Wednesday, February 01, 2006

First Attempt at Cupcakes

Not bad for a first attempt, if I may say so. I used a vanilla batter and made two frostings: vanilla buttercream and chocolate ganache. I loved the vanilla buttercream frosting. It smelled so gooood and they weren't too sweet. Just make sure you use fresh butter, preferably unsalted. Drops of vanilla heightens the already intoxicating aroma of creamed butter and icing sugar. You may use milk or cream to thin the icing, cream would obviously give you a richer buttercream. Another thing I like about buttercreams is that they don't melt at room temp. But if you live in a really hot climate, it's better to refrigerate them and let it thaw a bit before using. It may lose some of its volume, but a little whipping would restore it perfectly. As for the ganache frosting, you may use the truffle filling recipe from my previous post (Classic Truffle Cake), but add a bit more heavy cream and whip it to incorporate air, this will also prevent frosting from melting at room temp.

Play with your decorations! Dressing up your cupcakes is as fun as eatng them! Go wild with your imaginations, just limit yourself with edibles!

Vanilla Buttercream
250 g butter, unsalted preferably
8 C icing sugar, sifted
1/2 C cream/milk
drops of vanilla*
food coloring
1. Place butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl, use the paddle attachment. Cream well, medium speed.
2. Add the cream/milk a tablespoon at a time until of desired consistency. Add the vanilla.
3. For a no-melt buttercream, you may use shortening in place of half of the butter.
*feel free to use other oils/extracts, like lemon or orange.

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