Red Velvet Cupcakes

I've never eaten a red velvet cupcake before. I guess the whole, is it a vanilla or chocolate cake or just something in between steered me away from even attempting this cake. If it wasn't for my brother who begged me to make these cupcakes for his friend, I don't think I would ever make these. I chose a butter based instead of oil recipe for maximum flavour because I just couldn't see how a cake made with one tbsp of cocoa would have any taste. Red velvet isn't supposed to be a chocolate tasting cake, but the thought of a something tasting like it had a 'hint' of chocolate flavour didn't seem appealing to me. Plus with the tanginess from the buttermilk and vinegar, I was really worried these would have some weird flavour and that the only thing drawing me into eating these was the pretty red colour and cream cheese frosting!


As it turns out, these weren't so bad. They were even moist the next day even after storing them in the fridge, which was great because most butter based cakes dry out. I used the recipe from the Joy of Baking, increasing the butter by 2 tablespoons.

Red Velvet Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used 6 tablespoons)
3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 - 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting. Either spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula, or use a large 1M Wilton open star decorating tip to pipe the frosting.

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/RedVelvetCupcakes.html#ixzz1LhfpGcJ0

Cream Cheese Frosting
6 tablespoons of butter at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1.5-2 cups of icing sugar, sifted depending on how sweet you like your frosting

Cream butter at medium speed until smooth
Add cream cheese and continue beating at medium low speed until there are no lumps
Sift icing sugar and continue beating at medium low until incorporated
Do not overbeat or else frosting will be too soft to pipe

I could only take this picture at night when the lighting is all screwed up, but this is what the red velvet cupcakes were really made for.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Frosting

I made these cupcakes for a birthday party. As usual, I went with Hershey's perfectly chocolate chocolate cake and a ganache frosting. For the rose, I used a Wilton 2D tip and swirled from the inside to out. Lately, I've been really into playing around with fondant. They just make the cutest cakes, but I don't think I could ever wrap an entire cake with it until it can magically taste ok. I'm not even asking for good, just not gross. Until then, it's little fondant cutouts...

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (natural)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Chocolate Ganache
From Savoury, Sweet, Life (with an excellent tutorial)

8 ounces of chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
*optional 3 tbl. of flavored liqueor

Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Allow ganache to cool before pouring over cakes as a glaze. The longer you allow the ganache to cool, the thicker it will set. Typically I stick mine in the refrigerator so it is slightly cold before whipping. For piping or frosting, allow the ganache to completely cool and set up. When you are able to spoon the ganache and it can hold its texture, it is ready for piping

MSC: Coconut Cupcakes

I haven't updated in ages, but I really don't want to get kicked out of MSC. It's just been so busy since the holidays that I kind of let everything slip. Maybe I just need a new camera for some inspiration... I used a ganache glaze instead of 7 minute frosting. I wasn't trying to be lazy or anything, but I had just enough leftover from cupcakes I made earlier for a birthday party and that little container of ganache in the fridge was just begging to be used.


These were the cupcakes I stole the ganache from. The ganache on this cupcake was actually whipped, but I heated it up again for the coconut cupcakes so it went back to glaze form. Sorry for the blurry picture, but I took this on my blackberry because I was in a rush to deliver them. The flower on top is made with royal icing and tinted with 'no taste' red gel colour. As usual, I went with the always reliable and crowd favourite Hershey's perfectly chocolate chocolate cake recipe. The leftovers were brought to work and I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoyed them!

The coconut cupcakes on the other hand weren't really a favourite of mine so I left them at home, but I'm starting to feel that as long as something is sweet or has chocolate in it, people will just eat it anyway. It's actually kind of sad because the standards for good tasting food seem to be getting lower as processed food becomes more available and easy. From the reactions I was getting when I brought in cookies to work, it's almost as if people have never had a cookie made with butter before!

Thanks to Jennifer of Cinema Cupcakes for choosing coconut cupcakes!

Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (natural)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Royal Icing
Whimsical Bakehouse

You'll have no worries about pasteurization with this easy recipe. Royal icing is ideal as the glue to assemble your gingerbread house or for decorating cookies with the flood method or sanding sugar. Meringue powder can be found at baking supply stores and some grocery stores.

