Hey! Look at this – I have a blog! I am so low tech, but a very kind friend led me to this. I’m also super boring, but I make yummy baked goods. I hope someone finds this relatively useful or at least somewhat entertaining as I share baking and life stories. Here we go!

So. Many years ago, Houston finally jumped on the cupcake craze of America. One of the first places was Crave in Uptown Plaza. The first time we went, we got there a few minutes after closing. My kids (who were still little and cute at the time) pressed their sad little faces against the window, and someone came out with 5 leftover cupcakes and gave them to us for free. Pure joy, both from the deliciousness of the cake and the blissfulness of getting them for free, was the obvious result.

Within the next few weeks, I proceeded to drive an hour in traffic to pay $3.50 for a single cupcake. After about 4 trips, the cheap Asian lady in me realized how much money I was wasting on this tiny pastry and gas. I decided to begin my baking journey.

The first batch I ever made was chocolate with a mint ganache glaze. I googled a Martha Stewart chocolate cupcake recipe. There was no frosting, no piping, nada. But my mind was blown that I had just made 18 cupcakes for around $5.

Ahri soon got me the Martha Stewart Cupcake book with a bookmark strategically placed. Back then we had 5 collective children, no extracurricular activities, and not a care or concern about their sleeping schedules. So one night when we had gathered to play hours of Settlers of Catan, I decided to sit out a game and make the bookmarked recipe.

I wish I had a photo, but within an hour and a half, I had made chocolate cupcakes, salted caramel filling, and chocolate buttercream (sprinkled with sea salt). We each ate, like, 3. I don’t know where our kids were. Maybe they fell asleep or maybe they were watching TV or something. As long as they didn’t interrupt our game, we were OK with whatever.

And because I had 3 children under the age of 5 and so much extra time and sanity, I decided to start making ridiculous cupcakes for birthday parties. I started experimenting with fondant and decorations. I decided to make fondant characters of the birthday kid in whatever their party theme was.

My favorite cupcake topper I did was this one. Leila made such ridiculous requests, and I loved it. This year it was the pokemon Gible, who apparently bites, eating her head while Ditto sat next to her. Topper perched atop a Leila Chang Special – chocolate cupcake with mint buttercream and sprinkles.

Guys. I pulled multiple all-nighters to make the cupcakes of your child’s dreams. But I did it for my own kids, too.

I even entered a contest for Yo Gabba Gabba cupcakes. Mikey used to be obsessed, and I’d already made these for his 3rd birthday party.

I really enjoyed making these and the craftiness and creativity they required. But after several years of this hobby, I decided getting actual sleep was more important than making ridiculous cupcakes. My kids were getting older and no longer appreciated them anyway. Thank goodness.

Also, I don’t even like cupcakes. After making thousands of them, I’m totally over them. But cookies are my favorite food, and the Great British Bake Off is my favorite show, and I still continue to make cupcakes (for other people). People often ask me for tips or recipes, so I will use this forum to share my hacks and tricks I’ve discovered over the years.

Thanks for sharing in my journey. I am incredibly indecisive, so I am always looking for requests. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to learn about!