Second Cupcake Class: Mexican Cupcakes

 Hola! Today was Mexican cupcake day and we took a recipe out of Jan Moon's Southern Living's Big Book of Cupcakes for Lime Frosting.  They were on an almond vanilla cupcake.  While it was meant to be a Jan Moon recipe as well, that recipe didn't turn out so well.

Photo of all of the cupcakes.

It was rather greasy and there was a problem with the photo I took of the recipe where 2 and 3/4 cups of flour looked like 2 and 1/4 cup of flour.  Not a good change.  But the recipe still called for a cup of shortening.  So, Linda found a similar recipe that was more slimming. It was very  tasty, we all agreed.

Our cupcake picks.  Little skulls.  Very cute!!

But we did stick with the Lime Frosting, as it was the main Mexican Cupcake ingredient.  It called for some special ingredients, which we could only find at Beans About Cooking, a great little cooking store in Belleair Bluffs, FL. They were the only store that had lime oil.  (They also had the vanilla paste and red velvet food coloring.  I highly recommend them!)

Photo of lime zest and limes.

We needed to zest some limes, get some fresh lime juice and cream some butter for our frosting.

Linda was in charge of zesting and getting fresh lime juice.

Photo of the green gel frosting color.

 Then it was time to add the green frosting color.  It says to add it a toothpick bit at a time.  Makes it a bit scary.

In the next photo you can just make out the toothpick I am holding and pressing against the frosting to get some of that green gel to come off on the white frosting.

We dyed it until we had a nice soft green color.  Then we stopped.

Little did we know that adding in the powdered sugar would change things.

We added in the powdered sugar.

 When we added in the powdered sugar, things when from light green to a bright green.  Weird.

Bright green frosting.

 Lesson. Dye at the end.

Kim and Lindsey filled the bags.

 Then we started frosting cupcakes.  We taught Kim the basic swirl.  She was a fast learner.

Kim prepares to frost some cupcakes.

Some of the frosted cupcakes.

Linda waiting patiently for a frosting bag.

Finished Mexican cupcakes. 

Finished Mexican cupcakes.

Final verdict: Frosting is a keeper.  Especially with the dried mango and sprinkle of cayenne.  It tastes like lime sherbet.  Very good.  The vanilla cupcake is great too!

Next week: Coffee Cupcakes!

First Cupcake Class: The Basic Swirl

Monday night I started getting ready for cupcake school.  I made everyone cupcake templates so that they could practice their basic swirl:

Above is the Trophy Cupcake video for how to make a Basic Swirl.  THAT is what we were practice today.

One the menu:

Trophy Cupcakes Chocolate and Creamcheese Buttercream Frosting

Southern Living's Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing and Vanilla Cupcake

To make the template, I took a ramekin and drew out circles for everyone to have as a cupcake circle to follow.

Here is a photo of the cupcake template.

I also frosted a few cupcakes myself.  Just for practice.

Chocolate cupcake with basic swirl.

Chocolate cupcake with basic swirl from the top.

Class started today at 10 am.  I had also bought cupcake swirl tips for everyone.  Michele was bringing her stand mixer for the chocolate frosting and I was making the creamcheese buttercream.  There are a couple of things to keep in mind:

• Bring your ingredients to room temperature
• read your recipe completely
• Have everything measured out
• Have your work space clean

The buttercream went off without a hitch.  We did learn that when filling the pastry bags that air bubbles are to be avoided.  We don't know how to avoid them though.  If you do know, please leave your suggestions down below.  Jennifer Shea didn't give us any clear guidelines on that in her video on how to fill a pastry bag.

Dani filling her pastry bag.

We filled our pastry bags and began to work on our templates. We were only interrupted by

Jammy looking in the window and wanting a cupcake.

a ravening horde of wild dogs running through the house looking for free food on the floor.  Not finding any, the white leader tried to leap on the table to get some.  He was collared and muscled outside.

The practicing went on.

Lindsey filling a pastry bag, notice gap at bottom between tip and top of frosting.

Lindsey squeezing buttercream frosting down to fill the gap.

First attempts at the Basic Swirl.

Attempting the Basic Swirl.

The Basic Swirl was simple, but difficult at the same time.  It does take practice and a steady hand.

One Swirl complete.

Dani is a machine!

Fred has to leash Jam as he tries to eat frosting and cupcakes from the table.

Dani and her perfect frosting swirls.

I had a slightly different frosting tip and my first attempts at swirls looked like poo-poo piles.  I switched to 6 pointed stars or the wave pattern.

CDs six pointed waves.

By now, we felt confident enough to jump to the cupcakes.

Linda concentrates on the cupcake.

Michele finishes her cupcakes.

Lindsey starts on her cupcakes.

A perfect swirl for Lindsey!

CD had a different frosting tip, so she made 6 pointed waves.

Michele and Linda show off their best cupcakes.

Dani and her best work.

Toasting cupcakes!

I served lunch. Then we moved on to the second icing.  Then we planned for next week.

A set of waves.

Lindsey's final cupcakes.

Dani's final cupcakes.

Michele's final cupcakes.

Linda had a little mishap.

The inaugural cupcake class.

Next week: Mexican cupcakes.  Mmmmmm.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes:

Yes, it was a definite craving.  I had been glancing through the cookbooks and I saw the recipe and thought, well, the blackberry frosting was a little too sweet, what about Red Velvet?  It had a Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting.  After all, the Espresso Buttercream Frosting I had made from Trophy was to die for.  It got rave reviews.  RAVE. REVIEWS.

Red Velvet came from the Trophy book as did the Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting.