In a large bowl of a clean electric mixer fitted with a whip attachment, whip to stiff peaks:
1/4 cup meringue powder
1/2 cup cold water

Add and mix at low speed with a paddle attachment, until combined:
1 lb confectioner's sugar

Continue mixing at high speed for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the icing is stiff.

Add and mix on low speed until combined:
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth while you are working with or coloring the icing, or immediately place it in an airtight container or pastry cone; otherwise, a hard crust will quickly form as it dries.

Yield: 4 cups

Chocolate Ganache
From Savoury, Sweet, Life (with an excellent tutorial)

8 ounces of chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
*optional 3 tbl. of flavored liqueor

Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Allow ganache to cool before pouring over cakes as a glaze. The longer you allow the ganache to cool, the thicker it will set. Typically I stick mine in the refrigerator so it is slightly cold before whipping. For piping or frosting, allow the ganache to completely cool and set up. When you are able to spoon the ganache and it can hold its texture, it is ready for piping

Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

A woman who I used to work with asked me to bake cupcakes for a birthday party. This was my first paid cupcake order so it was a little nerve wracking. She gave me a lot of freedom with the flavours, which was was actually worse for me because I can never make up my mind. In the end, I went with raspberry cream cheese because you can never really go wrong with cream cheese frosting... that's why we eat red velvet cupcakes right? I wish I could have done something super cool with the decorating, but it was really difficult to pipe cream cheese frosting without it looking sloppy and melty so I swirled it using my largest round tip. I was beyond excited when she told me how much she loved them!

Amy Sedaris' Cupcakes

24 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 stick (12 tbsp) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1 1/2 cup sugar)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup milk

Directions
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees (Amy uses 375, but I think that's too high).
2. In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt together
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs, one at a time making sure it's well incorporated
5. Beat in vanilla
6. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with milk. Do not overbeat.
7. Divide batter evenly. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes and toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
9. Cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes then transfer cupcakes to cool completely

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter, room temperature
1 block (8oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup raspberry jam

Beat butter on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy
Add cream cheese and beat on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy (30 seconds-1 minute)
Sift powdered sugar over creamed mixture and beat on medium low until the sugar is all incorporated
Add jam and continue beating.
Make sure you don't overbeat or else the frosting will become soupy.

New Moon: Werewolf Cupcakes

I can't believe New Moon is finally coming to theatres in 2 days! When I saw the werewolf cupcakes in Hello Cupcake, I knew I would eventually get around to making them. Even though I'm on Team Edward, I had to make something to support Twilight. It only took me forever to try and attempt these because I was afraid they would turn out looking more like blobs. The piping part actually wasn't as hard as I thought it would be even though my super hot hands kept softening the frosting. I would have loved to use all butter, but I think the little bit of shortening was necessary for stability. Store bought frosting might have been easier for piping because of its consistency, but for something that I spent hours working on, it felt like a waste to have to eat the canned stuff. Instead, I kind of came up with my own, beginning with a 1:3 ratio of shortening to butter and then adjusting the other ingredients for taste and consistency. One of the best things about Hello Cupcake is, you don't really have to buy special tools. I wasn't really up for making my own ziplock piping bag so I used the Wilton tip 352

I know a lot of people were disappointed with Twilight, but I think New Moon will be a gazillion times better. It seems to have a more 'real movie' feel to it and they got rid of that annoying blue tint!


Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (natural)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Chocolate Frosting
6 tbsp butter
1.5 tbsp shortening
3 oz chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp corn syrup

Melt chocolate and set aside to cool
Cream butter and shortening until creamy and there are no lumps
Add cooled melted chocolate to butter and shortening mixture
On low, add powdered sugar and cocoa until incorporated
Add corn symrup and continue mixing on medium low.

MSC: Pumpkin Patch Cupcakes

Everyone in my family hates pumpkin except for me. It also doesn't help that these look really ugly! Since I wasn't going to get any help from anyone, I skipped the frosting. It wasn't easy eating all of these myself even though I quartered the recipe. Pacing myself at 2 to 3 a day, I eventually finished them. I'm making this sound like hard work... which it was especially after day 2, but when they were all gone I actually missed them. I doubt I'll be making another batch soon though!

Thanks to Kim of What the Whisk for choosing this recipe!

