Hello, Cupcake!

Today, I will be sharing with you my easy and simple techniques for baking cupcakes. Out of all my hobbies, I would have to say that baking would be at the top of my list. The days where I want to be productive, instead of binging on Netflix shows, I would choose to bake. Baking is tremendously pleasurable and it helps to get my mind off of unwanted stress. You are probably wondering why I chose cupcakes out of the huge selection of baked sweets. Well, cupcakes are my favorite dessert. If you take me to a party where there are cupcakes, I will surely be the first in line. The sweet, creamy frosting and the delicious, moist cake partner up to make cupcakes a popular favorite among people around the world.

Ingredients:

·        7 cupcakes Paper liners

·        Regular Cupcakes baking pan: 2 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches

·        ½ cup on whole milk

·        Large Mixing Bowl

·        16 oz. Container of vanilla Frosting

·        A whisk

·        An Oven

·        2 different cans of sprinkles

·        11.5 oz. of Cake Mix

·        1 egg

·        Red food coloring

·        1/3 cup of Vegetable oil 

       

             Steps:

        The first step in making the cupcakes is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Karen Tack, author of Hello, Cupcakes, explains the importance of preheating an oven by saying, “Food also cooks faster in a preheated oven – you've got the right temperature from the get-go and your dish can start cooking immediately and properly” (Tack 3). After listening to her advice, I applied this to my procedure and it worked very efficiently.

         After, I lined 8 cupcake cups with paper liners. I measured out 11.5 grams of cake mix. I added ½ cup of milk, one egg, 1/3 cup of oil and cake mix into the mixing bowl. I mixed until the batter became firm. Then, I poured the batter into the cupcake cups with the paper liner, and placed it in the preheated oven. After 25 minutes, i took out the golden brown cupcakes from the oven. Making the batter made my kitchen and floor very messy. The batter got all over my kitchen floor, on the counter, my shirt and hands. Even though it got really chaotic, I had an enjoyable time making the batter.

                     I waited 25 minutes until the cupcakes had fully cooled down. In the book Hello, Cupcake! Karen Tack emphasized the importance of waiting for the cupcakes to cool down fully by saying, " before putting on the frosting wait for it to cool down, because we do not want the frosting to melt" (Tack 2). I applied this tip to my procedure and my frosting stayed sturdy. while waiting for the cupcakes to cool, I tinted the store bought vanilla frosting pink with red food coloring. Store bought frosting does well to tinting, making it simple to create vibrant colors (Tack 1). When I applied the method, I was very satisfied with the gorgeous pink color that I received. Don’t be a klutz like me and eat almost half of the frosting while I was waiting. I suggest that after you are done tinting the frosting, STEP AWAY FROM THE FROSTING.

    Finally, I frosted my cupcakes with the pink frosting. Whether or not your cupcakes were frosted, you will want to frost your cupcakes (otherwise, they are just muffins). Lastly, I sprinkled the sprinkles all over the cupcakes. Adding sprinkles helps to hide any imperfections and adds color and texture to the cupcakes (Tack 2). This method was like my Christmas miracle. When I applied the frosting, it looked really unpleasant and messy. But, after applying the sprinkles, the cupcakes looked somewhat decent and were more mesmerizing than before.

Final Product

Enjoy! Don't forget to share them with friends.

        Overall, I was really satisfied with the end result. I felt very proud of myself for making it alone. I really enjoyed getting messy and baking my heart out. My friends really enjoyed the cupcakes and thought they were good. They were utterly shocked that I took the time to actually bake cupcakes, since I am pretty lazy. When you’ve got a reason to celebrate, bring out the wow in the occasion with cupcakes. Baby showers, family reunions, summer garden parties, even weddings - are all great opportunities to show off your cupcakes prowess. Happy baking!

Question: Have you tried baking cupcakes before, if you did, how was the experience? Also, what is your favorite frosting color?

Richardson, Alan, and Karen Tack. Hello, Cupcake! Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. Print.

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