There’s a lot of things no one tells you about before you get married.  Not that you would listen, because you’ve already figured out everything there is to know about being married.  Screw all that 50% divorce rate, “that’ll never happen to me” riiiiiiiiight.  It’s almost like married people don’t want you know the reality of married life because they want you to join in their misery, kind of like what pregnant women do (if they disclosed everything that happens when you’re pregnant and in delivery…most women wouldn’t do it).  Even Cosmo, the harbinger of all things good relationship, doesn’t tell you about these horrifying aspects of marriage (how dare you, Cosmo, not be forthcoming about such things).

I will never forget the absolute disgust I felt when Craig asked me why I hadn’t bought a box of macaroni and cheese the first time I came back from the grocery store as Mrs. Craig.  He waxed poetic about his love of cheesy powder and yellow orange slimy macaroni.  I think I actually threw up in my mouth a little.  (I also grew up on the blue boxed stuff, but did not have the same kind of love affair with it that he apparently did).  When you get married, your food habits really can make or break a relationship.

This isn’t just relegated to specific food items either.  Does your significant other mix everything together before eating it or do they methodically eat each item before moving on to the next?  Are there certain foods that must be eaten on specific days?  Are their food items that one of you eats that can not be eaten in front of the other?  And how about flavor combinations?  One of Craig’s favorites is the chocolate orange combo.  I don’t get that combination at all, but he loves it.

But Valentine’s Day is all about showing the one you care about, how much you love them.  So Craig got his treat a little early with these chocolate orange cupcakes.

The food blogger heathen that I am, I did not make these from scratch.  I’ve talked about using cake mixes before.  I used a cake mix when I made this deconstructed black forest cake.  I don’t have a big problem using cake mix from a box.  They’re delicious, hard to screw up, inexpensive and easy to use.  But did you know that a doctored cake mix tastes even better?  Really, a doctored cake mix (while I suppose it’s technically not homemade) makes baked goods that actually taste like you made it from scratch.  Plus, it’s still easy to make.

So let’s all agree that cake mix cupcakes are not the devil in a paper cup.  Not everything needs to be made from scratch all the time.  Sometimes it’s nice to have a little treat that doesn’t take a bunch of ingredients to put together.  I totally get it though, that you want your stuff to taste really good, and sometimes using a boxed mix doesn’t quite get you there. That’s where the doctored cake mix comes in handy.

I thought I’d give you a list of some of the things you can play with, when using a boxed cake mix to make it taste a little bit better.  These substitutions or additions were used with a standard boxed cake mix, not a vegan or gluten free mix.  When making subs in these specialty mixes you need to be a bit more careful.

• Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to any mix.
• Substitute milk, or buttermilk, for the water.
• Throw some jimmies into a white or yellow cake mix to make a funfetti cake.
• Add a tablespoon of citrus zest.
• Use melted butter in place of the oil.
• Use applesauce in place of the oil.

Even though these are cake mix cupcakes, I did top them with a homemade bittersweet chocolate orange icing.  To take them to another level altogether, I then added a slice of Campari candied kumquat on top of the icing.  I agree that the kumquats might be a little over the top, but it’s Valentine’s Day.

So if you, or your special someone, have a thing for chocolate orange (or cupcakes) – these chocolate orange cupcakes will be an easy and delicious way to tame that craving.

Relationship Advice

 

 

 

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