The Cupcake Thread!

[Dandi]

Date: 10/5/2009 9:12:49 AM
Author: Jas12
I made cuppies with poured Glace icing last night (i ran out of meringe powder so i didn''t do the royal icing as planned). It worked well, but takes a *long* time to dry. I might use a bit more sugar next time to harden it up.
The only thing that is sucky about this method is that really you need a perfectly shaped cake (either flat or domed) and good sturdy liners. The icing highlights every imperfection.I think 2 layers would help fix that--but again, lots of time needed to dry ''em out if you do this & too sweet IMO.
The flavor was pretty good. I made reg. vanilla cuppies and the Glace was flavored strawberry with a few tiny drops of candy oil. I think a chocolate Glace would taste really nice (and more ''real''--iam not a big fan of artificial flavorings.

I am in the process of moving so all my food coloring and fondant topper supplies are packed away, i am going to try to do up a quick sample of something cute and post a pic tonight. Jus cause i know some of you would be interested right?

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.

 

[Dandi]

I''m so keen to try that too, Jas, but I''m scared! My cuppies are NEVER perfectly domed, they are either lopsided or they crack in the centre. Ack!

 

[steph72276]

Back with a few new pics. The first is a pumpkin cupcake for my son''s birthday party in his class tomorrow and the second is an order I did for a Daisy troop.

 

[steph72276]

...

 

[Skippy123]

DandiAndi and Steph, those cupcakes are so pretty!

They look so yummy too!
Steph happy birthday to Andrew!

 

[steph72276]

Thank you, Skippy! Hope you''re doing well

 

[Jas12]

Steph--those are so cute--esp love the halloween pumpkins ! Oh i am seriously craving a cuppie right now!


I made a bunch of fondant halloween toppers (3 dimensional instead of cut-outs) turned out pretty cute so i will post when they are all baked up. I know i owe everyone a picture of the poured royal icing cuppie but a friend of mine has my memory card and i haven''t had the chance to pick it up from her.

anyone else doing halloween cuppies?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Time for my annual contribution! My mom and Princesss helped me make cupcakes for my daughter''s animal/zoo themed party. We made zebras, monkeys and lions. Here are a few pictures. They were a hit.

 

[Lauren8211]

Oh my gosh Tacori. Those are freaking adorable!

Now I want to go home and make cuppies!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thanks elle! Here is a bird''s eye view of them.

 

[Lauren8211]

Unfortunately, they are too cute to eat. I''d have to just stare at them.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

and finally a more detailed shot.

 

[Skippy123]

adorable cuppies Tacori; super cute and happy birthday to Tessa!!!

 

[Kaleigh]

Wow these are amazing Tacori. Hoping miss Tessa had a wonderful birthday!!!! Great job on those cuppies!!!

 

[Mara]

super cute tacori!! happy bday to the munchkin.

 

[Porridge]

Wow Tacori those are amazing!!!

 

[Jas12]

Soooo cute Tacori !! I am sure the kids just loved them! (adults too

)

.....


A quick pic of my halloween cuppies--i actually had the fondant pumpkins on chocolate cuppies and they looked better, but didn''t get a picture before they were gobbled up.

ghosts and pumpkins both made in fondant

 

[Mara]

jas those are SOOOO cool!!! did you prop the ghost up using a toothpick or ? the pumpkins are fabulous, i am way too lazy to make fondant pumpkins given that the scotchmallow candy pumpkins are $1.99 a bag..haha. i just use those for any pumpkin or fall cupcakes i make. very nice!

 

[Jas12]

Mara--yep, used a long toothpick and placed them in so they just hover over the icing--worked well. I agree, those little sugar pumpkins would have worked just as well, but my morning sickness has kept me couch-bound lately so at least i could keep my hands busy while feeling like crap. I am not a big TV watcher so this helps (however DH doesn''t know why folding laundry can''t fall into that same category)


Looking for ideas for a baby shower of a close friend. She is having a girl and her name is going to be Anna so she likes the idea of a monogram, but i would like to do something else as well. Her colors are pale pink and brown.
any suggestions welcomed

 

[Porridge]

those are great jas! love the ghost!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Jas12, those are too cute!

