The cupcake/cure connection

My husband took notice to the fact that I was really enjoying making cupcakes.  For one of the gifts he got me one year, he gave me a 3 hour cupcake workshop certificate!  This was essentially a ticket for me to go into New York City, go to one of the culinary schools they have there, and learn all about making and decorating cupcakes!  I still have the folder that they gave me that day!  I learned all about how to make my own cake flour if I didn't have any in the house.  I learned the difference between baking powder and baking soda.  I learned that it is very important to use butter that is at the right temperature when baking!  Most importantly, I got my first taste of baking cupcakes from scratch!  I also learned that I can be quite the idiot sometimes when I'm not paying attention!  I was the first person to make a mistake of such magnitude that I had to throw out my batter!  I think the girl I was paired up with was REALLY wishing she didn't get stuck with me, but whatever!

I came home from that experience with 2 boxes of cupcakes that I decorated, a folder filled with cupcake and frosting recipes, and an enthusiasm to start baking from scratch!  Here are some of the cupcakes I made:

It was not long after I attended the cupcake workshop that I found out Sophia's parents had started something called The 200 for SMA.  They wanted to raise $1,000,000 in 2011 for SMA research.  They realized that if 200 families or people committed to raising $5,000 each, they would hit that goal.  I WANTED to make a difference, but I realized that I was not good at fundraising.  What could I do to raise money?  I really had no marketable skills.  I didn't think there was much I could do.

And then someone planted the seed in my mind that I could sell cupcakes.  I don't remember how it all started.  I do remember that I was just playing around with the idea when a girl named Kristen suggested I call it "Cupcakes for Sophia's Cure".  Once she suggested that name to me, I had to find a way to get this idea started!