Hey, hey! I have a job :D I am happy to announce that in a couple weeks I will start working on an ortho/trauma unit. Sounds exciting, right? Lots of patients who are injured in accidents. Broken bones. Surgery required. Many patients who may have been intoxicated at the time of the accident. Also a lot of overflow patients from the other medical floors. Did I mention I will be working night shift? Yes. It will be very exciting. It will also be stressfulllllllllll. I’ll be learning a lot and gaining a lot of new skills. This is good, but so much new stuff can be overwhelming. Working 12 hour shifts at night is no piece of cake either. And every other weekend and every other holiday is one of the biggest bummers of nursing. In summary, I am excited and nervous and preparing myself mentally for some difficult shifts. It will also be interesting figuring out my new schedule in relation to marriage. I did night shift when I was single and had no one else I was responsible for. Throwing a husband in the mix will be a bit more challenging.
Yet I am determined. Not having done floor nursing on a medical unit before (I’ve done inpatient psych and outpatient surgery before this), I will be challenged. But I know that I am up for it. When I was first applying for jobs in Michigan, I gravitated to outpatient positions. Think Monday to Friday schedule, no holidays or weekends, less stressful work in general and focused nursing skills. I was a little scared/hesitant/resistant to going back to night shift, weekends and holidays and the stress of floor nursing. Yet I know that it will be an excellent experience. It will make me a more well rounded nurse. It will open up more doors for me in the future.
And there’s this battle that’s been going on inside my heart. My desire for that perfect schedule and easier job had me feeling kind of guilty and selfish. I think about why I became a nurse. I want to take care of people. I want to heal and help and restore. I want to be the hands to serve those who are the most in need. I want to love. I love that nursing can be an easy way to live out my faith. To me, it feels wrong demanding when and where and how I will do this. Yes, the hours stink. But, who else will do it? Who else will care for the man and woman and child who gets sick or hurt at 3 am on the weekend? I will. Because I’m a nurse and I care. I care... I CARE!! (Care Bears reference anyone? Thinking of you, Mom, Christine, Amy, Sarah)
So when are we going to get to the cupcakes, Heidi? OK, yes. So in celebration of the end of unemployment, I decided cupcakes were in order. Chocolate coffee cupcakes with white chocolate frosting. Can I get a ‘YUM!’ ? This cake recipe is so great. It’s not super sweet because of the coffee and cocoa. But it has a rich, dense texture that is super tasty by itself. Add some sweet frosting and BAM. So good. I used Seattle’s Best number 4 coffee. It’s bold and dark, but not as dark as their number 5 roast. 3 is too light. 4 is just right. I brewed a few cups when I started baking so that the coffee would be ready for when I got to that step, and also so that I could sip on some while taste testing :)
The white chocolate frosting is smooth and sweet. I used a bar of ghirardelli baking white chocolate because, hey.. this is a celebration recipe and worth the best ingredients; but pretty much any white chocolate bar or baking chips will work.
The goods:
For the cake (makes about 12 cupcakes)
¾ C plus ⅛ cup white sugar
½ C brown sugar
½ C unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs (only 3 if doubling the recipe. 1.5 eggs is tricky, so 2 is fine for 12 cupcakes)
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ C flour plus ⅛ cup more
⅜ C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup warm coffee
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease cupcake tray generously. Even if using liners, grease the liners. These are sticky sticky good.
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the sugars and butter until well mixed. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients being careful not to over mix. Slowly drizzle and stir in the coffee.
Fill prepared trays half way. I filled them ¾ and they grew over the tops. Bake for about 30 min or until toothpick comes out clean. After a few minutes cooling, move them to a cooling rack. While they are cooling, make the frosting
White chocolate buttercream frosting: From How Sweet Eats
½ C butter at room temperature (too melty and frosting will be thinner, too hard and it will be difficult to beat.)
2 ½ cup powdered sugar- maybe a little more
1 tsp vanilla
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1-2 T of milk
Cream butter in an electric mixer until fluffy, then add vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer on low speed. Add in melted white chocolate and beat until incorporated. (I just microwaved the chocolate to melt it. You must be careful not to over heat if microwaving chocolate. First break up the bar. Start with 30 sec. and then stir it up. Stirring will continue to melt it. Put it back in for another 15-20 sec. Stir again and at this point stirring melted it all for me.) To reach desired consistency, add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time with mixer on low speed. If frosting becomes too liquidy, simply add additional sugar. Frost the cupcakes and enjoy!
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