Sweets

My cupcake adventure

I went into Border's after work yesterday to see if they had any books for beginner ukulele players. (Which I am about to become. Much more about that later, I'm sure.) I "accidentally" came out with a book about cupcakes.

I've been wanting a cupcake book for a while. I've thought about just trying to adapt cake recipes for cupcakes--I'm sure it can be done, but I'm not sure about baking time, and I'm just insecure enough to be questioning my technique the whole time the cakes are in the oven. I love the cupcakes I've made before (chocolate ganache cupcakes from Cook's Illustrated were amazing), and I'm definitely going to keep making them, but it was time for something new. I wanted a book that was going to give me good basic recipes I could go back to again and again, but also give me recipes beyond the normal that I could stretch myself with.

Enter Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery. This book is adorable: very colorful with great illustrative photos. I'm pretty sure it evokes the feeling of the bakery it comes from, but since it's in the UK, I have no way of confirming that idea. (Anyone want to bankroll a "research trip" for me to go to England and taste cupcakes?)

I tried the vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting last night. The recipe came together really quickly, and I didn't have to go shopping for any ingredients that weren't already in my cupboard. Of course, our oven runs either 50 degrees hot or 25 degrees cold, and I haven't yet figured out how to adjust for it. So, when the oven was running way too hot, I turned it down before popping the cupcakes in...which cycled it too cold...which led to a slightly longer baking time...which made for slightly over-browned cupcakes. Also, I filled the cups too much (it seemed like a good idea at the time), so they overflowed a bit.

Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery

But still...delicious! They're moist, and ever-so-slightly-vanilla. This is a great basic recipe, and I'll definitely try it again and again.

The buttercream was, well, unlike any buttercream I've ever tasted before. It was cloyingly sweet, really tasting of nothing but confectioner's sugar. I chalked it up to the fact that the Brits like their sweets much sweeter than we do. But, upon closer inspection of the recipe this morning, I realized I used a quarter-cup too much confectioner's sugar! A quarter-cup! And it really made a difference. I think I'll whip up a new batch this evening and see if that helps. I couldn't frost all of the cupcakes because the frosting was too sticky, so I could absolutely try a do-over.

I'm already a huge fan of this book, and I can't wait to try more. I'm especially looking at the carrot cakes, the blueberry and cornmeal cupcakes, and the Earl Grey cupcakes. Yum!

UPDATE!
I came home last night after a trip to the grocery store, duly chastened by what I'm now calling "The Great Frosting Failure of 2010." I didn't want to try another vanilla buttercream, having been burned by the first one, so I bought a few lemons and set out to make a lemon buttercream.

Success! The frosting is creamy and tart, and came together very easily. Here are the lessons I learned:

1. Flavored frosting is just as easy, and tastes delicious on a vanilla cupcake.
2. The recipe for vanilla buttercream in the book must have been printed wrong; there's no way you can make a good buttercream with only 2 tablespoons of butter. They must have meant either "8 tablespoons" or "2 sticks." I'm up for experimentation.
3. Measuring the right amount of confectioner's sugar is very important. Also important: realizing you can hold some back. I measured the required 4.25 cups, and wound up using only 4.