Archive for June, 2007
This 4th of July Cupcake Flag is the end result of all the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes I posted about earlier, and it would be a perfectly fitting dessert to bring to an Independence Day barbecue or other get-together.
I was inspired by a cupcake flagthat I saw several months ago. I bookmarked the page with the flag’s picture, making a mental note that I needed to give the design a try when the 4th drew closer. Unfortunately, when I went to look back at the instructions, I saw that the large flag called for 54 cupcakes. Since my parties aren’t quite that big, I scaled back the flag and cut the number of cupcakes down to 3 dozen (actually 35 cupcakes, with one for the chef). The effect is the same, but the numbers are more manageable.
The flag’s construction is simple. Bake a batch (1 dozen) of vanilla cupcakes and a batch (2 dozen) of chocolate cupcakes. Make up a batch of vanilla buttercream. Top 9 cupcakes with blue frosting, 11 with red frosting and 15 with white frosting. Alternatively, you can take the lazy shortcut (as I did) and use colored sprinkles to achieve the desired color effect. Arrage on platter in flag pattern.
A simple buttercream recipe follows:
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There are many, many different recipes for chocolate cupcakes out there and, as much as I like to be creative and try as many of them as I can, I also like to have an easy, reliable recipe to fall back on when I need cupcakes in a hurry. This is my “old reliable” chocolate cupcake recipe.
The cupcakes have a deep chocolate flavor and take only a few minutes to throw together. In a pinch, the batter could even be mixed up in one bowl. The batter uses liquid fat instead of solid butter, so there is no need for creaming and you don’t even have to use an electric mixer. I often use oil in the recipe for simplicity’s sake, but it works perfectly well with melted butter, too. Sometimes, I will throw in a few handfuls of mini chocolate chips if I want to make the cupcakes just a touch more chocolaty. The batter is fairly thin and full sized chocolate chips will sink to the bottoms of the muffin cups; mini chips help to alleviate this problem.
This recipe, unlike so many others posted here, will make 2 dozen cupcakes in one go. This makes it an excellent choice for parties and other occasions where you might need to serve a big crowd.
These chocolate cupcakes were made to complement a batch of vanilla cupcakes, but rather than just set them out on a plate, I decided to do something special with them. The suspense will only last a bit longer, I promise…
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While there are many who are against the “food police,” the unspecific group of people who protest junk food in school lunches, support banning fois gras and trans fats and, in general, want to keep an eye on what we’re eating for the sake of general wellness, there are many instances where their help can be appreciated. The debate over fois gras might be a moral one, for instance, but for some food additives the problem is a health one, and it is in these cases that the public can most appreciate the fact that the “food police” are out there.
And they are just about everywhere, if you look for them. In Uganda, the health ministry has banned the use of a baking additive, potassium bromate. Potassium bromate is a dough enhancer that, when used properly, can help breads rise higher and achieve a better texture. Unfortunately, potassium bromate is also a carcinogen. When it is used in just the right amounts, all traces will cook off during baking, but it is easy to overuse and as a result, many other countries have banned its use, including China, Canada, the United Kingdom and most countries in Europe. It is not banned in the US, although the FDA discourages its use and states like California require a warning label on products which include it.
Everyone should have one good vanilla cupcake recipe and one good chocolate cupcake recipe. You’ll have to decide whether this will be your “one good vanilla recipe” or not, but it is an excellent recipe.
Vanilla cupcakes should have a good amount of vanilla flavor to distinguish them from a “plain” cupcake and there should be a buttery flavor to the cakes, but without any greasiness to detract from the vanilla flavoring. These cupcakes have a combination of butter and buttermilk, which lends a very rich and buttery flavor to the finished cake without making them greasy, and the vanilla flavor is brightened up with a touch of almond extract. Overall, the balance of flavors is just about right.
Texture-wise, these cupcakes are tender and fluffy but have just enough weight to them that they stand up to any kind (or amount, if you have kids who like to pile it on) of icing very well. This weight also makes them quite satisfying.
I frosted these with a simple buttercream icing, but as I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes to pair with them, you’ll have to stay in suspense for that recipe just a bit longer.
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Tetris is perhaps the single best-known electronic puzzle game of all time, so everyone should recognize it as the inspiration for these tetris-shaped ice cubes at Instructables. Just follow the instructions to have your very own set of video-game themed icicles.
Once you have the mold set up, you can freeze just about anything in the shape of a tetris piece. Tetris popsicles would look great and would probably be a huge hit at a party, assuming that the guests had, at some point, played the game.
Incidentally, if you’re feeling a little nostalgic for the original Game Boy Tetris music, you can listen to the three songs (A,B and C) here.
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