Whether you make cupcakes from scratch or buy them premade, there's always good reason to add an eye-catching finishing touch. Here are 10 imaginative ways to spruce up this classic dessert. Whatever decorating tips you employ, remember to brush freshly baked cupcakes with your fingers or a clean paintbrush to get rid of any stray crumbs before you start frosting or glazing. The experience of eating a cupcake also has to do with how it's displayed. When your batch is ready to serve, set them out on an attractive platter of some kind, such as a rustic cake stand, silver serving dish or plate with an interesting pattern. Have fun and remember that when it comes to decorating cupcakes, your imagination is the limit!
Of course, the standard colored sprinkles in solid or assorted colors are a tried and true cupcake decoration. Your options range from fine, sandlike granules to tiny pearl-sized nuggets or shapes. When applying fairly small flakes, hold the shaker higher for a light, even dusting and lower for denser coverage. But don't let what's prepackaged as "sprinkles" on grocery stores' baking aisles limit your creative prowess in the kitchen. There are many relatively small edibles that can serve as a type of sprinkle -- many of which are already in your kitchen pantry! Try sprinkling on chocolate chips, grated nuts or even coffee grounds. Spices like cinnamon, cayenne or cloves can also do the job and add another dimension of flavor to your baked confection.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Cake Boss Buddy Valastro in Australia
Valastro, who is currently in Australia for two live shows in Perth and Sydney, is now known all over the world as the Cake Boss because of his hit reality television show.
But it was a childhood prank that got him into the kitchen in the first place.
Buddy Valastro's Cake With the Boss is on Sunday, February 5 at 2pm at the Perth Convention Centre and Monday, February 6 at 7pm at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Tickets are available through Ticketek.
But it was a childhood prank that got him into the kitchen in the first place.
Buddy Valastro's Cake With the Boss is on Sunday, February 5 at 2pm at the Perth Convention Centre and Monday, February 6 at 7pm at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre. Tickets are available through Ticketek.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Kid's Cavatelli With Broccoli and Cream Recipes
INGREDIENTS
4‑5 cups broccoli florets and tender leaves
3 plump cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound fresh or frozen cavatelli (not the ricotta)
Grated parmesan to serve
PREPARATION:
Bring a large stockpot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the broccoli -- cook more than al dente stage, but not to a mush. Remove and shock in ice water to stop cooking. Keep water at a simmer. Use the same water to cook cavatelli.
Heat a large sauté pan with enough capacity to contain all of the sauce, broccoli and pasta over medium. Add the olive oil and garlic and cook over low heat, just to flavor the oil with the garlic. The garlic should not burn.
Meanwhile, cook the cavatelli per instructions al dente. Drain into a bowl, and add broccoli, some cheese and the garlic oil. Toss to combine and serve with plenty of grated parmesan on the side.
4‑5 cups broccoli florets and tender leaves
3 plump cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound fresh or frozen cavatelli (not the ricotta)
Grated parmesan to serve
PREPARATION:
Bring a large stockpot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the broccoli -- cook more than al dente stage, but not to a mush. Remove and shock in ice water to stop cooking. Keep water at a simmer. Use the same water to cook cavatelli.
Heat a large sauté pan with enough capacity to contain all of the sauce, broccoli and pasta over medium. Add the olive oil and garlic and cook over low heat, just to flavor the oil with the garlic. The garlic should not burn.
Meanwhile, cook the cavatelli per instructions al dente. Drain into a bowl, and add broccoli, some cheese and the garlic oil. Toss to combine and serve with plenty of grated parmesan on the side.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thanksgiving Turkey Cake
INGREDIENTS
1 Bundt cake in the flavor of your choosing, 8 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep
Chocolate Fudge Frosting in a pastry bag fitted with the #6 star tip
6 cups white, red, black, yellow, brown and orange Decorator's Buttercream, each in its own pastry bag fitted with the #126 rose tip
1/4 cup black Decorator's Buttercream in a parchment pencil
PREPARATION:
Fill the cake: Pipe the cake full of fudge frosting.
Shape the turkey: Use a serrated knife to cut the cake at one edge where the central hole meets the cake. Set the larger piece of the cake, frosting side down, on a doily-lined cardboard circle on your turntable. Pipe a dab of white buttercream and seal the small piece in place in front of the larger piece. Pipe white buttercream over any gaps between the two sections to create a smooth working surface.
Pipe the plumage: Pipe red buttercream around the high, open end of the turkey in a ruffle pattern. Moving toward the lower, narrower front end of the cake, pipe a ruffled black ring in front of the red, overlapping slightly. Continue in this way, piping overlapping ruffled rings of white, yellow, brown and orange frosting, until you have reached the very front (narrow end) of the cake, starting over with red if necessary. Be sure to finish with white at the very front of the cake. Then cover over the open back of the cake, (that is, where the frosting shows) with overlapping layers of frosting, ideally, orange, white, red and black.
Feather the frosting: Pull the edge of a cake icing spatula through the frosting at 1-inch intervals, starting at the back center-top of the cake and pulling all the way forward to the narrow, lower front to create a feathered effect in the icing
Pipe the break and comb: Using the white buttercream, pull up and out from the bottom front of the cake to make a beak. Use the red buttercream to pipe the comb. Use the parchment pencil to pipe the eyes.
1 Bundt cake in the flavor of your choosing, 8 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep
Chocolate Fudge Frosting in a pastry bag fitted with the #6 star tip
6 cups white, red, black, yellow, brown and orange Decorator's Buttercream, each in its own pastry bag fitted with the #126 rose tip
1/4 cup black Decorator's Buttercream in a parchment pencil
PREPARATION:
Fill the cake: Pipe the cake full of fudge frosting.
Shape the turkey: Use a serrated knife to cut the cake at one edge where the central hole meets the cake. Set the larger piece of the cake, frosting side down, on a doily-lined cardboard circle on your turntable. Pipe a dab of white buttercream and seal the small piece in place in front of the larger piece. Pipe white buttercream over any gaps between the two sections to create a smooth working surface.
Pipe the plumage: Pipe red buttercream around the high, open end of the turkey in a ruffle pattern. Moving toward the lower, narrower front end of the cake, pipe a ruffled black ring in front of the red, overlapping slightly. Continue in this way, piping overlapping ruffled rings of white, yellow, brown and orange frosting, until you have reached the very front (narrow end) of the cake, starting over with red if necessary. Be sure to finish with white at the very front of the cake. Then cover over the open back of the cake, (that is, where the frosting shows) with overlapping layers of frosting, ideally, orange, white, red and black.
Feather the frosting: Pull the edge of a cake icing spatula through the frosting at 1-inch intervals, starting at the back center-top of the cake and pulling all the way forward to the narrow, lower front to create a feathered effect in the icing
Pipe the break and comb: Using the white buttercream, pull up and out from the bottom front of the cake to make a beak. Use the red buttercream to pipe the comb. Use the parchment pencil to pipe the eyes.