March 19, 2010
On themed parties and cupcakes.
This past weekend, a good friend of mine celebrated her 26th birthday with a little blast-from-the-past party: kindergarten themed! Of course, little ol’ me volunteered, well actually insisted on making the deserts. My original plan was a layer cake: plain yellow cake with chocolate ganache and strawberries. I made 1/3 of a batch of yellow cake to see how it would taste, and was heading out to the market to purchase chocolate, when I saw the cutest little girls in green vests outside my market. That’s right, it’s GIRL SCOUT COOKIE SEASON.
Adorable
What a better way to celebrate childhood than with some girl scout cookie themed cupcakes! So here was the plan:
4 types of cupcakes, each in the theme of a girl scout cookie:
- Tag Along: Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting
- Thin Mint: Chocolate cake with mint frosting
- Lemon Chalet Creme: Yellow cake with lemon frosting
- Shortbread Trefoils: Yellow cake with sugar vanilla frosting
Completed Cupcakes
First, the cake. For the yellow I used Paula Deen’s basic 1-2-3-4 cake recipe. This cake recipe is a standard, crowd pleasing southern cake that every Louisiana grandmother makes for her grandchildren’s birthday.
I love Paula Deen’s desserts, even if they are a little butter heavy. This, however, I do not endorse:
But, I digress.
Lets talk cake first:
This is Paula’s recipe. Just a few notes: I made this cake twice, and it seems the key to a moist and fluffy texture is to (1) sift the flour once before you measure it (make sure you sift directly into the measuring cup) and then once you’ve got your 3 cups, sift it again. Also, (2) 6-8 minutes is a minimum creaming time in my opinion. I creamed the butter alone for a good 5 or so minutes with my hand mixer, then for at least 10 more minutes once I added the sugar. THIS REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. Don’t be lazy. My shoulder was only burning a little by the time I finished, but it was worth it (if anyone wants to buy me a stand mixer for my birthday, I’d basically love you forever). Also, I added a little almond extract. I couldn’t taste almond, per se, but it gave it a little indiscernible kick. I poured the batter into a cupcake pan, filling each hole about 2/3 of the way. Cupcakes always cook faster than cakes, so I checked on the cupcakes at 10 minutes, and every few minutes afterwards. Check by inserting and removing a toothpick from the center of a cupcake. When it comes out clean you know it’s done (about 15 minutes cooking time total) and you can remove the cupcakes and let them cool.
Trefoil Cupcake = White cake + sugar vanilla frosting
For the chocolate cake I used the recipe on the Kroger Baking Cocoa can. I am personally a big fan of recipes that are found directly on the products. There is an exception: recipes that refer to each ingredient according to brand. It irritates me on principle, and I try to steer clear of these. But the recipes where the only brand is the product on which the recipe is found tend to be great. The makers want to really highlight their ingredient, which means the recipe will taste great, and since the recipes are meant for the average every day grocery shopper they tend to be really simple. So here it goes:
Chocolate Lover’s Cake:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 sticks margarine (I used butter, also 2 sticks usually means 1 cup, in case your sticks are differently sized)
1/4 cup Kroger Baking Cocoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
Blend sugar and flour in a large bowl (I sifted them together). Combine 2
sticks margarine (I used butter), Kroger Baking Cocoa and water in a saucepan: bring quickly to a boil. Pour over flour mixture and mix well. Add buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda, mix well. Next pour into the cupcake pan, filling each about 3/4 of the way, and baked for about 15 minutes. Do the same process with the toothpick, and be careful not to over cook any of these cakes.
Thin Mint Cupcake = Chocolate cake + mint frosting
On The Way to Somewhere 