Chocolate Cupcakes

There's something about sprinkles that gets me excited every time. Even when they aren't particularly yummy and annoying to have beads of sugar stuck between my teeth, I will gladly reach for that sprinkly donut. When my chocolate cupcakes looked a little too plain, I decided to dress them up a little. To make them a teeny bit fancier, I topped them with a sunflower left from cake decorating. I went with the always reliable and easy Hershey's chocolate cake recipe and frosting.


I'm trying to get caught up on commenting, but my google reader is going to burst with 1000+ posts and that was from a while ago! It annoys me when my reader isn't cleared so I'm getting through as many as I can.

Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
(I added 1 tsp of instant coffee)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

MSC: Zucchini Spice Cupcakes

I don't exactly want to start off this post saying that I really didn't like these, but it's the truth. It's probably because I don't usually like spices so if you like zucchini and spices, you'll probably love these. I've gotten better though from TWD, but these were still too overpowering for me, especially since zucchini doesn't exactly taste like anything. I don't think frosting could have saved these so I left them as is.


I feel like I've been a little absent from blogging and havn't been commenting as much as I would love to, but right now everything feels a little bleh. I'm sure I'll get back into it because I can't ever imagine stopping with blogging or baking.

Thanks to Tracey for choosing these. Don't forget to check out the MSC Blogroll!

Sprinkles Cupcakes for Father's Day

Is it just me or is anyone else starting to feel like they're on dessert overload? Lately I've been feeling a little sick of sweets, but not the baking part so that makes it really difficult to make something new when the desserts are piling up. That's why I love getting together with family because it gives me an excuse to bake, and a full recipe too (no annoying egg splitting or creaming 3 tbsps of butter!). Oh.. and catching up is fun too. Since it's the summer and strawberries are everywhere, I finally decided to give Sprinkle's strawberry cupcakes a try. It seemed like the perfect summer dessert for Father's Day. My family seems to be on a health kick nowadays with everyone splitting a cookie or taking out knives to cut a cupcake in half. I thought I would make it easier on them by making mini cupcakes and test out my new mini silicone baking cups. I never thought I would use silicone just because I have this weird belief that whatever is baking in them will not cook. I don't know why.. maybe it's because the cups don't feel hot like metal does. The batter was delicious and tasted like strawberry icecream! I'm not usually a batter licker because the raw flour grosses me out, but I couldn't help dipping my fingers one too many times. Too bad I didn't love it when they were baked. They weren't horrible, but I didn't love the texture. I even made regular sized cupcakes in a metal pan because I didn't want to judge a recipe I've never tried before baked at 1/4th of its original size. I think I'm going to try adding strawberry puree to a butter cake recipe next time, but I have the feeling it's not as easy as replacing some of the milk with strawberry. Fruits do weird things to batter.

Banana Cupcakes

I decided to participate in May's Cooking Club Challenge hosted by Food Network Canada because they were making Anna Olson's White Chocolate Banana Loaf! There were a few mixed opinions about this recipe, but I made it anyway because I'm not sure when FN Canada will have another baking recipe. Since this recipe uses cake and pastry flour, I thought it could work well as a cupcake and frosted them with Martha's honey-cinnamon frosting I saw on Hannah's gorgeous blog, Honey and Jam. Other than the frosting and omitting the white chocolate chips from the batter, I followed the recipe.

I have to admit that I was disappointed with these banana cupcakes, especially since my kitchen was smelling so yummy while they were baking. The texture was a little too springy and loose, but not in a fluffy kind of way. Maybe it's because I'm used to banana breads being dense yet tender and super moist. Even as a cupcake, the texture seemed kind of off. I think it might be the cake flour or baking powder because this recipe has a very similar ratio of ingredients as my favourite banana bread recipe from the Silver Palate Cookbook. I thought that the honey and cinnamon frosting complimented the banana flavour really well though! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another baking recipe for June!


Banana White Chocolate Loaf

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups pastry flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup white chocolate, chopped, plus some for drizzling (I omitted)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 6 ½ x 3-inch loaf pan. (I used a muffin tin)
2. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with banana.
4. Fold in chopped white chocolate (I omitted). Scrape batter into pan and spread evenly (I used a large cookie scoop = 3 tbsp and got 12 cupcakes)
5. Bake for 30 minutes (it took me 15 minutes) until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a plate.

