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The Cupcake Thread!

Well, here are my latest. The first pic is w/o the icing. They were supposed to look like Tye-Dye cupcakes but didn''t quite turn out. I found that nothing worked as I thought it would with these cupcakes, although they were tasty! I''m hoping the cupcake experts can help me. First, when I placed the mnm''s on top of the cupcakes before baking them, I assumed they would melt in and have different colors throughout the cake. They really didn''t. They mainly stayed on the top, as you can see in the first pic. I kind of wondered what the point of having them in the recipe was since they didn''t mix in when baking. Then, the recipe said you can leave the mnm''s in the icing batter for an hour and the colors will melt, making the frosting tye-dye like. That didn''t happen. It just looked white with pieces of mnm''s in there. I added a little food coloring just for fun. Also, I used the recipe that I originally posted, basically butter, a few T of milk and sugar. I thought they were too sweet. I think I like the recipe w/cream cheese better but I know Mara''s said she makes icing that isn''t as sweet. Is there another recipe out there that''s different?
My last problem was that I couldn''t use the tips to frost the cupcake b/c the mnm pieces kept getting stuck, so I really couldn''t test any of the tips, however, the frosting was definitely thick enough so it might''ve worked w/o the mnm''s.

Here''s the pics (as always, I welcome suggestions):

mnm resize.JPG
 
MnM cupcakes w/frosting:

mnm icing resize.JPG
 
Did you use regular sized M&M''s? I can''t tell...
 
The recipe called for mini''s but since I couldn''t find them, I used the regular size and broke them apart. Please pretend like of all my "mnm''s" were "M&M''s". Just me being lazy.
 
Lol. No worries, I was sitting there typing out "M&Ms" and thinking, "Dang, that''s a lot of work!" I''m about to start class, and I need to pay a little bit of attention to it, so I''ll think about it later...
 
Hey, guys. Well it is going to be a busy week for me cupcake wise. I made some chocolate ones for a party tomorrow, then I have a huge order for a breast cancer charity event (over 200 people are going to be in attendance) and then Andrew''s teacher asked me to do some for their Fall party! Anyway, here is a quick pic of my chocolate! Will post pics after this weekend!

chocolatecupcake.jpg
 
steph, that looks great! Sounds like your business is really taking off!
 
Thanks Tacori! It really is taking off as the word has spread (although I am donating the cupcakes for the breast cancer charity event). How did your cupcakes for your little one''s party turn out?
 
Steph, her party is next weekend so I''ll let you know then (and I will post pics). Keep your fingers crossed!
 
Gee, this thread grew so much in the last week! Well, I expect my waistline to grow soon too... the more you guys post, the more I want to bake! Anyhow, I''ve been playing a bit more in the kitchen this last week, and I have a few questions... and visual contributions. (C''mon, with both Freke and Mara''s skills on this thread, there''s NO WAY I''m going to take this resource for granted!) Unfortunately, I have a HUGE to-do list today, so I might have to do it in several segments.

Date: 10/16/2008 7:30:46 PM
Author: lili
Date: 10/16/2008 4:04:49 PM

Author: cdt1101

Fleur - Do you mind posting your cream cheese frosting recipe? Your frosting looks incredible!! i want to eat my computer screen
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I know, they look like softserve-- yum

18.gif

Aww, you two are so sweet! Sure, here''s my cream cheese frosting recipe:

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. softened cream cheese (room temperature)
1/4c softened unsalted butter
1t vanilla extract
between 1-1/2 and 2-1/2 c sifted confectioners sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add sifted confectioner''s sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved.

(Now for the notes on what you''re seeing in the above... I''ve found that when you''re making cream cheese frosting, it''s important to keep in mind what the final presentation will be. If it''s going to coating a desert served cold from the fridge, it''s better to have the cream cheese and unsalted butter beat in while still cool, but if you''re making something that will be left out at room temperature for a few hours-- like cupcakes at a party-- it is *essential* that you make the cream cheese frosting with room temperature butter and cream cheese because the stiffness of each is very different at 75 degrees than 35 degrees. Thus, the amount of powdered sugar you need to add for the proper stiffness will also be different for 35 degree frosting than 75 degree frosting!)

What you see in the pictures on p.32 was made with room temp butter and about 2-1/4c confectioners sugar; since I knew I''d be using a 1M star tip on cupcakes, I wanted something a bit stiffer than if I were icing with either a round tip or a spatula. I store the cupcakes in the fridge (and as the butter solidifies the soft-serve "sheen" goes away, but I hate to think of the science experiment that brew inside cream cheese that sits out on the counter for a week, LOL), but take them out at least 20 minutes before you hope to serve them and that beautiful sheen comes right back as the butter returns to room temperature and will hold that shape and look all day long.



Lili, CDT, thank you very much for your kind feedback! My fiance isn''t much of a dessert fan (and a contributory cause of the baking hiatus), so I really appreciate that you took the time to log in and say such a nice thing!

f-d-l
 
Date: 10/24/2008 12:46:49 AM
Author: steph72276
Hey, guys. Well it is going to be a busy week for me cupcake wise. I made some chocolate ones for a party tomorrow, then I have a huge order for a breast cancer charity event (over 200 people are going to be in attendance) and then Andrew''s teacher asked me to do some for their Fall party! Anyway, here is a quick pic of my chocolate! Will post pics after this weekend!

