For anyone who knows me, they know how much I enjoy baking. It is like second nature to me, so I want to share simple skills that can carry any baker a long way. Ever look at a gourmet cupcake and wonder how in the world it turned out so pretty and so delicious? It takes practice and patience, but mostly a love for the sport. At home I usually have all sorts of tools to make baking a decorating cakes and cupcakes easy, but my friend and I used tools any college girl could easily obtain to make our most recent cupcakes. So have no fear, because HC is here to help you be the next best baker! There will be two parts to this series because we want you to understand the when, what, and how to cupcakes. Part one is titled HC has good taste. It is all about how to make the cake and frosting taste gourmet.
The images above are the actual cupcakes we made with tools like plastic bags!
The Cake
Before you can worry about the look of your cupcakes, you have to make sure that when they go in the oven they are already prepared to make taste buds happy. Doctoring up a cake mix is a good way to start. This is one of my favorite ways to do it: Mix together 1 box white cake mix, 1 stick softened butter, 1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or reg. milk plus 1 TBS lemon juice), 3 eggs, 1 tbs. vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Bake as directed on the box. It may seem like too many ingredients just to make cupcakes, but it is worth it! Ask the food savvy dorm mates to lend, trade, and share ingredients and tools. Or the next time you go home, make them for a special occasion like Mother’s Day (coming up pretty soon)!
Another one of my favorites is adding a vanilla pudding to cake mix (along with other ingredients on box), and bake as directed. For coffe lovers, try a devils food cake mix and replace the water with coffee. There are also healthier versions like this, if you are not all about the butter and eggs. There are plenty of other ways to doctor up cake mixes, just Google it! You can always experiment and add treats to the middle of the cupcakes, which make for a great surprise. For example, peanut butter cups and Oreos!
Make sure to line the cupcake tin with cupcake liners and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. To make the cupcakes the same level and less of a mess, use a ¼ cup measuring cup to fill the liners with batter (it should fill the cups about 2/3rd of the way full). Then wipe the edges of the liners clean so there won’t be any burnt pieces of cake left over after the cupcakes are baked. When baking, make sure to keep a close eye on the oven because the temperature can vary oven to oven, which can affect the time it takes to bake the cupcakes. Put the tin in the very center of the oven, and if using two racks, make sure to rotate the tins halfway through baking to allow for even cooking. The key is to keep the cupcake moist, so if the outside is dark but the middle is still gooey, turn down the temperature about 25 degrees. Also, when using dark bake ware, turn the oven down by 25 degrees. Finally, when you believe they are done, test them using one of these methods. For more cake baking tips, check out this site! Also, check out the tips from the pros about how to make moist cupcakes!
The Frosting
The frosting can make or break a great cake. Make sure that the frosting- cake combination does not make the cupcake too sweet, especially if you are thinking of decorating them like Gigi’s. There are many kinds of frosting options depending on how you want the cake to taste, and how you want to decorate the cupcake. I want to give you a quick run-down on some of the most used types, which are buttercream, quick pour, and ganache.
Buttercream: sweet buttery flavor and used to decorate.
It can be bought at the store, but store bought may be harder to decorate with. If store bought, allow to chill for half an hour to make a stiffer consistency. Here are better ways to improve store bought buttercream.
Homemade buttercream will most likely be hard to make in a dorm but for all of you willing to challenge yourselves, the marshmallow buttercream (sweet) or chocolate whipped buttercream (not so sweet) are both delicious! Or try nutella buttercream!
Quick pour: sweet or very sweet flavor and leaves a smooth surface.
It is used to let the cake to be the star but still have a hit of sweet. Also, it adds a little texture because it has a very thin crunch on top. Furthermore, it is easy to throw candies and décor on the flat surface (think about petit fours).
Here is the basic recipe and a how to. This link directs you to a blog, which is great because she explains every step to the petit fours and icing recipe. For cupcakes, you can just use icing recipe and drizzle the cupcakes on the icing, but keep the filling ideas in mind because they are great for cupcakes too.
What you’ll need:
2 lb bag (7.5 cups) powdered sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract
All you need to do:
Heat on low and stir until everything is completely combined. Drizzle it over all the cupcakes and after completing once, go back and do it again until you are satisfied with the smoothness and thickness. This recipe makes for about 30 cupcakes. You can mix in things like orange juice or cocoa depending on cake flavor. See this recipe to get an idea.
Ganache: rich chocolate, smooth, and used to make many types of goodness.
Ganache is pretty versatile. I have used it for glazes, frostings, candies, and fillings. You can use it for so many things because you can change how thick it is depending on the amount of cream or milk you add to the chocolate. Also, it depends on how fast you use it. We will talk about that more in part two.
What you’ll need:
8 oz heavy cream
8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp honey (don’t add if you want the ganache to counteract the sweetness of the cake)
Directions:
Microwave in 15 to 30 second intervals and stir until smooth. Use it immediately if you want it to be a glaze, and just dip the cupcakes in it. Allow it to cool to room temperature if you want to use it to make swirls. Again, more detail about that in part two!
Are you getting the feel for gourmet yet ladies? You can truly make any of these, and they are more affordable than the ones at almost evey gourmet cupcake shop! If you need any more tips or advice, please message me on my Facebook page. Next week we will discuss different types of swirls and décor! Get excited!
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