Yesterday was my birthday, and was celebrated in a quiet, low-key fashion. I worked most of the day, and spent most of the evening with my mom and some of my relatives at her house. It was nice.

Knowing my love of all things red velvet, which is only matched by my love of all things salted caramel, my mom, aunt, uncle, and cousin all teamed up to create the above-pictured “Red Velvet & Salted Caramel Cupcakes” in lieu of a traditional birthday cake for me. They were DELICIOUS, and I borrowed the recipe from my aunt to share with any foodies who may read this blog, or for anyone who is just interested in attempting to bake something new:

YOU WILL NEED:

* One box cake mix, and the ingredients to bake it (eggs, flour, milk, etc.) It can be any kind of cake mix, depending on your preference.

* Sea salt.

* 4-5 Heath Bars (Butterfinger bars are also a good substitute)

* Caramel ice cream topping

* Buttercream icing

* Squeeze bottle

OKAY, HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. Bake your cupcakes according to the package directions.

2. When the cupcakes are nearly done baking, pour the caramel ice cream topping into a measuring cup.

3. Add 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt per 8 ox. of caramel. You may have to add a little more, depending on how salty you want them to taste.

4. Warm the mixture in the microwave for one minute, and then stir well. From there, pour the mixture into the squeeze bottle.

5. When the cupcakes are done baking, use the squeeze bottle to inject the mixture into the center of the cupcakes. Be sure to save some of the mixture for later! When all of the cupcakes have been filled, move them to a cooling area.

6. Keeping the Heath (or Butterfinger) bars in their packaging, HULK SMASH ‘EM INTO BITS. When you’re done, unwrap them and pour the pieces into a bowl.

7. When the cupcakes are cooled, frost them with the buttercream icing, sprinkle them (or dunk them) into the broken up Heath/Butterfinger bits, and drizzle more of the salted caramel mixture over them.

8. SHOVE CUPCAKES INTO MOUTH.

The sweetness of the red velvet cake, the salted caramel filling, and the broken up bits of Butterfinger made for an unexpected and pretty awesome flavor combination. Definitely one I never would have thought of before.

Before I wrap this entry up: many, many thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes and kind words yesterday! It really meant a lot. I love you all and I had a great day!

And can we all just stop for a moment and appreciate this birthday card my mom gave me? Holy shit.