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The Cupcake Thread!
- Thread starter Mara
- Start date
Jas12
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lili
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NYCsparkle
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Mara, thank you so much for writing out all of that information! I found it very helpful and am still going back to re-read. Thanks for adding milk/buttermilk/sour cream. I''ve actually been thinking about trying to modify some recipes. I''m not thrilled with my vanilla and would like to add some moisture so I thought about adding some sour cream. I recently turned a cake recipe into a cupcake recipe. The recipe called for basic chocolate cake mix with sour cream and a couple other ingredients. I put in about 1/2 the sour cream and think it came out perfect.
Any idea how much sour cream to add to a general recipe?
The Mango cupcakes sounds great! Since we have a lot of mangos where I am, I''ve been meaning to try this.
Vip, your cupcakes look great!!
Here''s my most recent: Double Chocolate Chip cupcakes with a Chocolate Glaze
Any idea how much sour cream to add to a general recipe?
The Mango cupcakes sounds great! Since we have a lot of mangos where I am, I''ve been meaning to try this.
Vip, your cupcakes look great!!
Here''s my most recent: Double Chocolate Chip cupcakes with a Chocolate Glaze
DandiAndi, your cupcakes look very tasty! The cherry is so pretty on top with the chocolate!
Do you put fresh strawberries in your frosting? I have a hard time w/Strawberry frosting b/c it never holds well. In fact, any frosting with fruit does not hold for me. Anyone have any tips?
Sunkist, those cupcakes are cute! I love the various ways to decorate cupcakes.
Do you put fresh strawberries in your frosting? I have a hard time w/Strawberry frosting b/c it never holds well. In fact, any frosting with fruit does not hold for me. Anyone have any tips?
Sunkist, those cupcakes are cute! I love the various ways to decorate cupcakes.
puffy
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Thankyou for the lovely comments, all! All 2 dozen cupcakes were gone in minutes, which is a huge compliment
My friend''s 3 year old ate four... well when I say ate... he ate most and smooshed the rest all over his sister
dixie, I found that putting fresh berries in the cream cheese frosting made it too runny. I use a tiny bit of strawberry flavouring which also gives it a pink tinge, and a couple of spoonfuls of really good strawberry jam, with lots of seeds in it, because I love the speckley look!
dixie, I found that putting fresh berries in the cream cheese frosting made it too runny. I use a tiny bit of strawberry flavouring which also gives it a pink tinge, and a couple of spoonfuls of really good strawberry jam, with lots of seeds in it, because I love the speckley look!
icekid
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Dandi- your cupcakes look absolutely wonderful!
And finally... photos of the cupcakes that resulted in my being called Martha Stewart at work
(I took it as a compliment hehe)
Chocolate cupcakes w/ choco/raspberry frosting. I don''t know why they look wet! But still working on the piping skills. I wish I could bake more for practice.
And finally... photos of the cupcakes that resulted in my being called Martha Stewart at work
Chocolate cupcakes w/ choco/raspberry frosting. I don''t know why they look wet! But still working on the piping skills. I wish I could bake more for practice.
icekid
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Linda W
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Tacori E-ring
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Yeeeahhhh!! icekid they look DIVINE!!
I almost licked the screen when your choc rasberry ones popped up!!
Tacori, the pans in my pics are part of my carrier. I cook them in the pan, and then remove them so they can cool properly, then pop them back in the pan to frost them. It''s easier that way, rather than trying to duck-shove them around once they''re iced and a bit harder to handle. The lid then clicks onto the top of the pan and voila, I''m off!
Tacori, the pans in my pics are part of my carrier. I cook them in the pan, and then remove them so they can cool properly, then pop them back in the pan to frost them. It''s easier that way, rather than trying to duck-shove them around once they''re iced and a bit harder to handle. The lid then clicks onto the top of the pan and voila, I''m off!
mochi
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icekid
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Date: 6/14/2009 2:58:50 AM
Author: DandiAndi
I made eclairs yesterday, mmmmmmmm. Half with vanilla bean cream, half with strawberry cream, all dipped in Cadbury chocolate. Yummy tummy! DH ate about 5 in one go
]
oh my... I think I gained a pound from LOOKING at that eclair! It looks soooooo good.
