You can blame that title on my sister. Sometime last summer, we were discussing the content found on this blog. She suggested posting more recipes that would be easy to pull together when the week and its many obligations are in full swing.
As nice as a dish may look or as delicious as a recipe may sound, who hasn’t shut the door on something after a glance at the ingredients list (Forty-four ingredients for soup?!) or time requirements (What do you mean this needs to sit overnight?!).
I joked I could title a series of quick-to-prepare recipes Evening Quickies. This led my sister to don her best Issac Hayes voice and say, ”Well, you’re blog is called looooove.”
If you find yourself wanting to do something nice for someone today but have not yet decided what that something is, well then, you are probably out of luck. Unless you are up for baking cupcakes from a box of cake mix, a box of pudding mix and milk. I don’t know though. All that mixing and baking seems like a lot of effort.
And then you have to make a frosting which requires a whopping four ingredients. Another box of pudding mix and the milk has to come back out along with heavy cream and powdered sugar. Plus, whipping it up requires two mixing bowls. Just thinking about the effort involved makes me tired.
Next to cupcakes, one of my favorite things to make for people are mixed tapes. I am not so sure how excited people are to receive my mixes, but that is another point altogether. I especially like making mixed tapes that follow a certain theme, though I have made only two.
I gave my Dad an Ohio mix that contained songs with Ohio in the title (somewhat surprisingly, there are quite a few). I also made my niece a Jolene mix that contained songs with Jolene in the title (also quite a few).
Because I like you guys as much as I like those two characters, I have made you a love music mix*. In my defense, quite a few cookbooks nowadays include musical pairings along with their recipes. So if you burn your cupcakes, turn to plan B and burn a CD instead. Happy Valentine’s Day!
- Gonna Make You Love Me – Ryan Adams
- No One’s Gonna Love You - Band of Horses
- Crazy in Love – Beyonce
- Too Afraid to Love You - The Black Keys
- Skinny Love - Bon Iver
- Lovesong - The Cure
- Heartlines - Florence + The Machine
- Baby, I Love Your Way - Peter Frampton
- Shake Your Love - Debbie Gibson**
- I’m So In Love With You - Al Green
- Cupid’s Chokehold - Gym Class Heroes
- Valentine’s Day - Linkin Park
- Is This Love - Bob Marley & The Wailers
- I Love You - Sarah McLachlan
* I am not in the know about good music. In fact, I have been criticized for my musical tastes. The only criteria for this mix were the words “love, heart, cupid or valentine” in the title. Listen at your own risk.
**Sorry, my inner third grader could not resist.
- For the Cupcakes
- 1 box (3.4 oz) instant pudding mix (I used coconut cream)
- 1½ cups cold milk
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- For the Frosting
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup cold milk
- 1 box (3.4 oz) instant pudding mix (I used coconut cream)
- sprinkles for decorating
- Whisk together the instant pudding and the cold milk.
- Sprinkle in the cake mix and use a spoon to mix until well combined.
- Fill each well of a paper-lined cupcake tin about ¾ of the way full with batter.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the centers of the cupcakes should come out clean when done.
- While the cupcakes cool, prepare the frosting.
- Whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar until soft peaks form.
- Whisk together the package of instant pudding and the cold milk.
- Fold the pudding into the whipped cream and pipe or dollop onto cupcakes. Garnish with sprinkles, because sprinkles make everything better.
Le,
So many of your posts leave me chuckling because you write your posts and it feels like I’m sitting at the bar, drinking a beer with you, while we talk about idiots driving on the road, or something else fun.
I thank you for this “quick” recipe, though I doubt I’ll be able to make it tonight. However, I love the songs and I just may load this mix onto the phone and play them while we prepare dinner tonight!
Hope you have a great Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Kel, reading this made my day!
The frosting looks so decadent! And the sprinkles are so cute. I am a sucker for anything heart shaped.
Lovely photos too.
Ooh, these cupcakes look fantastic! And I love that they involve some shortcuts – I always love a recipe like that. Gorgeous pics, too!