Poll Time!

I am very impressed with the attention my little cupcake poll has already received so thanks to all those who have voted and if you haven't - vote now. My intent with the polls is to give a special prize or gift to one lucky voter each week (possibly bi-weekly). By voting, you help me out by letting me know which cupcakes I should perfect or create. It is only fair that I reward my readers for their help. However, so far, CuteCakes Cupcakery is not an official cupcake business and has made no revenue. So for now I am testing out the polls and hope to be able to offer prizes in the future. But just because there aren't prizes yet doesn't mean you shouldn't vote. You want me to perfect your favorite flavor, right? Thanks for your help and for reading.

A Penguin Parade

I love birthdays because they are the perfect excuse to spend all day making cupcakes. This morning, I got out of bed ready and excited for the events of the day - making the long-awaited penguin cupcakes. So Ben and I set out to the store to purchase a long list of ingredients that included mini donuts, starbursts and marshmallows among other things. When we got home, I first started on the cupcakes. Now making a cupcake as light and fluffy as the boxed mix variety is tricky but I had a new yellow cake recipe from Cooks magazine. I followed the recipe to the T... (the expression to a T evidently comes from to a to a tittle in which tittle is a small mark in writing). Once the cupcakes were baked, I let them cool but then decided I better try one to make sure they were good before frosting them. Oh my Goodness! Those were some of the most amazing cupcakes ever. They were light and fluffy and the extra sugar had caramelized slightly on top for a delightful texture and sweet flavor.

two penguins and an iceberg

Next, the difficult task of creating the penguin shape. so we cut the donuts and assembled penguins. While I assembled, Ben made the ganache (and he did an amazing job). Lots of black food coloring yielded the perfect shade for cupcake penguins. After cooling the penguin skeletons in the freezer, we dipped them in the ganache and a penguin began to take shape. once all the elements were on, I got so excited. This was the first cupcake that had come out absolutely perfectly from batter to icing. They were a huge hit and yielded what Johnny dubbed "the most delicious birthday ever."

in the shoebox, ready for transport

Stepping Out of the Box

So I made German Chocolate Cupcakes today. I love German chocolate even though I'm not a huge fan of chocolate cake. I made them from the box mix (cheating, I know but they were buy one get one free the last time I bought a box). But I have decided this is the last batch of box-mix cupcakes I will make. I will figure out how to make better than the box cupcakes and I will never go back! I suppose if I'm really in a hurry... Anyway, my plan is to try making my own cupcakes from scratch now. I think I made up for using boxed cupcakes with the effort I put into the frosting. I stirred that thing forever and Ben stirred it for almost forever. Despite all our best efforts at stirring the frosting to death, it ended up goopy. So it is now in the fridge and I plan to frost the cupcakes soon. I think I learned that German chocolate cake frosting is going to be messy no matter what you do and that is the reason why it is so delicious. The messiest parts of life always end up being the best, right?

The Beginning

So I have had a lot of time on my hands lately. This time is used finding a job and catching up on reading, but I also have plenty of time to devote myself to creating the most delicious cupcake. There is no room for store-bought cake mix here. I need to discover how to make a perfect cupcake from scratch. I have decided to document my journeys so the world (or maybe just a few family members and friends) can read about my struggles to make my dream a reality. If you are lucky, you may even get to taste these "struggles." So enjoy!