I've wanted to a baking challenge. Having motivation to try new ideas and receive feedback? Sign me up! Pending approval, I've signed up for a baking group that assigns secret projects each month. This blog is how I plan to share my adventures.
To get started I'll post on my St. Patrick's Day project. Taking a note from Bakerella and Love From The Oven, I tried my hand at cupcake bites/pops again. First time was a trainwreck all because I refused to use those melty pieces to coat the entire bite and used too much frosting. Second time around had much better results.
Slight changes...
- Trimmed off the top and side crusts of the green velvet cake (original used chocolate with no trimming necessary)
- Used waaaay less green food coloring, I stopped when the batter color wouldn't get any deeper
- 1 cake in a 9x13 pan baked for almost 40 minutes
- Only needed half a container of cream cheese frosting
- Used a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop for uniform sizes
The cake was a little crusty from the sugar on top and so cutting off the rough bits made for a smoother consistency in the finished product. Adding (gasp!) store bought cream cheese frosting was hard to do but completely worth it. I didn't have to worry about refrigerating the little bites or leaving them out on the break room table for an hour. (Seriously, I think it took less than an hour for the full vanishing effect.)
Conclusion
- Find a good powder food coloring. The green dye does a number on your fingers, tongue and digestive track.
- The green vanilla melty pieces tasted better than the white chocolate ones.
- A neat dipping setup will help with speed and cleanliness.
- Shopping the Easter sales and trying to find pop sticks for cheap, they look neater and easier to dip.
Next up, cupcakes for a fundraising bakesale at Mom's work. I hear they would like a repeat of mini chocolate cardamom cupcakes and Nutella frosting.
