Amazingly enough, the Great Cupcake Caper of Ostara ’09 went off very smoothly. Just in the nick of time, but everything was baked, frosted, transported and consumed. I didn’t get to try them all, but I did try to collect opinions! So…what did I make?

Lemon Honey Cupcakes

These turned out pretty well. The cake was a little dry, but the frosting was a big hit! I didn’t think the honey flavor was strong enough–there are a few honey cake recipes out there that I think I’d like to adapt to cupcake form, and top with some sort of glaze for as stronger flavor.

Lemon Rosemary

These were my least favorite. I loved the idea, but not the execution. Partially my fault–the rosemary wasn’t chopped fine enough (I need better kitchen tools) but they were also disappointingly dry. I think I’m going to tinker around with adding more oil, or possibly soaking the cornmeal to ease the grittiness.

Coconut Key Lime

I didn’t try these, but I heard good things. I did try the frosting–very good. But next time I hope that I can find key lime juice, because squeezing the little buggers was awful. Note to self: get citrus juicer. Really, though, how can you go wrong with coconut and key lime?

Apricot Almond

One word: sticky! But delicous. I liked these, and everyone else seemed to as well. Though in the future, I might go to the extra work of filling them afterwards, instead of baking the jam in. Because I’m that obsessed with things looking pretty.

Pistachio Rosewater

These smelled divine when you ate them. These are definitely on the make-again list. So delicate and fragrant, and I felt so pampered, eating something that smelled deliciously of roses. These would be great for a wedding or bridal shower, I think. Very romantic and girly.

Chai Latte

I have to say, these were my favorite. I’m not a huge frosting fan, so dusted with powdered sugar was perfect. I think I’ll actually be making some for breakfast–they’re almost muffin-y. And they made my apartment smell amazing while they were baking. Definitely a recipe to  hang on to!

The most amazing thing about this was that I’m not totally sick of baking! I do need to clean my kitchen up a bit more before I do any more, but this was not as hard as it sounds. Most of the recipes were super  quick to make, and once I get organized, it will only get easier. Though if I agree to make quite this many again, I think I’ll enlist helpers…