Tongue Tyed: Cupcakes Are a Girl's Best Friend

Oct 31, 2006

Cupcakes Are a Girl's Best Friend

This past weekend, I decided I needed to make cupcakes. I never make cupcakes. I don't even own a mixer! But persistance prevailed and I borrowed my mother's mixer. The ancient Hamilton Beach that shakes when it mixes and won't go into the OFF position. It's fabulous, let me tell ya!

But the mixer does mix, and with a little white cake mix I was able to make some sutible cupcakes. The part I was really looking foward to though was the decorating. I wanted to make spikey cupcakes. I discovered that a Wilton #16 icing tip would give me the look I wanted when combined with a Ziplock bag and orange and black dyed icing. It was actually incredibly simple. I think it took a tiny bit longer than icing a cupcake the regular way, but it was worth the time. You simple make peak after peak across the cupcake, and voila! Spikes!

Next, I wanted to add a little extra zing. When I was little, my mother and I used to make chocolates together. Since I knew that would be easy and add a lot of flare, I found a ghost chocolate mold, some white chocolate made for melting, and some milk chocolate made for melting. I poured the oversized chips into another Ziplock bag and melted them in the microwave. Then I cut a tiny bit off one corner of the chocolate bag and used that to fill in the eyes and mouth of mold. Traditionally, I would have used a paint brush for this part, and I think that would have been a little neater, but I wanted to try this new technique.

Then I cut a larger hole into the corner of the white chocolate bag, and squeezed white chocolate into each mold. I put the mold tray into the freezer, and about 10 minutes later, they popped right out. And onto the cupcakes they went!

I think the final outcome was pretty good. Especially for a first try! This technique was so easy, I could see doing something similar for other holidays. Who knows...maybe there is a baker in me after all!

Labels: food

posted by Ty @ 10/31/2006

4 Comments:

At 2:56 PM, November 02, 2006, supa said...: Those look so amazing! I've never made chocolates before, but it looks goooood.
At 2:57 PM, November 02, 2006, Anonymous said...: p.s.: m. = supa
At 3:04 PM, November 02, 2006, Ty said...: LOL...got it...

Chocolates are SOOO easy to make! go to Michael's get melting chocolate from the cake isle, and a candy mold. melt the chocolate in the microwave (per the bag's instructions) and after trying it this time, I highly recommend melting the chocolate in a ziplock bag. then cut the corner off the bag, and squeeze out some chocolate. then tap the mold on the counter to smooth it out, and stick it in the fridge or freezer. when they are set, they will just fall out with a little tap or two. SOOO easy!! Then when you get the idea, you can get fancier with fillings and such. Oh and for eys and details, use a paint brush and some chocolate and paint the inside of the mold before you put in the large amount of chocolate.
At 10:18 PM, November 05, 2006, Unknown said...: You are my baking hero!

About Me