It Is the Holidays in the
United States right now, where pastries will be cooked in almost every
house-hold throughout the country, and in many parts of the World as people
will celebrate Christmas. And what’s
more better than a cake or a pie, well how about a Cupcake, the delicious mini
cakes are often ignored by the majority.
I have here four of my favorites that I have been making for the Holiday
Season for a few years now. I hope you
will enjoy them too.
Use These Steps to
Sensational Cupcakes
·
Buy an oven thermometer and check to see if your oven is
baking at the correct temperature
·
Place the oven rack in the center position.
·
Preheat the oven for 10 to 15 minutes before baking.
·
Read the recipe before beginning. Make sure you’ve got the
right pan size. Regular cupcakes and muffins go in 2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch cups.
·
Find paper liners that fit your pan snugly. For muffins, mist
the bottom of the cups with vegetable oil spray.
·
Measure ingredients correctly. Dry ingredients go into
measuring spoons and cups and should be leveled off with a straight edge. Brown
sugar needs to be packed lightly into the cup. Liquid ingredients, on the other
hand, go into liquid measuring cups and you need to check the measurement at
eye level (unless you have the new liquid measuring cup that you can read from
above).
·
Blend the batter for the amount of time the recipe specifies.
Use a hand or stand mixer for cupcakes and a wooden spoon for most muffins.
·
Spoon or scoop batter into the prepared cups, filling them
two thirds (1⁄4 cup batter) or three quarters (1/3 cup batter) full, depending
on the recipe instructions.
·
Check the cupcakes for doneness, looking for browning in
light-colored cupcakes or pressing the top to see if it springs back.
·
Allow up to 5 minutes for cupcakes to cool in the pan before
transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Then frost or glaze as desired.
1. Monster Monkeys with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes: 12 large (3-inch)
cupcakes or 20 to 24 regular (2 ½ -inch) cupcakes
Preparation time: 15 minutes,
Baking time: 24 to 28 minutes for large cupcakes, 18 to 20 minutes for regular
size and Assembly time: 10 minutes
Store the cupcakes, in a cake saver or
under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator
for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver,
for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before
serving.
To create a monkey’s face on
top of the frosted cupcake, place two brown M&M candies for eyes and one
slightly lower, on its edge and in the center, for the nose. With a squeeze
bottle filled with chocolate frosting, or a tube of brown icing from the
supermarket, pipe a semicircle for a wide grin. At each end of the grin, anchor
a red M&M candy. For ears, secure two mini Oreo cookies in the frosting
until they hold (use a little extra frosting if needed). Or use banana chips
for the ears. Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles around the edges for fur.
The Cupcakes:
Vegetable oil spray for
misting the pans
All-purpose flour for
dusting the pans
1 package (18.25 ounces)
plain yellow cake mix
1 ½ cups mashed bananas,
from 3 medium or 4 small bananas
½ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Cream Cheese
Frosting (see below)
Place a rack in the center of the oven and
preheat the oven to 350°F. Mist the pans with vegetable oil spray and dust with
flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pans aside.
Place the cake mix, mashed bananas, water,
oil, eggs, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with the electric mixer
on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the
bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2
minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look
thick and well combined. Spoon or scoop ½ cup of batter (for the large cups) or
1/3 cup batter (for the regular cups) into each prepared cup, filling it three
quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.
Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and
spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 24 to 28 minutes for large
cupcakes, 18 to 20 minutes for regular size. Remove the pans from the oven and
place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the
edges of the cupcakes, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using
the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your
fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
Meanwhile, prepare the Cinnamon Cream
Cheese Frosting.
Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of frosting on
each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon,
taking care to cover the tops completely. Place, uncovered, in the refrigerator
and chill until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. The cupcakes are ready to serve.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (2 ½ -inch size)
generously. Preparation time: 5 minutes
1 package (8 ounces)
reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)
butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar,
sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Place the cream cheese and butter in a large
mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, 30
seconds. Stop the machine. Add the confectioners’ sugar, a little at a time,
blending with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1
minute. Add the cinnamon, then increase the mixer speed to medium and blend the
frosting until fluffy, 1 minute more.
If the cream cheese is too
cold, unwrap the package and soften it on a plate in the microwave oven on high
power for 20 seconds.
2. Buried Treasure
Cakes Makes 22 to 24 cupcakes (2
1⁄2 inches each)
Preparation time: 20
minutes. Baking time: 14 to 16 minutes and Assembly time: 10 minutes
24 paper liners for cupcake
pans (2 1/2-inch size)
1 package (18.25 ounces)
white cake mix with pudding
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk or water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
extract
72 M&M’s or Skittles
Dark Chocolate Buttercream
(see below)
1 white decorating pen
Place a rack in the center of the oven and
preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans
aside.
Place the cake mix, flour, milk, oil, eggs,
and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed
for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a
rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping
down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop G cup batter into each lined
cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22
and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place 3 M&M’s or
Skittles on top of each cupcake (they will sink into the batter). Place the
pans in the oven.
Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly
golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 14 to 16 minutes.
Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5
minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the
cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick
them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack
to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Place a
heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and spread it out with a short
metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. With a
white decorating pen or melted white chocolate in a squeeze bottle, pipe an X
on top of each cupcake. The cupcakes are ready to serve.
Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or
under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator
for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver,
for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before
serving.
To get these cupcakes to rise quickly and
surround the treasure inside, bake them at 400°F. It’s best to use Betty Crocker
sour cream white cake mix.
The additional flour adds
structure to the batter and helps the batter bake up and around the candy.
Decorating pens are the best to be used here, as they are usually 1.6 ounces
each, come in an array of colors, and contain enough frosting (which hardens)
to decorate one cake or a batch of cupcakes.
3. Tie-Dye Cupcakes with Psychedelic Buttercream
Makes 22 to 24 cupcakes (2 ½
inches each), Preparation time: 20 minutes, Baking time: 17 to 20 minutes and Assembly
time: 10 minutes
24 paper liners for cupcake
pans (2 ½-inch size)
CUPCAKES:
1 package (18.25 ounces)
plain yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces)
vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
½ cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
extract
¾ cup miniature M&M’s
PSYCHEDELIC BUTTERCREAM FROSTING:
4 tablespoons butter (1/2
stick), at room temperature
3 cups confectioners’ sugar,
sifted
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
Bright blue, green, and orange
food coloring
½ cup miniature M&M’s
(optional)
It’s important to use
miniature M&M’s because the regular M&M’s will sink instead of creating
a streaked, tie-dye effect on top. Try to distribute the colors well; using
some of each (the blue M&M’s create the most noticeable streak). It is less
expensive to buy the minis in the 12-ounce bag rather than several of the small
bags. As for food coloring, teal, sky blue, leaf green, and orange are the best
for this recipe.
Instead of dying the
frosting bright colors and topping with the M&M’s, you can use a plain
buttercream frosting and fold the M&M’s into it, then let it rest in a warm
place for an hour. Stir. The M&M colors will streak through the frosting.
Place a rack in the center of the oven and
preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans
aside.
Prepare the cupcake batter: Place the cake
mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend
with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape
down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to
medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon
or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two
thirds full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners,
if any.) Place 16 miniature M&M’s on top of each cupcake. Make sure to get
a good mix of colors. Place the pans in the oven.
Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and
spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 17 to 20 minutes. Remove the
pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a
dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from
the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the
cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15
minutes before frosting.
Meanwhile, prepare the Psychedelic
Buttercream: Place the butter in a medium-size mixing bowl and blend with an
electric mixer on low speed until creamy. Add the sugar and 3 tablespoons of
the milk. Blend on low until the ingredients just come together, adding up to
another tablespoon of milk if needed to make the frosting spreadable. Increase
the mixer speed to medium-high and beat in air to make the frosting fluffy, 30
seconds longer. Divide the frosting into two or three bowls for tinting. If you
are using liquid colors, you’ll need about 2 drops of color per bowl; if using
paste, about 1/8 teaspoon. Stir the colors into the frosting to blend.
Place small dollops of each colored
frosting on each cupcake and swirl them together with the edge of a short metal
spatula to resemble a tie-dye pattern, taking care to cover the tops
completely. Or, decorate the top with miniature M&M’s, if desired. The
cupcakes are ready to serve.
Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or
under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator
for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver,
for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before
serving.
4. Dark Chocolate Buttercream
Makes 2 cups, enough to
frost 20 to 24 cupcakes (2 1⁄2-inch size), Preparation time: 10 minutes
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)
butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
powder
21/4 cups confectioners’
sugar, sifted
3 to 4 tablespoons hot water
Place the butter and cocoa
powder in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until
the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the
confectioners’ sugar and 3 tablespoons of the water. Blend with the mixer on
low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to
medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add up to 1 tablespoon
more warm water if the frosting is too stiff.
Strawberry
Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 3 cups, enough to
frost 24 cupcakes (2 1⁄2-inch size) generously.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat
cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)
butter, at room temperature
3 to 31/2 cups
confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/2 cup mashed, drained
fresh strawberries
Place the cream cheese and butter in a
large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, 30
seconds. Stop the machine. Add 3 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and the
drained strawberries. Blend the frosting on low until the sugar is
incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed to medium and blend the
frosting until fluffy, 30 to 45 seconds longer, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar
if needed to make a spreadable consistency.
It takes about 3/4 cup
rinsed, well-drained, and hulled strawberries to make 1/2 cup mashed. Take care
to drain out as much juice as you can and reserve it. If you need liquid to
pull the frosting together, add a dribble of the fresh reserved juice.
It is a great surprise for a
child just coming home from school, to have one of these sitting on a table for
her or him. The grand kids just love
these, especially hot out of the oven.
-Bird
