~ Almond Cupcakes ~

Ok, Ok, folks I broke down! And started a blog. But its a good thing, I hope. Subject material: cupcakes. Why is this important to write about? Well I will tell you!


This year I turned a quarter of a century and I'm a mommy to little boy Oliver James. For women this is a big deal, making me cling to every blessing I have! As a birthday present my best friend gave me a recipe book about cupcakes (ref. pic)! Its positively delightful! She also made me a beautiful apron. All this to say it inspired me to go on a journey through experiencing food + faith. Yes, I am a Christian as well. No regrets, no passivity! I love God!

This week I have been dwelling on the scripture :


Psalm 34:8
O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

What does this mean? Why would we want to taste? Trying something new is not always easy! (like sushi).We have taste buds for a reason, bitter flavors like vinegar or spoiled milk are usually not well liked. But taste something sweet like honey, or sweet fruit? You never forget the taste. You crave it, you catch on that this is a good thing. You see its a good thing. There is a vast difference between the bitterness of a life without God and a life filled with the sweetness and fullness of Christ. Take it from me, I know first-hand! But thats for another time :)

On to cupcakes!

The cupcake of the week is Almond! Its the first recipe in the book, and I was so excited to dive in! 

The ingredients from the book include:

1 3/4 cup sour cream

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1/2 cup walnut oil or vegetable oil

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda 

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar

2/3 cups ground and toasted almonds

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. almond extract

Now I can't leave well enough alone so I changed it a bit, I subbed applesauce for the oil, equal parts. And I did 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar. 

Directions: Cream together 1 cup sour cream, butter, and applesauce. In another bowl combine dry ingredients. Then slowly mix together the two combinations. Next in another bowl mix together the rest of the sour cream, eggs and extracts. Then combine this to the batter slowly. Bake in oven @ 350 for 25 minutes.

For the icing I chose an Almond icing which was simply 3 cups powdered sugar and 3 tbsp. hot water with 1 tsp. almond extract. I decided to garnish the cakes with sliced almonds and a little ground almond left over from the batter.

As I served the cakes my husband replied "I don't even like cupcakes but these are delicious"

I would say thats a win :) All in all, I give this recipe an A+

The last note: 

I am a musician and lover of good music so  I will be including a 'tube' song reference at the end of each blog. This week I am referencing a song by Misty Edwards called "taste and see"

http://youtu.be/C2MLQeZfVpE

Thanks for viewing! Comments are welcome and I pray that you are blessed!