting and the humbling, the patience and the love. As a person fasts, though, it is much easier to do those things. By subduing the most natural part of us we truly realize how much we depend on the Lord's goodness to support us from moment to moment. In some ways, the spiritual side becomes stronger than the physical side during fasting. Usually our physical body is yelling at us so loudly to do its bidding we can miss the relative whispers of our spirits.

In some ways, it's surprising that fasting even works. You would think the body clamoring for something to eat would make it harder to hear the Spirit. I'm not quite sure why it isn't, but I know there's a sort of power when you can tell your hunger, "Hush up. I'm fasting about ______" that gives your spirit a little boost.

As I tell those cinnamon toast cupcakes calling me from the refrigerator, "Hush up. I'm fasting," I feel a little stronger.

And I think of how the deliciousness will be compounded when, after dinner tonight, I sink my teeth into its spicy goodness. Too many cupcakes? Never.

6 comments:

  1. I know that we are fasting today too. Mostly for the victims of the fire over by Greer. But I agree with you on the added deliciousness of the cupcakes for dessert tonight! so, If you have a moment or two, share that recipe!! I think I need to make a few cupcakes!!

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  2. Mmmmm...I agree with Patty Ann! Please share the recipe. I appreciate your thoughts on the principle of fasting. thank you!

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  3. Thanks for the message and the chance to drool at the thought of 48 cupakes!

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  4. Thank you for your kind comments. Here is the recipe, taken from the book Cupcakes from the Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn.

    Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes

    24 cupcake liners
    1 pkg (18.25 oz.) plain yellow cake mix
    1 pkg (3.4 oz.) vanilla instant pudding mix
    1 1/4 cups whole milk
    3/4 cup vegetable oil
    1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
    Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
    1 Tbsp cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

    Preheat oven to 350*. Place cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Blend 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on medium speed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters full.

    Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back lightly when pressed with your finger, 18 to 22 minutes.

    Cool on wire rack 5 minutes in pan, then remove cupcakes from pan. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before frosting.

    Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

    1 pkg (8 oz.) reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature.
    4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
    3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted1 tsp ground cinnamon

    Blend cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, 30 seconds. Add the confectioners' sugar, a little at a time, blending with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute. Add the cinnamon, then increase the mixer speed to medium and blend the frosting until fluffy, 1 minute more.

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  5. Oh wow glad I didn't read this on fast Sunday ha ha.

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  6. I'm going to read Sean Griswold's Head, it sounds like a fun book.

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