On the way home from work I stopped at Publix (my favorite grocery store!) and bought buttermilk, cream cheese, and cake flour.  I knew I had red food coloring.  Why did I have it.  I don't know.  Why are you asking such things.  I just have it.  OK?  For a red velvet emergency, like NOW!

Red Food Coloring

People, make sure that you buy two bottles of red food coloring!  It takes one whole bottle of 2 oz, red food coloring to make this recipe for 24 cupcakes.  I am serious.  Here I am thinking I am a genius hoarding red food coloring and I have barely enough!  I need to go get more in case I suddenly have a bunch of people over and they want red velvet cupcakes, because these cupcakes will rock your world. Trust me on this.  Get a couple of bottles and hide them in the fridge. Just not in the cheese drawer. Don't ask.

Anyway, the thing about Jennifer Shea is that she is a very complicated baker.  Her recipes are very easy to follow, but you better make sure you read them all the way through at least once, if not twice.

This is not something I usually do.  I sometimes don't follow all the instructions thinking I know what's coming up.  This can be a problem.  But I do this for Jennifer.  I also know to leave EVERYTHING out and to let EVERYTHING come to room temperature.  

This is another thing that is VERY hard for me to do.  To wait. For something to get warm.  When I could just use it NOW.  

But I have to deny myself and WAIT because a room temperature egg is better than a cold egg. Again, trust me on this one.

So, I set all the ingredients out on the counter and went to read.  That is relaxing.  And wait for warming.  And then I heard this licking sound.  A really awful lapping, licking sound. And one of my labs comes around the corner with this look on his face like, "Oh my God! That wasn't MILK!"

Photo of buttermilk out on counter with drops of buttermilk all around it from dog slurping.

Seems he had countersurfed and gotten a big snootful of buttermilk and didn't like it so much.  

There goes the partially WARM buttermilk into the sink.  I have to clean out that container, get a whole new cold measurement of buttermilk out.  SIGH.  Labs.  

Everyone on a tie-down.

Baking Soda

Eventually everything is warm and ready to go.  The only really weird thing is that Jennifer wants you to this bit of chemistry at the end of the recipe.  With vinegar and baking soda.  Silly me, I get out baking soda and put it in a cup, then I get some vinagar: Whooosh!!!!

Me: "OHHHHH! That's what she means." Duh.

Clean spoon. Start again.  Baking soda in one cup, vinegar in a clean spoon and then pour it in a clean cup.  Transfer to the other counter.  Then I start to put in the dry and wet ingredients.  I'm looking around for a cup to put in the dry ingredients.  

You guessed it.  I grabbed the one with the baking soda in it.  

Sigh.  

When it came time for the Vinegar and the baking soda:

Me: "Hey, where's the baking soda?"

Long pause. Significant look at cup.

Me:  "Crap."

Longer Pause.

Me: "I wonder if I can use more baking soda?"

I did.  They came out great.  But I think if I baked them a little less.  And if I used the right amount of baking soda they would be amazing!

Finished product.

I rate them 5 cupcakes!! 

How the Summer Quest Began

It all started with a book.  It had to. I'm a librarian, after all.  All good quests have their beginnings at some definite place and time and mine is in the Rudolph Library, during Book Fair.  When my hand touched Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My! New treats, new techniques, more hilarious fun by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.

Photo of the cover of Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My! 

Those sheep had compelling eyes. And just wait until you see the insides of this amazing book!

Photo of Shoe Cupcakes

Shoe cupcakes are just some of the magical cupcakes you can make.  Yeah.  Shoes.  That are cupcakes.  What could be better?  

Yes!  Koi cupcakes!

KOI CUPCAKES! Oh, and where do you get circus peanut candy anymore?  That's a hard one.  I think I am going to have to order it online.  I tell you, these cupcakes are amazing!  Just delightful and silly and fun and fabulous.  I was inspired.  

I am still a librarian and one book on the matter just wouldn't do.  I did some careful research and found three more cupcake cookbooks that seemed to be very well thought of and would provide some variety to the quest.  Here they are:

Cover for Trophy Cupcakes and Parties.

Trophy Cupcakes and Parties  by Jennifer Shea is not only a cupcake cookbook, but a phenomenal party planner book.  This woman makes Martha Stewart look slothful. I have tried her chocolate cupcakes with espresso buttercream and they were fabulous.  

Cover for What's New Cupcake.

What's New Cupcake came before Cupcakes, Cookies and Pie. This one really goes into detail about how to use candy to make duck beaks, how to make original patterns of sugar cookies for honey comb designs.  I mean this book is crazy awesome.  We'll be detailing it cupcake by cupcake.

Cover of Big Book of Cupcakes.

I picked this book because one of the reviews was from a pastry chef who absolutely raved about it and how author Jan Moon gave so many helpful hints on ways to change up the recipes.  She does.  Again, we will be going through the recipes cupcake by cupcake.

This week is our get acquainted week.  I am perusing the books and trying some things out.  I think I might make a red velvet cupcake next...I'm not sure. 

If you are interested in following any of our cupcake bakers: 

• Karen Tack has a pinterest board for cupcakes. Alan Richardson didn't have one that I could find.
• Jan Moon has a pinterest page. And Dreamcakes has a pinterest page, but there are very few pins and I don't think they really get the pinterest thing.
• Trophy cupcakes has an amazing pinterest page with lots of boards.  Check it out!
• The Big Book of Cupcakes comes from Southern Living and they have a pinterest page at Southern Living Pinterest.

Stay tuned.  Cupcake classes start next week.  Should be enlightening.