The "Dippy-titis Syndrome"

When I bake, I have to be on constant lookout and ever vigilant from roaming fingers. You see, my daughter suffers from this "Dippy-titis Syndrome" have you heard of it...? No..? - Well..., its otherwise known as the compulsion to stick her unwashed fingers into my cake and cupcake batters.

This sometimes involves me being armed with extra teaspoons and spatulas, as a wondering finger can be redirected with a teaspoonful of batter, and a whack from a spatula can deter even the most eager batter-seeker as she inch towards my mixing bowl.

These members of my baking arsenal (spatula, whisk, or even kitchen towels) proved particularly useful when I was baking these adorable peanut butter cupcakes this afternoon.

My daughter ADOREs peanut butter. It's not uncommon to see her wondering around the house with a spoonfull of peanut butter dangling from her mouth and she will spread peanut butter on almost anything as a flavour aide - from toast, cupcakes and even on most crackers!

Therefore, when my daughter sniffed her way into the Kitchen while I was mixing up the batter, I immediately took the offensive - grabbing my spatula and posing "en garde", wiggling my spatula in her face (lebih kurang macam Samurai..!) to indicate that she had better scram before I started whacking. Grumbling under her breath, I could hear the pout as she slouched back to her bedroom, proclaiming loudly that she only wanted to ask: "Adik saja nak tanya Mummy baking apa, itu pun tak boleh ke..?".. that she didn't even think it smelled tasty.

I sighed, scooped a little batter on one of my clean teaspoons and carried it to her room as a 'peace offering', which she gladly downed and declared to be delicious. I considered this a sign that my 'peace offering' has been accepted, and settled down next to her to take a baking break and hang out for a few minutes, when she declared that she was out of orange juice and plodded off to make some more.

Engrossed in the video (Knight & Day) that we had been watching, I thought nothing of it, till I realised a minute later 'the cupcake batter had been left in the kitchen unattended"! I raced into the kitchen and my pounding footsteps heralded my arrival to my daughter - who proceeded to freeze like a rabbit in headlights - with a guilty finger stuck in her mouth!.

" ..Maymun Nalubega-Rozanita Naziwa...!!"

Gotcha...!

My daughter looked at me blankly as she finised sucking off the last of the batter she had scooped up. "Well", she said. "its your fault for making it so delicious!"

I stood there, gobsmacked, as she calmly walked back to her room with a fresh glass of orange juice in her hand.

Girl, you may have won this round, but next time...

...Mummy Will Get You..!