Cupcake Recipes - From Baking to Frosting

Any cake recipe can be converted to a cupcake one. Consider cupcakes as mini cakes of whatever type of cake you are fond of and using that cake's recipes, create delicious mini cakes. With a box of cake mix, the whole process is made a lot easier. One box will make between 24 and 30 cupcakes baked in a regular size cupcake pan. But mixing the ingredients is where the real fun of making cakes is, so let's equip you with what you will need.

The Basics

• 21/4 cups flour 
• 3 tsp baking powder 
• 11/3 cups sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 cup milk 
• ½ cup shortening 

Food coloring Depending on the recipe you are using, there will be additions to these ingredients. For instance, you can have ¼ cup cocoa for chocolate flavored cupcakes. Other flavorings you can add to your cake mixture include nutmegs, ground ginger, lime, shredded coconut, mashed bananas, cinnamon, raisins and almonds among others. There is no limit to what you can use in your cupcake mixture, just as long as the flavors blend into each other well. Simply adapt the different cake recipes you like and turn them into cupcake recipes. You will also need a cupcake pan, cupcake pan liners, mixer, large bowl, and an oven. Begin by preheating the oven. Add flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, milk, vanilla and shortening into the large bowl and beat for a minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Mix thoroughly for around 3 minutes or until a smooth consistency is achieved. Line the pan with the cupcake liners then fills 2/3 of them with the mixture. An ice-cream scoop will help you get precise amounts of mixture in the pan. For regular-size pans, use a scoop that measures 1/3 so you only put two. As they rise, they will occupy the remaining space to form a mound. Place the pan in the oven and let it bake for around 23 minutes. If you need to make more but do not have another cupcake pan, store the mixture in the refrigerator as the first batch of cupcakes cooks. When ready, remove, cool the pan for about 15 minutes then add the remaining mixture. On average, a pan makes 12 cupcakes at a time. Allow the cupcakes time to cool completely before you can frost them. In the meantime, work on the cupcake frosting recipes you are going to use. There are four basic types of frosting: buttercream, chocolate buttercream, dark chocolate ganache, and lemon cream cheese frosting. For buttercream frosting, you will need to mix150g soft butter and 12g confectioner's sugar. Add 1 tsp vanilla and 2 tsp hot water or milk to make a creamy mix. To make chocolate butter frosting, substitute the vanilla with 2 tsp cocoa. To make the chocolate ganache, you need 1-ounce bittersweet chocolate, ½ cup heavy cream, 3 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp brandy (optional). Melt the first 3 ingredients and mix them all together. Pour in the brandy if using. Allow mixture to cool before spreading generously over your cupcakes. Lemon cheese frosting will give a distinct taste to your cupcakes. For this, sift 30g softened butter, 80g softened cream cheese, 1½ cup confectioner's sugar, and 1 tsp grated lemon rind. Mix the ingredients and beat them till they are creamy, then spread them on the cupcakes. Use either a frosting/pastry spatula or pastry bag to evenly spread either type of frosting over the cupcakes.

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