My gym style. Someone teach me how to match green, purple, and blue with pink shoes please?
If you could kindly divert your attention from my horrendous gym style, I went to the gym today and ran for 25 mins!
I know, I know, twenty five mins isn’t a lot, but I’m telling ya, it sure felt like it. This was the most exercise I’ve done in over a month.
10 minutes into it I was already wheezing like a smoker. I don’t smoke btw, just to clarify. I am a bit sick though so I guess the stuffy nose and flemmy throat doesn’t really help when you’re running!
I gotta say, it’s amazing how much your running skills deteriorate after a year of inactivity. But now I know where my running level is at and I know where to go from here! I’m thinking of hitting the gym at least once a week now to get in a good run. The sun run is coming up soon and I wanna beat my old time!
I’m not the most hardcore runner, so don’t laugh at my the time I got last year. The sun run is an annual marathon (I guess you can’t really call it a marathon) in Vancouver and it happens every April. It’s 10km long only (thank goodness). My time last year was…. don’t laugh pleasee… was 53 minutes and 10 secs.
I want to be a hardcore runner but it’s just so hard with all the demands from school. Especially with the next three weeks coming up. I wouldn’t be surprised if I become bald in a month from pulling out all of it from frustration. If you start seeing bald photos here, this blog didn’t get hijacked, it’s me. Now you have a heads up 🙂
Even though I turned blotchy red like a tomato and I was wheezing was an old set of bagpipes after my run I felt goooood. I didn’t realize how much I missed running. Oh and when I got to the desk to pay for drop-in, my ex P.E teacher from high school was working there and let me in for free! How awesome is that? Best part is probably going there with my friends though 🙂 I’m usually a loner cuz I like it that way, but today I wanted some company. Good choice I’d say. Thanks Jody and Willma for joining me !
Now, onto some even better stuff. Cupcakes. Who doesn’t love cupcakes?
Well if you actually know someone who doesn’t, make some of these for them and I’m sure they’ll turn pro-cupcake!
The cupcakes themselves were made from simple ingredients but packed with chocolatey flavour. The caramel was just sweet enough to not break your teeth and the whipped chocolate ganache on top was just what I would call the perfect topping. I’m NEVER making buttercream again.
These look like your average chocolate cupcakes on the outside but they hold a mystery inside. Serve these and everyone will be asking with their mouth full of cupcake, “OMG what’s in these cupcakes?”
Chocolate Caramel Surprise Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Ganache
source: random sheet of paper on my microwave, Annie’s Eats and Alton Brown
yield: I halved everything except the caramel and got about 18 normal sized cupcakes.
For the cake:
1 1/4 c brewed coffee
3/4 c cocoa
2 1/4 c sugar
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt (I just used regular)
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1 1/4 c + 1 tbsp buttermilk
1 c + 2 tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 c + 2tbsp flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Put coffee and cocoa into a bowl and bring mixture to a boil. Whisk slightly then remove from heat and let cool to room temp.
In another bowl, mix sugar, salt, baking soda, eggs, and egg yolk on low for 1 min. Then add oil, milk and vanilla, mix on low for another minute.
Add flour, mix on medium for 2 mins. Add in coffee and cocoa mixture to everything else and mix on medium for 3 mins. Bake for approx 20 mins.
For the caramel, I used this recipe and for the whipped chocolate ganache I used this recipe. Whip the ganache for a lot longer than 2-3 mins.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
1. Cut out holes. I used my 1M icing tip.
2. Fill em with caramel
4. Pipe your whipped ganache on top.
5. Hide all evidence of cupcaking and stash your stash under your bed.