Saturday, November 7, 2009

Mint Julep Cupcakes, or What Season Are We Having?


Boys and Girls, I have news. It's November. (That's not the news bit.) And Smalltown, Georgia is still enjoying temperatures in the 70s.

I don't get it. I keep getting up in the morning and making tough decisions about which ridiculously patterned sweater to add to my already patterned (sometimes twice) teacher outfit, only to walk out the door and realize I don't need it. A few days I've been glad to have it but then shrugged it off by afternoon again.

So today I asked my chatty 9am class what I should expect. It went something like this...

Student A: "I'm freezing!"
Me: "Really? Tell me, how cold will it get in Georgia?"
Student B: "Oh, it gets pretty cold."
Me: "Now, what do you mean by 'pretty cold'? Because I've been living in Maine for the last two years..."
Student B: "Okay, no, it doesn't get cold. This is about as cold as it will get."
Student A: "No way, it will get a lot cooler! Like in the 40s, probably."

(-_-)

Friends, I can do 40s.

So when I ask what season we are having, I really am asking. Apparently this is fall, but it feels like winter to my students. To a Mainer, this feels pretty dern close to an endless summer.

Since I don't know what season it is and since my Australian friends are having a different season entirely and who knows... they might be confused too... I don't think any of you can sass me for making a seasonally inappropriate cupcake.


Like many before it, this cupcake came to me in a dream. I woke up from an afternoon nap with the startling knowledge that I had all the ingredients to make a bangin' Mint Julep cupcake.

The cake is vanilla mint bourbon with a white chocolate bourbon ganache filling and topped with a mint bourbon marshmallow buttercream.

Overall, the flavor was... bizarre. The cupcake tasted a lot like the drink. Some tasters enjoyed this (one said, "What is this filling? More of that!"), others did not.

I wasn't sold in either direction.

I dropped one off in a colleague's office in the morning and came back from class later to find the following message on my dry erase board:

"How can you stand that much speermint?! It's like eating gum or toothpaste! But I still love you."

Hilarious. There is nothing I love more than an honest review. None of that smile and nod business for me!

As it turns out, the verdict is out on both the season and this Mint Julep Cupcake. To both this cupcake and the season, I say a big "Why you always gotta label things?!"

6 comments:

Kate said...

I like the straw. So clever. AND mint is a winter flavor just as much as it is a summer one - peppermint mocha anyone?

Evan said...

Not having tasted these, I am still with the toothpaste person; spearmint in most foods is not good. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I only like mint with chocolate (hot cocoa, ice cream, etc.). Love bourbon, but can't stand juleps. Tolerate rum, but can't stand mojito.

Ash said...

I believe you are in an endless summer... that is not cold -this is coming from a Canadian.

not really a spearmint fan... like the peppermint, but depends on what it's in. For one thing... mint and meat does not work for me.

Great idea for the cupcakes though!

Anonymous said...

Looks perfect for an Aussie spring day - although it is hot as all hell here and more like summer (99F or 37C)

HOT!

Eva said...

I'm a bit north of you but we got some frost one morning and everyone had big heavy winter jackets on. that amuses me. although i am quite glad not to have to spend 2 hours trying to dig my car out in the morning to get to work.

Amanda said...

Yeah... So... what I'm hearing that global warming is after us. And we should all start stock piling giant cans of vegetables. I'm on it.

Me!: Are you only slightly North of me, or does "a bit" mean more like... really ridiculously North of me? One of my students came to class in a snowboarding jacket that one frosty day. His classmates rightfully made fun of him.