Byrn - Cupcakes from the cake mix doctor

by ANNE BYRN
Photographs by Susan Goldman

WORKMAN PUBLISHING NEW YORK

This book is for my sisters, Ginger and Susan, remembering the birthdays, bake sales, and cupcakes of our childhood

Copyright 2005 by Anne Byrn
Photographs copyright 2005 by Susan Goldman

No portion of this book may be reproducedmechanically, electronically,
or by any other means, including photocopyingwithout written permission of the publisher.
Published simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son Limited.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Byrn, Anne
Cupcakes from the cake mix doctor / by Anne Byrn.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7611-5954-4 (eISBN)
1. Cake I. Title

TX771.B985 2005
641.8653dc22

2004066423

Cover design: Paul Hanson
Book design: Lisa Hollander and Lori S. Malkin
Photography: Susan Goldman
Food and prop stylist: Karen J. M. Tack

Workman books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk
for premiums and sales promotions as well as for fund raising or educational use.
Special editions or book excerpts can be created to specification.
For details, contact the Special Sales Director at the address below.

Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
55 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014-4381
www.workman.com
www.cakemixdoctor.com

The Cake Mix Doctor is a registered trademark of Anne Byrn.

When I think back over the past six years, I know I never would have been able to write four books had it not been for my family and friends. Thanks go, again, to my husband, John, for being patient and putting up with my stress as a deadline approached. And I thank my children, Kathleen, Litton, and John, for their humor, enthusiasm, and resourcefulness in managing things on their own while I finished up Cupcakes. Their friends may think its enviable to have your mother be the Cake Mix Doctor. And they may think our kitchen counters are always lined with cupcakes (they are from time to time), but in reality this mother is like all working moms, short on time and appreciative of help from everyone around the house!

Thanks go to Martha Bowden, my right arm, a true friend and a gifted baker who has helped me meet deadlines time and again. Her creative energy was invaluable to this book, especially when it came to putting together the kids and celebration chapters. To Lucille Osborn, my friend in Pennsylvania who is a wonderful food stylist, thank you for your help in planning those holiday cupcakes, even if it was via the telephone! Lucille helped me visualize many of these cupcakes before I set out to make them doable for you.

To my friend Mindy Merrell in Nashville, thank you for your wit and help with the muffins. To my agent Nancy Crossman, I cannot imagine these projects without you there in the wings. To Anne Hathaway in Atlanta, thank you for your cupcake ideas. Thanks also to Amy Baron, who, when this book is published, will be studying in college. Amy was my intern for a month during this project, washing dishes, shopping, planning recipes, baking cupcakes, typing recipes, and offering her two cents. Youre a real foodie, and I hope you pursue a food career. And to Augusta Cole, another high school student who helped me with typing recipes at the eleventh hour, I thank you for your dedication in getting the instructions just right.

For keeping our home life running smoothly, thanks go to Diane Hooper and Allison Schaffner, who looked after my children and me! Thanks, too, to Julie Bulger and the St. Lukes Community House meals program for accepting my cupcakes and muffins to share with the less fortunate in the neighborhood. To the Harpeth Hall School Class of 2008 and to the many employees of AmSouth Bank in downtown Nashville, I offer my heartfelt thanks for gobbling these cupcakes and offering your constructive feedback. And to my friend Nashville author John Egerton, I must say thank you for something you mentioned to me as I wrote the first Cake Mix Doctor book. You said to tell stories that people want to read. I took that advice to heart and have enjoyed choosing stories to share through the headnotes I write with each recipe.

But I wouldnt have been writing any of these recipe stories had not James Wehrle, a sales manager at Workman Publishing, arrived slightly late to a meeting while I was in New York, found a seat, then blurted out that I needed to write The Cupcake Doctor. Thank you, James.

Thank you also to my editor Suzanne Rafer, who had been nudging me in the direction of fun, family-friendly cakes, and thank you to her kind assistants Beth Doty and Robyn Schwartz. Thanks to Peter and Carolan Workman for their continued creative vision and support; to Katie Workman for her delightful stories, energy, and lunches in New York; to Pat Upton for her diligence and patience as we begin new projects; to Jenny Mandel for being your positive self (you can talk me into just about anything); and to David Schiller, Amy Lewis, and Justin Nisbet, who manage the busy Web site cakemixdoctor.com. Thanks to Ann ffolliott, who carefully copyedited this book; to production editor Anne Cherry; to Paul Hanson, Lisa Hollander, and Lori S. Malkin in the art department, who packaged the book like one big adorable cupcake; to typesetter Barbara Peragine; and to photographer Susan Goldman and food stylist Karen Tack, who made the recipes look so good, I am still hungry for cupcakes! And a special thanks to models Bleue and Phoenix Silkensen, whose pleasure in eating the cupcakes is reflected in their joyous smiles.

Thanks to Kate Tyler and all in publicity who must get the word out that we authors have new books. It isnt an easy job, and I appreciate all that you do. Thanks to Kim Upton of the Los Angeles Times syndicate (which carries the Dinner Doctor column), and Dana Cowin and Kate Krader of Food & Wine magazine, who loved my chocolate cupcakes and featured them in a story. Even gourmet cooks appreciate a few tasty shortcuts!

Thanks last, and most of all, to the readers who have baked the cakes in my books and have spread the word that you can really bake a terrific cake (and cupcakes) in your own kitchen. Enjoy!

Anne Byrn

Mastering the art of the cupcake, from mixing the batter to frosting and decorating. The pans, the pantry, and all you need to know to tote cupcakes to school functions, potlucks, and family reunions.

No one outgrows the love of cupcakes. Rich in sophisticated flavors, these are the desserts to serve at your most elegant dinner party: Warm Chocolate Cupcakes with Molten Centers, Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes, Fresh Pear and Gingerbread Cupcakes with a Creamy Lemon Frosting, and Coconut Snowballs.