london fog.

today was an eventful day at starbucks. i definately have some classic stories. if you want to hear, or just want a good laugh, just ask.....needless to say, i couldn't wait to come home and bake until i dropped. to me, baking is the calm in my storm. it never ceases to relax me. it rids my mind of the worthless crap that seems to bog me down, and brings me to much happier times....like baking with the moms and my grandma. i always like to imagine the looks on peoples faces as they try one of my creations. will they be all smiles or have looks of disgust? i hope it is more of the first.

london fog. two earl grey tea bags. vanilla syrup. no water. steamed soy. i love making these at starbucks. i love love love they way it smells. for some reason, i am drawn to earl grey, so when i found a recipe for earl grey cupcakes, i was sold!! i modified the recipe a little bit to kind of throw my own spin on it... i used four earl grey tea bags instead of the suggested two. [i found that the flavor was alot bolder] i also squeezed and entire orange into the batter instead of the orange oil. [it ended up giving it a very clean, sweet taste]

topped them with an orange cream cheese frosting....mmmm...mmm.....tasty.

they actually ended up turning out to be muffinish cupcakes. the

 best of both worlds. i will say that i think i needed to add a little more liquid to the mix because they ended up a little dry. but, for my first time, they turned out amazingly delicious.

i also made a batch of gluten free earl grey tea cupcakes by using gluten free flour. [well, duh!] ok, two problems....i filled the cupcake pans too full,so they ended up expanding hard core and just not looking pretty. and also, they turned out very crumbly and dry. dont get me wrong, they were very tasty and my anti-gluten roomate seemed to love the uniqueness of these tasty treats. i need to continue to work on mastering gluten free pastry arts. all in due time......

wanna know what music i listened to while i made these tasty earl grey cupcakes? well, i was feeling very british.

the london fog playlist:

1. bloc party [signs[

2. tigers that talk [i am nothing]

3. kent [ colombus]

4. emiliana torrini [at least it was]

5. pilot speed [into your hideout]

6.idlewild [make another world]

7. scanners [in my dreams]

8. the more assured [all in your head]

9. frank hamilton [you your cat and me]

10. the answering machine [time]

11. the anomalies [kid riot]

12.reindeer section [your sweet voice]