Voici les cupcakes! This was my first ever attempt at these. They are definitely a first batch. I give them decent marks on cuteness, if I do say so. The frosting was very, very good. The cake has a long way to go, though.
The frosting is the Swiss Meringue Buttercream I wrote about a few days ago. Really, it was quite delicious. I'm not one for heavy, greasy buttercreams, so the lightness of the meringue provided the perfect counterbalance. It also was not diabetic-coma-inducingly sweet, which = bonus points (except when in the mood for a Magnolia-style frosting). This was my first experience with food dyes, so I went... um... a little overboard on the color, producing salmon and lime colored frostings instead of the subtle pastels I originally envisioned. But no matter: that thar's some tasty frosting.
The cakes followed a basic cupcake recipe from Nigella Lawson's website. I think I overbaked them, because they were a bit tough on the outside and a bit too dry on the inside. Edible, but not great. Maybe I should have followed the "wooden spoon" instructions rather than the food processor ones, since I used an electric mixer. I should probably also get a thermometer for the inside of our oven, since the temp may not be spot on.
Here are links to a few more photos:
Anyway, this batch raises its tiny sprinkly fist, defiantly challenging me to bake another dozen or so. A few different recipes I'd like to try:
Chai Cupcakes (The Food Palate)
Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes and Vanilla Buttercream
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Easy Vanilla Buttercream
Mini Chili Chocolate Cupcakes with Chili Chocolate Ganache Frosting, Lavender Cream Filled Cupcakes with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting, and basically every other amazingly creative recipe from the Cupcake Bake Shop Blog
My mom has a cookbook written by the owners of the Magnolia Bakery- you might want to check it out. I haven't tried any of the recipes in there, so I don't know how they would turn out, but I assume they would be pretty good. One bad thing about the book- NO PICTURES. Every batch is a surprise...
Posted by: Kym at August 27, 2005 3:11 PMCute cupcakes! Can't wait to see how your next batch turns out!
You should come down to the West Village and try cupcakes from Out of the Kitchen. It's on Hudson and Barrow (or thereabouts). Deliciously creamy frosting (not too sugary and fluffy like Magnolia) and dense, but not heavy, cake. The cupcake is a decent sized without being too huge to eat. These have got to be some of my favorite cupcakes in the city...
Posted by: Lisa at August 27, 2005 3:20 PMthey are really cute!
but is this now becoming a cupcake blog? are cupcakes the new cat?!
(notice sarcasm)
when i lived in the city (actually former park slope res here, giving a shout out), we used to frequent the cupcake cafe in manhattan. 39th and 9th ave or somewheres about there. is it still there? yum.
Posted by: jane at August 27, 2005 7:13 PMoh no... i JUST finished getting over a month-long cupcake eating frenzy. now i'm getting that craving all over again... i think i love cupcakes so much because i'm a frosting person, and cupcakes give you just enough of it with every bite of cake. a bite of cake with no frosting is a culinary outrage.
Posted by: parikha at August 27, 2005 7:44 PMAllthough they are very cute (might make some for my birthday next month), I hope they won't overtake your knitting and other crafty endaevors.... Pretty please??
Posted by: Judith at August 28, 2005 12:26 PMHoly crap- I just went to the link for the magnolia vanilla frosting and the nutritional info in the side bar had the highest numbers I have ever seen! 295% of your saturated fat for the day? Aggghh!
Posted by: Kym at August 28, 2005 2:55 PMYes, but that is for an entire 9-inch layer cake, thankfully! I suppose the real stat would be 295% divided by 24... That would be more like 12%. Whew!
Posted by: Jess at August 28, 2005 4:14 PMUm, I think you are the devil...those chai cupcakes look amazing, but I'm not sure if I even know what all of those ingredients are. :P
Posted by: Cathi at August 29, 2005 2:45 PMHey Jess--
Lurker de-lurking to say that my household has long been prisoner to the delightful mini-cupcake (I firmly believe the smaller the food, the better it tastes). I just googled up this recipe http://members.aol.com/trishanne2/bbcupcakes.html, which looks simliar to the one I use--the cupcakes are so moist and delicious and the cream cheese on top provides a lovely counterpoint. Anyway, I've also been making those high-hat cupcakes, which I think I got the idea for from your site--didn't you link to the column on the gothamist a while back? Next time I have an excuse to do so, I'm going to try to make those as mini cupcakes. I think they would be unreasonably good.
Casey
P.S. Love your USMP colors--I was secretly rooting for the alpaca all along.
Posted by: Casey at August 29, 2005 3:17 PMhey everyone! check out my cupcakes. no fat! www.crazycakes.biz
Posted by: emily at September 30, 2005 7:02 PM