Here are 3 more of the tips I like to use to decorate cupcakes and cakes. They’re lots of fun to use, so play around and be creative with your designs!
This is a great pumpkin spice cake recipe. I’m making mini cupcakes, but you can also make a cake, loaf, standard size cupcakes – just remember to adjust the cooking time.
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening
4 eggs
1 can (15oz) pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
– Preheat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Line mini muffin tins with paper cases.
– In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves. Set aside.
– In bowl of mixer, stir sugars together. Add shortening and mix until combined.
– Add eggs and mix.
– Add pumpkin and mix well.
– Mix in vanilla extract.
– Stir in flour mixture.
– Spoon mixture into muffin tins and bake for 10-15min or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
– Cool in tins for about 10min and then cool completely on wire rack.
For the caramelized pecan topping:
1 cup pecans
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
– Cook pecans in a saucepan until lightly toasted and fragrant.
– Add sugar and syrup and stir constantly until caramelized.
– Pour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and cool completely.
– Pulse in mini chopper/food processor until desired coarseness. You can also chop nuts by hand with a knife.
For the buttermilk buttercream icing:
2 sticks butter
1 lb confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk
– Mix together until light and fluffy.
– Pipe onto cupcakes and sprinkle with pecan topping.
2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups rice flour (or all purpose flour)
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups finely shredded apple
– Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
– Line 2 x 12 cup cupcake pans.
– In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Set aside.
– In a mixer, combine brown sugar, eggs, and oil until well mixed.
– Add in flour mixture. Mix on low while slowly adding buttermilk.
– Mix in vanilla and shredded apple.
– Divide evenly into cupcake pans and bake for 20-25min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
– Cool on wire rack.
Ingredients for icing:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups (1 lb) confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
2 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp water
– mix butter, sugar, spices, and vanilla in a bowl. Add water to obtain desired consistency.
– Pipe or spread on cooled cupcakes.
Enjoy!
This video uses the Cake Lace mats that I already have – Chantilly & Butterfly – to make cupcake wrappers.
Cake Lace now have mats that are specific for creating edible cupcake wrappers. I thought I would try to use the mats I already have to do the same thing. Enjoy!
These are four fun and easy Halloween designs to decorate your cupcakes.
This is the cupcake and icing recipe I used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF-islIWwV8
For the cupcakes, I’ve added orange food coloring to the batter and for the icing, I’ve substituted half a cup of sifted cocoa for half a cup of confectioner’s sugar and added black food coloring.
To decorate:
Piping bag
2D nozzle
2 round nozzle (or any round nozzle)
233 – grass/hair nozzle
Coupler for grass nozzle
Candy eyeballs
Black licorice strips
Black edible pen
Fondant
1. Preheat oven to 170ºF.
2. Mix 1 tsp original white mix and 2 tsp pearlized white premix.
3. Spread over butterfly mat and bake 10 min, then cool.
4. Spread pearlized white premix over cooled butterflies and bake 10 min, then cool.
5. Fold aluminum foil sheet several times to create peaks.
6. Gently peel butterflies from mat and hang over foil peaks. Bake again for 20 min.
7. Store cooled butterflies in box until ready to use.
This is a lovely subtle coconut cupcake. There is coconut and coconut milk in the cupcake and cream/custard filling. If you would like a stronger coconut flavor, you can add some coconut extract to the batter. I also love the toasted coconut on the top. I’ve added some gelatin to the whipped cream topping to help stabilize it. If it’s not too hot out and you’re eating these right away, then you can just use regular whipped cream.
3/4 cup Coconut Milk
3/4 cup Half & Half
3 Egg Yolks (save the whites for the cupcakes)
1/3 cup Sugar
2 tbsp Cornstarch
1/2 tbsp Butter
3/4 cup Flaked Sweetened Coconut
3/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/8 tsp Salt
Method:
– Whisk coconut milk, half & half and egg yolks in a jug. Set aside.
– In a heavy-based saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Over medium-low heat, slowly whisk in egg/milk mixture.
– Stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, bring to a boil and boil for 1 min.
– Remove from heat and stir in butter, vanilla, salt and flaked coconut.
– Place cling film or plastic wrap on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Cool completely.
Note: I remove the custard to a bowl to cool. If needed, you can place the bowl in an ice bath to cool more quickly.
Ingredients for Cake:
2 1/4 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Coconut Milk
3/4 cup Shortening
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
3 Egg Whites
1 cup Flaked Sweetened Coconut
1-2 cups Flaked Sweetened Coconut, for toasting
Method:
– Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 – 12 cup cupcake pans with cases.
– Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, coconut milk, shortening, vanilla extract and almond extract on low and then increase to high until light.
– Add in flaked coconut.
– In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.
– Gently fold egg whites into batter.
– Evenly divide batter between cupcake cases.
– Bake for 20 – 25 min. until golden brown or toothpick inserted comes out clean.
– Cool in pans for 10 min. before removing to wire rack to cool completely.
– Place coconut for toasting on a baking tray and bake until lightly golden brown.
Ingredients for Stabilized Whipped Cream:
2 tsp Gelatin
8 tsp Cold Water
2 cups Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
Method:
– In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over water. Let sit 5 min.
– Over a low heat, stir to dissolve gelatin.
– Cool to room temp. Make sure gelatin doesn’t set.
– Whip cream and confectioner’s sugar until soft peaks form. Slowly add gelatin to whipped cream.
To assemble cupcakes:
– cut a small hole in the top of each cupcake.
– Fill hole with some custard (placing custard in a piping bag makes this very easy and quick).
– Cover top of cupcake with whipped cream (I use a Wilton 1M nozzle in a piping bag).
– Sprinkle toasted coconut over top.
Note: If you’re not eating these right away, then keep them refrigerated.
This is my one-bowl vanilla cupcake recipe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF-islIWwV8 adapted to be gluten-free. Adding a little more moisture from the milk, shortening and blueberries helps keep the cupcakes moist while using rice flour.
Vanilla Cupcakes:
2 1/4 cups rice flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup milk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 large eggs
1 heaping cup of fresh blueberries
– Preheat oven to 350 F.
– Place cupcake cases in pan.
– Measure all ingredients, except blueberries, into the mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment.
– Mix at low speed until ingredients are combined.
– Scrape down bowl once.
– Mix on high speed until smooth and fluffy (about 2 min).
– Stir in blueberries.
– Scoop batter into prepared cupcake pans.
– Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate pans in oven. Continue to bake for another 5-10 min. until a toothpick inserted into the cupcakes comes out clean.
– Let cool for 10 minutes in pan before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Blueberry Puree:
1 heaping cup of fresh blueberries
– place blueberries in a mini chopper or food processor and puree.
– strain/press through sieve.
– Place vegetable shortening in mixer and beat until fluffy. Add blueberry puree and mix.
– Add confectioner’s sugar and beat on low until combined, then high until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and mix.
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