Page 31 - Cupcakes

Assorted cake mixes, such as plain yellow, white, lemon, orange, German

chocolate, and devil’s food, as well as angel food, butter recipe golden and
fudge, butterscotch, gingerbread, and white, chocolate, and butter pecan
mixes with pudding, and brownie mix

Muffin mixes: blueberry, lemon–poppy seed, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon
streusel, chocolate chip, bran, and chocolate

All-purpose and self-rising flour

Sugar: confectioners’ for frostings, both granulated and brown sugars for
batters, coarse sugars for decorating.

Instant pudding mixes: I like vanilla, chocolate, and pistachio. Use these
to increase the volume of plain cake mix and to make batters moist.

Vegetable oil: Select light, flavorless oils such as canola, corn, and
safflower.

Chocolate: unsweetened cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate chips.

Extracts and spices: Choose pure vanilla, almond, and peppermint
extracts and maple and coconut flavorings. Ground cinnamon, nutmeg,
ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and poppy seeds are my favorite spices to have

on hand.

Milk: Unless I specify whole milk, use 2 percent, skim, or whatever is in
your refrigerator.

Butter: Choose lightly salted unless the recipe calls for unsalted.

Reduced-fat sour cream and cream cheese

Low-fat yogurt: Use plain (instead of sour cream) and, if they
complement the cupcake batter, flavors like lemon, blueberry, and