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

1 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(I added 2 tbsps of milk for a softer consistency)

1. Cream butter on medium high until there are no lumps and fluffy
2. Add sugar, cinnamon and honey on low. Continue beating on medium low speed until fluffy
3. Add milk by the tablespoon until desired consistency is reached

Amy Sedaris' Vanilla Cupcakes + Peach SMBC

Not only am I obsessed with finding the perfect cupcake recipe, but I'm now obsessed with the 1M tip. All I want to do is make cupcakes and frosting! When I finally got the beater blade, the first thing I baked were Amy Sedaris' cupcake recipe so I could make a batch of SMBC. The beater blade is so cool. It definitely makes creaming a lot more efficient and seems to incorporate more air. Seeing how the butter, sugar and eggs were being creamed so intensely, I was afraid of was overmixing so I switched back to the regular paddle to add the flour and milk. I'll have to try using it next time the whole way through to see how it compares with the regular paddle in cake texture although I have a feeling that I'll just use it for pre-flour purposes..haha. I can't help that I'm paranoid about overmixing! Thanks for recommending such a great recipe Cassie! I love how this cupcake wasn't overly dense or tasted like butter and egg overload like most cupcake recipes I've tried.

Amy Sedaris' Cupcakes

24 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 stick (12 tbsp) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1 1/2 cup sugar)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups flour (I used all purpose, but I guess you could use either all purpose or cake flour)
1 1/4 cup milk

Directions
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees (Amy uses 375, but I think that's too high).
2. In a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt together
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs, one at a time making sure it's well incorporated
5. Beat in vanilla
6. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with milk. Do not overbeat.
7. Divide batter evenly. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes and toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
9. Cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes then transfer cupcakes to cool completely

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from How to eat a cupcake

Ingredients
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cup peach jam (could barely taste it, will add more)

Directions
Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes.
Press jam through a strainer to get rid of lumps and beat into frosting. Beat until frosting is smooth and creamy. Continue beating for 2 minutes on low speed to eliminate air bubbles

Flour Frosting V2 and Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake

Cleaner, smoother and quicker! After getting a suggestion from Kate, who commented in my other post to replace flour for cornstarch, I decided to give it a try. As soon as I had the excuse to bake cupcakes, I immediately knew that this would be the frosting to make along with Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake. I've been dying to make these two things for the longest time and finally use my 1M tip!! I don't know what it is about the swirl, but everytime I see it on a cupcake, it just makes me smile.

Flour frosting V2 definitely tastes better. I think it partly has to do with cornstarch itself and partly because the milk/sugar/starch mixture is heated for less time so the milk flavour is less concentrated. Thickening with cornstarch is a bit different than flour though and you can't just dump it in and stir like crazy.

Here are some tips I found on google for thickening with cornstarch
* Make a slurry - dissolve 1 tbsp of cornstarch in 2 tbsp of cold liquid (water or in this case, milk) to prevent lumps
* Add slurry to the heated mixture you want to thicken
* Do not stir too vigorously or the starch granules will break and lose its thickening power
* Don't let the starch mixture come to a rolling boil or cook too long
* Don't lick the spoon you are stirring with or the enzymes in your saliva might break down the starch
* Acidic foods might weaken the thickening
* Too much sugar might weaken the thickening

As for the cake, my favourite chocolate cake recipe is still the old fashioned chocolate cake from Cook's Illustrated. There are a few more steps and messy bowls, but there's something about butter and possibly the method they use that I think really makes the difference in texture. Hershey's is good in that it's insanely moist and generally a crowd favourite because of that. It will probably be my go-to for a quick and easy chocolate cake when I'm short on time. I'll probably add some melted chocolate next time for greater depth in flavour because this cake was just a tiny bit flat for me. I think it has more to do with the cocoa I used because it wasn't the best quality, but it was the only natural cocoa I could find.

Flour Frosting V2

1 cup milk, divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butter, cut into tablespoon sized chunks at room temperature, but not too soft

Heat 3/4 cup milk, 1 cup sugar and a pinch of salt in a pot over medium heat until sugar is dissolved but do not let it come to a boil.

