The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Cupcakes....does anyone enjoy these treats and wish to share their recipes/decorating tips?

GrapevineTXoldaccount's picture
GrapevineTXolda...

Cupcakes....does anyone enjoy these treats and wish to share their recipes/decorating tips?

I've taken up cupcake baking as my latest rave project.  I bake for my husbands office each week and am always looking for ways to be creative.  The cupcake is my answer!  I dig through food blogs, cookbooks and my friends suggestions.  I'd love to have TFL crew aid me in my projects. 

Happy baking!

PaddyL's picture
PaddyL

They're very popular in my family, easy and quick to make and decorate.  Here's a recipe for the lightest cupcake I've ever made.  I usually ice them with a plain, butter icing, and topped with a glace cherry, they look perfectly yummers, and they are.  You could go to town with a pastry bag and any other kind of icing you'd like.

Buttermilk Cupcakes, from "Cupcakes" by Annette Stevens

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup shortening (I use butter.)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup boiling water

Line pans with baking cups.  Preheat oven to 400 deg.F.  In a small bowl, sift together first 4 ingredients and set aside.

In small mixing bowl, cream shortening; add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add 1 egg at a time, beating after each addition.  Mix in buttermilk and vanilla.  Add flour mixture and beat until well mixed.  Pour in boiling water.  Beat until smooth.

Fill baking cups 2/3 full.  Bake 15 to 17 minutes.  Cool.

 

 

 

Paddyscake's picture
Paddyscake

Check out the April edition of Family Circle. Cute tips for decorating your cupcakes to look like pups! Cute!

nbicomputers's picture
nbicomputers

heres a idea we used to do around this time of year

bake your cupcakes without papers. when done turn them upside down and pipe a mound of buttercream frosting on the top (which was the bottom)

put them in the frezzer and get them hard

make some simple icing with powderd suger and color it yelow

completly cover the cupcakes buttercream and all with the icing (we would dip them in the icing butter cream first)  and let the extra drain on a grate.

then using sliced nuts like almonds for "wings" and a sprinkl or other candy for a beak make the eyes anyway you would like and you have an easter chick.

the left over icing can be made chocolet and diping the same cupcakes you now what we called "bells"

if you mound the butter cream right they realy do look like bells.

i have to look for it but i do have a good one for carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

GrapevineTXoldaccount's picture
GrapevineTXolda...

PaddyL, I baked a similar recipe last week, no shortening; it called for 3/4 cup of oil.  No water, and one less egg with the addition of 2 T. vinegar.  They were light and fluffy, but butter is by far a preferred ingredient.  I'll try your version.  Thanks.

Paddyscake, thanks for the 'heads-up', I enjoy that mag and will grab me one at checkout this week.

nbi, great idea!  Thanks.  I've been using an old wilton egg pan to make cupcakes, but even if it is greased and floured it sometimes causes them to stick.  I think your exchange gives me new promise to a cute Easter treat. 

GlindaBunny's picture
GlindaBunny

I like the yellow cupcake recipe from foodtv.com

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_35909,00.html

 I don't follow their directions for the strawberry; I just like the cake part.  I also really like strawberry swiss buttercream from Martha Stewart.  http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=8497d3a22f801110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_k...

I use freezer jam, rather than shelf stable jam, because the color is brighter and the flavor is fresher.  I made yellow cupcakes with lemon curd filling and strawberry buttercream for Easter.  One mistake I made was making the buttercream ahead of time and keeping it in the fridge.  When I brought it to room temp and beat it before spreading, it got soft and runny.

 Lesson learned... don't make your buttercream until you're ready to spread or pipe it.

 

cupcakes

They tasted great, but I couldn't pipe the buttercream into a pretty pattern because the texture suffered when I made it days ahead of time.