I really need a baking icon
So, I bake. Kind of a lot, though less so recently because our oven has been broken and, you know, I work a million hours a week on a weird changing schedule. But I do love to bake, as most of you who know me IRL can attest. I used to bake a lot of cookies and muffins in high school, but since getting my own oven in college about three or four years ago, I've been making a ton of cupcakes (with a brief sojourn into making pies and a baking hiatus, with the notable exception of 5am pancakes, while working on my senior project). I love cupcakes. I love decorating them, I love the entire concept of them. Cake is basically the greatest creation ever and cupcakes allow you to have cake on the go! They have the perfect cake-to-icing ratio and they're perfect for parties and gatherings. Cupcakes are very chic now, which is awesome because it means that there are tons of blogs and LJ communities with cupcakes pointers and a million kind of cupcake merchandise.
I'm baking some tonight for the Fancy Nancy (and Junie B.) party at work tomorrow, and here are some cupcake observations that I thought I would share with you.
one; don't fix it if it ain't broken
I see a lot of people on baking communities dissing boxed cake mixes. There are a lot of things that I can't imagine not making from scratch (cookies and icing, particularly, and I'll get to the latter in a minute), but boxed cake mixes taste just as good, if not better then most from-scratch cake that I've tasted. I find a lot of from-scratch cake that's not made by, you know, bakers, to be kind of dry, but cake mixes are right on target. Plus, I'm a busy girl. It's a lot simpler for me to throw some eggs and water into a bowl than it is to bake a cake from scratch and it generally tastes no different. I bring cupcakes everywhere and I have never once heard someone complain about the cake.
one bee; Pilsbury cake mix does not fill 24 cupcakes!
I usually buy whichever cupcake mix is on sale, but I've recently stopped buying Pilsbury. When using Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, I often get 24 nice sized cupcakes out of the batter. I'm lucky if I can get 23 out of a Pilsbury mix. I'm not even joking. I love Pilsbury cinnamon rolls and Pilsbury biscuits and the little Pilsbury guy who squeals when you press his belly button, but I do not recommend their cake mix for cupcakes. You can probably get away with it for a full-sized cake, but you can clearly tell the difference when dealing with cupackes.
two; buttercream icing should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be made from scratch!
I know this sounds hypocritical, but icing-in-a-jar is a cop-out. It tastes like plastic, it looks and smells fake, and it pales in comparison to the real thing. It takes less then ten minutes to make buttercream frosting. All you need is a stick of butter, a box of powdered sugar, and milk and vanilla to taste. It takes less time to make frosting than it does to make cupcakes. Please expend that little bit of extra effort. It's totally worth it. Canned icing is just gross.
three; anyone who uses the word "cuppie" should be shot.
This is less of a baking observation and more of a general world observation. I mean, "cuppies?" Really? Really? Are you five?
four; don't skimp on the frosting!
Cupcakes are made to have a nice slathering of frosting on the top. I'm taking at LEAST a third of an inch thick, if not more. If I can see the edge of the cupcake through the frosting, you're doing it wrong.
five; tools are awesome!
If you want to poke around, there are a myriad of tips for making perfect cupcakes using only what you have in your house. It's kind of a pain in the ass. Since I bake and decorate cupcakes on a regular basis, I shelled out ten bucks for a basic Wilton decorating kit and some accessories like a nice flat spatula for icing and actual decorating bags. Sure, ziplocs work just fine, but the pastry bags are reusable and work well with the tips I have. I also have a big, 24-cupcake-holding pan that is more convenient than two 12-cupcake trays.
Tips aside, the greatest cupcake tool that I have ever bought is a cupcake carrier. It's a two-tiered plastic box that snugly holds 24 cupcakes. It allows you to bring cupcakes just about anywhere without ruining your decorations. I've hauled cupcakes from Parsippany to Brooklyn in this thing without messing them up. It was $15 at Target. Worth every penny.
six; experimentation: it's not just for feeling up chicks in your college dorm room!
Without altering cooking time, you can do a million and one things to cupcake batter. You can add sprinkles to make "confetti" cupcakes, you can throw in cookie crumbs, jam, icing, chocolate bits, flavor extracts, food coloring, tons of things. Cupcakes are supposed to be fun and it's incredibly easy to play around with them. If you're hesitant, just do five or six with mix-ins and make the rest regular. That way, you don't lose a whole batch.
The same goes for icing. Try different flavors. Try different designs. Add fruit. Go nuts! If you mess up, you still have twenty three other cupcakes to play with.
seven; i lied about number five.
