Sometimes it takes a bit of experimentation to find the right combination. This week has given me two instances of that.

Last night, in addition to my inability to measure properly (a skill I believe 2nd graders routinely master), I also was having a tough time finding the right needle to match the yarn I was using to get gauge. Today, however, looks like we have a winner, so I’ll be moving forward with my Knitting Olympics sweater (Hey, Teach! was the ultimate winner. Thanks for all your input on Friday and Saturday while I was trying to figure it out.) on US10s. They feel like I’m trying to knit with drumsticks after my tiny sock needles, but I’m sure I’ll get used to them.

Back on Sunday, I decided to try a new recipe for my birthday cupcakes. I knew I wanted a plain vanilla recipe, since I have a friend who doesn’t like fruit and I prefer vanilla to chocolate. So I ended up giving Stephanie’s Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting a shot. I don’t know if it’s because our baking powder is a bit old, if I didn’t cream the butter and sugar together long enough, or if I ultimately used too much sour cream (or some combination of any or all), but these cupcakes did not get the Burrow stamp of approval. The cakes were too dense (Sarah accurately described them as pound-cake-like) and the frosting too sweet for the base it was layered on. Sarah and John are good sports and didn’t complain about my baking abilities on my birthday, but Rudi and I agreed after they left that this had not been my best culinary effort.

When Danny called later that night, I mentioned my failure to him and suggested that I’d have to come up with some alternative for the remaining cakes. He said that pound cake always made him want chocolate to dip it into, which made me realize that a chocolate glaze might be the perfect solution. Since Rudi and I were out last night, we didn’t have a chance to try out this theory until this evening, when I found this Satiny Chocolate Glaze on my first click through Google. I made a few alterations — the microwave as a few folks suggested, slightly more chocolate to use up five squares of dark chocolate, and dark corn syrup instead of light — and less than a minute later, we were spooning the concoction over two heart-shaped fairy cakes.

And you know what? It was the absolute right combination.