Celebrating 100 posts with Avocado & Lemon cupcakes!

Hurrah!

Why, you ask?

Well, just because!

I haven’t used this word in ages and felt like using it today. I feel that “Hurrah” has been replaced by the shorter “Yay” or “hooray” (at least in my dictionary) and I hardly hear people saying “Hurrah!” like how Hurrah should be said! I feel bad for the word! So, I thought I would use it today.

Hmmm..

Ok, I am not that random!

Really! I am not.

Well, ok, sometimes I am. But not this time.

This time I actually have a reason to shout out Hurrah- because I am celebrating!

Celebrating what, you ask?

Well, I’m glad you asked!

(If you didn’t, I’ll just continue talking to myself and assume you are listening.)

I am celebrating three things!

The first.

500 cupcakes book sent generously by Sara of Cupcake Muffins! I won it in a Giveaway she hosted (do head over to her blog). I have never won anything in a giveaway. Ever (and believe me I have tried my luck). So this one is special!

(Hip)

The second.

The Versatile blogger award given by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic. This is my first blog award and it means a lot! Kim is a very sweet person with a great blog. Do check her out.

(Hip Hip)

The third.

100 posts- I complete 100 posts today!

(Yay! Hooray! Hurrah!)

I am finally writing my 100th post today!!

This post should have actually come long back, but thanks to my vacation, this heat and me not getting any time to blog for the past few weeks, it took a little longer to come around.

Coming to my award! (*Insert big grin here*)

I have to admit I never expected this award.

(Haha! This is sounding so much like the thank-you speeches stars give on award nights! I feel like such a star! *beaming*)

But honestly, I never expected this award and truly, I could not be more honest about it.

(By the repeated use of truly and honestly, I am hoping you would believe me when I say I really did not expect it)

Since I did not expect it, getting this award meant even more. Its good to know that what started as just something to get through my day (quickly becoming an obsession which thankfully now is more or less tamed) – is being appreciated by people who have no relation to me and thus need not be nice or kind enough to read through my travails.

As part of the recipient of this award I have to do the following:

1) Thank the award-giver(s) and link back to them in your post. Thank you Kim!

2) Tell your readers seven random things about yourself.

3) Give this award to up to fifteen (15) recently discovered bloggers.

4) Contact those bloggers and let them in on the exciting news.

Now, there are other people who would have made the list of fifteen bloggers I think deserve this award but since it talks only about recently discovered blogs I have left those ones out. And there are definitely more that I follow but well, there is a limit and I have to stick to it!

Here’s my fifteen:

1. Cherry Tea cakes
2. Brown eyed Baker
3. The Pious Hippie– It’s not a food blog but I love her thoughts and the way she writes.
4. Amanda’s cooking– especially her crafts section
5. My Red M&M’s – He doesn’t blog too often but I know from his facebook page, he has a great collection of recipes and a great love for cooking and baking.
6. Cupcake Muffin
7. Barbara Bakes
8. Nutmeg Nanny
9. My Saffron Kitchen
10. 6 Bittersweets
11. The Food Doctor
12. Kokken 69
13. Sunshine and Smile
14. The Little Teochew
15. Pinch of Yum

Now, coming to seven random things about me:

Ingredients

• 2 medium hass avocados, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup cake flour (you could use 2 cups all-purpose but I was out of all-purpose and thus, used cake flour)
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup vanilla sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper baking cups.
2. Blend together the avocado, lemon juice and milk.
3. Rub sugar with the lemon zest.
4. Sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
5. Beat the butter and lemon scented sugar till light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs.
6. Add 1/3 of the flour mix to the butter-egg mixture. Combine slightly. Add half of the blended avocado-milk mix. Repeat by again adding in 1/3 of flour mix. Fold in slightly. Add the rest of the avocado-milk mix and combine it together. Fold in the remaining 1/3rd of the flour mix. Combine well, being careful to not overmix.
7. Spoon mixture into prepared pan. Fill only 3/4th. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and remain in pan to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Since the cupcakes weren’t too sweet and just because these were celebration cupcakes I did a frosting on top.

Lemon Cool Whip Frosting

• 8 ounces cool whip topping thawed
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice & 1 lemon zest

1. Whip the cream cheese with sugar rubbed with zest.
2. Add lemon juice and then fold thawed cool whip.

After frosting the cupcakes I stored the leftover cream and cupcakes in the fridge. Since its a whipped cream frosting I felt leaving it out in this heat might not be such a good idea! You could also make the cupcakes ahead and keep them at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 days. And frost them the day you plan to serve them.