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I believe that salt is to food, what food is to life. In right proportions, it can heighten the taste of what you eat..and in the wrong - destroy! Even the most delicious sweets come added with some salt...to taste!

As for me, I've never enjoyed cooking. And as contrary to my owning a food-blog as it may sound, I always think about daily, routine cooking as a chore. But my tryst with the pots and pans began when I got a kitchen all to myself...I began experimenting and exploring new worlds in my own home. Some outcomes were excellent and some plain disasters. Then sprouted the need to keep track of all those good ones...and hence this blog!

Here, I share those experiments that pleased more than one palate!




November 21, 2011

Cupcake Mania | Buttercream Frosting Recipe and Icing 101

There's really nothing much to be said on this post. I made this for a couple of close friends when we all met up at a new vacation home in the Poconos, that one of them had bought.

It was celebration time, so cupcakes were the perfect answer.


I baked over 3 dozen egg-less cupcakes. One batch of plain vanilla, one of vanilla with chocolate chips and one of good ol' chocolate. I then made blue, white and brown buttercream frosting and decorated them.



Here's the super simple recipe to the best and most popular frosting on this planet!

Buttercream Frosting Recipe


Ingredients
1 Cup Unsalted Butter/Vegetable Shortening, at room temperature
4 Cups Confectioner's Sugar, sifted
1 tsp. Vanilla Essence (Or any other flavour that you want to use, like almond, pineapple etc.)
2 - 4 tbsp milk (Or more depending on the consistency of icing you want in the end)

Other
Icing Colours (optional; as desired)
Electric Hand Mixer (Using a whisk would just take you much, much longer)

Icing Notes

1. Using Vegetable Shortening in place of butter will ensure you have pure white buttercream frosting

2. In order to make dark brown/chocolate colored frosting you will need to substitute one cup of sugar with cocoa powder. If it turns out too thin, add more sugar since sugar stiffens icing.

Method
- Place vegetable shortening/ unsalted butter and vanilla essence in a large bowl
- Add sugar about half cup at a time and mix using the hand mixer/whisk until all the sugar is well blended
- Add milk, one teaspoonful at a time to thin the icing to desired texture and mix well
- At this point the buttercream frosting is ready and you can colour it with desired icing colours

Icing Texture Guide
a) Very Stiff/Minimal Milk usage -This type of icing takes effort to spread because of its extreme thickness. It is best for icing flowers and decorations that need to hold their shape
b) Medium Consistency - This type of icing spreads when pressure is applied but still holds shape. It is best for cake borders and icing patterns
c) Thin Consistency - This type of icing spreads very easily and is perfect to cover cakes

Adding Colour to Icing
- Icing colour comes in the form of gel. If you plan on using liquid food colouring, remember that the liquid can thin out the consistency of your buttercream icing.

- Use toothpicks to pick colour from the icing gel tub and then dip into the buttercream icing. Mix in the colour using a rubber spatula.

- If you need to add more colour, always use a new toothpick to pick the icing colour gel

I hope you found all this information helpful. I am no professional at this stuff, but all this is based on what I've read, learnt and experimented with.


And, to end this post I'd like to share a picture that I personally love the most, even with some flaws in the frosting/frosting technique.


Drool on!

10 comments:

  1. I was in love with these when you posted the picture on facebook. To know that the cupcakes are eggless is an added interest now:)
    beautifully decorated and all the icings are so nicely done:)

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  2. These look so cute and pretty. Can you share your eggless recipe for the cake?

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  3. Just drooling over those super cute looking cupcakes..super delicious frosting..

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  4. Very cute n lovely frosting!!
    Following you :-)
    Do drop by my space too and I would love if you follow my space..
    Erivum Puliyum
    Ongoing Event -Christmas Delicacy (15 Nov-31 Dec 2011)

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  5. very beautifully decorated cup cakes..looks super

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  6. Lovely cupcakes. Love your profile intro.........u sound very much like me.Even I don't like routine cooking. Glad to follow u.

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  7. they look so cute,deeps...

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  8. very cute and perfect...very beautifully decorated..great job..

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  9. @ Simply Food - Sorry for responding so late to your query. I've used Nita Mehta's Eggless Sponge cake for the cupcakes. Just google it and you'll find it. It's a yogurt based cake recipe. I added choco chips to one batch, and replaced some flour for cocoa in another. Hope this helps!

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