Page 14 - Cupcakes

Cupcakes 101

You may wonder how something as uncomplicated as a cupcake could need a
chapter on construction. Isn’t the joy of the cupcake or muffin its sheer
simplicity? Possibly. The best recipes are often the simplest. Yet I have learned
that the trick in pulling off any recipe—making it work, presenting it well, and
enjoying it thoroughly—is to understand it completely. With this book, I want
you to be able to pull off cupcakes and muffins with ease, bake them often, tote
them to friends, and above all, enjoy them. So I want you to understand
cupcakes down to their tiniest crumb.

It’s no secret that my chief baking shortcut up until now has been a box of
cake mix and a few ingredients from my kitchen cupboard. That doesn’t change
with this book, and you’ll find that these smaller cakes—adorable cupcakes and
muffins—can be made in the same fast fashion.
As a busy mother of three, I have learned to rely on a box of good cake mix—

and muffin mix, brownie mix, and self-rising flour—to jump-start recipes and
allow me to bake even on a hectic schedule. In the old days I might have said,
“No!” when asked the night before a bake sale or party to bring in two dozen
cupcakes, but now I answer, “What flavor?”
Before working on this book, I’d have thought I baked a pretty decent

cupcake. But what is it they say about practice making perfect? With the practice
of testing recipe after recipe, my cupcakes got better, and I experienced a few
epiphanies about cupcake making that I share on the following pages—you
know, those “aha!” moments when you race to record a great idea before you
forget it.
Even when a recipe was stellar, I found myself tweaking it, as I did with
Chocolate Almond Cupcakes (page 41). After the third batch, I realized I didn’t
need to layer the almond paste filling between layers of batter for it to settle

perfectly in the center. It was so heavy it could be dolloped on top right before
the cupcakes went in the oven and would sink to the center while baking. The
chocolate glaze was nice, but on the second go-around I noticed it needed a little
something. A tad of almond extract, maybe? And right after I bit into the