Week 28 - Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Filling and Chocolate Glaze

Ming’s version of the vanilla cupcake with strawberry filling and chocolate glaze looks adorable and delicious. Mine, on the other hand, I think looks more like the little bad-guy mushrooms from Super Mario. Bummer. But still pretty tasty.

This is my last cupcake to make for the club and, thankfully, things went pretty well. They went so well that I decided to get a little adventurous:  I made a double batch, and filled half with strawberry preserves and half with lemon filling (after baking). I dipped the strawberry preserve cupcakes in the chocolate glaze; I frosted the lemon-filled cupcakes with the lime frosting perfected by Abby. It’s my favorite frosting ever. The lemon filling was okay – mostly I just wanted to try out the filling attachment on my piping gun. Oh, kitchen gadgets!

The cupcake was alright. Not my favorite vanilla cupcake. I think maybe the cupcake from week 2 would’ve been better – I remember it being a little more moist.

But since this is my last cupcake, I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve learned through this experience:

1.      If in doubt, sift it out: My last few cupcakes have turned out much better than my first attempts. I think this is partly because I started sifting all my dry ingredients together. Okay, so really I just force them through my colander because I don’t have a sifter. But, Christmas is only three months away. A girl can dream.

2.      Don’t just measure twice and cut once – calculate three times, measure twice, then cut once: I learned this the hard way after thinking I’d properly doubled all my ingredients. I wasted so much time and money on that mistake (seriously – a whole box of butter wasted! That stuff’s like $3 a box.). Maybe this doesn’t apply so much for people who are good at things like fractions or adding. But it’s a must for me.

3.      There’s a reason you make 12 cupcakes: Because they’re best when they’re shared. It’s been so much fun making cupcakes with everyone in this club and seeing their cupcake creations, and I’m so lucky to have worked and shared cupcakes with all of them.

And one last thing – I’m not sure how she does it, but Ming’s fillings always look so darn perfect in the cross-section view of the cupcake. I mean, every time the filling is just perfectly in the center. Whenever I try to fill a cupcake before baking, the filling always sinks to the bottom and looks kind of sad. If anyone figures out the trick to this, please let me know!  

Week 22: Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting

Week 21: Coffee Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting

Armed with a kitchen full of ingredients, and still buzzing from the hours of romantic tension between Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy on display in X-Men: First Class,  I set about making the coffee cupcakes with the type of careless disregard and darn the rules attitude you'd expect from me.  And, as you would also expect from me, things went . . . slightly awry.  While making the first batch I combined the coffee/cocoa mixture, the buttermilk and baking soda, and the egg in a mixing bowl, then added the flour, salt, and sugar mixture in thirds.  The result was a perfectly passable cupcake, if a bit small and dense.

So, armed with the dual weapons of humility and experience, I once again set about making the cupcakes, this time following Ming's actual directions.  This time I added the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl first, then mixed in the coffee and cocoa until the mixture was a bit grainy but integrated.  Then added the egg and mixed until the mixture was smooth.  The buttermilk and baking soda are the last thing to go in, and they mix for only a bit.  Doing it this way allows the baking soda, which is producing CO2 in the acidic butter milk and produces a lighter, puffier batter, and thus a lighter and fluffier cupcake.

So, the icing.  It's pretty much tastes like Baileys.  If you really like Baileys as I do, this isn't a problem, but if you perhaps want to delay your children's adventure in the wonders of alcoholism, you can probably cut the Bailey's with heavy cream or just take the Baileys out all together and replace with heavy cream. My icing was not as runny as the picture.  I don't know why, but my process was creaming the butter in the mixing bowl, then adding the liquid ingredients, then adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time until it was integrated in.  It was a pretty light, normal icing.

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.

Week17: Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate Ganache

Week 16: Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting



Peeps eye Carrie B.'s tasty Guinness chocolate cupcakes.

Hi all!  Its Carrie again, and this week’s cupcake challenge was the Guinness chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  I was really excited to try baking with Guinness.  I’ve used Guinness before for savory stews and soups, but never for sweets.  Luckily, my husband is a huge fan of Guinness so he helped put away the Guinness I didn’t need for the recipe.  (Thanks, Travis!)

I thought this recipe was pretty easy, particularly in comparison to the filled cupcakes.  I used room temperature butter, cream cheese, and eggs rather than cold.  I read in my Bon Appetit magazine this weekend that room temperature makes all the difference.  I also sifted the dry ingredients together to avoid clumps before mixing with the wet ingredients.  Overall, the batter was thinner than the last cupcakes I made, and, therefore, a lot easier to pour into the cupcake pan.  Oddly, there was a difference in the cook time between the foil cupcake wrappers and the papers ones.  (The paper took longer.)  I have no idea why.

This Peep may have had one Guinness
(cupcake) too many.