Make a slurry with the starch and remaining 1/4 cup milk. Stir to get rid of lumps

Pour starch slurry into milk and sugar mixture and continue heating over medium heat. Stir , but not vigorously or else the starch mixture might liquify. After 1 minute, tiny bubbles will appear on the side and mixture should thicken. Continue heating for 1-2 minutes to get cook out the flour taste. Mixture should be thickened by now. Don't let mixture come to a rolling boil or else the starch granules might break.

Pour thickened mixture into a bowl of standing mixer and cool until room temperature by leaving it out on the counter or in the fridge for 1 hour. Don't let it get cold or else it will take forever for the butter to incorporate with the mixture.

Cut butter into tablespoon chunks. On medium low speed, add the butter by the tablespoon until it is all incorporated. Increase the speed to medium or medium high and beat until it comes together (approx 5 minutes). During these 5 minutes, the frosting is going to transform from a curdled mess into a fluffy and soft frosting. If it takes a longer time to come together, just be patient and continue whipping until it gets fluffy.

Add vanilla and continue mixing at low speed for 1 minute.

Use immediately. If using later, you will have to rewhip the frosting.

Hershey's Perfect Chocolate Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa (natural)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
(I added 1 tsp of instant coffee)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

Flour Frosting

I never thought I would start a post title with flour frosting, sounds appetizing doesn't it? Well, it is the best buttercream type frosting I've ever had, tied with SMBC (But only Cassie's version). When I first started baking from scratch, I was really disappointed with frosting because I thought that anything made with 'real' ingredients had to taste better than the fake supermarket stuff we get, but it wasn't. No matter how creamy the butter + icing sugar frosting looked in the stand mixer or piped out on a cake, I just couldn't help scraping it off. Maybe it's the icing sugar I buy or I'm just weird, but all I could feel was gritty, pasty and taste cornstarch. I tried so many versions (with water, milk, cream, part shortening + sifted like crazy), but none of them could solve the icing sugar problems I was having. Finally I gave up and moved on to SMBC. Most people who make SMBC complain that it tastes like a stick of butter..well.. because it does (unless you have the right ratio of ingredients) so I was really disappointed when that failed too. It wasn't until I accidentally halved the sugar when making a quartered version of buttercream for the DB Filbert Gateau challenge when I finally made something that tasted creamy, sweet, and not like a stick of butter! It still wasn't perfect so I went searching for a SMBC with a similar ratio of butter to sugar to egg whites.

I still wanted to make frosting that tastes like the fake whipped cream stuff minus all the chemicals. Many people were saying that flour frostings taste a lot like whipped or pastry cream, but I was reluctant to try them because if I was having a problem with the tiny amounts of cornstarch in icing sugar, the thought of adding flour was grossing me out even more. Then Cassie made a flour frosting for her red velvet cupcakes and since I love her SMBC, I had to give it a try. Most of the recipes on google seemed to have the same ratio of butter, sugar and milk with flour being the only difference so I just randomly chose a recipe, but followed her directions. It didn't make sense to cream the butter and granulated sugar and then add the cooled cooked flour mixture anyway (unless if granulated sugar can somehow magically dissolve).


As for the cupcake, I made a modified version of Billy Billy's vanilla cupcake, but I'm going to save that for another post because it's still not perfect (grr!). If anyone's interested though, here's the recipe to Billy's cupcakes. Oh and since I was baking cupcakes I couldn't help doing a direct comparison of my muffin tins. I mentioned that the William's Sonoma Goldtouch was the best pan I've ever used, but I didn't do an actual side by side comparision. The cupcakes baked in the Wilton were drier at the edges, which was more noticeable the next day and more crumbly. By the way, has anyone used Magic Line pans? I've read some good things about them.

Flour Frosting

1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup butter cut in cubes (My butter was cool and firm, but I could still leave an indent when I pressed my finger into it)
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

1. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar, flour, salt together. Add the milk and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally (I had to whisk constantly or else it started to stick and clump at the bottom) until the mixture has thickened into a paste and slightly bubbly at edges (You probably don't want it boiling because we all know how boiled milk tastes..)

2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; beat until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy. If the frosting is too soft, transfer the bowl to the refrigerator to chill slightly: then beat again until it is the proper consistency.

3. Add the vanilla and continue mixing until combined.

I love this frosting, but I think it was still a tad rich and could taste a bit cleaner (although I'm being really picky here). I don't think I can reduce the butter though or it won't be stiff enough. I think I might try subbing some of the milk for water or play around with the flour amout next time.

