Page 16 - Cupcakes

down the sour cream recipes a bit), buttermilk, and always milk. For frostings

and some cupcake recipes I prefer whole milk, and if the recipe needs it I will
call for it specifically. But in most cases, any milk you have on hand will do.
Keep a dozen large eggs ready for baking, too.
In the freezer I keep nuts of all sorts and frozen grated coconut, should I find
it in the market, which has a more pronounced coconut flavor. And in the
cupboard, I always keep a variety of cake mixes, instant pudding mixes, flavored
gelatin, chocolate, sugar, flavorings, food colorings, and spices. I also keep
canned goods and sweetened flaked coconut there.

EQUIPMENT TO HAVE ON HAND

I had so many assorted muffin pans that I didn’t need to run out and buy a lot of
new pans to write this cookbook. And I think that will be true for many of you
when you bake. Muffin or cupcake pans tend to last a long time if you take care
of them. Mine once belonged to my mother, and that makes them more special to
me.

What if I Don’t Want to Make Cupcakes …

Yes, you can turn most of these cupcake recipes into layer cakes and Bundt
cakes. As a rule, layer cakes need three eggs, and most Bundts do best with
four eggs. Add the extra egg as needed. Don’t forget to oil and flour the
pans before filling them with batter. Bake the layers from 25 to 30 minutes

and the Bundts for 45 to 55 minutes. But these are just estimates. Look for
signs of doneness—a golden brown color (on a yellow cake), the cake
beginning to come away from the sides of the pan, and the top of the cake
feeling firm and springing back when pressed with the tip of your finger.

PANS: Two or three shiny metal pans that hold one dozen regular-size (2½-inch)
cupcakes or muffins is plenty to begin cupcake or muffin baking. It’s nice to
have a pan that holds 24 miniature muffins, those measuring up to 2 inches
across. I like shiny pans because they don’t cause the light batters to bake dark,
which is what can happen with some of the darker pans. For easiest cleanup, use
paper liners in the cupcake pans, but, as you will learn in the muffin chapter, this
isn’t always possible or preferable. So if you have a heavily soiled muffin pan on