Thanks Skippy, Lisa, Mara, Porridge and Jas12! I am always surprised how most of the adults DON''T eat cake/cupcakes at kid''s parties. So again we had WAYYY too many left over. I guess I am a pig b/c I ALWAYS hit up the desserts. Haha. T had a great birthday. I will be sad when a trip to McDonald''s playroom isn''t an exciting and fun treat.

 

[Jas12]

tacori--what? the adults didn''t eat them. Are they nuts. I am with you, i always hit up the dessert table

but ya, come to think of it, i had cuppies left over from Co''s party too....hmmm

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 11/5/2009 1:50:00 PM
Author: Jas12
tacori--what? the adults didn''t eat them. Are they nuts. I am with you, i always hit up the dessert table

but ya, come to think of it, i had cuppies left over from Co''s party too....hmmm

I know. I made 2 dozen (12 vanilla, 12 chocolate). We had 13 kids at the party over the age of 1 and we had 13 cupcakes left! That means not even every KID had one. Haha. Whatever. DH is perfectly happy to have so many leftovers! I am still always afraid of running out of food I probably would make the same if I did it all over again.

 

[ellaila]

Hmm, that''s interesting about the leftovers, Tacori! I was wondering how many to make - if everyone shows up, we should have 11 kids and 14 adults, so I figured I''d need more than two dozen ... but I guess maybe not?? I think my muffin tin is a bit small though, so actually a typical dozen recipe may make more like 15 or 16 in my tin, which would be good.

And I know this has been asked here before, but is there a general consensus on the best chocolate and vanilla cupcake recipes? I know people talk about Billy''s and Magnolia''s for vanilla - any preferences here? And what about chocolate?

Oh, and T, how long did it take you to decorate the cupcakes? Did you bake them the day before and then deco them the day of the party?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Ella, it took 2 hours (with 3 people decorating). We made them the night before. I have a cupcake, tupperware holder thing I used to keep them safe overnight.

 

[ellaila]

Yikes, I guess I''m going to need to enlist hubby and MIL to help! MIL is actually incredibly detail-oriented and precise, so she''ll probably make the cuppies look like National Geographic photos

So did you keep them in the fridge overnight?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

ella, nope. It took 5 hours (with two people) last year but we made twice as many cupcakes. Live and learn!

 

[Dandi]

Tacori, Steph and Jas, great work ladies! Jas those ghosts are too adorable!!!

A friend of mine asked me for 4 dozen cupcakes for this weekend, but DH and I only returned home from 3 weeks in Thailand last night... so the answer was a poilte but firm no

Ellaila, I tried Magnolia's (haven't tried Billy's), but just couldn't warm to them, I found them so heavy and too often they came out dry. I thought I must have been doing something really wrong, but it happened several times! My favourite vanilla cupcake recipe is just an easy generic one, but it's so fluffy and moist:

VANILLA CUP CAKES
125g butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1&1/2 cups SR flour
1/2 cup milk

1. Cream butter, essence and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in eggs one at a time, beat until combined. Stir in half the sifted flour and half the milk, then stir in remaining flour and milk. Pour mixture into 12 patty pans (in a 12-hole muffin tray.)
3. Bake for 15 minutes in a moderate oven (190 deg celcius) or until skewer comes out clean.

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And, my ALL TIME favourite chocolate recipe is this one, it's SO rich, decadent and moist, more like a really heavy mudcake. I omit the cherry brandy, as it's actually a recipe for Black Forest cupcakes. I still put the pureed cherries in though, to make it moist.

CHOCOLATE MUD CUPCAKES
15 oz (425g) can pitted cherries (sweet) in syrup
4 oz (100g) bittersweet (dark) eating chocolate - coarsely chopped (I use Lindt 70% cocoa)
5½ oz (165g) butter - coarsely chopped
11 oz (11/3 cup, 295g) superfine(castor) sugar
2¼ fl oz (¼ cup, 60ml) cherry brandy
5 oz (1cup, 150g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tblsp self-raising flour
2 tbls cocoa powder
1 egg

