It was a battle against myself, I guess. My challenge: bake and decorate 102 cupcakes for my friend Melissa's exhibition,
Soft Power, at
Halcyon Contemporary Art. Many of the works included present flags, ideas of nationalism and the struggle with identity. Melissa created little flags that would top the cupcakes, echoing some of the images in the work.She also served bomb pops, which were actually a media used in some of the work. Melissa is crazy brilliant and I was happy to contribute my baking talent to her opening. But, 102 cupcakes? An undertaking.
Here are the recipes I used, some you've seen before and others are new. Although the NYTimes proclaimed that the
whoopie pie is actually the new cupcake, I don't see the popularity of these little wonders declining anytime soon: Martha Stewart will publish a
cookbook devoted to cupcakes in June; my friend Dave wrote that a cupcake bakery is opening in Madison, WI; and
Sprinkles, cupcakery to the stars, continues to expand nationwide. I think cupcakes are popular because they remind us of birthday parties at school, youthful innocence and personal treats. Like all individual desserts, they connote a specialness that a slice or piece of something cannot: this was made just for you.
One batch of these recipes will not yield 102 cupcakes, but multiple batches and combinations will. It's a story problem from the math classes of our youth: Brian made 102 cupcakes using four different recipes. The My Favorite Chocolate Cake recipe yields 12 cupcakes; the Mildred Thomas' Hummingbird Cupcake recipes yields 24 cupcakes; the Lemon Drop Cupcake recipe yields 12 cupcakes; and the Coconut Cupcake recipe yields 18. How many batches of each must Brian bake to yield 102 cupcakes?
Recipe: Hummingbird CupcakesAlthough I've made my Mam-ma's Hummingbird Cake in a number of iterations, I've never baked it as cupcakes before. I'm sure she would be pleased as the little guys are perfection in a foil wrapper.
Follow the directions for the recipe
here, but divide between 24 paper-lined cupcake tins. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Cool in pan, then on wire rack, before topping with cream cheese frosting (below). Top with candy sprinkles; chopped or halved pecans; dried pineapple slices; or dried banana slices.
Makes 24 cupcakes.
Recipe: My Favorite Chocolate CupcakesAs I've said before, this recipe can do no wrong. I've used it in numerous ways (sheet cake, layer cake, topped with mouse, in a trifle, etc.) and it is always delicious. But, I should caution this isn't the chocolate cupcake of your youth: these little guys are light, but dense, and lack the sweetness of a devil's food recipe. The cream cheese frosting is the perfect foil.
Follow the directions of the recipe
here, divide batter amongst 12 paper-lined cupcake tins. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Cool in pan, then on wire rack, before topping with cream cheese frosting (below). Top with candy sprinkles; chocolate curls; chocolate jimmies; or anything your hearth desires and your mind thinks goes well with chocolate.
Makes 12 cupcakes.
Recipe: Mildred's Cream Cheese FrostingUse this recipe for either the Hummingbird Cupcakes or My Favorite Chocolate Cupcakes.8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
16 oz box or bag of powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
In a big yellow bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the butter and cream cheese. Slowly add the powdered sugar and work in into the butter mixture. Add the vanilla and blend until combined.
Recipe: Lemon Drop CupcakesMy search for the perfect lemon cupcake yielded a variety of choices, none of which seemed quite right to me. So, I developed my own which yielded a delicious, light cake with a supreme lemon taste. The secret? Lemon juice, lemon zest AND lemon extract. For everyone who loves lemon.3/4 cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
Large pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1 ¼ cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract
Preheat oven to 350°F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In a big yellow bowl, beat the butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 3 teaspoons lemon peel until light and fluffy and pale yellow. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in half of flour. Add buttermilk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and extract; beat to blend. Beat in remaining flour.
Divide batter equally among 12 paper-lined cupcake tins.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted halfway into centers comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack.
Makes 12 cupcakes.
Recipe: Lemon Frosting1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 pound (3 2/3 cups) powdered sugar
3 tsp. lemon extract
3 tsp. lemon peel
1 to 2 tablespoons milk (optional)
In a big yellow bowl, cream butter until smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar; beat until smooth. Add lemon extract and peel, beat to combine. If too thick to spread, beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons milk.
Recipe: Coconut CupcakesI'm not a fan of coconut. It's the one food I really don't care for. In actuality, I love coconut flavor and coconut milk, but the texture of the dried coconut drives me insane. When I was a child, every year my grandmother made the Easter cake and it was, of course, covered in coconut. Perhaps there was some internal trauma caused by the giant knife being slipped into the coconut covered bunny? Who know, but Melissa requested coconut cupcakes and I was not going to disappoint. This recipe is based on one from Martha Stewart. I think it's different than the coconut cupcakes of my youth in that it uses coconut milk in the batter. Without the flakes, I'm sure it would be divine, but with them I'm sure a fan of coconut would be in absolute heaven.
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Extra coconut for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl with the coconut. In a big yellow bowl, cream together butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Reduce speed to low. Add half of dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until combined. Add coconut milk, mix until combined, then other half of flour mixture. Divide between 18 paper-line cupcake tins. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Cool in the pan, then on a wire rack. Top with white icing and additional coconut.
Makes 18 cupcakes.
Recipe: White Icing1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 pound (3 2/3 cups) powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk (optional)
In a big yellow bowl, cream butter until smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar; beat until smooth. If too thick to spread, beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons milk.
Mangez!
For my birthday, my mom made two cakes: a hummingbird cake and a chocolate layer cake. Imagine my surprise when she cut into the chocolate cake and it was checkered! Lovely and delicious. Mom said she wanted a cake pan like this when she was younger, but never got one. She saw one in a catalog and decided it would be a lot of fun. She was right!
Yummy! And three candles for health, wealth and happiness...
Mildred and Brian, Summer 1971
