So… I baked the red velvet cupcakes on two trays. The ones on the top tray rose beautifully, forming little domes. The ones on the lower trays are uneven with overhang — muffin tops. Obviously the heat in my oven is uneven, but how does the uneven heat relate to the shapes of the cakes?

Heather Poirier and I both decided to have a go at a Bûche de Noël this year. We tossed ideas and recipe links back and forth before I chickened out and went pretty faithfully with Johnny Iuzinni’s recipe on Martha Stewart’s site. (I think I only made three changes: 1) I swapped Frangelico for rum; 2) used “chestnut spread” instead of unsweetened chestnut paste because I couldn’t find the latter anywhere in town; and 3) I made the ganache in a double boiler instead of bringing the cream to a boil because… well, because that’s the way I’m used to doing it. I wonder if bringing the cream to a boil alters the flavor or makes it set up better…? Other than those three things, I followed the directions to the letter.)

Heather’s cake is super cute and she posts many details about its construction in the link above.

Mine is as pictured. I am INORDINATELY pleased with it. It was also crazy delicious. I see this becoming a DeFraction family tradition.

(Fraction added the godzilla figure, which was brilliant. Duh.)

Thanks, Heather! That was fun.

Pop has been moved to the stroke rehabilitation unit and Henry and I have returned home. We can’t thank you enough for your thoughts and prayers. Pop’s got a lot of hard work ahead of him and the family has been through quite an ordeal, but that man is tough and if anyone can fight his way back from this, he can. Especially with Vivian, mom and Aunt Polly there to help him.

I am hopelessly behind on… well… everything and am trying to keep my spirits up.

First priority has to be finishing up Volume 7 of SLAM DUNK, which, thank god, is a joy. (If I had to work on a book I didn’t love right now, I think I’d be hating life.)

After that… holiday cards, finishing the shopping, errands, household stuff and getting back to a project that Sam Humphries and I are collaborating on. I am so excited about it, I can’t adequately express my enthusiasm. It feels good. So… more on that when I can.

In the meantime, I’m fantasizing about making a Buche de Noel for Christmas this year. Heather Poirier and I have been tossing some ideas back and forth. Right now I think she’s leaning toward the Southern Living recipe as a starting place while I fancy the Johnny Iuzzini version at Martha Stewart.

Oh, and Fraction and I are going to make a timpano for date night this week. Too bad we don’t drink. It seems like the kind of thing that ought to be put together while sharing a bottle of chianti. Oh, well. Maybe we’ll get some pomegranate juice and pretend.

• If I hadn’t voted for myself (What? I totally voted for myself.) I would have voted for this cupcake. (I also think this one is hilarious.) You should still vote for me, however.
• Manolis put up a fan page for Fraction on Facebook.
• I think we’ve settled on golden vanilla cupcakes with raspberry buttercream frosting (from BAKING WITH AGAVE NECTAR) for HL’s birthday. Tick tock. Gotta get on that.
• If you’re a Sasa Lisi superfan, email me (my name on gmail) and put Sasa Lisi in the subject line. I have something cool for the first person to respond.

ICE:Chili – VOTING IS NOW OPEN!

Some of you have already noticed that the voting for IC:Earth_Chili Pepper is now open. All cupcakes, links and the ballot can be found at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER. Voting closes at 12 noon central on Sept. 4.

(Ahem. We humbly suggest you consider voting for GIRL FARTS (our entry blogged here), but we would never insist.)

Oy. I don’t expect I’ll participate in many of these, alas, as I just don’t have the time (and frankly, I’m still not entirely sure how it works), but this one was fun, so here we go –

The challenge ingredient was CHILI PEPPER. My first thought, of course, was a Mexican spicy chocolate but I was afraid everyone would go there, so I started trying to think of other options. I considered Chai and from there focused on cinnamon and ginger. I knew pretty early on I wanted to pair a cool icing with a spicy cake so I started thinking about cucumber, but ended up making my way to pears. Damn I love pears. That led me to thinking about pears and cinnamon candies and fresh ginger. I kept thinking about Atomic Fireballs and the hot Jolly Ranchers I loved so much when I was a kid. I dug up an old ginger cake recipe and used it as a starting place. What follows is where it ended up.

Next time I make this I may try subbing out agave nectar for the sugar, we’ll see.

Be warned: there is a bite at the end. It comes after you swallow and it’s just a little burn. I like it, but if that’s not your thing, well, these are not the cupcakes you’re looking for.

Cayenne Ginger Cupcakes
Serves 23

4 1/4 oz fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a microplaner
1 c molasses (I prefer full flavor)
1 c sugar
1 c peanut oil
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 to 3/4 tsp ground cayenne
1 cup water
2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, room temp.

I use 3 1/4 oz paper portion cups for my cupcakes (thanks as always, chockylit).

Preheat oven to 350F. Line up portion cups on a sturdy baking sheet.

Combine molasses, sugar and oil in a large bowl. In a food processor, sift together flour, cinnamon, cayenne and cloves.

