Hello Sunflowers!

Sorry- no Tuesdays with Dorie post today- but definitely check out the blogroll to see the Floating Islands that the rest of the TWD bakers made! Instead, I finally broke out Hello Cupcake! by Alan Richardson and Karen Tack and made these adorable sunflower cupcakes. My mom gave me this great book for Christmas and I have probably looked at the pictures cover to cover about 10 times- the ideas are just too cute! The centers are mini oreos and regular sized oreos and the rest is just colored buttercream.


I decided to go with the recipes in the book for Perfect Cake-Mix Cupcakes and Almost-Homemade Vanilla Buttercream. I'm not usually a big fan of semi-homemade type recipes, but the cupcakes turned out great (the additions to the box mix really make a difference). The buttercream was good too- but I ended up adding a lot of extra powdered sugar to get it to the right consistency. The buttercream was very easy to work with- it spread really nicely and it was not too difficult to pipe either. I've been pouring over the book trying to decide if I want to do one of the cute designs for Helen Mae's upcoming 1st birthday!


Perfect Cake-Mix Cupcakes

1box (18.25 oz) cake mix (French Vanilla, devil's food, or yellow)
1 cup buttermilk (in place of the water called for on teh box)
Vegetable Oil (in the amount called for on the box)
4 large eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

Follow box instructions, putting all of the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer. Fill 24 standard paper-lined muffin cups and bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking tins, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.


Almost-Homemade Vanilla Buttercream

1 container (16oz) marshmallow fluff
3 sticks of unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus additional sugar if necessary (like I said before, I used WAY more!)

Spoon the marshmallow fluff into a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low. Gradually add the butter pieces, beating well after each addition, until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and the confectioners' sugar. Scrape the bowl well to incorperate.

Happy Halloween! Mini- Cupcakes and More!

Ok so it goes something like this- what's cuter than a cake?

A cupcake, right?

What's cuter than a cupcake?

A mini- cupcake, right?


I made these adorable little mini-cupcakes using Martha Stewart's recipe for One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes. I had never used her recipe before and I was very impressed with the results. The cupcakes were light and airy and had a very chocolaty flavor. I can't say that I like them more than Dorie's cupcakes though, because the chocolate didn't have as much depth. These made a lovely little shiny dome at the top- and doesn't that shape just scream cupcake?


The pitfall was when I whipped up the buttercream frosting for the tops. Against my better judgment , I used a buttercream recipe that called for shortening as well as butter. I don't know why I did it, but I can assure you that I will never do it again! The frosting looks pretty and it was easy to work with but when I took a bite of it the consistency was so greasy and the flavor was just not as good as it could have been. Anyway- live and learn. I do need a good buttercream recipe though so if anyone has suggestions please leave me a comment!! I've always used a really basic one with butter and confectioner's sugar and a bit of vanilla and milk- the taste is very nice but it doesn't hold up that well for decorating. They still turned out darn cute so I sent them to school with my high school junior of a sister.


So, what could possibly be cuter than a mini-cupcake?

Ta-Da!

TWD: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Clara of I Heart Food 4 Thought. With the huge cupcake craze that seems to be permeating every bakery, blog, and bistro (ok not bistros so much but I'm a sucker for alliteration) it's amazing that I haven't baked any up on my own lately.


Alas, those cute little cakes are often less successful for me than regular sized cakes- they end up dry from their small size or oily from the oil that was intended to keep them moist. Many TWD bakers felt that these cupcakes turned out dry and many had to reduce the baking time. Luckily for me, I was not one of those bakers.

My cupcakes went the full baking time and turned out nice and moist. I attribute my success to the thorough mixing instructions that Dorie provides- when she says to beat the sugar and butter for 2 minutes, I set a timer and do it exactly that way. Who knows if this really made a difference- but I always appreciate her detailed instructions and I figure there must be some reason she includes said details.


Like Dorie explains in her description of the recipe, the subtle sweetness of the cupcake and the richness of the chocolate makes these a more grown-up tasting treat. I also had a lot of success with the ganache- just don't expect a sugary, fluffy cloud of frosting- it is a simple and deeply chocolaty ganache.


While I had a little too much fun staging and photographing my cupcakes, Helen Mae ate some little pumpkins and gourds. She can't eat chocolate until she's one year old so I figured that it was a fair trade-off.

Stay tuned for more candy corn fun later this week!