Archive for the 'Tips' Category

Cupcake Corer and Decorating Set by Uncommon Goods

By on Friday, September 17th, 2010

Toolkit for Tasty Filled Cupcakes :)

I was paging through the Uncommon Goods catalog the other day when I came across this cupcake corer and decorating set.  You can find decorating sets and kits all over the place, but I thought that the corer that’s included in this kit set it apart.  Getting just the right-sized filling hole in a cupcake can be fussy, possibly crumbling the cupcake in the process.

In case you’re skeptical about this corer’s usefulness or the quality of the kit in general, Uncommon Goods did a gift lab on this product to see how well it worked. While

Finished Filled Cupcakes!

a manufacturer’s take on their own product isn’t exactly objective, the post is pretty informative about the kit’s performance.

You’ll want to click the link to get the long version, the short version is that the cupcakes weren’t picture perfect, but they turned out better than they would have without the kit.  All in all, it sounds like it’s worth the $20 price tag if you’re into making filled cupcakes on a regular basis.

Baking in Bulk

By on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Anyone who has checked out Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit‘s website knows there’s a standard protocol she follows.  She creates cupcake recipes then blogs about the recipe and images that correlate.  Recenly she deviated from her standard formula with a post that I thought allthingscupcake readers would find helpful. She has five steps that she suggest cupcake bakers follow when baking in bulk.  These steps include finding inspiration and coming up with a high level plan, writing out all recipes, preparing a plan and the ingredients, preparing all the recipes and storing them for final assembly, and finally assembling, packing for delivery, unpacking, and presenting.   For details on these tips be sure to visit Chockylit’s website.

CakeJournal’s (Cup)Cake Decorating Tutorials

By on Monday, July 5th, 2010

photo courtesy of CakeJournal

When I was tooling around CakeJournal‘s site after getting info about Louise’s cupcake needle felt pillows, I found her collection of cake decorating tutorials. This made me happy because it reminded me that the creation of fancy cupcake decorations are indeed within even my beginner’s grasp.

In my quest to find new and interesting cupcake news for ATC, I see the incredible craft and artistry that goes into decorating cupcakes and cakes. I’m always  impressed by the creativity of these pieces.  However,  most of the time  I can’t say that I find inspiration in them because it often looks like a level of composition and sculpture that’s well out of my league. I think that CakeJournal’s collection of tutorials is just the thing to bridge that gap.

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Cupcake Poop by Cupcake Project

By on Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Cupcake Poop! (picture courtesy of the Cupcake Project)

I was a little confused when I saw the word “poop” titling a post with a picture of delicious looking crispy cookies.  But I guess everyone has their own terminology for the little bits of batter that end up on the edges of the cupcake pan and get cooked up into tasty crispy treats.

Cupcake Project gives us the scoop on the poop, or rather, how to bake it up on purpose rather than just relying on serendipitous accident:

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Flowerpot Cupcakes by Bernard Shondell

By on Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

These are so cool!  Oh my gosh, I just have to try this!  I don’t have much of a green thumb, but these “plants,” I can handle!

 KansasCity.com featured a post recently on these delightful flowerpot cupcakes!

We have Bernard Shondell of Roeland Park to thank for these tasty works of art.  If you’d like to try to create your own, here are his words of advice:

•Place paper cupcake liners in the bottom of clean, preferably new, flowerpots to cover the hole.

•Line pots with parchment paper or foil.

•Fill about 2/3 full with your favorite cake batter.

•Place the pots in an empty cake pan for stability, and bake about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

•Once cooled, tint your favorite icing and spread on top of the cake to form a smooth dome. With a star or rose tip, pipe “petals” on top.

•An alternative to piping the top is to flatten gum drops with a rolling pin (use granulated sugar so they won’t stick); then arrange the flattened candy as “petals” on the top.

•Add green icing leaves or a green bow to complete the look.

•Garnish with an edible wafer paper butterfly, available at Fancy Flours!

Cake Journal Cupcake Decorating

By on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Last August Cake Journal had a series of posts on Cupcake Decorating as part of a “How To” section. I thought these tips might be helpful for anyone struggling with their cupcakes. In part one, her favorite tool of the trade are discussed.  Part two moves on to the author’s personal favorite cupcake recipes.  For step three, you learn how to create buttercream domes and fondant circles.  Finally part four teaches you how to swirl!  If you have additional tips or advice, please share!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Olive Oil Cupcakes? Delicious!

By on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Chocolate Olive Oil & Blood Orange Cupcakes, Feb./Olive Oil Cupcake Hero!

One issue that cupcakes and cupcake lovers have to perpetually face is that our favorite tasty pastry treat isn’t exactly healthy. But what can you do? One answer that’s been floating around cupcake circles is to use olive oil in place of shortening or butter. While there’s still more than enough sugar to go around (but let’s be honest, we are working with desserts here), olive oil is great for heart health with it being all full of bad-cholesterol-removing monounsaturated fat & delicious antioxidants.

There are a lot of recipes out there, but some of the most interesting & well documented I found via I Heart Cupcakes February [Olive Oil] Cupcake Hero. It looks like there’s not much lost in translation from shortening/butter to olive oil: all the entries look and sound fantastic!

Basil Infused Olive Oil Cupcakes with White Wine

I especially like Cupcake Project’s entry, Basil-Infused Olive Oil Cupcakes with White Wine – that kind of flavor combination in a cupcake sounds intriguing.  Cupcake Project also has a recipe for Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cupcakes with Balsamic Vinegar Whipped Cream. I am a big fan of balsamic vinegar, and I can definitely see how the sweet tang of the balsamic would work beautifully with whipped cream.

If these semi-savory recipes don’t sound like your cup of…cupcake, I Heart Cupcake’s February Cupcake Hero gives you plenty more to choose from. Three cheers for this month’s heart-healthier Cupcake Heroes!