Bake 5 new kinds of cupcakes (#40)

• Posted on KK
• in 100 things, food
• on October 25, 2011
• 2 Comments.

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I made some cupcakes 2 weekends ago, which I realized later was the 4th new kind of cupcake I had made. So, this past weekend had to include cupcakes so I could finish up this goal. Clearly. That makes sense to you, right? Of course it does, that’s why we’re friends.

This seemed like a silly goal when I put it on my list, but this has pushed me to bake more often, which is something I like doing. Baking is also something that I want to do well consistently. I want to be able to bake fancy desserts and pie crusts and breads. Making five new kinds of cupcakes – creative flavors from scratch, with icing from scratch – ended up being a more meaningful goal than I had anticipated.

So, while this took on a bit of a larger purpose, I should also mention that this was not a difficult goal to complete – time consuming maybe, and not great for the waistline. But I love cupcakes, so some quality time with my mixer was time well spent for me.

I thought I would put all the recipes I made in one place, because what else would you put in a blog post where you congratulate yourself for completing a baking related goal?

#1: Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Chambord Frosting

Knowing me, I’m sure you’ve guessed that I wanted to make these cupcakes because I wanted them to be boozy cupcakes. Unfortunately, I don’t remember them being boozy at all. Also unfortunately, the bottle of Chambord we bought for me to use does not get a lot of use, and it’s awkward shape takes up a lot of room in our cupboard.

Alternate Name That Is More Realistic: Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Lesson Learned: A few tablespoons of liqueur in the frosting does not a boozy cupcake make.

#2 – Strawberry Lime Stuffed Cupcakes

I made these for Dan. He likes tangy flavor combinations, and strawberry lime (or blueberry lemon) is right up his alley. I remember them being a big hit with both of us – apparently, we would like to put lime frosting on everything we eat. Tasty tasty treats.

Alternate Name That Is More Realistic: Lime frosting, with a vanilla cupcake underneath that has a strawberry inside

Lesson Learned: So when a recipe says things like ‘After baking, cut a hole in the top of the cake, stuff the strawberry inside, then replace the bit of cake and cover with frosting’ you should ignore it. You should just stick a strawberry or two in the batter before you bake it and save yourself some time. I made half of the batch my way and half the batch the recipe’s snooty way, and….I won. The strawberries got gooey and jam-like inside while they baked, which everyone knows is awesome.

Also, do not be fooled by pictures that accompany recipes online. Especially this one.

#3: Mango cupcakes

I wanted a recipe that I could use with the abundance of fresh mango that we had at the time, so I thought this would be a creative use. The recipe I linked to above is not the exact one I used, which I can’t find anymore, but it’s probably a good thing because…these were a. hot. mess. They completely sank after I took them out of the oven. I filled them up with mango frosting which never really came together, and Dan still ate them. He loves me. I have to say, they were definitely mango-y. But wow, abject failure.

Alternate Name That Is More Realistic: Cupcake-that-shall-not-be-named

Lesson Learned: Make a half batch in case of future kitchen disasters.

#4: Fluffernutter cupcakes

Just made these recently, and they definitely win the prize for prettiest cupcakes I made for this goal. Yes, I even went ahead and melted peanut butter to drizzle over the top of them. I did not make the peanut butter frosting to fill the cupcakes with, and didn’t miss it, considering there was marshmallow frosting on top of the cupcakes. Oy. These were also the cupcakes that most needed to be eaten the same day, as they got dry quickly (and the fact that I over-baked them a touch didn’t help) which the recipe warns about.

Alternate Name That Is More Realistic: None – although I will call them my ‘Secret Weapon Cupcakes’ that I plan on taking to parties to impress people.

Lesson Learned: ‘Fluff’ is a specific product that is different from ‘marshmallow creme’ which is probably what you find on your grocery store shelf. Additionally, Fluff is not available on the West Coast. So, I made do with the other stuff, and I have to wonder if the cupcakes would be even better with Fluff.

#5: Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

The most recent – we actually still have a few of these in the kitchen. These have been the most successful – pretty much the perfect cupcake. The cake part is dark chocolate, perfectly moist and doesn’t stick to the paper. (Don’t you hate when you pull off the paper and big chunks of your cupcake go with it?) I know that Dan likes them because he is eating cupcakes at every opportunity – he’s been having dessert with all 3 meals, and several snacks throughout the day. Even though he says he likes everything I bake, this behavior is sort of a dead giveaway.

Alternate Name That Is More Realistic: Dark chocolate cupcakes with mint frosting

Lesson Learned: Don’t be afraid to go with your gut – I changed the proportions in the frosting recipe to make it really minty. I also ended up baking the cakes longer than she recommended, and they are perfection. Also, use the good stuff. Quality cocoa powder really made these, I feel like if I had used Hersheys or Nestle, I would have really missed out. <snob alert>

I guess these now are my cupcake portfolio. Dan has a stock portfolio, I have these. Yes, I am clearly a fully capable adult.

I’m going to have a congratulations-for-completing-a-goal cupcake.