Bring water to boil in a saucepan, then add baking soda. Mix the hot baking soda water into the molasses/sugar/oil syrup, then add the ginger. When those are well combined, start gradually whisking in the dry ingredients. Add the eggs and keep whisking.

Your finished batter will be disturbingly soupy. That’s okay. It’ll be fine.

Fill portion cups 3/4 full and bake in preheated oven for 22 minutes or until cakes pass the toothpick check. Let cakes cool while you prepare the icing.

Pear Nectar Cream Cheese Icing

1 stick unsalted butter
2 8 oz packages of Neufchâtel
1/4 c pear nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 c powdered sugar (approx), sifted

Cream butter in standing mixer for 1 minute, then add Neufchâtel and continue to beat until well-combined. Gradually add pear nectar and vanilla. Beat on high speed for about a minute, then start adding powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you achieve the desired consistency, should be about 4 cups.

Now, I did two different versions of these cupcakes — one garnished with an atomic fireball and served on a plate with their inspiration, the Red Hot. The other, more grown up version is garnished with candied ginger and star anise and served on a plate with cinnamon. I haven’t decided which to enter as of this post.

Fine Print:

FINAL POSTING DAY IS: FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 12 noon.
All times are CENTRAL time.

* Photograph your baking experience and then post about it on your blog.
* Posting your recipe on your blog is optional.
* In your post, please be sure mention that you are competing to win the
following prizes, be sure to include reference and a link to the ETSY artist
CAKESPY, as well as to
our corporate sponsors JESSIE STEELE APRONS;
CUPCAKE COURIER, HEAD CHEFS and TASTE OF HOME. Please verify that all links are active. If you so
choose, you may also include photos of the prizes which will be available at the
IronCupcake:Earth flickr group page.
* Post your favorite shot (two if you are showing a cross-section) of your
cupcake to the Iron Cupcake flickr group, along with a brief summary of your
post. No photos or summaries will be accepted via email.
* E-Mail your recipe, along with your first and last name and blog name to
IronCupcakeEarth@wi.rr.com . In your subject line, please include
IC:IngredientName. Your cupcake recipe must be emailed in order to be eligible
for voting and the prize.
* Voting will begin on Sunday, August 31st at 12 noon at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE
IN A CORNER and will be open through Thursday, September 4 at 12 noon. Send your readers to that address to vote.
* Winner will be posted the night of August 4th, before 11:59 p.m.
* The next ingredient will be posted on Friday, September 5th.
* Please refer your readers to the IronCupcake:Earth cuphub at
http://ironcupcake.blogspot.com to become a part of the excitement.

• I love this picture.  And speaking of the X-Men, thanks to Ian Brill for pointers to these two articles. 
• I somehow missed this Splash Page piece on Casanova when issue #14 first came out. 
• Tori Amos on The Comic Book Tattoo.  (Wherein I have two stories: one with Andy MacDonald and one with Laurenn McCubbin, whose blog is now fixed.)
• Seriously, can anyone hook me up with a fan scan of any of Toru Shinohara’s work…? 
• I almost did “horror anthologies” for my I [HEART] Comics piece, but I went a different direction at the last minute.  I’m left wondering, however, if my beloved HOUSE OF MYSTERY and HOUSE OF SECRETS books hold up.  Hm.  What about PLOP!, hm?
• I totally want to join the Iron Cupcake Challenge.  EDITED TO ADD: I totally did. 
• Women I left out of the “Women” section of the I [HEART] Comics piece because I was going on too long already: Natalia Knight/Nocturna and Vampirella.

Yeah, yeah, I’ll post my signing schedule for SDCC at some point soon, but first can I say how INCREDIBLY TICKLED I AM that my cupcakes made the Cupcakes Take the Cake blog??

Of course, now I’m all like, “Oh no! I should have take better pictures!” And written more about the cupcake I did manage to post.  Etc.  It’s like when someone comes over and you wish you’d known they were coming so you could’ve run the vacuum first.

• Holy crap, the dummies of Comic Book Tattoo (pictured above) are gorgeous, no? Rantz, you should be very proud. You have the patience of a saint, corralling eight gazillion creators the way you did, but it looks as though it’s going to pay off in spades. I’m certainly proud to be a part of it.
• Preview Kathryn Immonen’s Hellcat here. (Kathryn, on whom I have a truly embarrassing girl crush, was kind enough to let me read the pitch for this series and I assure you it’s a HOOT with a capital HOO.) I should also note that I will get to SEE the lovely lady live and in the flesh at Heroes Con next week. Here’s the kicker: if you come to Heroes Con YOU CAN SEE HER TOO. And me. And Fraction. And Stuart, even. And even more lovelies, all of whom are listed here.
• I’m working on the very last volume of Black Cat today. Sniff, sniff. I’ll miss you Train Heartnet. You’re a scamp.
• In domestic news, I made a batch of Green Tea cupcakes at 7am this morning and had walked the dogs 2.75 miles before 9. I like mornings. Go. Me.
• EDITED TO ADD: Kevin Mellon sent me a link to this girl’s awesome softies.  Thanks, Kevin.  Wow.  
• Okay… back to work.