Red velvet cupcakes

I’ve been wondering when that urge to prepare food out of affection was going to hit me.

In high school, I made sushi for my crush. But hunting for fresh salmon was not the worst, because the love bug later made me look up cookbooks, bought puff pastry sheets, made vanilla custard and apple jam, chilled the damn thing and had me hopefully clutching the chilled lunchbox full of effort on an entire bus ride to school at 6am.

It was good pastry but he just wasn’t interested. Partly because I was fugly in high school and incredibly squat.

But with you, that fever never came. Until last night, I asked you what would you have engraved on a ring for me. Not only were your suggestions a surprise, but the fact that you were semi-enthusiastic about the whole task of fixing your grammar for the engravings, and measuring your fat finger — really threw me off my guard. You were just so compliant.

Somehow, at the end of the evening I found myself equipped with the knowledge to make red velvet cupcakes, and marshmallow fondant for cupcake deco — having compulsively gone through a dozen albums and countless how-to videos.

I am baking even if it is weeks after February 14th.