Steph, that''s GORGEOUS-- how do you handle/twist your frosting to create that beautiful swirl? It looks so freestyle and precise at the same time...
 
Date: 10/22/2008 5:04:30 PM
Author: dixie94
Well, here are my latest. The first pic is w/o the icing. They were supposed to look like Tye-Dye cupcakes but didn't quite turn out. I found that nothing worked as I thought it would with these cupcakes, although they were tasty! I'm hoping the cupcake experts can help me. First, when I placed the mnm's on top of the cupcakes before baking them, I assumed they would melt in and have different colors throughout the cake. They really didn't. They mainly stayed on the top, as you can see in the first pic. I kind of wondered what the point of having them in the recipe was since they didn't mix in when baking. Then, the recipe said you can leave the mnm's in the icing batter for an hour and the colors will melt, making the frosting tye-dye like. That didn't happen. It just looked white with pieces of mnm's in there. I added a little food coloring just for fun. Also, I used the recipe that I originally posted, basically butter, a few T of milk and sugar. I thought they were too sweet. I think I like the recipe w/cream cheese better but I know Mara's said she makes icing that isn't as sweet. Is there another recipe out there that's different?

My last problem was that I couldn't use the tips to frost the cupcake b/c the mnm pieces kept getting stuck, so I really couldn't test any of the tips, however, the frosting was definitely thick enough so it might've worked w/o the mnm's.


Here's the pics (as always, I welcome suggestions):

Dixie, your story about breaking up the M&M's into tiny pieces in the hope that they would infuse throughout the little cakes reminds me of the story of how the Toll House Cookie was invented... and we all know how great and tasty THAT turned out!

As for your Qs, I have no personal experience baking with M&Ms, but I can take some educated guesses of ways to tweak to (hopefully) achieve some of the effects you're looking for. Since you want the candy-coatings to dissolve, I would look towards what the candy coatings are made of and how one gets those to dissolve. I *believe* the coatings are made of a combination of sugar, corn syrup, and food dye; hopefully someone can weigh in if there's something else in there, like wax. Anyhow, corn syrup dissolves in water; thus, I'd find a frosting that has a high water or milk content if you're hoping for the M&M candy to break down and "melt" a little bit.

Inside the cupcake batter, perhaps you could try to mix the candies in the batter, pour into the cupcake molds, and let them sit there for 1/2 hour first before baking so the moisture in the batter has enough time to "attack" the corn syrup and break it down?

f-d-l
 
Date: 10/24/2008 1:28:05 PM
Author: fleur-de-lis
Date: 10/24/2008 12:46:49 AM

Author: steph72276

Hey, guys. Well it is going to be a busy week for me cupcake wise. I made some chocolate ones for a party tomorrow, then I have a huge order for a breast cancer charity event (over 200 people are going to be in attendance) and then Andrew''s teacher asked me to do some for their Fall party! Anyway, here is a quick pic of my chocolate! Will post pics after this weekend!


Steph, that''s GORGEOUS-- how do you handle/twist your frosting to create that beautiful swirl? It looks so freestyle and precise at the same time...

Thank you so much. I just bought a 1M tip (after Mara suggested it) and played around with it. I do some outside in swirls and I do some from the center where you squeeze it out in the middle and then go around the outside without lifting the tip up. I would just go get a large tip and just practice to see what works best. Hope this helps!
 
Date: 10/24/2008 9:57:35 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Steph, her party is next weekend so I''ll let you know then (and I will post pics). Keep your fingers crossed!

Yea! Can''t wait to see pics....I''m sure they will turn out great! What day is her bday? Andrew''s is on the 3rd.
 
Date: 10/24/2008 12:46:49 AM
Author: steph72276
Hey, guys. Well it is going to be a busy week for me cupcake wise. I made some chocolate ones for a party tomorrow, then I have a huge order for a breast cancer charity event (over 200 people are going to be in attendance) and then Andrew's teacher asked me to do some for their Fall party! Anyway, here is a quick pic of my chocolate! Will post pics after this weekend!
Steph, those are beautiful!!!!
30.gif
That is so awesome you did that for a charity event!

Tacori and Steph, I can't wait to see your kiddo's bday cupcakes, happy birthday to Tess and Andrew!

Dixie, yummy!!!
 
Date: 10/24/2008 2:14:45 PM
Author: steph72276
Date: 10/24/2008 9:57:35 AM

Author: Tacori E-ring

Steph, her party is next weekend so I''ll let you know then (and I will post pics). Keep your fingers crossed!


Yea! Can''t wait to see pics....I''m sure they will turn out great! What day is her bday? Andrew''s is on the 3rd.

November 3rd? So is Tessa''s! But we are having her party on the 2nd.
 
