As the More is More Mom®, I’m all about…….more cupcakes! I tend to cook more than I bake because I am more of an eye-baller (dash of this, pinch of that) than a careful and precise measurer. Typically, I find the best reason to bake is to lick the bowl. However, recently I was asked to make cupcakes for my friend’s surprise birthday party. I was thrilled because I believe a personal touch makes every event more special.
Since more of everything is always better, I decided to make two different flavors of cupcakes and frosting from scratch. While Betty Crocker is quite tasty, they were completely worth the little extra effort.
Festive Confetti Cupcakes with Creamy Frosting
Vanilla Cupcakes
This recipe makes 24 mini-cupcakes or 12 full size, but easily doubles or triples!
½ cup butter
1 egg
2 yolks
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup sugar
½ cup heavy whipping cream
Pre-heat oven to 350°
Line muffin tins with paper or foil liners
Allow the butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
In a small bowl, combine;
Flour
Baking powder
Salt
This was a serious job, so I pulled out the big gun: my Kitchen Aid, though you can certainly use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer.
Beat butter on medium high speed until lightly whipped, approximately 30-45 seconds
Add;
Sugar
Beat for approximately 1 minute
Add;
Egg
Egg yolks
Vanilla
Beat until well blended, scraping the sides occasionally
Alternating between the two, add;
Flour mixture
Heavy whipping cream
Continue to alternate until you have used all of the flour mixture and the cream, and your batter is just combined.
Scoop equal amounts of the batter into the cups, approximately 2/3 or ¾ of the way full.
Bake for approximately 15 minutes for the mini’s and 20 for the full size, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Creamy Frosting
This recipe makes approximately 3 cups
1 cup shortening
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups of confectioners’ sugar
3-6 Tbsp milk
While I had the big old Kitchen Aid out, I decided to put it to work, though you can certainly use an electric hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.
Combine;
Shortening
Vanilla
Mix until well blended
Add;
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Add;
2 Tbsp milk
Gradually, add the remaining confectioners’ sugar
Gradually add enough milk to make the frosting a nice and spreadable consistency
I wanted colorful frosting which was easy to accomplish by adding a few drops of food coloring.
A special event requires attention to detail, which is why I used my fancy frosting tips and a pastry bag to create a decorative pattern on top of each cupcake. You can pick up a basic set of tips at most grocery stores and fancier tips at your local craft stores. A formal pastry bag is hardly necessary; simply snip off the corner of a baggie, fill with frosting and you’re ready to create a masterpiece!
To create these festive confetti cupcakes, I grabbed food coloring, sprinkles and colorful canned frosting with built in tips to create the silly string effect. They were adorable!
Pretty Pastel Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
This recipe makes 48 mini’s or 24 generous cupcakes.
Chocolate Cupcakes
¾ cup of butter
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups milk
Pre-heat oven to 350°
Line muffin tins with paper or foil liners
Allow the butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
In a medium bowl stir together;
Flour
Cocoa powder
Baking soda
Baking powder
Salt
Again, while I had the big old Kitchen Aid out, I decided to put it to work, though you can certainly use an electric hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.
Beat butter for 30-60 seconds, until nicely whipped
Add;
Sugar, ¼ cup at a time
Beat until combined and nice and fluffy
Add;
Eggs, one at a time
Beating until well combined
Add;
Vanilla
Alternately, add;
Flour mixture
Milk
Beat until fluffy
Fill muffin tins half-way to 2/3 full
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center is pulled out clean. Allow to cool on the wire racks until ready to frost.
Buttercream Frosting
1 ½ cups unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
¼ cup water
6 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp water or your favorite flavored liqueur
1 ½ tsp vanilla
Confectioners’ sugar
Allow butter to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes
In a medium saucepan, combine;
Sugar
Water
Bring to a boil and remove from heat
Whisk half of the sugar mixture into the egg yolks
Whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the remaining sugar mixture in the saucepan
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat
Cook and stir for 2 minutes until smooth
Add;
Liqueur or water
Vanilla
Transfer the egg mixture to a bowl and place in ad ice bath to cool down
Continue to stir while maintaining a smooth consistency and cooling to room temperature
Placing butter in the mixing bowl, beat until creamy
Add;
egg mixture
Beat with a mixer until light and fluffy
If the frosting is too thin, you can add confectioners sugar to thicken it up to a nice, spreadable consistency
If you desire a punch of color, add some food coloring. Just remember that the frosting is already slightly tinted because of the butter. Once again, select your frosting tip and insert in a pastry bag, along with the frosting.
I’ve never worked with fondant, which sounds pretty intimidating. I purchased fondant from the craft store, rolled it out on a confectioners’ sugar covered surface and, with a small cookie cutter, cut out sweet little flowers for each cupcake.
As you can see, using the pastry bag, I created a decorative swirl
Next, I added the fondant flower
I topped each flower with a dollop of the canned frosting in a contrasting color
After selecting a yellow floral sprinkle, I placed it on top of each dollop of frosting
The cupcakes were sweet, charming and delicious! More importantly, they were made for an adored friend with love.
More sweetness, more mini-cupcakes, more festive decorations, more meaningful moments…..
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To schedule an Interior Design or Life Style consultation, and for any questions or comments, please email me at moreismoremom@aol.com
More is More Mom 