Steele - 101 quick & easy cupcake and muffin recipes

Well, maybe you need just a little frosting to turn up the sweet factor. Oh, whos kidding whom you can never be too rich, too thin or have too much frosting. Different frosting recipes have different textures and behave according to their density and dryness. Some softer frosting recipes, such as cream cheese frosting, dont have the density to stand up to piled-high peaks of sugary goodness. Decorators buttercream frosting, on the other hand is perfect for piling on to create sculptural sweeties. Weve compiled a great selection of frosting recipes with all sorts of flavors and ingredients.

Some recipes are simply meant for spreading on top of your cupcake for quick and delicious snacking, while other recipes can be flavored, tinted and used to make artistic confections for a special celebration. Use the right frosting recipe for decorating your cupcakes. Pay attention to instructions and guides for beginners. Soon, youll be piping flowers, designs and creating custom characters with ease. Frosting Tools Once youve decided on which frosting recipe to use, youll need to assemble your frosting tools. These supplies are readily available at craft stores and baking supply shops.

There are tons of tips and accessories available, but you only need a few tips and other supplies to get started. Frosting Bags If youre planning to do a lot of decorating, you may want to invest in heavy decorating bags. These are washable and reusable. If youre just in it for the short haul or doing small batches, you can purchase disposable piping bags. These can also be washed and reused, but theyre not nearly as durable as the heavy decorating bags. Couplers Couplers are handy to have on hand if you tend to change out your tips.

These little fittings slip in the pastry bag before you add your frosting. The end of the coupler protrudes out of the bag, which makes it easy for you to change piping tips mid-squeeze. Frosting Tips Heres where you can go a little crazy. There are about a half zillion tip sizes and shapes available, and you may be tempted to try each and every one. The good news is that theyre not too costly. The better news is that you really only need a few tips and a little practice to create a huge variety of piping shapes and designs.

Start out with a small selection from small to jumbo, and practice varying your pressure and angle to create as many shapes and designs as you can. As you get comfortable, youll find that you dont need to change your tips so much and can do a great deal with just a couple of tip varieties. Lets Get Started If you dont plan to change tips, you dont need to use a coupler. Just pop your tip in the pastry bag and set it in the opening. (A good tip to use is a large Wilton 1M star decorating tip.) Fold back the edge of your bag into a cuff three or four inches wide. Pop the bag into an empty glass with the cuff hanging over the edge.

Now you can fill your bag easily with no mess. Only fill it about half full. You need plenty of material to twist or fold to keep your frosting pressure constant. When you have your bag filled and sealed shut, you need to ensure there are no air bubbles trapped inside the bag. Squeeze out a bit of frosting back into the frosting bowl and youre ready to start. If you keep a moist paper towel draped over your frosting bowl, you wont need to worry about your frosting drying out and crusting over.

A good way to practice the art of decorative frosting is to use parchment paper. You can squirt to your hearts content, and when youre finished, simply scrape the frosting back into the bowl and youre ready for round two. If you make a mistake on a cupcake, rather than disposing of the evidence in your mouth, you can simply turn the cupcake upside down and drop the frosting back into the frosting bowl. When you start over, any little trace of the first attempt will be covered up with your new, improved creation.

A Word about Beating and Creaming

Both the words beating and creaming can be a little confusing if you arent a chef or dont cook a lot. Here is a quick tutorial on both.

Beating Unless a recipe says beat at a medium speed or beat by hand, you can beat with an electric mixer or by hand. If the batter is thick, you probably want to beat it by hand with a spoon or fork. If it is thin, you can use a mixer. Creaming Creaming is one of the most important steps in the entire recipe. Many cupcake and muffin recipes say cream butter and sugar until fluffy and light. As with beating, creaming can be done with an electric mixer or by hand.

If you are creaming by hand, slice the butter and let the butter or margarine reach room temperature (but not too warm). Beat the butter until it is soft. Then add the sugar and beat the mixture until it is fluffy and light and volume has increased. Be sure to scrape the bowl periodically. To cream with a mixer, use cold butter or margarine. Mix on low or medium-low just until butter is softened, about 1 minute.

Increase mixer to medium and add the sugar gradually to the butter and beat for 1 to 2 minutes until fluffy and lighter in color. The best creaming method for beginners is to cream with a mixer using cold butter. If the room temperature butter is too warm, it may not cream well.

CUPCAKES

Chocolate Cupcakes

Brownie Cupcakes

These cupcakes are loaded with chopped pecans and are the best brownie cupcakes even without frosting. Suggested frosting: 1 3/4 cups sugar 1 cup flour 4 eggs 4 (1 oz.) squares semisweet chocolate 1 cup butter 1 cup chopped pecans 1 teaspoon vanilla Combine sugar, flour and eggs. In a saucepan, melt chocolate and butter; add nuts.