July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July!



What better to show up to a party with than cupcakes?

My friend, Brittany, was having a BBQ to christen her beautiful patio here in Philadelphia. It was fantastic! Grilled food, music, cold beers and of course, delicious beautiful cupcakes.

I decided to stick with the same yellow cake recipe I had used before (see previous post, although for fluffy moist cupcakes alter cooking time to 10-12 minutes), but didn't make any alterations. I topped them with butter frosting (recipe to follow). I did both vanilla and chocolate and topped each with sweet Jersey strawberries and blueberries. They were amazing. Next time, I would let the sliced strawberries dry out a little. They were quite juicy and it made the frosting a little runny.


My fans at our local pub were happy when I came by to deliver the extras. No one can say no to one of these beauties.

They get all the leftovers since the last thing I need is 6 extra cupcakes to sit in my kitchen. That would do nothing for my waistline. So off to the New Wave Cafe they go (but not after I had a couple myself, thank lord I biked 20 miles this weekend).

Can't wait to get back in the kitchen for my next batch, unfortunately my next trip to the kitchen will be to do dishes, but not until after a little R&R.






Butter Frosting (by Better Homes and Gardens)

Ingredients:
3/4 cups butter, softened
9 cups sifted powdered sugar (about 2lbs)
1/4 cup milk
2 tsps vanilla
Milk
1. In a very large mixing bowl beat butter until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in the 1/4 cup milk and the vanilla.

2. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar. Beat in enough additional milk to reach spreading consistency (I had added a little to much milk which made the vanilla frosting a little looser).

For Chocolate, prepare as above, except beat in 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder into butter and reduce powdered sugar by 1/2 cup.

I actually made the vanilla frosting as originally directed minus 1/2 cup of powdered sugar then after frosting half of the cupcakes (12) I added 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder to the remaining frosting and beat for 2 minutes. The chocolate frosting was my favorite by far, but many tasters loved the vanilla as well.

I did find a problem when using my 6-cupcake pan. The recipe made 30 cupcakes. I have two 12-cupcake pans and one 6-cupcake pan. It seems that my 6-cupcake pan actually cooks faster, so the bottoms actually burned, big bummer, although I just frosted and ate the tops myself.

Kristin 2 - Cupcakes 0

June 30, 2010

Lesson #1



Never put powdered sugar in the mixer and turn it on high.

It seems quite straight forward, but to the novice baker this concept is not always common sense. The state of my kitchen Sunday morning, can prove that.

I was baking for the Grand Opening Party of DeTours Touring, here in Philadelphia. The owner was expecting 200 guests, so I prepared to double my recipe to make approximately 52 cupcakes.

At the last minute I switched my recipe from Martha Stewart to Better Homes and Gardens (which was a great change,by the way) and ended up with over 60 cupcakes! I was slight overwhelmed and swimming in cakes.

After several glasses of wine, I decided to make the frosting in the morning. I bolted out of bed at 6am realizing, I did
n't have enough sugar. I convinced myself to go back to sleep until the grocery stores opened. At 7:15am I made my way to the store and purchased five 1lb bags of generic powdered sugar. I definitely had enough sugar, and it ended up all over my kitchen.

Luckily everything came out great! These are the recipes I followed including the additions/alterations I made. I added the zest of 2.5 oranges to my cakes, just to give them something a little extra.

Yellow Cake Recipe (by Better Homes and Gardens)
makes about 26-30 regular size cupcakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup - butter, softened
3 - eggs
2 1/2 cups - all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsps - baking powder
1/2 tsp - salt
1 3/4 cup - sugar
1 1/2 tsps - vanilla
1 1/4 cup - milk

1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line cupcake pans (I used 2-12 cup pans and 1-6 cup pan) with paper or foil liners and set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium or high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition (about 1 minute total). Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. (Optional: add orange zest) Scoop batter to fill cups 1/2 to 3/4 full.

3. Bake in a 375ยบ oven for 10-13 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pans for 10 minutes then remove from pans and cool on a wire rack. Frost if desired.


Cream Cheese Frosting (by Better Homes and Gardens)
frosts about 26-30 regular cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tsps vanilla
5 3/4 to 6 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Gradually beat in additional powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. Cover and store in refrigerator.


Kristin 1 - Cupcakes 0

June 25, 2010

Accepting the Challenge

I have a love for food, an absolute overpowering love for food. And I never pass up a good cupcake. I rarely pass up an okay cupcake. There is something about those little, fluffy, happy little morsels of love, that I just can't say no. Whenever I bake, which is usually from a box I must admit, I prefer to make cupcakes. They are single serving heavenly bodies that deliver the perfect amount of cake to icing ratio.

I've come to a point in my life that baking from a box just isn't going to cut it any more. I'm taking on the challenge of teaching myself to bake from scratch. Its not going to be easy, and sometimes there will be batter that ends up in the garbage, but I'm sure I will be able to succeed. Its time to fall into cupcake love!