Jadie Cakes

February 07, 2014

Jadie Cakes

"You are sweeteness and light. Human cotton candy.” – Myra Mcentire

This might seem a lil’ self-deprecating but I promise that it leads to the heart of the post so, you know, go with me.

I would love one day, just one day, where I liked my body. Yesterday, while baking with a friend, I came across a picture of myself where I actually looked like my head was too big for my body. You could see my ribs, and I’m talking the ones in my chest, beneath my clavicle, and speaking of clavicle, you could’ve caught rainwater in the gaping dips on either side. Obviously this description paints a picture of someone unhealthy and probably deserving to headline a commercial where Sarah McLaughlin sings about remembering you. However, my initial reaction was: “God, I looked so good.”

I spent the rest of the day somehow inserting my picture find into conversation and over-exaggerating how awful I thought I looked and how relieved I was that I no longer looked that way. Unfortunately, all of my “fake it til you make it,” tactics didn’t seem to work, and I still went to bed longing to be the type of waify girl I once was.

As I type all this, I realize that, like, maybe it’s not just the body-love I want, it might also be, and probably is, the inner desire to not feel like I have to apologize for how I look. To not feel like my life doesn’t begin until I hit a certain body-fat percentage or number on a scale I hide in my closet. Maybe I want to dip French fries in a milkshake and still feel like I am a goddess while unbuttoning my jeans to make room for a bit of post-French fry bloat.

You see, there’s a girl in my cast for Hair who I envy because she lives her life without apology. She is vivacious, exuberant, colorful, sassy, excited, loving, confident, and the list goes on and on and on. When she walks into a room you know she’s arrived and you’re grateful for her groovy, funky, fearless presence.

When it came time to make a dessert for her it was a no-brainer. I wanted something exciting, ever-changing, sweet, fun, and delicious-beyond-apology. And so were born: Jadie Cakes, for Ms. Jade Jones.

JADIE CAKES:

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 box Pillsbury White Cake Mix

- 1 ¼ cup Water

- 3 Egg whites

- ¼ cup vegetable oil

- Food coloring

- 1 container of Duncan Hines’ Frosting Creations Icing

- 1 packet of Duncan Hines’ Frosting Creations Cotton Candy Powder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
Mix the batter for the white cake mix as directed on the box
Divide the batter between four smaller bowls
Mix the food coloring in each bowl to create your own colors! (I mixed colors to create lime-green, light purple, orange, and light blue)
Spoon a bit of one color mix into all the cupcake tins. Follow with the other colors, one color at a time.
Bake for about 24 minutes, switching the cupcake pans halfway through.
Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Let cool completely before frosting.
As the cupcakes cool, use a large spoon and mix the Duncan Hines powder into the frosting, and let it get all blue and cotton-candy-like.
Frost the cupcakes!
Eat the cupcakes, but SLOWLY! Notice how the colors inside change with every bite and get excited about it!

All done!