Since my husband is on school break for two months, I don’t have to wake up early every morning from June to August. I have the privilege of staying up late to read or get inspirations from other bloggers or to watch my favorite television shows.
My husband and I chanced upon “Cupcake Wars” which airs at 10 p.m. from Monday to Friday. The show gives cupcake bakers from all over the US the opportunity to showcase their talents by creating not only perfect cupcakes but topped with knockout decorations. The winning baker wins 10,000 dollars and the bragging rights, of course. But before getting all the adulation, they need to bake and decorate 1000 cupcakes and present it on a dazzling display which will be front and center of a special sports, Hollywood or state event.
What I love about the show is how creative these bakers are by combining ingredients I wouldn’t imagine putting together like dark chocolate and zucchini or ginger with molasses and cayenne. I became familiar too with baking lingo like “ganache” which is a French word connoting a mixture of chocolate, milk, cream and butter to be used as frosting or filling of cupcakes and “compote” which is fruit cooked in syrup.
Watching the show definitely raises my craving for sweets every night. I think that’s why I gained a few pounds these past two months 🙂 Right, blame it on the show! Seriously, I am inspired to bake my own cupcakes and make a business out of it. But I’ll give that to my mom. She is the baker in the family. I’m more of a “cooking” kind of gal rather than the “baking” type. Probably because baking is more precise and exact, while cooking allows me to veer away from the recipe and make it my own.
August is around the corner and my late nights are being numbered. It makes me sad because I will be missing watching these bakers sweat it out in the kitchen but also hearing the reviews and comments of the judges especially of Florian Bellanger, whose speech is too difficult for me to decipher. Hey, he’s French! He is supposed to speak like that (me trying to speak in a French accent)
Even though I won’t go into baking seriously (hmm) I would still watch the show. I know there would always be a replay of the show in the afternoon so I would get fired up to think of new flavors for my own spreads and jams business 🙂
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcake
Pumpkin Pop Cupcakes
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Photos courtesy of http://www.foodnetwork.com/cupcake-wars/recipes/index.html