I have to thank Lauren for randomly throwing together a batch of Snickers cupcakes while I was in North Carolina. These things were pretty fantastic. We have stated before that we are not in complete support of the recent cupcake takeover, but as long a I get to eat a cupcake or two like this every now and then I’ll keep my mouth shut. While I absolutely despise baking myself, I have to give some respect to the people who actually have the patience to measure out their ingredients and make stuff like this.
I had to go to the mall, a place I try to avoid at all costs, the other day to have my iPod looked out by the too cool tech-geeks at the Apple Store, when I saw something that made me cringe in what was almost actual, physical pain. No, it wasn’t unfettered consumerism at its overpriced worst. It wasn’t bad mall food, as our local mall here in Ann Arbor actually boasts a couple of decent eateries: Sushi Café (yes, sushi at the mall and it is delicious) and Chipotle. It was a cupcake kiosk.
When did the cupcakes invade and why have we let them take over? A kiosk at the mall, a store devoted entirely to cupcakes just off Main Street in Ann Arbor, and my DirecTV has 250 channels, 90% of which are devoted to cupcakes all of the sudden. It seems I can’t go to a party or function without some too cute dessert with pink frosting staring at me.
This is what we are up against, my friends. Let's kill it before it has a chance to breed.
I don’t have anything against dessert, but I am more of a main course kind of person. The cookie will always hold a special place in my heart, but I’d take fried chicken or cheesy potatoes over dessert any day. So I ask again, what is the deal with cupcakes? They can certainly be delicious, but so are bacon smores and I don’t see kiosks at the mall for them. Besides, cupcakes suffer from many of the same issues as muffins do. The top is inevitably more delicious, but enveloping a full cupcake bite leads to frosting on the nose. Not a good look for a man. The solution is to lop the top off. I just don’t trust a dessert that needs to be mutilated to achieve full deliciousness.
The working theory I have about their popularity is that they are portable cakes, and if there is one thing we Americans love, it is portable, fattening, sugar-laden food. But they are also cute, which annoys the hell out of me. At my son’s school, every Mom had to be Sandra Lee and make some pink princess designed cupcake or Spiderman themed cupcake for their little snowflake’s birthday. (If they have to be Sandra Lee the least they could have done was bring cocktails for the adults, but I digress.) Call me a rebel, but I made chocolate chip cookies for my son’s kindergarten class on his birthday. And yes, I do bake when I have to, if I have to be a stay-at-home Dad you can damn well be sure I’m going to make some cookies. Delicious ones, too. Might as well fully embrace where life has taken me…
I was going to include a review of Cupcake Wars, but our friends at Would I Buy It Again did a solid, in depth review and I would rather direct you to their page than force myself to watch it. Besides, it surely would have been a hateful rant and I like to limit those, otherwise you will be desensitized to them. Can’t have that happen. As for cupcake shows, no thank you. I can’t stand Ace of Cakes either; Duff is actually pretty cool but baking shows in general are not on my list of things to watch. Ever. I even turn Alton Brown off when he is baking.
Just like Jeff Goldblum in Independence Day, let me warn all of the impeding invasion of the cupcakes. Maybe it is too late. Their saturation is close to critical mass. In the mean time, I’ll be in the corner with a bucket of fried chicken.
Cupcakes: they’re simple, they’re delicious, and they’re perfect for a birthday party. No cutting or silverware required, no one need be afraid to be the first to dig in or worry about how big a piece they take. But, on the downside, they can seem a little kid-ish. Maybe not the perfect treat for an elegant, catered surprise 30th birthday? Well, they can be. If, say, you make them in some elegant flavors like Strawberry-Basil and Green Tea.
There’s not a lot for me to say about these except that the strawberry could have tasted more like basil, but instead tasted like strawberry milkshakes, which was completely fine with everyone, and that the green tea were the prettiest little cupcakes I’ve ever made. Maybe it’s my own affinity for green – my favorite color – but they turned out such perfect little orbs of a wonderful shade of pale emerald that they were almost as much fun to look at as to eat.
photo by Erica Janky
Strawberry-Basil Cupcakes 1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and cored
fresh basil – the more you use, the stronger the taste
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
– – – 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tspn salt
1/4 cup half & half
1 tblspn vanilla
– – –
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
powder sugar to taste
Wash the basil and chop or tear it into small pieces. Place it, the 1 cup water, and the 1 cup sugar into a small saucepan and simmer it until the sugar is dissolved and the basil flavor has thoroughly steeped into the syrup. Strain it to remove all of the basil pieces from the syrup, and place the syrup and the strawberries back into the saucepan. Cook the mixture down until the strawberries are squishy and delicious. Strain the mixture, reserving the liquid; you will use the squishy basil-berries in the cake and the syrup in the frosting.
Cream together your butter and sugar until fluffy. Blend in egg and egg whites, then flour, baking powder and salt. Add the half & half, vanilla, and your squishy strawberries. Beat until the berries are in small pieces and everything is well combined. Divide into lined cupcake tins and bake for 25 minutes (or until done) in a 350F oven. Remove and cool completely before icing.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy. Add, in small amounts at a time, the strawberry syrup and powder sugar until you get to a strawberryness, sweetness, and consistency you like.
2 sticks (1 cup) butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
1 cup half half
2 tblspn green tea powder
– – –
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
green tea powder and powder sugar to taste
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs and egg yolks, then flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, mix the half and half and green tea powder together, and beat into batter. Beat until well combined and smooth. Divide between lined cupcake tins and bake for 25 minutes (or until done) in a 350F oven. Cool completely before frosting or you’ll end up with a green gooey runny mess, which would be a shame, because these cupcakes are just so pretty.
For frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese with green tea powder and powder sugar to taste until you reach a frosting you’re happy with.
There you go – some very grown up cupcakes that are absolutely delicious. Enjoy!
