Page 15 - Cupcakes

perfected cupcake, I wondered out loud, “What about a blond version, with a bit

of orange?” It’s no wonder my children call me obsessed about cake, and that
my cookbook manuscripts arrive late! I did become a bit obsessed with
cupcakes, but I think that is part of the natural process of research.

This book has turned out to be not only a labor of love but also an expression
of creativity. Left alone, cupcakes baked by the package directions might be
boring, but when you add a little of this and that, bake them big and beautiful,
moist and magnificent, and top them with something irresistible—possibly
finishing with a sprinkling of decorations—cupcakes aren’t just food, they are
art. People will gravitate to them and savor them and then search for a piece of
paper on which to scribble the recipe.

Enough babble. On to baking. Here are my tricks, tips, and how-to’s for
everything from shopping for ingredients, to selecting the right equipment, to
assembling, baking, and then storing your home-baked cupcakes and muffins.

INGREDIENTS TO HAVE ON HAND

Here are the basic ingredients I nearly always have on hand so I can bake
cupcakes and muffins. For a complete list of my cupcake baking cupboard, see
The Cupcake Doctor Pantry (pages 20 to 21).
In the refrigerator, I have lightly salted butter for frostings and batters and
unsalted butter for recipes using self-rising flour and for brownie mix. I also
have reduced-fat sour cream and cream cheese, yogurt (for when I want to slim