vanilla caviar dancing brouhaha shebangdiddle

I took my clown out for a walk for the first time ever and I've been thinking about the qualities that my adventure made apparent to me. Qualities I often follow impulses towards - seeking out from outside sources. One of those is sweetness and my clown is steeped in it. Overflowing with it even. And so I would like to introduce to all of you - another iteration of all that is me - Mister E.

I'm on the left with pink feather eyelashes, and this is my dear friend Squirrely - whose going away party prompted the following cupcake effort and the "recipe" for the frosting you'll see below. This is my first combination of clowning and cooking, and it feels superbly silly. I like this! This frosting recipe was unwittingly named by my amazing cousin... (Thanks for being willing to clown with words long distance - I love you so big for that, Sarah.) I hope you will enjoy it.

mister e's (not-too-sweet vanillacaviardancingbrouhahashebangdiddle) cream cheese frosting

ingredients

5 Tbsp butter, melted

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened, then cut pats into the mixing bowl

6 oz neufschatel or regular cream cheese, softened

1 scant cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract + 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (this is delish)

method

1. put butter, cream cheese and extract in bowl, and beat till smooth with hand mixer on high - approx 3 minutes. 

2. sing while you cook. make it a silly song about loving something about yourself.

3. add sugar slowly until fully incorporated and super smooth - another 3 minutes? who's counting?

4. add vanilla paste and mix another 30sec - 1minute.

madness - makes enough to frost 22 mini cupcakes plus crack out on eating the remaining 1/4 cup however you see fit. use on cupcakes, berries, graham crackers, fingers etc. you can thin it with milk if you want to use as berry dip, or add more sugar if you want stiffer frosting. refrigerate any unused portion. keeps for 2-3 days (HA! like it will last that long)

tiny wacky cupcakes (in case you need somewhere to stick your brouhaha)

ingredients

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cider vinegar

1 cup cold water

1 1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp cocoa powder (I mix up hershey's or dutch process cocoa with black cocoa)

method
1. preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. grease mini muffin tins or line with cupcake papers
3. in mixing bowl sift together dry ingredients
4. make three wells in dry ingredients and add butter, vanilla & vinegar
5. pour water over all and mix until incorporated (not too much though!)
6. bake for 10-12 minutes, or until top springs back/ skewer inserted comes out clean

madness  - recipe makes 24 mini cupcakes, or less if you eat batter like I do 
let cool briefly in tins, or - if using papers - remove immediately to cool on baking rack. eat any that break or fall on the floor during removal. allow remaining little treats to cool completely before icing. using a little silicone or offset spatula pick up a glob of goodness and swirl gently onto the top of each cakelet. store cupcakes in sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days. again, very funny if you think you and your gaggle of friends won't scarf them up whilst making happy sounds of contentment and pleasure.