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I am finding that as I get older, I’m just not as thrilled at surprises and moments of crisis as I used to be. Somehow, a knock on the door or a ringing doorbell no longer yields the excitement of unexpected company or the anticipation of ♪♪ “thumthin’ for me” ♪♪ (as little Winthrop sings in The Music Man). No, my reaction these days is, “Oh crud!!! My hair isn’t combed and I don’t have on makeup” or “Is the bathroom clean?” or “I wonder if they’ll notice these are my pajamas?!” I always keep plenty of food in the house and so one would think that I would have something cooking at all times in anticipation of an extra mouth. Alas, because of the Hashimoto’s Disease, the doctor has put me on a diet and so food is for all of you out there in blog land and a distant, painful memory for me. Mr. Fix-It has stoically accepted the change and keeps a stash of Snickers Bars, somewhere, for his snack emergencies.


I’m thinkin’ I may take you through my new adventure in counting calories so that if you want to jump on board we can do it together, virtually…but that’s up to you all. Let me know if you are game for some menus. Until then, I still like cooking for everybody else and so I am still creating wild and crazy recipes that I can watch others consume, with my tongue hanging to the table and hands handcuffed to my sides. It is with that caveat that I present to you my most recent moment of culinary insanity forced by the phone call that Mr. Rock Star (#1 Son) was bringing his girlfriend to our house to meet us for the first time and would be there in a couple of hours. Mr. Fix-It’s birthday had been that week and they were also coming to eat birthday cake with him. However, I had not made a birthday cake since we were both getting over the flu and nobody in the free world had indicated any desire to be around us or to help him celebrate his birthday.


So, it was with consternation that I noted the time and assessed my limited choices for some kind of dessert that would qualify for a birthday cake. A fully decorated, large cake was out, in my book. No time and I did not want leftovers of anything that I had to chide, “Get thee behind me, Satan!” A blueberry cobbler just wasn’t birthday and I had this craving for something that was nagging in the back of my mind which I could not identify. As I stared at my pantry shelves, my eyes fell on a stack of white cake mixes left over from my daughter’s wedding cake. Her wedding was in 2008. That was only four and a half years ago. The cake mix might be ok. And if I really dressed it up, nobody would know the difference. And if I didn’t like Mr. Rock Star’s girlfriend we could just claim bad cake if she mysteriously disappeared. And I could do cupcakes with a quick butter/cream cheese icing which could be frozen for Mr. Fix-It’s sweet tooth and which could be handed out to the rest of the family at a later date. The pros of using a box of white cake mix from 2008 definitely outweighed the cons. I just had to decide what I could add to make unique, adult cupcakes.


Now, I know that one is NEVER supposed to try a new recipe on a first-time guest, much less a recipe that has no recipe. But I was desperate and getting more so with the passing of minutes. I had to quickly come up with an idea and all of a sudden, that nagging craving in my brain had a name….Jam Cake!! I hadn’t had a Jam Cake in years and just the thought of that moist, luscious and nutty cake with butter cream cheese icing made me lick my chops. Somehow, I was going to create Jam Cake cupcakes using the white cake mix. The mix called for 2 tbsp. of oil, 1 1/3 cup of water and three egg whites. I tossed the directions and here is what I did:

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
3 large eggs
1 cup live culture yogurt
1 tsp soda
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup of your favorite berry jam (I used strawberry)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe white cake mix
Lemon Curd from Recipe (Best if made ahead of time and chilled)
Icing:
1-8oz pkg cream cheese
1 stick of butter
(cream together)
Beat in 1 lb box of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla


Printable Recipe





Cream the butter with a mixer and add eggs. Beat until smooth.





Add spices and blend well





Add jam and continue to beat





Add yogurt. Cream together with other ingredients





Add box of cake mix and beat well until smooth. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into cupcake papers that are supported in muffin tins or pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13 sheet cake pan. Bake at 350º for 20 – 25 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.





While the cupcakes are warm, using a scoop or apple corer, core out a hole in the middle of each cupcake





Fill each hole with lemon curd that has been made from the linked recipe. Place in the refrigerator or a cool, dry place. Make Butter Cream Cheese Icing

Pipe icing onto cooled cupcakes and serve.


Mr. Rock Star absolutely loved the cupcakes and was licking the paper as he hinted that he would highly consider taking some home with him. Mr. Fix-It was happy that cupcakes were going into the freezer for his later enjoyment and we both liked Mr. Rock Star’s girlfriend. And nobody died! Your cake mixes don’t have to be 4 1/2 years old if you would like to try this recipe. And if you don’t have a cake mix, substitute 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp vanilla.

Happy Experimenting!



MB