End of Summer: Lemon Blossoms

A few weeks back some friends and I went to Lake Cumberland for a weekend to squeeze the last out of the summer we could. It is maybe a 4-5 hour drive from Columbus so I made some goodies for the trip. One thing I made were these lemon blossoms. I saw the episode where Paula Deen made them a long time ago and finally got a chance to make them. I enjoyed them and popped more than my share of them in my mouth when nobody was looking :) These were really easy to make. The only thing was the recipe mentions pouring the batter and this batter is definitely not pourable, it's way too thick. No worries though, I changed the recipe accordingly! Oh yeah, and while I'm not a fan of using boxed cake mixes (those of you who feel the same way, look away now!) but it made these a lot easier and quicker which I needed because I made another yummy dessert with them (post coming soon!)

Lemon Blossoms
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

Cake:
18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Glaze:
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Spoon a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.

With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

**On Another note, Saturday (October 9) was my birthday. I turned 23 (yipee...slight sarcasm here). I actually had a good birthday weekend. Friday, me and some of my best girlfriends went to the mall so I could spoil myself a little bit then caught up over dinner where I taught them some fun sign language signs. Saturday I had to work but I walked into the bakery and there was a big cupcake balloon at the cash register for me. We had maybe 4 or 5 weddings and made over 700 cupcakes. It was fun though, good thing I love what I do, even if it isn't always done well (:/) After that I went on a quick run to burn off some of my huge breakfast. My boss brought in pumpkin bagels with pumpkin cream cheese. It was delish! She kind of rocks I know.

 Saturday evening my mom and her boyfriend came up and took me out to dinner in at Easystreet Cafe in German Village with my aunt and uncle. I had the best gyro I have ever had in my life and tried baklava for the first time. I was also fortunate enough to enjoy a chocolate martini (yummmmm). Speaking of German Village eats, I plan to do a post dedicated to all the great spots, I've been to 3 so far and they are all fabulous. Saturday night I went out to the bar in a cute little dress with close friends and enjoyed drinks and dancing.

Sunday, I was in bad half the day nursing my hangover but Shawn was sweet enough to wait it out because I really really wanted to go to a pumpkin patch and get some pumpkins to carve. I was in heaven, being there reminded me of being a kid again.

After that we went out to Thurmans in German Village known for their long waits and gourmet burgers. It was featured on Man vs. Food so you know it's good. I think me and Shawn are going to go there all the time and become big fatties. I don't care, it's so worth it. The wait didn't bother us because we just took Kirby on a walk around Shiller Park which is so beautiful in the fall. Kirby made some new friends. After dinner we headed over to Easystreet to get pumpkin cheesecake to go.

For my birthday Shawn showed me he actually does listen to me! Who would have thought?! I was telling him how I saw the cutest Ohio State hoodie for dogs and how I wanted it for Kirby so bad. I was also bumming about losing one of my pearl earrings and have mentioned more than once how I need a trip to Victorias Secret. He covered all those and even spent the whole day yesterday with me taking me to the pumpkin patch and taking Kirby on a walk with me. I'm a lucky girl, don't I know it :)

THE BUCKEYES BECAME THE #1 TEAM ON MY BIRTHDAY! GO BUCKS!