Well… I suppose it was high time for me to make another batch of cupcakes.  Even though I just haven’t been my cupcakey self this entire pregnancy! Bleh!  But when a birthday rolls around, you just have to put the queasiness behind you and bake!   Here are some black forest cupcakes I made for my father-in-law’s birthday.  Yum yum.  Chocolate cake, cherry filling, whipped topping, chocolate drizzle and a cherry on top!  How divine!  I don’t have time to post the recipe today – but I will say that I used the Chocolate Cupcake Recipe from the book 500 Cupcakes.

Something I have been working on as Program Coordinator has been a 40 Developmental Assets workshop for parents and community members here in my neck of the woods.  Truthfully, when I began this position, planning for this event was a big thorn in my side.  However, now that it is the day after the event and after if was a huge success, I have changed my mind about it being a thorn.

The assets are designed to create a better environment for young people in communities everywhere – and research has shown that youth who maintain their assets do better in every aspect of their lives.  Research has also shown that youth everywhere are scraping by with a minimal amount of assets to build their lives on!  This isn’t just a shame – it’s our responsibility to change our piece of society and build a better future for our children.

I won’t elaborate too much on this non-cupcake related topic – but I will say that if you have kids, know kids or are around kids at any point – then you can be an asset builder – head over the the Cornerstone Site and leave a comment!!

These didn’t quite turn out as perfect as I had hoped.  I knew when I started that I wouldn’t need to bake them in wrappers… but I did out of habit and it made the sides of the “bun” look a little crumby.   They were quite fun to make – the “patty” is a chocolate cookie, “condiments” made out of icing.