Betty Crocker Baking School Reject

Ok, so I did NOT go to any sort of baking school, but if I had I am sure I would have failed out. I used to be terrible at cooking...whatever it was, I could mess up. I have gotten better, though, and WEG has taught me a lot, along with things my mother has taught me. However, I still completely suck at baking. Nobody will ever be able to call me Betty Crocker, that's for sure.
Last night is the perfect example. I have been craving red velvet cupcakes for a while now, thanks in part to so many of your pictures of them. So, seeing as how I know I couldn't pull off making them from scratch, I went and bought the boxed ones and cream cheese icing. Well, I baked them, just as the box said....careful to make sure that the toothpick was clean when I inserted in the middle of a cupcake.

First try, the toothpick came out gooey. So, I left the cupcakes in for 2 more minutes. Seriously, only two more minutes. Well, nothing appeared to be wrong with them when I took them out, so I cooled them, iced them, and gave one to WEG to eat when he begged for one. He ate it, but I wasn't in the room to see his reaction, clearly, because when I asked how they were he said they were good. NOT SO MUCH.

Today I went home for lunch, looking forward to having my first one...unwrapped it and noticed the bottom was burnt. Not to be deterred, I took a giant bite, only to discover the driest cupcake I have ever put in my mouth, not to mention a burned taste throughout. I immediately declared "These cupcakes suck!" to which WEG nodded his head and laughed at me. His response was "I'm so glad you said those suck because I was beginning to wonder if that was what they were supposed to taste like and I didn't want to hurt your feelings and ask." What a sweetheart, but I seriously almost brought some in to work today for the office. So glad I did not reveal my horrible baking skills to my co-workers.

By the way, WEG did say that the icing was good. I agreed, but really, that couldn't be messed up since it was store bought. HAHAHA. Clearly I do not need to go near the oven if baking sweets is involved ever again. This is not my first goof-up. Brownies are a nightmare for me. Gooey in the middle, hard on the outside. I blame it on the oven that is older than dirt, but WEG's brownies always come out perfect.

So, no red velvet cupcakes for me today, that's for sure. I told WEG that I'd just have to buy them from the bakery at the grocery store next time and he told me that he'd make me some if I bought the ingredients. Maybe I will do just that- he's definitely a better baker than I am!!