Biology and Baking: One Day More

The background music of the week has been "Les Miserables."
We watched it on Tuesday. I laughed, I cried, it moved me, readers.
Every time.
If you get a chance to watch the 25th anniversary concert, do it.
Nick Jonas will surprise you.
Lea Salonga will absolutely wow you.
And Alfie Boe will just plain rock your world.

But that is not the point of this post.

At 8:00 tomorrow morning I will take my last Human Biology exam.
I still have two assignments to finish and a bunch of studying to do, but I think I'll do pretty well.

At 3:30 I will sit down for my first real job interview.
Chipotle. I'm a little bit terrified.

What am I not terrified about? Baking 300 cupcakes.
You better believe it.

I made the mocha cupcakes last night, and the espresso buttercream this afternoon.
Best yet.
I used salted butter in the frosting, because that's all I had. The flavor combination is interesting, reminiscent of salted caramel. I like it a lot. I'll try it with unsalted, but I might go with it this way.

I need more taste testers.
hint hint.

I also need to go to the beach. I just need to sit and stare at Lake Michigan.
Or I need another long drive.
It's that kind of night.
I should not have watched "The Proposal."

Okay, on to studying.

Biology and Baking (Week One Recap)

So, it's Friday night.
Technically, it's Saturday morning.
I'm sitting in my living room with Amber, watching "Notting Hill."
A year ago I was in Oxford, struggling to sleep because I was adjusting to a new time zone, new bed, new everything.
I want very little more than to be back there right now.

Living in this apartment is wonderful.
The others living here are fantastic, I can walk to campus (because my bike is driving my crazy), and I have no cat allergy issues unless I spend too much time on the couches.
It's just great.

We had our first test of three today.
I'm pretty sure I got a B.
And then we watched "Brave New World."
As a lover of the book, I was not a fan of the movie.
Just some weird interpretations of characters and relationships.

12 hours ago, I made the chai latte cupcakes.
The non-vegan version.
They taste fine, but a little dense.
And I failed miserably on the frosting.
But that can be easily remedied.

Two more weeks of class.
One more week until I get a car (and see my brother and sister-in-law!).
Four weeks until a day of freaking out about how people will like the cupcakes.

That's pretty much the update here.
Now I really need to go to bed.

Biology and Baking (A Series for May) Preview

On May 7, I embark on a three week journey through Human Biology.
No one could accuse me of loving studying science, so I figured the best way to take care of my science requirement was to take a May Term class. Human Bio wasn't my first choice, but Physical World was full when I registered for classes.
And as I look at my syllabus I'm discovering that I'm okay with that.

I am currently sitting at my second favorite Starbucks (my favorite is in Oxford, which isn't really practical).
I have been here since around 9:30 studying vocab, reading, and drinking a latte.
If the entire three weeks are like this, I will be just fine.

On June 9, I embark on a different kind of journey.
That is the date of the wedding I am making cupcakes for.
Two hundred and fifty cupcakes, five recipes, just over a month.
I am thrilled/honored/terrified.

So, the next month will be spent almost exclusively focusing on Biology and Baking.
And I'm going to blog about it.

On Thursday, my friend Katie came over and we tried making these hi-hat cupcakes.
They are delicious, to be sure, but there's room for improvement in technique.
We used chocolate candy coating for dipping, which was too thick and solid.
It made them difficult and messy to eat. The messiness won't be easy to fix, because of the amount of Italian meringue on top.
The meringue came out just about perfect. I don't think I let the syrup get quite hot enough before adding it to the egg whites, and I might have whipped the mixture for a few seconds too long.
But the overall result was pretty satisfying. I'm excited to try again.

The next step in this process is testing the chai latte cupcakes, and attending the first day of class.
I haven't taken a real May Term class (England was technically May Term, but I don't count it because was pretty unconventional. We just did all of the homework when we got back.).

I move in to the summer apartment for real tomorrow afternoon. My roommates have been there all week, and I'm excited to join them.

I hope you join me on my adventures this month. It's going to be interesting.