Let Them Eat Cupcake.

As much as I hate baking cookies, I love baking cupcakes. I know serious cake bakers and cake connoisseurs think cupcakes are for novices and really not high brow enough, nevertheless they rock my world. I can't believe I just wrote "rock my world" so 80s.

I have my favourites when it comes to cupcake recipes. Since this post is not really about the recipe but what we will do with the cupcakes, I won't write them down for you, the one I use the most is the One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes by Martha Stewart.

If like me you bake a lot of cupcakes, you might want to take a look at this nifty gadget I have just bought. It's a Cake Batter Dispenser. I know it is easy enough to just spoon in the batter into the cupcake cases but if like me you are a hoarder and compulsive buyer of gadgets, you'll buy this uni-tasker. 

So you've baked the cupcakes. I baked the Chiffon Cupcakes for this tutorial. While they are cooling make a batch of butter cream. I ALWAYS make Martha Stewart's Swiss Meringue Buttercream for all my cakes and cupcakes, but I hate making it because it takes too much time and energy. If you want to make some buttercream fast and don't care that it is too incredibly sweet here is the recipe for you. Whichever recipe you choose, colour it with food colour or let it be white and put it in the fridge to firm up a wee bit.

Now the fun part. Take your cooled cupcake and a sharp paring knife. Or if you are like me, you will buy the Cupcake Corer. Gently scoop out a small portion of the cupcake from the centre. Don't go all the way down. You just want a small cavity inside the cupcake. keep the gouged out bits aside.

Fill the hole with anything you like! Could be nuts or a glob of Nutella, m&ms or even a candy in it's wrapper! I filled my cupcakes with popping candy and jellybeans.

Now you simply plug the hole with the gouged out bits of cupcake. It is easier if you are neat with the gouging out business.

Just frost the cupcake with the buttercream you made. If you didn't make any just bring out the jar of Nutella and smoosh some over the top. 

I am one of those annoying people who always have some gum paste decorations ready to pop on to cupcakes and cakes. N helps me make them, keeps her gainfully occupied too. I foresee another blogpost in the future with instructions on how to make really easy ones to decorate your cupcakes with.

Here is a photograph of the cupcakes I made, all boxed and ready to go. At this point I should mention M. She is one of my closest friends and has a successful bakery of her own called Smitten (Her Red Velvet Cupcakes are heavenly). I always call M when I need supplies like cake boxes and cake boards, or just a couple of hundred grams of chocolate, because she buys them in bulk. M's driver and I are best friends. and stuff goes to and fro between our houses several times a week. If she needs my gum paste moulds, or I need her big rectangular pan, Sajjan is always happy to oblige. I can name Sajjan (the driver) because I doubt he has an online presence. If you aren't lucky to have a friend like M, just beg your local pastry shop for a box.

You can decorate the top of the box with a pretty doily, because the top of the box can't look plain if you are putting pretty things inside it.

But I understand how maybe you don't have time to find a doily and do all that to it, So if you like just download this label that I created on photoshop. Print and cut it out and stick it to your box and write your name on it.

There are endless flavour combinations possible. I made another batch for a halloween party last year. These were chocolate cupcakes filled with hazelnut praline paste and topped with vanilla butter cream and gum paste decorations. 

P.S. My husband has just read this blog and insisted that I clarify that I always get him to make my buttercream frosting. He does a pretty good job of it too.