Date: 10/24/2008 2:18:16 PM
Author: Skippy123
Date: 10/24/2008 12:46:49 AM

Author: steph72276

Hey, guys. Well it is going to be a busy week for me cupcake wise. I made some chocolate ones for a party tomorrow, then I have a huge order for a breast cancer charity event (over 200 people are going to be in attendance) and then Andrew''s teacher asked me to do some for their Fall party! Anyway, here is a quick pic of my chocolate! Will post pics after this weekend!
Steph, those are beautiful!!!!
30.gif
That is so awesome you did that for a charity event!


Tacori and Steph, I can''t wait to see your kiddo''s bday cupcakes, happy birthday to Tess and Andrew!


Dixie, yummy!!!

Thanks, Miss Skippy! I have missed you in the HLT, but I have been sooo busy! Hope you are doing well
1.gif
 
Date: 10/24/2008 2:50:27 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Date: 10/24/2008 2:14:45 PM

Author: steph72276

Date: 10/24/2008 9:57:35 AM


Author: Tacori E-ring


Steph, her party is next weekend so I''ll let you know then (and I will post pics). Keep your fingers crossed!



Yea! Can''t wait to see pics....I''m sure they will turn out great! What day is her bday? Andrew''s is on the 3rd.


November 3rd? So is Tessa''s! But we are having her party on the 2nd.

How funny! Tessa and Andrew share a birthday!
 
Date: 10/24/2008 3:28:01 PM
Author: steph72276

Date: 10/24/2008 2:18:16 PM
Author: Skippy123

Date: 10/24/2008 12:46:49 AM

Author: steph72276

Hey, guys. Well it is going to be a busy week for me cupcake wise. I made some chocolate ones for a party tomorrow, then I have a huge order for a breast cancer charity event (over 200 people are going to be in attendance) and then Andrew''s teacher asked me to do some for their Fall party! Anyway, here is a quick pic of my chocolate! Will post pics after this weekend!
Steph, those are beautiful!!!!
30.gif
That is so awesome you did that for a charity event!


Tacori and Steph, I can''t wait to see your kiddo''s bday cupcakes, happy birthday to Tess and Andrew!


Dixie, yummy!!!

Thanks, Miss Skippy! I have missed you in the HLT, but I have been sooo busy! Hope you are doing well
1.gif
Ah, thanks, I missed you too! I kept wondering where you were! Glad to see yours and Andrew''s pretty faces!!!
 
mini M&Ms = large surface area = lots of dye = tie-dyed cupcakes

I''m betting it has some kind of wax additive, but I''m not sure if it''s in the chocolate or the coating.

I''m going to go finish making chocolate chip cookies. (Chocolate chips have wax in them too. Most American made chocolate does, unfortunately.
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)
 
I haven''t made it through all 34 pages of this thread, so forgive me if this is a repeat, but I thought these were pretty awesome: TV dinner cupcakes.
 
mer, so funny! I wish they said how they were made though. I love them!
 
That Martha, she has all kinds of ideas!!

3148_corn_cupcake_l.jpg
 
I''m so making one of those TV dinners for my mother-in-law when she gets out of the hospital. So cute!!

I printed Martha''s directions. I can do it!!
 
Date: 10/25/2008 11:43:43 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
mer, so funny! I wish they said how they were made though. I love them!


Hey Tacori,
In addition to the Martha Link Fisherofmengirly provided, all of the items in the TV Dinner picture comes from a book which Mara mentioned earlier in this thread (and that my neighbor, when she saw my recent cupcake frenzy, ran back to her home to give to me so I can practice some for an upcoming party for her, yikes! LOL), called "Hello Cupcake"by Karen Tack.

-- For the chicken legs, you frost, put a donut hole (!!) on top to build volume, then tons of vanilla frosting. Coat in crushed corn flakes. The "bone" is made with melted white chocolate that has re-hardened.

-- The mashed potatoes side is made from vanilla frosting with a divot, a yellow/lemon starburst for butter (which makes it sound less appealing to adult me, but oh well), and caramel sauce.

-- The peas and carrots are frosted with green-tinted frosting to which cut-up pieces of orange starburst and either green runts or green M&Ms are added.



(It''s probably just me, but for as clever as these cupcakes are, I can''t help but be a little grossed out by random candy pieces like starburst in the same bite as a luscious cake! Oh well... they sure do look cute.)
 
hey, guys. Just got back from a Breast Cancer charity event. My cupcakes were a hit, so that was great to do something for a good cause. I made vanilla with pink frosting, chocolate chip, and coconut. Enjoy the pics!

charitycupcakes.jpg
 
Coconut up close...

coconut.jpg
 
Date: 10/26/2008 2:50:51 PM
Author: steph72276
hey, guys. Just got back from a Breast Cancer charity event. My cupcakes were a hit, so that was great to do something for a good cause. I made vanilla with pink frosting, chocolate chip, and coconut. Enjoy the pics!
Oh wow beautiful Steph; awesome job!!! Your new granite is pretty too! hehe
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Steph --
Those cuppies are gorgeous.
Love the colors.
 
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