Billy's Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes

These were by far the best vanilla cupcakes I've ever made. I originally saw these on Martha. There's something about her and how she talks to her guests that annoys me, but when cupcakes are being made, how can I not watch? During the segment, I noticed that Martha likes to turn her machine up to a higher speed and aerate the batter for a little while (a long while to me). Other than Dories Perfect party cake, I've never done that. Maybe that's why I have bouts of over/undermixing, a perfect combination.. that is if you want something with a weird texture. Luckily, the problem is only mostly in white cakes and sometimes muffins (but I'm getting better!). These were the first vanilla cupcakes I've made in a really long time. I was having so many failed attempts that I decided bake stuff that wouldn't yet again be thrown away. After seeing Clara's vanilla cupcakes (actually.. lemon cupcakes), she totally convinced me into baking cupcakes again. Plus, her progress picks were totally tempting me! I actually made these weeks ago, but didn't have time to write about them til now.. when I really should be studying for final exams!


8 hours later, I wouldn't say these were still amazing, but considering all the other times I made vanilla cupcakes, these were still the best. It's crazy how the texture changed from nice and fluffy to dense and slight crumbly.. WHY!?!? Even though I didn`t get to cream the butter, sugar and eggs (my favourite part), reverse creaming definitely produces a more tender, fluffy and airy crumb. Too bad these cupcakes weren't able to retain their cake mix-like texture hours later. As for the frosting, there was no way I was taking the icing sugar route and make Billy's vanilla frosting.. well sort of. I used the left over frosting from the DB challenge (my icing sugar-SMBC frosting duo). I'm definitely making these cupcakes again, but try it with more milk to hopefully keep them moist.


Billy's Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes

Makes about 30 cupcakes.
1 3/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar (I used 1.5 cups)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk (I added 2 extra tablespoons of milk because some said these cupcakes were dry)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
2. In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 minutes (17 to 20 minutes. )
4. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake - Cupcake Style

I didn't have some sort of memory lapse and make the chocolate chocolate cupcakes for the second week in a row. There just wasn't enough time to make the rugalagh for TWD... I hope you guys don't stop reading! Last week, it was my friend's birthday so I decided to bake her cupcakes. She hasn't had anything I baked recently, since I put her through my rigorous chocolate chip cookie testing last year...haha Those were the days when only the batter tasted good while the baked result resembled something more like a hockey puck. It wasn’t until I stumbled on Cook’s Illustrated last Christmas when my desserts were finally edible. Not to mention, I also started to measure properly and stir the dry ingredients so that I wouldn’t end up with a cake that tasted soapy and bitter. Even though some may find CI to be a little annoying because they tend to focus on only one particular way of doing things and can put a limit on the creativity, I think they lay down the basics really well for an inexperienced baker. It also helps keep paranoid bakers like me from thinking too much and to just go with it. If I’m given too many choices, I’ll probably never end up baking anything! It’s kind of like when there are 2 parking spots in front of me and I end up parking in both. I hope you guys don’t take this to be a sign of a bad driver.. haha.. it’s just that I am that indecisive.

Earlier in the year during the PBS telethon, CI featured the old fashioned chocolate cake, which looked absolutely irresistible! I actually decided to bake a cupcake version of this recipe one hour before leaving for school. I even thought I could multitask and whip the eggs and sugar while measuring out the dry ingredients. It wasn’t until I tasted the batter when I realized I forgot to add salt! Luckily, I used salted butter, but there was still something that was definitely lacking. Thank god people eat with their eyes and seem to have some sort of obsession with frosting. I’m not usually into frostings other than whipped cream or cream cheese, but swiss meringue buttercream on the other hand, actually I should say, this SMBC from Cassie’s How to Eat a Cupcake is definitely worth the calories. It was simply melt in your mouth and creamy without coming off as tasting like a stick of butter. To help boost the flavour of the almost salt-less chocolate cake, I made a coffee flavoured frosting and used salted butter... hoping that the salt in the frosting would compensate.

