Those Cupcakes.

My daughter celebrated her second birthday on Sunday, and as a treat she and I took Monday off of work/daycare and stayed home to play with her many wonderful new toys.  We also, in a fit of ambition, baked cupcakes to take to her daycare for a little mini-party with her other "Big Tods" friends.

While Nora took a nap, I lovingly piped batter into teeny-tiny muffin cups.  I worked while she slept, the aroma of mini chocolate cupcakes wafting in the air.  When she woke up, I frosted the cupcakes, placed them carefully into baking pans, and let her sprinkle her little heart out with different colored sugars.  They were adorable!  We placed covers onto the pans, picked out some fun birthday napkins, and let the cupcakes sit on the counter until it was their time to shine.

This morning, I stacked the baking pans on top of each other and slid them into a grocery bag.  We loaded Nora into the car and put the cupcakes in the back on the floor.  We talked the whole way into work/daycare about the fun party to come this afternoon.  Hooray for cupcakes!

Mike parked the car in front of daycare and I started unsnapping, unbuckling, and unharnessing Nora from her uber-complicated car seat.  I looked out the back of the car and saw him holding the cupcake bag.  By its handles.  A high-pitched scream "WHATAREYOUDOINGTHOSEARETHECUPCAKES!" and heads everywhere turned.  Nora chanted, "What are you doing?  What are you doing?  What are you doing?" from the back seat. 

The 40 mini cupcakes smooshed together, tumbled one upon the other, at the end of each pan.  Argh.  Thank goodness two-year-olds don't care what cupcakes look like, right?

Well, having just come from the daycare party, I can state unequivocally that they still tasted delish.  And while I'm not a big Semi-Homemade Sandra Lee kind of person, I admit that this recipe tickled my fancy.  They were boxed cupcakes but gussied up just enough so that you felt like you made an effort.

Perfect Cake Mix CupcakesAdapted from Hello, Cupcake!

1 box (18.25 oz) cake mix (vanilla, devil?s food, or yellow)
1 cup buttermilk (in place of water called for on the box)
Vegetable oil (the amount on the box)
4 eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin cups with paper liners.

Follow the box instructions, putting all the ingredients in a large bowl and using the buttermilk in place of the water specified on the box, using the amount of vegetable oil that is called for, and adding the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer.  Spoon 1/2 of the batter into a gallon Ziploc bag and cut 1/4 inch off of one corner.  Pipe batter into paper liners two-thirds full.  Repeat with the remaining batter.

Bake 12 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  Remove cupcakes from pan and place onto a cooling rack; frost when completely cool.