I will confess I am one of "those people." The ones who still get excited about birthdays past age 7. And when I say excited, I don't just mean that I go out and buy myself a cake and some balloons. This is all-out celebration mode. From age 11 to 18 I still planned my own parties, complete with handmade invitations that I MAILED. At the risk of sounding a bit self-involved I would also like to point out that I do the same for my friends (Lesley from Parks and Rec is my hero).
This year I got off work which meant a full day of fun activities. Lunch and thrift shopping with my mom followed by and afternoon of lattes and magazines and concluding in a Blackhawks opening game dinner party.
Now for the recipe. Don't be fooled at first glance what look like ordinary funfetti cupcakes - there is nothing ordinary about these small cakes of deliciousness. Since it was my birthday, the dessert revolved around ice cream and in this case Oberweis Black Cherry (if you have never tried it - change that). The cake choice narrowed to what would go best with said ice cream, and after lots of contemplation I decided to go classic with yellow cake. Wanting something that everyone in my family could enjoy I found a recipe from a gluten-free cookbook and added rainbow sprinkles into the batter just like my childhood favorite.
What I really like about good g-free cake batters is how moist they are in comparison to many regular flour ones. If done right, they have a wonderfully heavy and flavorful texture without the "starchy" aftertaste of g-free flour or the bland dryness of cheap box mixes. The frosting is buttercream, because honestly there is nothing better than a thick buttercream frosting. They were a perfect birthday night treat (and breakfast the next morning).
Oh did I mention my dad surprised me with 10 bars of foreign chocolate? Pure joy.