Tacori E-ring
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mochi
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OMG! I wanted to just lick my computer screen!Date: 6/14/2009 3:00:05 AM
Author: DandiAndi
OK... two non-cupcake pics
You can just see the pink cream poking out! Next time I think I''ll do custard. Does any lovely person have a fantastic custard recipe they''d be willing to share? I''ve never made it before.
Skippy123
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OH YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMY!!!! Those looks so goodDate: 6/14/2009 2:58:50 AM
Author: DandiAndi
I''m gonna be reeeeal naughty and sneak in a non-cupcake pic *gasp*
I made eclairs yesterday, mmmmmmmm. Half with vanilla bean cream, half with strawberry cream, all dipped in Cadbury chocolate. Yummy tummy! DH ate about 5 in one go
Excuse the fingerprints on the chocolate!!
InLuv101
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Would you mind sharing the recipe? It seems intimidating to me too, but I''d love to give it a try. I have no clue where to start though.
BTW...your latest cupcakes are fantastic! I just wanted to gobble up those chocolate dipped cherries!
Icekid -- Yay for your pics! They look so scrumptious!!
Dixie -- Your cuppies look yummy as always!
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mochi, you seriously crack me up!!!!
Skippy, thankyou love! I was surpised at how easy and messy yet fun these things are to make!
InLuv, here 'tis!
CREAM FILLED ECLAIRS
Choux Pastry
265ml milk
210ml water
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
150g butter
8 eggs
260gm sifted plain flour
Preheat your oven to 220 deg celcius - 425 fahrenheit.
Place milk, water, sugar and salt into a saucepan over heat, and add the butter. Once the milk has started to boil and all of the butter has melted, add all of the sifted flour to the saucepan. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for a good 3-4 minutes. This gives the gluten in the flour plenty of time ot activate, so the mixture will take the eggs. Once all incorporated the dough should leave the sides of the saucepan while stirring in one large 'glob', and should have a shiny appearance.
Put the dough into a large bowl, and knock some of the heat and steam out by stirring it, so that the hot dough doesn't scramble the eggs. (I did this for about 3 minutes). Once cooled slightly, add the eggs, 2 at a time, stirring well to incorporate each one.
Line or grease a baking tray. Fill a piping bag with the dough mixture with a largo round tip. Pipe out 'sausages' of dough, about 1 inch thick and 15cm long, and about 4cm apart to allow for puff). I also piped a few little 4cm diameter spirals that turned out as profiteroles. Bake at 220 deg C/425 deg F for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180 deg C/350 deg F to let the cases dry out. I left mine for 15 minutes and they weren't as dry as I'd like, so I turned the oven off and left them in there with the door ajar for a further 10 minutes. When they are baking initially at the high heat, DON'T open the oven door, or they'll lose their puff! I learned that the hard way... duh
Once the little suckers have cooled, poke a hole in one end of the base, about 1cm from the edge, with a piping bag tip of about 1cm diameter. Fill a piping bag with the filling of choice, and gently stick it in the premade hole, squeezing the piping bag reasonably firmly. Don't apply too much pressure or the eclairs might pop, as I found out! Lay the case in your non-piping hand and feel for the fullness as it fills up, a bit will poke out of the cracks.
For my filling I whipped 1 cup of thickened cream, 1/4 cup icing sugar, and added about 1 1/2tsp of vanilla essence. You can use vanilla beans/vanilla bean paste or any other flavouring. With half the cream I added strawberry flavouring and a drop of red food colouring to give it a pink tinge. I'm planning on doing custard next time.
