For my very first venture into baking, I figured I should start small -- literally. So I decided to make cupcakes!
I decided to refer to the queen of homemaking herself, Martha Stewart. I had bought her book entitled "Martha Stewart's Cupcakes," which contained a number of her favorite cupcake recipes and decorating tips. I chose to try her Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes recipe.
Makes 36 cupcakes
Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper lines. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and, if desired, decorate with sprinkles before serving.
I followed the recipe for the actual cupcakes, but reduced the ingredients to yield only 24 cupcakes. And on step 3, I used a toothpick instead of a cake tester to insert into the centers of the cupcakes to check if they were fully baked.
They came out beautifully, I think. The cupcakes were fluffy and pretty. They smelled delicious and tasted just as good as Martha said they would.
The recipe recommended using Fluffy Vanilla Frosting to top the cupcakes. I wasn't too confident about making frosting yet, so I bought Wilton royal icing in tubes instead so I could experience decorating right away. I also bought a pack of four plastic Wilton decorating tips to attach to the tubes.
Apart from the royal icing, I used whatever we had in the house for decorating. I got marshmallows, nuts, and even cereal to add different elements to the cupcakes.
While I would like to think the cupcakes came together nicely in terms of the design and taste, I had to be objective. So I will use someone else's opinion to determine if my first venture was a success.
My husband -- who's not into cupcakes or dessert at all -- was my ultimate critic. One bite and he said: "Wow, they're pretty good!"
I guess that says it all: my husband really does love me. :)
Makes 36 cupcakes
Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper lines. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature and, if desired, decorate with sprinkles before serving.
I followed the recipe for the actual cupcakes, but reduced the ingredients to yield only 24 cupcakes. And on step 3, I used a toothpick instead of a cake tester to insert into the centers of the cupcakes to check if they were fully baked.
They came out beautifully, I think. The cupcakes were fluffy and pretty. They smelled delicious and tasted just as good as Martha said they would.
Apart from the royal icing, I used whatever we had in the house for decorating. I got marshmallows, nuts, and even cereal to add different elements to the cupcakes.
While I would like to think the cupcakes came together nicely in terms of the design and taste, I had to be objective. So I will use someone else's opinion to determine if my first venture was a success.
My husband -- who's not into cupcakes or dessert at all -- was my ultimate critic. One bite and he said: "Wow, they're pretty good!"
I guess that says it all: my husband really does love me. :)