After school, I made the frosting, but totally forgot that I wasn't bringing these until the next day. I wasn't into the idea of making people sick so I put the frosting in the fridge all ready to go in a piping bag. I was totally not expecting a lumpy curdled frosting the next day after I let the frosting come to room temperature. It was really gross and there was brown liquid from the coffee and vanilla separating out. Instead of taking out the mixer, somehow I thought I could hand whip this curdled mess into frosting again with my cake spatula. Well, after some vigorous mixing it was not coming together, but I already spent so much time on it, I didn't want to give in and take out the mixer. Then, it was almost like magic and the frosting came together. I could have easily avoided this whole mess had I just frosted the cupcakes and stored them in the fridge. But, no, my overly paranoid self was afraid that refridgeration would unfluffify the cake. I also wouldn't have to deal with the aftereffects of arm pain from all that hand mixing.. haha I know.. very embarassing!

The reaction? Well, the first thing people commented on was how amazing the frosting was, but the cake part was really good too. How can a cake made without salt taste good? I guess it’s true, a cake is simply a vehicle for frosting. This has officially taken over the place of Dorie's devil’s food white out cake as my favourite chocolate cake, mostly because of its texture. My friend actually ate 3 in one sitting! I'm not even going to mention how much butter was in the frosting alone, but then again, birthdays are only once a year. Sorry for the bad pics again, but I have no idea where my camera charger is so I took these with my cell phone.


Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Adapted from Cassie's How to eat a Cupcake
* I used salted butter to compensate for the lack of salt in my cake (it wasn't too salty because it was coffee flavoured, but I definitely wouldn't use salted butter for vanilla frosting)
* I increased the amount of butter by 1/2 a stick because the frosting was still really soft
* I added 2 teaspoons of instant coffee

Makes about 4 cups (enough to frost 24 cupcakes)

Ingredients
4 large egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup (2.5 sticks) salted butter, at room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant coffee

Directions
Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).
Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; dissolve instant coffee in vanilla and pour mixture into mixing bowl and continue beating 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles.

TWD: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

So my cupcakes didn't exactly turnout looking too pretty and I would rather not show it in its entirety because it's a little sad when the domed tops dome the other way. Anyways, it feels great to be baking ahead of schedule.. haha. I was definitely excited for this recipe and it wasn't because of the obvious reason.. chocolate. It's because chocolate cake recipes are generally more forgiving when it comes to overmixing and dryness. White cakes can be so disappointing in the texture department. They use just as much, if not more butter and not to mention cake flour! Could it be the cocoa powder, the buttermilk or the boiling water that most recipes use? Sometimes I'm just tempted to make a chocolate cake recipe minus the chocolate to see if I can get a moist and tender white cake.

Other than the sinking, the recipe turned out pretty well, although I wish there was just a bit more chocolate flavour. Some TWDers mentioned that their cupcakes turned out dry and how it might have to do with proper flour measurements. What really is one cup of flour anyway? I guess it can be whatever you want it to be.. 5oz (CI), 4.8oz (Dorie). For me, I spoon the flour into a measuring cup then give it a little shake at the midway point to settle the flour (which I think you're actually not supposed to do) and then spoon the rest in with a final sweep using a knife. That usually gets me at or just a little off 5oz. I really should be using a scale, but sometimes I get a little lazy, which is suprising since I'm always worrying (a little too much!) about stuff like proper measurement, mixing times, baking times and temperatures. I won't even tell you how I reacted when I found out that my liquid measuring cups were all different! You would think that at least within a brand that they'd be consistent, but that is not the case with my Pyrex ones.


My cupcakes ended up pretty moist, but I pulled them out a lot earlier than the 22-25 mins suggested. Then again, I still got 12 cupcakes using my large sized cookie scoop after halving the recipe. Most cupcake recipes I make finish in my oven at 17 minutes, but these were done at 14. Once the wonderful smell of chocolate started to come out of the oven, I checked the cupcakes with a toothpick and pulled them out when there were a few (maybe 2) mini moist crumbs attached. I ate one while it was still burning hot and it was really nice and fluffy. As they cooled, the texture totally changed and it became more brownie like, which is still good, but fluffy is better! I guess I should've left them in for the usual 17 minutes I normally do, since they remoistened so much.
Thanks to Clara of I Heart Food 4 Thought for choosing this recipe, which can be found on her blog and in Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my Home to Yours. Don't forget to checkout the TWD Blogroll!

Ok, this is a little embarassing and I couldn't stop laughing when I saw them, but this is what happened.