Getting ready for the Bake-Off and the Hoe-Down

Thanks to everyone who responded to my plea for help in deciding what to bake for the Bake-Off.

I actually thought I would end up making a cobbler because I love cobbler and because it would be the easiest to make (and I gave myself the out of making whatever was easiest).

When I read through the recipe for the 10,000-calorie chocolate cake, I eliminated that option...it requires too much undistracted time. When I read the recipe for the cupcakes, however, I realized they would be even easier than the cobbler...that was the first point in favor of cupcakes.

A landslide decision for cupcakes as a result of my poll was the second point in favor. Of course, Heather has proven herself to be a little biased in the cupcake area, and K2 even calls her girls cupcakes, so they were strongly opinionated votes.

The third point in favor of cupcakes was pointed out to me by Tom yesterday morning in The Orange County Register, which printed an article about the trendiness of cupcakes (I couldn't find the article that ran in the paper, but the link I provided goes to a blog with similar info).

Hey, I'm all about being trendy! Not. But in this case, it seemed like the icing on the cupcake (!) to go with the trendy option.

So...Thursday Lukas and I made a test run of cupcakes while Natalie and Konrad slept. They were easy and delicious. This morning I made the cupcakes I'm going to enter in the contest. My idea on the decoration was the American flag...now that it's done I wish I'd done something else instead (it's not easy to get red-red or blue-blue frosting). BTW, while the dancing will be outside, the food will be inside, so I decided to go with the buttercream frosting that came with the recipe.

So even if I don't win, I have a new-found appreciation for homemade cupcakes: they are very easy to make compared to a layer cake (less time to bake, less hassle to frost) and they come in a great serving size, so you don't wonder how big of a piece to slice!

Thanks for your help! Now we have to get dressed to go to the Hoe-Down...Tom is helping to grill the tri-tip so we have to be there a little early.