blog — made to (b)order

we sent 2017 off in style with some yum-licious party-perfect champagne cupcakes. for all my baking enthusiasm, seem to struggle a bit with cake. i find a lot of scratch-made recipes really dense, yet the boxed mixes too commercial/artificial tasting. my favorite website for getting cupcake recipes and inspiration is your cup of cake. lizzy uses boxed cake mixes as a base, then adds buttermilk or sour cream, (or sometimes both!) and additional spices/flavorings to make the cakes taste like they came from a bakery. the result tastes homemade, but you still get that really beautiful light, spongy, boxed-mix texture, with some added richness. i've found her recipes to be perfect for adapting, and i tinkered with the batter of her standard vanilla cupcakes to create this festive champagne version.

they were everything i needed and more for new year's eve 2018. pairs well with fresh starts and a glass of bubbly.

adapted from your cup of cake:
| ingredients |
1 box white cake mix
4 egg whites
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup champagne
3/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

| method |

preheat oven to 350 degrees f.

in a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir cake mix with a spatula well to remove lumps. add the egg whites, buttermilk, champagne, sour cream and vanilla and mix well, until thoroughly combined.

prepare a muffin tin with baking liners, and spoon batter into the muffin liners, about 1/2-2/3 full. bake at 350 for about 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

remove cupcakes from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.

for the champagne frosting:
1 cup (two sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup champagne
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 cups powdered sugar
for decorating - gold/silver/clear sprinkles

| method |

beat butter on medium speed for about two minutes, until pale and creamy. add champagne, vanilla and 1/2 of powdered sugar. gently fold with a spatula, then beat on medium until thoroughly combined. add remaining powdered sugar and beat, until desired consistency is reached.

i did half of the cupcakes in the champagne frosting above, then frosted the other half with a raspberry frosting:

1 package freeze-dried raspberries, trader joe's
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 cups powdered sugar
milk, to thin
fresh raspberries, to garnish

| method |

add the freeze-dried raspberries to a food processor and process until reduced to a fine powder.

beat butter on medium speed for about two minutes, until pale and creamy. add raspberry powder, vanilla and 1/2 of powdered sugar. gently fold with a spatula, then beat on medium until thoroughly combined. add remaining powdered sugar and beat, until desired consistency is reached. ensure cupcakes are cooled completely before frosting!

note: both of these frostings make "crusting buttercreams." after about an hour the frosting will harden and be dry to the touch. i find this great for cupcakes you are going to transport, but if you want a softer frosting you may want to select another recipe with less powdered sugar, or added fat such as cream cheese.

2017 was a big year, but also a difficult and strange one. this time last year i was sincerely hoping were poised for a big move, and were. we. ever! in some ways it’s been better than i would have dared to hope for 365 days ago, and in others it has been way harder than expected. i think that’s the nature of transitional periods of your life - growth, change and good things take some metamorphosis outside of your comfort zone to accomplish.

to that end, i’m so proud to be able to say that we haven’t shied away from the idea of change. by throwing ourselves into the unknown we have allowed 2017 to bring us new adventures, new friends, a new community, a contract on our first home, and a new job for j. we created a big break for ourselves and when the difficult moment came to sever ties with what was comfortable and familiar to move ahead - we did it.

as a result, a few days ago I found myself wandering down the main drag of little norway, into a gorgeous locally owned shop filled with the sweetest books, home decor and baking supplies you could imagine. i picked up a few items before heading to a solo lunch to read my newly acquired cookbook. i felt very safe and at ease, and it hit me during this little jaunt out that i feel i’m living the life i’ve worked for since...well, forever. and that is so huge! for all the change that immersed 2017, the year has also brought a definite sense of peace and accomplishment. that's not to say it was devoid of challenges - we left some amazing friends and a state we both loved to start our lives over somewhere we didn't know anyone (again), j was in a car crash, we suffered the loss of our first dog, and have been enduring construction complications and the timeline of our first home, which has also affected our ability to plan vacations. we've been learning what it's like to live in a totally different climate, adjust to a new and different pace of life, and a chunk of we know has been turned on its ear. but despite the hills and valleys, i'm so pleased with our progress and feel that we're ending our year in a much better place than where we began it.

as someone who is perpetually projecting, planning, hustling, climbing and reaching at goals it’s a little disconcerting to find myself at somewhat of a finish line. so much so that i keep turning over different aspects of my life almost to be certain everything is as i think it should be. i've always maintained a baseline of contentedness and happiness, but there have also been some big "adult life" goals on the horizon that i've been working towards since graduating from college. the success in all these arenas at once brings me to a totally new (and best!) type of challenge- to just relax and enjoy it. and maybe derive some even bigger dreams.

so on the heels of a tumultuous 2017, i’m not resolving to change- i just want to continue on my path. i wholeheartedly agree with this quote i came across from reese witherspoon, " i don't believe in new year's resolutions. i think you sort of have to keep striving to be the best version of yourself at all moments." i feel 2017 has been the culmination of us striving to be our best selves, and in 2018 i plan to do more of the same. i can't pretend that self-examination only occurs once a year. or that i'll know everything i need to work on/want to accomplish on december 31st of the year prior. i think it’s important in the next 365 days to acknowledge the beautiful and happy life we’ve created for ourselves. to enjoy where the hard work has led us. to savor the balances we’ve struck between each other, our careers, our passions, and our family. from a place of gratefulness and contentedness i'll continue to strive toward being the best possible version of myself.

so cheers to a wonderful new year, and here's a look back at our favorites from 2017: