Why am I Blogging?? And Sea Salt Caramel Coffee Cupcakes

You are probably wondering why anyone would choose to write his or her first blog just over a month into law school.  Everyone has heard the rumors: "1L year is hell."  "Law students have no free time."  "Law students become zombies within a matter of days."  I'm not going to try and disprove the veracity of these statements, but instead explain my motivation in blogging, since there is indeed a method to my madness.  Then I'll talk about Sea-Salt Caramel Coffee Cupcakes, my first concoction of the semester.


I'm not one of those students who can work non-stop through the day.  After sitting in a freezing cold classroom all day, the first two things I want to do are 1) run and 2) eat (sometimes in the opposite order.)  There is thus a certain practicality in baking, but for me it is a creative outlet as well.  It all began in December of 2007, when I started working at Pizza Palace back home in Jacksonville.  Ironically, I hated pizza at the time.  It didn't take long, though, before I realized that pizza has incredible potential beyond the prosaic pepperoni.  On slow nights I would watch how the pizza cooks worked with the dough, and on Sunday morning, when the managers were off, the cooks would let us create our own slices.  My personal favorite was spinach and feta, closely followed by eggplant and basil.  It wasn't long before I was buying fresh dough at Publix and baking my own pies at home, imitating Pizza Palace or Mellow Mushroom combinations or creating my own unique...okay, sometimes bizarre, zas.


Fast forward a a year and I was a transfer sophomore at The College of William and Mary, without a doubt undoubtedly the most wonderful three years of my life thus far.  Everything about this school was perfect...except the meal plan.  After my requisite first year on meal plan I started cooking for myself.  My second year at William and Mary was also my first year as a resident assistant; I got lucky enough to be assigned to the newest dorm on campus, Jamestown, which had fully-equipped kitchens on every floor.  Baking pizza was a cheaper alternative than going out, as well as being a fun and stress-relieving social activity.


Being a resident assistant provided me not only with free housing and access to an oven but also provided an outlet for my creative energies.  I got to create bulletin boards for my floor and bake for my residents at least once a month.  Cupcakes were my baked good of choice, because they were inexpensive, quick, and positively adorable.  Oftentimes I would use a box mix (aka funfetti) and make some seasonal frosting flavor from scratch, such as key lime or coconut.  As the money for such programming came from Residence Life funds, this was a win-win situation for me!


So far UF Law is better than I expected.  I'm not really feeling academically overwhelmed (yet!)  But I cannot deny the fact that I am missing the people and experiences of William and Mary like crazy.  I've realized some things will never be the same, but there are other things that don't have to change.  I can bake as much as my budget allows (I have my own kitchen for the first time in my life!)  And surely my friends here enjoy baking as much if not more than my residents did (Studies show sleep deprivation leads to sugar cravings:) So here's to baking my 1L year...after all, stressed spelled backwards is desserts<(^^,)>




My first concoction of the semester is Sea Salt Caramel Coffee Cupcakes.  I discovered the harmony of sea salt and caramel at Wythe's of Williamsburg, whose Sea Salt Caramel Truffles are, simply put, heavenly.  The coffee seems a justified addition these days...in fact today is National Coffee Day!  (This would have necessitated a bulletin board a year ago;)
I hope you like the flavor pairing as much as I do, and let me know your thoughts and suggestions!


SEA-SALT CARAMEL COFFEE CUPCAKES (adopted from Cosmo's "Booze-Infused Cupcakes")
Ingredients
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp sea salt
-12 tbsp (1 1/2) sticks butter, softened**
-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar*
-2 large eggs
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 tsp Kahlua
-1 1/4 cups milk**
-2 cups caramels
Preparation
-Preheat the oven to 375°. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
-In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract and Kahlua.
-Add one-third of the flour mixture and beat to combine. Add half of the milk and beat to combine. Add another third of the flour, then the remaining milk, then the rest of the flour, beating to combine after each addition.
-In microwave-safe bowl, melt caramels for 30 seconds.  Take out, stir with spatula, then microwave 30 seconds longer on half the original power setting.  Stir then add to batter.
-Divide the batter between the liners, filling each about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are golden-brown and spring back when pressed lightly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then frost with Kahlua frosting.
Kahlua Frosting
-1 3/4 sticks unalted butter, softened**
-6 cups confectioner's sugar*
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 cup milk**
-1/4 cup Kahlua
Preparation
-In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add 6 cups of confectioners’ sugar, the vanilla, the milk, and the Kahlua. Beat on low speed until creamy.
-Top cupcakes with frosting, and sprinkle with sea-salt.  (I used pink Himalayan sea salt for visual appeal:)
*Granulated sugar can be replaced with splenda; however, splenda can not replace confectioner's sugar or frosting will not attain desired consistency.
**On the other hand, skim milk can replace whole milk, and margarine can be used to replace butter.  I would caution against the use of soy milk, however, since it leads to clumpy batter! 

Salaam,

~E