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Turning Cupcake Mixes Into Masterpieces

CUPCAKE MAGIC

By Anne Byrn

10 Steps to Sensational Cupcakes

1. Buy an oven thermometer and check to see if your oven is baking at the correct temperature. Or call your appliance serviceman for a more accurate digital test.
2. Place the oven rack in the center position.
3. Preheat the oven for 10 to 15 minutes before baking.
4. Read the recipe before beginning. Make sure you’ve got the right pan size. Regular cupcakes and muffins go in 2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch cups.
5. Find paper liners that fit your pan snugly. For muffins, mist the bottom of the cups with vegetable oil spray.
6. Measure ingredients correctly. Dry ingredients go into measuring spoons and cups and should be leveled off with a straight edge. Brown sugar needs to be packed lightly into the cup. Liquid ingredients, on the other hand, go into liquid measuring cups and you need to check the measurement at eye level (unless you have the new liquid measuring cup that you can read from above).
7. Blend the batter for the amount of time the recipe specifies. Use a hand or stand mixer for cupcakes and a wooden spoon for most muffins.
8. Spoon or scoop batter into the prepared cups, filling them two thirds (1⁄4 cup batter) or three quarters (1/3 cup batter) full, depending on the recipe instructions.
9. Check the cupcakes for doneness, looking for browning in light-colored cupcakes or pressing the top to see if it springs back.
10. Allow up to 5 minutes for cupcakes to cool in the pan before transferring them to a rack to cool completely. Then frost or glaze as desired.

Monster Monkeys with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• Makes: 12 large (3-inch) cupcakes or 20 to 24 regular (2 ½ -inch) cupcakes
• Preparation time: 15 minutes
• Baking time: 24 to 28 minutes for large cupcakes, 18 to 20 minutes for regular size
• Assembly time: 10 minutes
• Store the cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
•  

The Cupcake Doctor says...Monkey around! To create a monkey’s face on top of the frosted cupcake, place two brown M&M candies for eyes and one slightly lower, on its edge and in the center, for the nose. With a squeeze bottle filled with chocolate frosting, or a tube of brown icing from the supermarket, pipe a semicircle for a wide grin. At each end of the grin, anchor a red M&M candy. For ears, secure two mini Oreo cookies in the frosting until they hold (use a little extra frosting if needed). Or use banana chips for the ears. Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles around the edges for fur.

Cupcakes:

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pans

All-purpose flour for dusting the pans

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix

1 ½ cups mashed bananas, from 3 medium or 4 small bananas

½ cup water

½ cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)

• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Mist the pans with vegetable oil spray and dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pans aside.
• Place the cake mix, mashed bananas, water, oil, eggs, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with the electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Spoon or scoop ½ cup of batter (for the large cups) or 1/3 cup batter (for the regular cups) into each prepared cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven.
• Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 24 to 28 minutes for large cupcakes, 18 to 20 minutes for regular size. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcakes, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
• Meanwhile, prepare the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.
• Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. Place, uncovered, in the refrigerator and chill until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (2 ½ -inch size) generously
• Preparation time: 5 minutes

1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add the confectioners’ sugar, a little at a time, blending with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is well incorporated, 1 minute. Add the cinnamon, then increase the mixer speed to medium and blend the frosting until fluffy, 1 minute more.

The Cupcake Doctor says...If the cream cheese is too cold, unwrap the package and soften it on a plate in the microwave oven on high power for 20 seconds.

Buried Treasure Cakes

24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)

1 package (18.25 ounces) white cake mix with pudding (see “the Cupcake Doctor says”)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (see “the Cupcake Doctor says”)

1 1/2 cups milk or water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

72 M&M’s or Skittles

Dark Chocolate Buttercream (see below)

1 white decorating pen (see “the Cupcake Doctor says”)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, flour, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop G cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place 3 M&M’s or Skittles on top of each cupcake (they will sink into the batter). Place the pans in the oven.
3. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. With a white decorating pen or melted white chocolate in a squeeze bottle, pipe an X on top of each cupcake. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

• Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

• Makes 22 to 24 cupcakes (2 1⁄2 inches each)
• Preparation time: 20 minutes
• Baking time: 14 to 16 minutes
• Assembly time: 10 minutes

The Cupcake Doctor says...To get these cupcakes to rise quickly and surround the treasure inside, I bake them at 400°F. I used Betty Crocker sour cream white cake mix.

