Baking, Cont'd

Okay, so I wasn't particularly happy with the results of those cupcakes. There were, off the cuff, four problems.
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First, the recipe calls for a fair amount of slicing and dicing -- one and a half plus four of this, eggs at room temperature, sift those, that sort of thing. I'm the kind of baker who likes to just dive into a recipe. I've learned, but not well, that if a recipe has multiple steps, you ought to at least read through them once. Every so often, not doing so -- or not doing so thoroughly -- burns me. This was one of those times.

Second, pouring the batter into the muffin tins was a pain. There ought to be a way to pour quickly and concisely; give me X amount of ounces in each cup, and use all the batter you practically can. As it was, I think I left a tenth of it in the combination of the mixing bowl, the Pyrex jar I poured with, and the spatulas. And the amounts varied between a half a tin and a little more than three quarters. There's got to be a better way.

Third, the recipe calls for a pastry bag in two places. I don't have one. I know that its possible to simulate one with a ziploc bag, and I've done that in the past, but it seems fairly messy. I don't know whether a genuine pastry bag would be any better. As it is, I cored the cooled cupcakes, scooped in the butter/peanut butter mixture, and replaced the cores. Not a particularly clean or elegant solution, but the ganache should cover it. It also calls for multiple mixing bowls. I've got one for the mixer. (I know: problems of the idle rich). But still - having to clean the bowl before the next step, or trying to just do it by hand -- you don't get particularly good results.

Fourth, thats assuming the ganache comes out well. By this time, I was more than a little ready to be done, so I winged it. Bad move. I ended up with a thin, syrupy ganache which didn't harden as it ought to have done.

So most of this is my fault; a little is lack of tools. I don't like failing. Will I try this recipe again? Perhaps....