Hello my Foodie Friends!  With so many birthdays and weddings happening in September, bakeries and small businesses have been busy making delectable desserts for these events.  One particular baked good that has gained tremendous popularity over the past two decades is the cupcake.  The big business and trend of making cupcakes has expanded through entrepreneurial bakers and bakeries taking advantage of the multiple varieties and creativity that can come with cupcakes.  However, making your own cupcakes can be an endearing gift that you can make for yourself or for someone special.  So, what is your cupcake personality? Do you prefer to indulge in rich double chocolate or simply vanilla?  Maybe a wonderful red velvet or carrot cake with cream cheese frosting? Peanut butter fudge sounds delicious or even salted caramel, mocha, or coconut. Whether your personality is fun and festive, salt and sweet, business like, lovey-dovey, colorful, adventurous, or serious, there is a cupcake flavor for you. Since their creation, cupcakes have become a pop culture trend in the culinary world. They have spawned dozens of bakeries devoted entirely to them. While chocolate and vanilla remain classic favorites, fancy flavors such as raspberry meringue and espresso fudge can be found on menus. There are cookbooks, blogs, and magazines specifically dedicated to cupcakes. 

The history of cupcakes is interesting to learn about. The cupcake evolved in the United States in the 19th century, and it was revolutionary because of the amount of time it saved in the kitchen. There was a shift from weighing out ingredients when baking to measuring out ingredients. Most food historians have yet to pinpoint exactly where the name of the cupcake originated. There are two theories: the cakes were originally cooked in cups, and the ingredients used to make the cupcakes were measured out by the cup. In the beginning, cupcakes were sometimes called “number” cakes, because they were easy to remember by the measurements of ingredients it took to create them: One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four eggs, one cup of milk, and one spoonful of soda. Clearly, cupcakes today have expanded to a wide variety of ingredients, measurements, shapes, and decorations - but this was one of the first recipes for making what we know today as cupcakes. Cupcakes were convenient because they cooked much quicker than larger cakes. When baking was down in hearth ovens, it would take a long time to bake a cake, and the final product would often be burned. Muffin tins, also called gem pans, were popular around the turn of the 20th century, so people started creating cupcakes in tins. 

Our daughter loves vanilla cupcakes with vanilla butter cream frosting. This is a recipe that she requires Paula to bake for her birthday every year! 

Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcake (Magnolia’s Bakery NYC) 

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing:

Vanilla Butter cream, recipe follows

Directions

Watch how to make this recipe.

Icing:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Vanilla Butter cream:

The vanilla butter cream we use at the bakery is technically not a butter cream but actually an old-fashioned confectioners’ sugar and butter frosting. Be sure to beat the icing for the amount of time called for in the recipe to achieve the desired creamy texture.

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Compliments to the Chef will reopen by October 1st in our new location of 33 Railroad Place, in between The Bow-Tie Theatre and Price Chopper. .Also, we will be right next door to our new friends at Greenhouse Salad Company in Saratoga Springs New York. We carry cool tools for cooks. Cupcakes are a sweet way to please a crowd, and to say “thank you”, or “I love you” to your little cupcake. Also for the grown up kids we carry mini cupcake pans.  I like to say that they are less than half the calories of a regular size cupcake.  Please keep in touch and read updates as we get closer to October 1st. Paula and I are looking forward to being back downtown. 

Remember my Foodie Friends: “Life Happens in the Kitchen”.  Take care, John and Paula