For the top, I simply melted a Family Size block of plain Cadbury chocolate and dipped the top of them in.
I was inspired to make these after watching an episode of Masterchef Australia. Here's a video if that helps! It reassure me that mine look the way they were supposed to
I skipped the fondant thing, because, well, I prefer chocolate
http://www.masterchef.com.au/video.htm?vxSiteId=fefcb37d-8e38-4dbc-a768-e8bb503ed226&vxChannel=MC1%5FMasterclass&vxClipId=
You just need to click on the bit on the right of the screen where it says 'Coffee Eclairs with Vanilla Cream Filling'.
Enjoy!!!
Skippy, thankyou love! I was surpised at how easy and messy yet fun these things are to make!
InLuv, here 'tis!
CREAM FILLED ECLAIRS
Choux Pastry
265ml milk
210ml water
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
150g butter
8 eggs
260gm sifted plain flour
Preheat your oven to 220 deg celcius - 425 fahrenheit.
Place milk, water, sugar and salt into a saucepan over heat, and add the butter. Once the milk has started to boil and all of the butter has melted, add all of the sifted flour to the saucepan. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for a good 3-4 minutes. This gives the gluten in the flour plenty of time ot activate, so the mixture will take the eggs. Once all incorporated the dough should leave the sides of the saucepan while stirring in one large 'glob', and should have a shiny appearance.
Put the dough into a large bowl, and knock some of the heat and steam out by stirring it, so that the hot dough doesn't scramble the eggs. (I did this for about 3 minutes). Once cooled slightly, add the eggs, 2 at a time, stirring well to incorporate each one.
Line or grease a baking tray. Fill a piping bag with the dough mixture with a largo round tip. Pipe out 'sausages' of dough, about 1 inch thick and 15cm long, and about 4cm apart to allow for puff). I also piped a few little 4cm diameter spirals that turned out as profiteroles. Bake at 220 deg C/425 deg F for 20 minutes, then turn the heat down to 180 deg C/350 deg F to let the cases dry out. I left mine for 15 minutes and they weren't as dry as I'd like, so I turned the oven off and left them in there with the door ajar for a further 10 minutes. When they are baking initially at the high heat, DON'T open the oven door, or they'll lose their puff! I learned that the hard way... duh
Once the little suckers have cooled, poke a hole in one end of the base, about 1cm from the edge, with a piping bag tip of about 1cm diameter. Fill a piping bag with the filling of choice, and gently stick it in the premade hole, squeezing the piping bag reasonably firmly. Don't apply too much pressure or the eclairs might pop, as I found out! Lay the case in your non-piping hand and feel for the fullness as it fills up, a bit will poke out of the cracks.
For my filling I whipped 1 cup of thickened cream, 1/4 cup icing sugar, and added about 1 1/2tsp of vanilla essence. You can use vanilla beans/vanilla bean paste or any other flavouring. With half the cream I added strawberry flavouring and a drop of red food colouring to give it a pink tinge. I'm planning on doing custard next time.
For the top, I simply melted a Family Size block of plain Cadbury chocolate and dipped the top of them in.
I was inspired to make these after watching an episode of Masterchef Australia. Here's a video if that helps! It reassure me that mine look the way they were supposed to
I skipped the fondant thing, because, well, I prefer chocolate
http://www.masterchef.com.au/video.htm?vxSiteId=fefcb37d-8e38-4dbc-a768-e8bb503ed226&vxChannel=MC1%5FMasterclass&vxClipId=
You just need to click on the bit on the right of the screen where it says 'Coffee Eclairs with Vanilla Cream Filling'.
Enjoy!!!