The additional flour adds structure to the batter and helps the batter bake up and around the candy. White frosting decorating pens are available at Williams-Sonoma. Decorating pens are 1.6 ounces each, come in an array of colors, and contain enough frosting (which hardens) to decorate one cake or a batch of cupcakes.

Variation Berried Treasure Cakes: Excuse the play on words, but I could not resist omitting the candy and placing a quarter of a large strawberry on top of the batter before it went into the oven. If it works, I’ve got a real “berried treasure,” I thought. Well, it did, and beautifully. I frosted the results with dark chocolate frosting, but you might enjoy a lighter, more pastel Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting instead.

Tie-Dye Cupcakes with Psychedelic Buttercream

• Makes 22 to 24 cupcakes (2 ½ inches each)
• Preparation time: 20 minutes
• Baking time: 17 to 20 minutes
• Assembly time: 10 minutes

24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 ½-inch size)

CUPCAKES:

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix

1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix

1 cup whole milk

½ cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾ cup miniature M&M’s (see “the Cupcake Doctor says” below)

PSYCHEDELIC BUTTERCREAM:

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick), at room temperature

3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Bright blue, green, and pink food coloring (see “the Cupcake Doctor says” below)

½ cup miniature M&M’s (optional)

The Cupcake Doctor says...It’s important to use miniature M&M’s because the regular M&M’s will sink instead of creating a streaked, tie-dye effect on top. Try to distribute the colors well, using some of each (the blue M&M’s create the most noticeable streak). It is less expensive to buy the minis in the 12-ounce bag rather than several of the small bags. As for food coloring, I love the Wilton teal, sky blue, leaf green, and pink in this recipe.

Instead of dying the frosting bright colors and topping with the M&M’s, you can use a plain buttercream frosting and fold the M&M’s into it, then let it rest in a warm place for an hour. Stir. The M&M colors will streak through the frosting.

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Prepare the cupcake batter: Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place 16 miniature M&M’s on top of each cupcake. Make sure to get a good mix of colors. Place the pans in the oven.
3. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 17 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the Psychedelic Buttercream: Place the butter in a medium-size mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy. Add the sugar and 3 tablespoons of the milk. Blend on low until the ingredients just come together, adding up to another tablespoon of milk if needed to make the frosting spreadable. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat in air to make the frosting fluffy, 30 seconds longer. Divide the frosting into two or three bowls for tinting. If you are using liquid colors, you’ll need about 2 drops of color per bowl; if using paste, about 1/8 teaspoon. Stir the colors into the frosting to blend.
5. Place small dollops of each colored frosting on each cupcake and swirl them together with the edge of a short metal spatula to resemble a tie-dye pattern, taking care to cover the tops completely. Or, decorate the top with miniature M&M’s, if desired. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

• Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Dark Chocolate Buttercream

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

21/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

3 to 4 tablespoons hot water

Place the butter and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners’ sugar and 3 tablespoons of the water. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add up to 1 tablespoon more warm water if the frosting is too stiff.

• Makes 2 cups, enough to frost 20 to 24 cupcakes (2 1⁄2-inch size)
• Preparation time: 10 minutes

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

• Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (21⁄2-inch size) generously
• Preparation time: 10 minutes

1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature

3 to 31/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 cup mashed, drained fresh strawberries (see “the Cupcake Doctor says” below)

1. Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add 3 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and the drained strawberries. Blend the frosting on low until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the mixer speed to medium and blend the frosting until fluffy, 30 to 45 seconds longer, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar if needed to make a spreadable consistency.

The Cupcake Doctor says...It takes about 3/4 cup rinsed, well-drained, and hulled strawberries to make 1/2 cup mashed. Take care to drain out as much juice as you can and reserve it. If you need liquid to pull the frosting together, add a dribble of the fresh reserved juice.

Excerpted from Cupcakes from the Cake Doctor by Anne Byrn . Copyright © 2005 by Anne Byrn . All rights reserved. Excerpted by arrangement with Workman Publishing. $13.95. Available in local bookstores or click here.