Page 274 - Cupcakes

front of the box. You can use any white cake mix, with or without pudding,

in this recipe. You’ll find edible glitter wherever cake decorating supplies
are sold. Wilton’s version is called “Patriotic Cake Sparkles.”

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Buttercream Frosting.

5. Place about ¾ cup frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a #8 tip or in a small
plastic sandwich bag. If using a plastic bag, cut off a small piece of one of the
bottom corners. Pipe various-size spikes of frosting over the tops of the
cupcakes. Some spikes should be short and squat, some a little taller and thinner
—say 1½ inches high. The idea is to make the frosting look like a fireworks
display. Refill the bag with more frosting as it empties. Garnish each cupcake

with red, white, and blue edible glitter and place a flag in the center. The
cupcakes are ready to serve.

You can store these cupcakes at room temperature for up to 3 days, but the
glitter garnish will begin to weep into the frosting as the cupcakes sit, so they are
really best if eaten the day they are baked and decorated. Without frosting and
garnish, you can bake and freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake

saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before
frosting and decorating.

Cupcake Toting

I have learned to hang on to those handy shirt boxes with lids that I get from
the local laundry, as they are the perfect size for carrying cupcakes from my
kitchen to school or a birthday party. Here are some ways you can tote
cupcakes to and fro: Eight cupcakes will fit in a round 12-inch cake saver.
For a batch of 24, count on 3 of these.

Twelve cupcakes fit nicely into a 2-inch-deep pan measuring 13 by 9
inches. Cover the top with waxed paper or plastic wrap.

Eighteen cupcakes fit comfortably in one of those handy oblong plastic

cake carriers that measure 16 by 11 inches. Many have a locking lid and