Once upon a time there was... Vanilla/Vanilla Cupcakes

I, (the pig), consider myself to be quite the cupcake expert.  I make all kinds of fancy cupcakes, but the mark of a true cupcake master is to be able to make a perfect basic cupcake.  And I believe that I have created perfection.  Well, with some help from Martha Stewart and Billy Reese.  We made these cute cupcakes for a friends baby shower.  When we are working during the day and need to make cupcakes, we like to make the cakes a day ahead of time, and store them in our airtight cupcake carrier.  Then we make the icing and do the decorating the day of the event.  Also keep in mind that if you are making royal icing decorations, they will need 24 hours to fully dry.

cake ingredients
1 3/4 c cake flour
1 1/4 c regular flour
2 c sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted european butter, cut into chunks, chilled

4 eggs
1 c whole milk
2 tsp Madagascar vanilla

buttercream
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted european butter, room temperature
6-8 c sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 c whole milk
1 tsp Madagascar vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice

for the royal icing flowers:
2 eggs
2-3 c sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
gel food coloring
wilton tip 2D
sprinkle for the center

cake instructions
1. prepare for cupcaking.  preheat the oven to 325.  line your muffin pans.  hide your cows.

2. prepare batter.  in an electric mixer, blend the dry ingredients together.

3. add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

4. in a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and vanilla.  Add the wet to the dry in 3 batches, scraping the bowl before each addition.

Cornelius' note: If your cupcake batter does not appear pink, do not worry, you have done nothing wrong.  We dyed these.


5. Fill the liners about 2/3 full with batter.
Cornelius' tip: We like to use an ice cream scooper and a tablespoon, scooping up the batter with the scoop, then emptying it into the cups with the spoon.

6. bake for 17-20 minutes.


7. cool completely on a wire rack.

frosting instructions

1. cream butter until smooth.

2. add sugar, 1 c at a time, occasionally alternating with the wet ingredients.

3.  Add more sugar (1/2 c at a time) to make the icing sweeter or thicker, add milk (1 Tbsp at a time) to make it thinner, add lemon juice (1/2 tsp at a time) to reduce sweetness.

4.  Add food color if desired.  Pipe or spread onto cupcakes.

flowers instructions


1. prepare royal icing.  beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add sugar, 1 c at a time, until incorporated.  Add lemon juice.  Adjust consistency by adding water or more sugar.  You want a pretty stiff icing (if it is too thin the flower will not hold its shape.)

2.  We could try to explain how to do this, but Wilton already does a good job here.

3. Add sprinkle to the middle and let dry for 24 hours.

We think these cupcakes came out very cute!  Of course the decorating possibilities for vanilla cupcakes are endless, so be creative, and if you have any questions, just ask any pig (we are all cupcake experts).

pig, out.

Once upon a time there was... Black Forest Cupcakes

Cornelius and I have a friend who really likes Germany - the place, the culture, the food, etc. So for her birthday last year we baked her a very impressive black forest cake, or as she and the Germans would say schwarzwalderkirschtorte. Right, so black forest cake. For her birthday this year, we decided to turn this classic recipe into a cupcake recipe. Well, as it turned out, someone else had already thought of that idea and put it into a book. So, we mostly followed that recipe, but we made a few changes of our own too. Here is our recipe for black forest cupcakes.

ingredients

1 2/3 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2/3 c (preferably Scharffen Berger) cocoa powder

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c whole milk

2 tsp + 1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c + 1 Tbsp kirsch

1 c heavy whipping cream

1 c powdered sugar

1 can pitted or maraschino cherries

grated dark chocolate

instructions

1. drain cherries (reserve juice for another purpose, Shirley Temples perhaps?). Add 1/2 c. kirsch to cherries jar. Soak at least 1/2 hour to overnight.

Cal's tip: we soaked these overnight. Eating a cherry was like taking a shot of alcohol. So, your choice as to how long you soak them...

2. preheat oven to 350.

3. mix flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa together.

4. cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. alternate adding milk and flour mixture. Add vanilla. beat well.

5. fill cupcake papers about 2/3.

6. bake until done, about 25 minutes. cool completely on wire rack.

Cal's tip: it is important that the cupcakes are completely cooled. We made the cakes the night before and came back and did the remaining steps the following day.

7. remove the cupcakes from the wrappers. Cut each one in 1/2 horizontally.

Cal's tip: we recommend using a pairing knife that you let sit in a cup of hot water between uses.

8. Use a pastry brush to brush both sides of the cake lightly with the kirsch from your cherry jar.

9. make the frosting. Whip cream until it forms soft peaks. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and kirsch. Whip until stiff.

10. Spread some whipped cream on top of the bottom 1/2 of the cupcakes.

Cal's tip: we found it helpful to put our whipped cream in a pastry bag.

11. Cut a cherry in 1/2 and press both halves into the cream.

Cal's tip: be sure to properly ration your cherries!

12. Top with the top 1/2 of the cupcakes.

13. Frost with whipped cream and a cherry. Sprinkle with grated chocolate.

14. Observe the glory of the giant towering cupcake! eat!

Yes, this was truly a fantastic cupcake.

Moo!

Once upon a time there was... Apple Pie Cupcakes

Cornelius is really the cupcake expert but Apple Pie is one of my favorite desserts, so I feel like I have some expert knowledge too. We slightly adapted this fantastic recipe from one of our new favorite blogs, Annies-Eats.

ingredients:

3 cups sifted cake flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 tbsp butter

1 Tbsp cinnamon

3 tbsp dark brown sugar

2 Tbsp spiced rum

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

whipped cream

instructions:

1. preheat oven to 350°. line cupcake pans with papers.

2. in a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3. in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix well to combine. Add in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.

4. fill the cupcake liners 2/3-3/4 full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pans. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

5. make the apple filling: heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cinnamon and brown sugar and cook for a minute, until the mixture begins to bubble. Lower the heat to medium and stir in the apples. Mix well. Add the rum. Stir. Cook until the apples are somewhat tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

6. while the apple mixture is cooling, use the cone method to remove a chunk from the center of each cupcake, making sure to leave a rim around the top of the cupcake. Cornelius' cupcake trick is to fill a cup with very hot water and dip a pearing knife in the water between in cake. The hot water helps the knife cone the cakes easily.

7. when the apples are cool, fill the holes with the apple mixture.

8. when ready to serve, top each cupcake with a dollop of whipped cream.

this made 36 cupcakes for us and they were delicious! once again, thanks to Annies-Eats for the idea!

Moo.