1. Pre-heat the oven to 335oF (170oC).
2. Line a 12 cupcake pan, with cupcake papers.
3. Drain the cherries and reserve the syrup.
4. Take ½ cup of cherries and ½ of syrup and process in a food processor, until smooth.
5. Cut the remaining cherries in half and reserve. Discard the remaining syrup.
6. Place the chocolate, butter, sugar, brandy and cherry puree into a saucepan. Over a low heat, stir until chocolate has melted.
7. Pour into a large bowl and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
8. Whisk in sifted flours and cocoa.
9. Then wisk in the egg.
10. It will be runny - but that is correct.
11. Divide the mixture evenly between the cake cases. You will probably find that you fill the cases close to the top (don't worry, they don't rise a lot).
12. Bake for 40-45 minutes until firm to touch.
13. Allow to cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

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And, if you prefer a lighter, fluffy chocolate cupcake, these are divine.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
1/2 cup (125 mL) cocoa, sifted
2/3 cup (150 mL) chopped unsweetened chocolate (about 4 oz/125 g)
1 cup (250 mL) boiling water
1 cup (250 mL) butter
1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar
1 cup (250 mL) brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla
2 1/2 cups (625 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
1 cup (250 mL) milk

1. Combine the cocoa and unsweetened chocolate in a bowl. Pour boiling water over chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Cool.
2. In a large bowl or bowl of electric mixer, cream butter with both sugars until very light. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add flour to butter mixture alternately with milk in three or four additions, beginning and ending with flour.
4. Fill 24 well-buttered or paper-lined muffin cups. (Fill muffin cups three quarters full.) Bake in a preheated 350ºF (180ºC) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack before icing.

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These are my favourites, and people tend to ask for them over again, particularly the mud ones. Hope that helps!

 

[Mara]

Magnolia's have what my friend calls a 'cornbread' consistency...they are so heavy. The bakery themselves are lighter cupcakes so I am sure they don't publish the EXACT recipe, for any of these that have their famous recipes in books, I am always skeptical about that. It's easy to publish a generic recipe and keep YOUR tips and tricks out of it. Like their banana pudding one...people who have had the recipe and the real stuff in the bakery say its totally diff. BTW for anyone who has not made the Magnolia banana pudding recipe with Nilla wafers, MAKE IT. I made it for a few parties last year and people absolutely love it...it's easy to make for a huge group.

My fave vanilla is the following (I hope I wrote it right since mostly its from memory)...and the trick for me is to use A LOT of vanilla and a combo of oil and butter (oil for moisture that won't bake out in the oven; butter for flavor). IMO when I find recipes that have 1 tsp or something of vanilla its a regular recipe for butter or oil cake. I am crazy with vanilla and whenever I have seen recipes for cupcakes I liked they always had a lot of vanilla.

BTW Dandi I have used that recipe you posted for vanilla, I think I found it online... I liked it a lot but I added a lot more vanilla hehe. I think that might have been what I used in the beginning to adapt to the one I use now.

1c sugar
2 eggs
1/3c oil
4 tsp softened to almost melting butter
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
1 1/2c flour
2/3tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4c milk (I do vit D milk with lemon and let sit for 5 min to make a thinner buttermilk)
(Makes about 28 miniatures)

Beat sugar and eggs with whisk for 1 min or until lightened and fluffy. Add oil and butter, mix. Add vanilla paste and combine, whisk for about 30 seconds. Add flour, baking soda, powder, salt, mix to combine. Add milk last and whisk til everything is just incorporated, then whisk for about 15 seconds quickly.

Let batter sit for about 5 min, then spoon into cupcake liners and bake at 350. I always make minis so they are done in about 12-14 min... this recipe WILL dry out very fast in the oven (like most vanillas I find) so I take them out when they are just about done but not quite.

If you don't let the batter sit for a few min, they tend to spread rather than rise enough, I like domes though.

I should note that I am lazy now and don't bother to get the mixer out for my cupcakes... but it's one of the most ordered. In the frosting I do a vanilla buttercream (with a bit of cream cheese for some tang) and put more paste along with vanilla extract. I am all about crazy vanilla!

Chocolate, the jury is still out! I have yet to really find a FAVORITE choco recipe. I've tried a ton of them too..most gourmet recipes in popular cookbooks, Martha's one bowl, the Hersheys back of the box one, etc. None of them turn out like the chocolate cakes at the bakery (YUM!). So whenever I want choco cake I just go get a slice!

For cupcakes I like the Hersheys or Martha's one bowl but I try to use Vahlrona cocoa instead.

 

[miraclesrule]

I think I gained 5 lbs, just viewing the last 5 pages. You woman are so inspiring and sooooooooo talented!!