You know what I said about shelling money out for tools? Well, the one tool that I totally cannot live without actually IS in my kitchen already. It's a gallon-sized ziploc bag, and I use it to fill the cupcake liners. I can't even believe I made cupcakes before discovering this. All you did is get a sturdy, deep container with a small enough circumference that the bag will fit around it. You pour the batter into the bag, seal it, and snip the corner. Use that to fill the pan. There is absolutely no mess and it's super easy to make sure all the cupcakes are the same size.
***
Anyway, the cupcakes that I'm baking for tomorrow's Fancy Nancy party are just about done, so I'm off to bed. Pictures to come!
I'm baking some tonight for the Fancy Nancy (and Junie B.) party at work tomorrow, and here are some cupcake observations that I thought I would share with you.
one; don't fix it if it ain't broken
I see a lot of people on baking communities dissing boxed cake mixes. There are a lot of things that I can't imagine not making from scratch (cookies and icing, particularly, and I'll get to the latter in a minute), but boxed cake mixes taste just as good, if not better then most from-scratch cake that I've tasted. I find a lot of from-scratch cake that's not made by, you know, bakers, to be kind of dry, but cake mixes are right on target. Plus, I'm a busy girl. It's a lot simpler for me to throw some eggs and water into a bowl than it is to bake a cake from scratch and it generally tastes no different. I bring cupcakes everywhere and I have never once heard someone complain about the cake.
one bee; Pilsbury cake mix does not fill 24 cupcakes!
I usually buy whichever cupcake mix is on sale, but I've recently stopped buying Pilsbury. When using Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, I often get 24 nice sized cupcakes out of the batter. I'm lucky if I can get 23 out of a Pilsbury mix. I'm not even joking. I love Pilsbury cinnamon rolls and Pilsbury biscuits and the little Pilsbury guy who squeals when you press his belly button, but I do not recommend their cake mix for cupcakes. You can probably get away with it for a full-sized cake, but you can clearly tell the difference when dealing with cupackes.
two; buttercream icing should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be made from scratch!
I know this sounds hypocritical, but icing-in-a-jar is a cop-out. It tastes like plastic, it looks and smells fake, and it pales in comparison to the real thing. It takes less then ten minutes to make buttercream frosting. All you need is a stick of butter, a box of powdered sugar, and milk and vanilla to taste. It takes less time to make frosting than it does to make cupcakes. Please expend that little bit of extra effort. It's totally worth it. Canned icing is just gross.
three; anyone who uses the word "cuppie" should be shot.
This is less of a baking observation and more of a general world observation. I mean, "cuppies?" Really? Really? Are you five?
four; don't skimp on the frosting!
Cupcakes are made to have a nice slathering of frosting on the top. I'm taking at LEAST a third of an inch thick, if not more. If I can see the edge of the cupcake through the frosting, you're doing it wrong.
five; tools are awesome!
If you want to poke around, there are a myriad of tips for making perfect cupcakes using only what you have in your house. It's kind of a pain in the ass. Since I bake and decorate cupcakes on a regular basis, I shelled out ten bucks for a basic Wilton decorating kit and some accessories like a nice flat spatula for icing and actual decorating bags. Sure, ziplocs work just fine, but the pastry bags are reusable and work well with the tips I have. I also have a big, 24-cupcake-holding pan that is more convenient than two 12-cupcake trays.
Tips aside, the greatest cupcake tool that I have ever bought is a cupcake carrier. It's a two-tiered plastic box that snugly holds 24 cupcakes. It allows you to bring cupcakes just about anywhere without ruining your decorations. I've hauled cupcakes from Parsippany to Brooklyn in this thing without messing them up. It was $15 at Target. Worth every penny.
six; experimentation: it's not just for feeling up chicks in your college dorm room!
Without altering cooking time, you can do a million and one things to cupcake batter. You can add sprinkles to make "confetti" cupcakes, you can throw in cookie crumbs, jam, icing, chocolate bits, flavor extracts, food coloring, tons of things. Cupcakes are supposed to be fun and it's incredibly easy to play around with them. If you're hesitant, just do five or six with mix-ins and make the rest regular. That way, you don't lose a whole batch.
The same goes for icing. Try different flavors. Try different designs. Add fruit. Go nuts! If you mess up, you still have twenty three other cupcakes to play with.
seven; i lied about number five.
You know what I said about shelling money out for tools? Well, the one tool that I totally cannot live without actually IS in my kitchen already. It's a gallon-sized ziploc bag, and I use it to fill the cupcake liners. I can't even believe I made cupcakes before discovering this. All you did is get a sturdy, deep container with a small enough circumference that the bag will fit around it. You pour the batter into the bag, seal it, and snip the corner. Use that to fill the pan. There is absolutely no mess and it's super easy to make sure all the cupcakes are the same size.
***
Anyway, the cupcakes that I'm baking for tomorrow's Fancy Nancy party are just about done, so I'm off to bed. Pictures to come!