"Hello? Robyn? Hey, was it you I saw waving to me from a car on Moorhouse Ave today?"
I wasn't sure who it was, but since I haven't been near Moorhouse Ave in weeks, I denied having been the waver. At some point during this interchange I gathered it was Tom I was talking to. We established a theory of my having a double, whose dedicated doppelgangery extended to the point of acquiring a car that looks like mine, then Tom got around to mentioning the reason for his call: to invite me to a barbecue that evening, in celebration of Lauren's birthday.
Tom reckoned he didn't need me to bring anything, but as I ended the call, I walked past the birthday candles and immediately thought, "ooh, do I have time to make a cake?". It was 5.20pm and the barbecue was at 7.00 ... but I always enjoy a challenge. I grabbed some "happy birthday" candles and rushed back to my car. Having not been organised or inspired enough to purchase a birthday present, I detoured past a florist on my way home. Ok, flowers for Lauren; now, what kind of cake?
It was 5.45pm by the time I got home. The short timeframe eliminated any possibility of baking a cake, allowing it to cool and then icing it. Suddenly I had an inspiration: cupcakes! They're always popular, and only take a few minutes to cook. It's true I already made the plain cupcake recipe last week, and the cupcake recipes I haven't done required ingredients I didn't have. Well, I'd just have to use the same recipe again.
In about five minutes, I'd whipped up the cupcake batter, got them into the oven, and was changing out of my work clothes while they baked. Since they were quite small cupcakes, I had them out cooling on a rack only 10 minutes after putting them in the oven. While the cupcakes cooled, I whipped up the icing. I used butter icing again,making it purple this time. By the time the icing was ready, the cupcakes were almost cool.
Piping the icing on top of the cupcakes was the work of a few short minutes, then I arranged them on a plate, scattered over a few silver decorating balls, and stuck in the candles. They looked pretty good for half an hour's work! I must remember this one as a useful recipe for when you need something in a hurry.
The cupcakes were, once again, very popular. I'm told that at least one person thought I was passing off bought cupcakes as my own, which is not very complimentary to me, but it's quite a thumbs-up for the cupcakes! The others were quite amazed that I'd whipped them up in such a short timeframe, but I was actually far more proud that I'd managed to drive across town on Christchurch's bumpy roads without knocking over a single cupcake: now, that's an achievement.
A sure winner eh, looking good.c
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