Overall, I would definitely make these again.  The cake is not too sweet—almost like a dark chocolate—and you can’t really taste the Guinness.  And, once again, I’ll eat anything with cream cheese frosting on it, so load it up.  I played with the idea of adding a few big chocolate chips to the top of each cupcake as a garnish, but decided against it.  I thought I would stay pure to the recipe before adding my own things to it.  In the future, though, I might be throwing on some chips, or perhaps a raspberry to cut the sweetness of the frosting.  I don’t know, I’m just brainstorming.

I give these a big thumbs up. 

Week 11: Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Cream Filling

Kari's cream-filled cupcakes were a sweet treat,
but it was still sad to say goodbye.

I was really excited to make Cupcake #11, Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Cream Filling, because I felt like it was the gourmet version of the classic Hostess cupcake. You know, the chocolate cupcake with the white swirls on top. In doing some research, I found out the popular Hostess cupcake is often referred to as "The Captain of Them All." A famous slogan has also attached to the famous cupcakes: "You get a big delight in every bite."

 I had a lot of fun making this cupcake, mostly because I had the assistance of my mom, who is a fabulous baker. The cake batter was thicker than most, so it was hard judging how much to put in each cupcake liner. While making these cupcakes, I learned a very important lesson in cupcake creation – don't fill the liners too full. The first batch I filled the liners too full and the cupcakes overflowed onto the cupcake pan. The part of the cake that overflowed stuck to the pan, so the cakes were impossible to remove without breaking off the top of the cupcake. The second batch turned out much better after I had a better idea of how much to fill the liners. The cake was moist and had just the right chocolate flavor. My family enjoyed eating all the broken cupcakes even without the cream filing and ganache.

A broken cupcake

The best part of these cupcakes, in my opinion, was the cream filling! And, it was really simple to make. The cake and cream filling was a perfect combination. The slogan is true, the cream filling put a "delight in every bite."  It was also easier than I thought to fill the cupcakes. I do suggest, though, waiting for the cupcakes to cool to begin filling them. It is easier to remove the inside of the cupcake after the cupcakes cooled.

The chocolate ganache also added to this cupcake. I was a tad nervous about making ganache for the first time but my mom and I worked it out. To make sure the ganache was the right consistency, we added a small amount of each ingredient, chocolate chips and half-and-half, instead of combining the entire amount all at once.  That seemed to work out well because the ganache turned out to be the right consistency and not too runny. I frosted the cupcakes with the ganache and let them refrigerate overnight so the ganache could cool. I waited until the following day, before adding a dollop of the remaining cream filling to the top of each cupcake so that the cream wouldn't melt into the ganache.  After sampling the finished product, I can definitely see how this flavor of cupcake has become the captain of all cupcakes.

As I said earlier, I was really excited to make this cupcake. On the other hand, I was a little sad because this was the last cupcake I was baking for the cupcake challenge due to relocation for my new job. In keeping with the tradition of my posts, this cupcake goes out to my friends at the COA. I will miss you. You brought much delight and enjoyment to the office. The place wouldn't have been the same without you. This cupcake also goes out to R.M.: thanks for being my #1 fan and supporting me in all my endeavors.

Week 9: Red Devil's Food Cupcake with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting

The frosting was runny, but Kari's cupcakes were still delicious.

This week's cupcake, Red Devil's Food Cupcakes with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting, sounded really unique. For a not so experienced cupcake baker like myself, unique = complicated. I knew I would need some assistance, especially after reading the frosting recipe.

My late Grandma Jeanie was a marvelous cook/baker. One of the many things I miss about her is her delicious food. She always wore a blue apron when cooking/baking. I didn't really inherit Grandma Jeanie's cooking abilities. So, a few years ago for Christmas, my mom gave me Grandma Jeanie's blue apron with a note that said: "Wear this and whatever you make will be great." I knew with this cupcake, I needed to bring out Grandma's trusty blue apron.

The batter for this cupcake came together nicely. It was light, fluffy and moist. I followed the recipe exactly and wouldn't add any ingredients. It tasted good as is.

The fabled blue apron. 

The frosting, on the other hand, did not come together so nicely. The frosting called for chocolate, sour cream, and honey. Again, I followed the recipe exactly. However, the frosting was extremely runny. When I tried to put the frosting on the cupcake, the frosting refused to cooperate. Rather than staying on top of the cupcake, the frosting ran right off the top of the cupcake onto my kitchen table. After attempting to frost the first few cupcakes, there was more frosting on my kitchen table than on the cupcakes. I did what I always do when something goes wrong in the kitchen, I called my mom. She suggested adding some powdered sugar to the frosting to thicken it up. A pound of powdered sugar later and the frosting was still runny. At that point I decided not to add any more powdered sugar as I was fearful it would overcome the honey flavor of the frosting. I decided to let the frosting sit overnight to see if it would thicken. The frosting was still too runny the next day to frost the cupcakes. Instead of frosting the cupcakes, I took the cupcakes and a bowl of the frosting to the cupcake club meeting and let the group members put their own frosting on.