Mara
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choux! dandi those look divine...! i haven''t had the guts to make them yet, not because i am intimidated but because i would EAT THEM ALL myself. i love your variations.
i made a bunch of cupcakes for a bbq we had a few weeks ago and some more banana pudding, which was inhaled like crazy, but other than that we have been too busy for too much baking. oh well for now! for 4th of july i plan to do a key lime mousse cheesecake thanks to the paula deen special mag i just picked up, heart attack central. oh that''s not what it''s called. HAHA. but the recipes ARE.
i made a bunch of cupcakes for a bbq we had a few weeks ago and some more banana pudding, which was inhaled like crazy, but other than that we have been too busy for too much baking. oh well for now! for 4th of july i plan to do a key lime mousse cheesecake thanks to the paula deen special mag i just picked up, heart attack central. oh that''s not what it''s called. HAHA. but the recipes ARE.
InLuv101
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InLuv, no worries!!
Mara, the danger of eating them all is very real!!
I sucked a few down myself. Speaking of heart attacks, I think I''m going to have one! I''ve agreed to do cupcakes for my best best best friend''s engagement party in a month''s time. 150!! I think 2 dozen each of 5 different flavours, but which ones?? I''d like 5 completely different ones. I''ll do vanilla strawberry, red velvet, black forrest, snickerdoodle, and...?? Any suggestions?! Or I might just do 3 dozen of each of those flavours, as they are all pretty popular. 144 is close enough!
Thoughts?! I''m freakin'' out, man
I think I''ll do a few dozen Magnolia Vanilla cuppies the week before and freeze them. I''ve frozen them in the past and they turned out great.
Mara, the danger of eating them all is very real!!
Thoughts?! I''m freakin'' out, man
Mara
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ha ha you ARE crazy Dandi!
but don''t worry, 150 is not THAT bad. if you have 2-3 racks in the oven and 2-3 pans you can crank them all out in one day. i did 650+ miniatures in about a week and a half over christmas and man i was burnt out!!! but now things like 72 or whatever don''t freak me out quite as much heehhe.
what IS black forrest? i ask because a regular chocolate might be a better bet to feed the masses (and possibly less hassle/expensive)...when i create in bulk i tend to want to stick to simpler things just because you have to factor in frosting, decoration time etc. aka when i did the 650 cupcakes, 3 of them had cream cheese frosting and the 4th had buttercream. i could make a smaller batch of buttercream and then a huge batch of cream cheese. i''d separate them all out and flavor them differently. but if one has whipped cream frosting, one has cream cheese, one has buttercream etc....it can be REALLY time consuming. baking the cupcakes themselves is not the only thing to consider!
people LOVE vanilla vanilla and chocolate mint i have found...those are my two most requested flavors. red velvet of course. snickerdoodle is easy and yet different. what about a lemon? or a straight strawberry, then you can have vanilla vanilla bean and then do a strawberry w/cream cheese. s''berry is my fourth most requested after red velvet.
but don''t worry, 150 is not THAT bad. if you have 2-3 racks in the oven and 2-3 pans you can crank them all out in one day. i did 650+ miniatures in about a week and a half over christmas and man i was burnt out!!! but now things like 72 or whatever don''t freak me out quite as much heehhe.
what IS black forrest? i ask because a regular chocolate might be a better bet to feed the masses (and possibly less hassle/expensive)...when i create in bulk i tend to want to stick to simpler things just because you have to factor in frosting, decoration time etc. aka when i did the 650 cupcakes, 3 of them had cream cheese frosting and the 4th had buttercream. i could make a smaller batch of buttercream and then a huge batch of cream cheese. i''d separate them all out and flavor them differently. but if one has whipped cream frosting, one has cream cheese, one has buttercream etc....it can be REALLY time consuming. baking the cupcakes themselves is not the only thing to consider!
people LOVE vanilla vanilla and chocolate mint i have found...those are my two most requested flavors. red velvet of course. snickerdoodle is easy and yet different. what about a lemon? or a straight strawberry, then you can have vanilla vanilla bean and then do a strawberry w/cream cheese. s''berry is my fourth most requested after red velvet.
pennquaker09
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