My 21st

Now there are two ways to celebrate your 21st birthday. The first? College style, complete with many shots of cheap alcohol,making memories, and staying in bed for most of the next day. The second? A very adult night with family and a couple glasses of something expensive.

As much as I wanted to do the crazy, reckless thing with my friends in San Diego, I was going to be in Fremont with my parents - which for most people, would result in a birthday night similar to their 18th. But lucky me, I have such a fantastic group of friends and family here that I got to have the best of both worlds!

But I decided to take the morning for myself and deliver an order of dark chocolate and salted caramel macarons to an old friend's sister for her birthday. Baking isn't a very profitable business model, but for me, its a way of experimenting with techniques and flavors while breaking even. And delivering this gift for my friends family since she couldn't be there? Priceless.

After that, the first stop was at BevMo where I pretended to be picky but ended up just chosing the cheapest bottle {Noble Vines Cabernet Sauvignon 337}, which was actually pretty good! I used it to make Chocolate Cabernet Cupcakes, a slightly dense but delicious chocolate chunk cupcake, with the wine and some cinnamon. It wasn't enough for me so I added a tablespoon to some vanilla ermine frosting, and then a few tablespoons to melted chocolate and drizzled it on top. So lots of wine overall basically.

I'd say that these cupcakes were the highlight of my Monday birthday, but between seeing my friends, some crazy voicemails, my first lemon drop martini, and *ahem* Justin Timberlake singing happy birthday to me (and to everyone else in the auditorium) it was just great overall. Thanks you guys, I'm so lucky to have all of you.

Chocolate Cabernet Cupcakes

8 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
3/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.

2) In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Then add in the egg and egg yolk, as well as the vanilla, beat well until combined.

4) Add in 1/2 of the dry ingredients, followed by the wine, then the remainder of the dry ingredients. Mix until well combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl if necessary.

5) Divide batter evenly into lined muffin pan. Bake for 18 minutes then remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla Ermine Buttercream Frosting (w/ Red Wine)

2 sticks (1 cup) organic unsalted butter, softened

1 cup organic cane sugar

1 cup organic whole milk or skim milk with 2tbs melted butter

1/4 cup sifted organic all-purpose flour

1/2 tablespoons organic vanilla extract

1 tbs red wine

1) Cream the butter on medium speed, 3 to 5 minutes, in a standing mixer or with a hand mixer until soft, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.

2) In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup of the milk, the flour, and the vanilla extract, and whisk until there are no lumps. Over medium heat, slowly add the remaining 3/4 cup milk, whisking constantly, and cook until the mixture comes to a low boil. Then reduce the heat to low and keep whisking for a few more minutes, until the mixture starts to thicken.

3) Immediately remove the pan from the heat, but keep stirring. (After you have removed the pan from the heat, the mixture will continue to cook for a minute or two on its own. If you overheat it and get small lumps, try to whisk vigorously to get them out, or pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve.) If necessary, place the pan over a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and allow the mixture to cool.

4) Once the milk mixture has thickened, set it aside to cool to room temperature *important*. You can stick it in the freezer to rush the cooling.

5) With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the milk mixture into the butter-sugar mixture. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vanilla to combine.

Chocolate Red Wine Fudge Sauce

1/2 cup red wine divided

1 cup dark (or milk) chocolate chips

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1) In a pot simmer 1/4 cup wine over low/medium heat

2) Allow it to cook for about 8 minutes, it will reduce some. Turn the heat down and add in the chocolate and corn syrup. Whisk vigorously as things begin to melt, then remove from heat and continue whisking until every thing is well incorporated.

3) Stir in the remaining wine and let cool to desired consistency, then drizzle on top of cupcakes

Happy Hunting,

- Neha x