Friday, October 9, 2009

My Cupcake is Smarter than a 5th Grader

Baking, like knitting, has come back in a big way. Consequently, publishers, DIY-ers, and wannabe-professional crafters have put forth a slew of cookbooks in the past few years aimed at hip, 3rd wave feminists. I'd thumbed through this book at bookstores before, and was thrilled when a friend sold hers to me for 2$ at a yard sale back in April. I haven't yet attempted this (Brandon jokes that he wants this for his birthday), but I tried out a really cool and simple decorating techniqe on a couple of batches a month ago.
Basically, you melt storebought frosting in the microwave for 10 seconds, then dip the tops of the cupcakes into it. The frosting dries quickly and gives you a smooth, shiny surface that is perfect for writing or other intricate decorating. I don't have a microwave, but achieved workable results on the stovetop.
I didn't think it was smart to keep batches of cupcakes in the house for myself, so I decided to experiment on my Greek class. 24 cupcakes in a batch; 24 letters in the Greek alphabet. Here, I present with trepidation, the results:

Blurry, but here's a pic of the cookbook turned open to the page where technique is demonstrated, juxtaposed with my Greek book. On the right is a closeup of alpha and omega cupcakes.


The tray above shows the cupcakes which didn't turn out as well. They were the first batch I did. Below are the second batch of cupcakes I decorated. You can tell that my hand got stronger and I got more confident the further along in alphabet!
The cake was devil's food, frosting was vanilla, writing was chocolate. If I were to make them again, I would use a vanilla or even a lemon cake. The chocolate showed through too much. Also, I would fill up the batter to nearly the top of the pan, because the cupcakes that were underfilled were too difficult to dip into the frosting. I wasn't especially happy with the results, but my Greek class seemed to like them!


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