Week 20: Coconut Sponge Cupcakes with Chocolate Espresso Buttercream

It was only a matter of time before a cupcaker was unable to successfully complete Ming’s recipe and be forced to make an entirely different recipe so as to not disappoint the fellow cupcakers. Well, if you haven’t guessed it by now, that cupcaker was me.

I dutifully followed the recipe, but there were so many places where things could go wrong, and evidently, something did. I needed to beat the egg whites and salt until there were soft peaks. Then add sugar and beat until there were stiff peaks. Then fold the stiff peaks gently into an egg yolk mixture.



I don’t know if I went wrong at the soft peak, stiff peak, or gently folding stage, but the cupcakes shriveled up a few minutes after I took them out of the oven. After splitting one open, it appeared as though the ingredients separated:  the bottom was a congealed glob of goo and the top was somewhat spongy. There was no way I’d serve these to anyone, and I unfortunately didn’t have the time or culinary resources in stock to go through the soft-peak, stiff-peak, gently-fold process again and risk another fail at any/all of those stages. So I claimed defeat and used Barefoot Contessa’s coconut cupcake recipe instead. The batter was absolutely delicious—I had no problem licking the bowl—and the cupcakes graciously didn’t shrivel into a congealed glob after I took them out of the oven. Instead they turned out plump and tasty.

The conquest wasn’t a complete fail:  I used Ming’s frosting recipe, which was very good. However, because it uses egg yolks, I’d be somewhat leery to make it for other people again. I’d hate to make someone sick.

All in all, if I were to make coconut cupcakes in the future, I’d probably choose the easier route again and stick with Barefoot Contessa’s recipe and leave Ming’s recipe for those with more culinary genius.

Week 19: Blueberry Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting

Reader, I did it: I baked the heck out of these cupcakes. I mean, things went seriously well. After the disasters I've had before, this was a very welcome surprise.

I can't put my finger on what, exactly, made everything go right. Maybe it's that I stopped trying to multitask while in the kitchen (read: cook dinner and bake cupcakes at the same time, or read textbook and bake cupcakes at the same time, or bake cupcakes while waiting for nails to dry, etc). This time, I focused entirely on the cupcakes, measuring everything precisely and reading the instructions carefully before taking each step. From the baking time to the measurements, nothing went wrong. Everything was right on in the instructions.

Things went so well with the baking that I decided to get a little creative with the frosting. I made a double batch (about 30 cupcakes) and frosted half with the maple brown butter as Ming recommends, and half with lemon frosting. I topped the lemon frosted cakes with candied lemons. I thought I could save a step by cutting the lemon slices into quarters before candying them; don't. Put whole slices into the boiling water, then quarter them when they are done. It works much better, and looks a lot nicer.

I really preferred the lemon frosting on the blueberry cupcakes. Maybe it's because I'm nostalgic for blue and yellow (the colors of my high school, law school and wedding). But after this round of cupcake baking, I have to say: Ming, you make a mean blueberry cupcake!

Week 10: Mango Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting and Coconut

Jayne's mango cupcakes were a crowd favorite!

The taste of summer in a cupcake – awesome!  I'm Jayne, and I made the mango cupcake with buttercream frosting and coconut.  The batter is a bit runny, but it makes a moist cake. 

 One jar of mango wedges mashed with a hand potato masher makes enough puree for the recipe – 12 cupcakes. 

My warning about the buttercream frosting – make sure your husband and/or kids aren't around so you can lick the bowl – its scrumptious. 

My only snag was turning my back a minute too long while toasting the coconut in the oven – I had to do that step over. 

All in all, a delicious cupcake that I will make again in the summer months.

Week 6: Banana Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting



Chelsey's cupcakes were so good,
they were bananas.

I chose these because I like banana bread, and I was intrigued by the frosting. As you can see  from my Cast of Characters photo, this used nice, simple ingredients that are usually in my pantry and fridge. I didn't have a lemon on hand and didn't want to go back to the store to buy one, so I omitted it. I figured that it was primarily invited to the party to prevent banana browning. The batter is super easy to make and comes together nicely.  



I've never baked anything at 275 degrees for an hour - I think of "low and slow" as a BBQ technique, not something for baked goods. But the cupcakes came out great and were nice and moist. I initially thought the step of freezing them for 30 minutes seemed unnecessarily fussy, but the cupcakes did seem to shrink a little after being in the freezer, and they were still moist even after being frozen. I think it probably was a necessary step.





Frosting in the making.



The frosting was good in theory. I like all of the component parts. But on the whole, I found it too buttery and too sweet.  The maple flavor isn't very distinct, so you get the sweet from the maple sugar but not enough maple flavor. The frosting made as directed is extremely runny, so I added powdered sugar. It would have been helpful to know that the frosting thickened up as it cooled, because by the time mine cooled it was like cement.

So, my take-away from this is that I would make the cupcakes again, although if I'm craving banana in super-carb form I'll just make banana bread. But I would use a cream cheese or even a chocolate frosting instead of the maple brown butter.



Cast of characters.

Baking the cupcakes "low and slow."

Week 5: Sis' Chocolate Cupcakes

Kari's cupcakes made for a great
Valentine's Day treat!

Hi! I'm Kari and it was my turn to make cupcakes this week. This week's cupcake was a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. My week happened to fall on Valentine's Day, so what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with chocolate?

I was a little nervous to make cupcakes for the group, mostly because the last cupcake we tried, Barb's red velvet cupcakes, were so delicious! Those cupcakes were a tough act to follow. Also, this was my first time making cake from scratch. I'd always just bought the box mix and the can of frosting. Much to my mother's dismay, of course!

If I could use one word to describe these cupcakes, it would be CHOCOLATY! These cupcakes had a very rich chocolate flavor. Admittedly, I messed up the first time and had to throw away a whole bowl of batter because I forgot to add the water to the chocolate mix. This came to my attention after baking the first dozen. When sampling one, I thought they tasted a little dry. I don't know if they really were dry or it was just in my head because I knew I'd left the water out. Either way, I started over, this time remembering to add the water to the chocolate mix. I thought the cake was moist and had just the right amount of chocolate taste.

A close up of all that delicious chocolate.

In my opinion, the frosting made these cupcakes! It tasted like homemade fudge. I followed the frosting recipe exactly, but thought the frosting was just a tad dry. When I tried to spread the frosting onto the cupcake, the frosting wouldn't stick. So, I added just a little more milk to the frosting than the recipe called for. It was still a little dryer than most frostings, but I think that is how it was supposed to turn out. I would definitely make this cupcake again!

Overall, my first time of making cupcakes and frosting from scratch went well and the end result was delizioso! Mom, this cupcake is dedicated to you!

Week 4: Red Velvet Cupcakes

Barb's red velvet cupcakes were
eagerly anticipated -- and worth the wait!

After weeks of waiting, it is my turn to make the cupcakes. I have to admit I was a little nervous about making cupcakes for the group. My experience is that when I have to make something to take somewhere, things will go wrong.

My name is Barb and I made the Red Velvet Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting. The recipe was very easy to follow. I did have to go to the store for a few things like buttermilk, almond extract, vinegar and red food coloring.

The red food coloring was a little messy. I shortened the baking time by about 3 minutes and probably should have started testing the cupcakes at about 18 to 20 minutes. When I opened the container I had placed the cupcakes in for transportation, they smelled wonderful. The color of the cupcakes was beautiful. Everyone at home thought the cupcakes tasted pretty good.

Although the cupcakes were simply frosted, I could easily imagine these cupcakes decorated for Valentine's Day.

Inside the red velvet cupcakes.