Most of the group seemed to like the taste of the frosting, even though it was so runny. The honey added a nice flavor, but I felt like the sweetness of the honey wasn't enough to overcome the bittersweet taste of the chocolate. The cake was delicious but if I were to make this cupcake again I would use a vanilla butter cream frosting or chocolate frosting.

This cupcake is for you, Grandma. <3

(A picture of Grandma Jeanie's apron is included in this post. I happen to know a male model and he kindly modeled the apron.)

Week 8: Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Marshmallow Frosting

We celebrated Mardi Gras with Carrie A.'s magical marshmallow cupcakes.

I was a little nervous about making this week's chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow mint frosting because I have never quite been able to master the fine art of making rice krispy treats (stop laughing, Abby). The marshmallow gets me every time. I either use too much or not enough and always end up with a sticky, gooey mess that doesn't taste right and ends up in the trash.



Inside the chocolate cupcake.



When I was measuring out the (very sticky) marshmallow cream for the frosting on these cupcakes, I started having flashbacks to my previous kitchen disasters and worried that I would become the laughingstock of the Cupcake Club. But my fears quickly subsided after I began mixing the marshmallow cream with the butter and mint flavoring-it lost its sticky consistency and became more smooth and frosting-like. I originally thought that I needed to frost the cupcakes while they were still a little warm so that I could get that cool drippy look that Ming had on her cupcake, but that was a mistake… it's definitely key to let the cupcakes cool completely and let the frosting sit for a little while, just like with any other frosting.

Overall, I think it was a marshmallow success!! And now that I have conquered the marshmallow, maybe it's time to give those rice krispy treats another try…

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 3: Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes

Ethan's cupcakes turned skeptics into believers (in flourless baking)!

The flourless chocolate cupcake is more like a mini-soufflé than a cupcake, both in terms of the result and how it is prepared. The hardest part of the process is incorporating the fluffy egg whites into the chocolate stage. The original recipe isn’t real specific on how to incorporate them.  I’d recommend dividing the egg foam into thirds.  The first third of the egg foam just whisk in to the chocolate mixture to lighten it.  The next third, fold the mixture about 20-30 times until mostly incorporated.  The final third fold in about 15-20 times to keep the mixture light and fluffy.

 

These cupcakes tasted like
baked hot chocolate. Yum!

The other thing I discovered about the original is that it has you way over filling the cupcake liner.  I’d recommend only filling the liner half full.  I used a standard cookie disher and found that if you just scoop from that, generally one scoop was enough. Granted the scoops will be a little more full than they would be with cookie dough.

One batch will fill two 12 cupcake pans with cupcakes, meaning a single batch produces about twice as many cupcakes as the single batch of other cupcakes, so be prepared.  I never made mine look as neat as hers.  Mine always had a little more overflow than hers did, and I never experimented enough to find a solution.  If anyone else has tried them, you might leave a suggestion.

If I could change anything about the recipe it would be to use a lighter whipped cream.  I used heavy whipping cream as the base and thought it was just a bit too thick.  Though the club seemed to really like the thick whipping cream so feel free to disregard this suggestion as the mad ramblings of an insane lunatic.  

Week 1: Espresso Fudge Cupcakes

Abby's cupcakes got the challenge off to a great start!

Hello cupcake blog readers. I'm Abby, and I made the first batch of cupcake for our cupcake challenge at work: Espresso Fudge Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese icing. I've made loads of cupcakes in my few short years on this world, but only once before had I made the cake from scratch. Mixes are just too delicious. But I was excited to try a recipe from scratch. And I was pleased to find out that these were pretty simple and turned out great! I will definitely be making these again. I'm not sure if I would put the chocolate chips in the batter next time, because they all fell to the bottom and sort of stuck to the liners. Speaking of the batter--it was DELICIOUS! It had more of a coffee flavor than the cupcakes ended up having. They didn't have too much of a coffee flavor, so my kids even ate them. 



Inside the espresso fudge cupcake.



The frosting was pretty delicious, too! I usually make cream cheese frosting w/ half butter and half cream cheese, but I also usually pipe it on pretty thick. I like this all cream cheese recipe when doing just a thin layer of frosting. I put the chocolate chips on top, like in the picture on the website, and I thought it made the cupcakes look adorable. However, to me, the chocolate chip flavor overpowered the cupcake, so I ate them off and then ate the cupcake! I also think if I make this again, I will add some espresso powder to 1/2 of the frosting for the coffee lovers, to give it a little more espresso-ness. All in all, a really great cupcake and I can't wait to try my next assignment (after testing everyone else's for a while, of course!)