Because cupcakes are always in season

I've been quite delinquent with my market-going these past few weeks. Whether it's been Sunday morning twelve-mile hikes or just plain sleeping in, I've been occupied on weekend mornings. So while this post is't exactly about anything seasonal, does it matter? We're talking about cupcakes here, people. Cupcakes are always in season. This is a ginger cupcake with crystallized ginger topping and cream cheese/orange frosting. Mmm....

This recipe is from the January/February issue of Vegetarian Times, tweaked minimally. Because I can't reprint it, I thought I'd answer some questions about baking. Some people think of baking as an exact science - the flour has to be perfectly leveled in the measuring cup, not a quarter teaspoon more. I don't have the patience for exact science, so I don't bake that way, and everything usually works out for the best. But there are some seemingly weird things recipes will require that a lazy cook (like me, at times) might be tempted to skip. There are also quite a few substitutions you can make to work around what you've got in your kitchen.

For example, I used brown sugar instead of white, like I usually do. Brown sugar tends to make baked goods more dense and moist, which I generally prefer. If you want your baked goods to be lighter/crisper, use white.  Also, I came back from the store and realized I'd neglected to pick up buttermilk. What do you do if you don't feel like turning around, but still want that slight tang in your batter? Plain yogurt. I used the same amount of Greek yogurt as buttermilk (1/2 cup) and it worked out great. The other thing yogurt is great for is egg substitution. Eggs are a binding agent, but if you want to make vegan cupcakes without using that weird processed egg powder, get yourself some plain soy yogurt.

A couple things this recipe called for that you might be tempted to skip because you're rushed/you'd rather be watching Project Runway/etc.: Chopping butter into small pieces. Why bother, if it's all going to wind up blended together? Distributing the fat in the butter that way helps fluff the pastry while cooking. Nothing terrible will happen if you don't do it, but cutting your butter helps create a more even, aerated texture.

The recipe also called for melting butter with molasses and sugar, then cooling it for 15 minutes before mixing it with flour, egg, and spices. Wait, 15 minutes? But I have to be somewhere in, like, 20! Don't skip the cooling step. If you pour a hot substance into a mixture with egg, guess what? You'll cook the egg! Unless it's egg drop soup you're after, don't.