Cupcake Decorating 101

     When it comes to baking, my specialty is definitely cupcakes. To frost my cupcakes when I'm using a buttercream or cream cheese frosting, I will usually just cut a disposable pastry bag at the tip to make a wide opening and I make a swirl on the cupcake. It's just a simple, pretty way to top a cupcake.

     My friend's mother has become an extremely talented cake decorator. I walk into their house and the kitchen is covered in fondant flowers and buckets of frosting. I became inspired to try more advanced techniques because people go nuts for that kind of stuff.

     I LOVE shopping. Mainly for clothes and shoes and bags and makeup and jewelry...BUT shopping for baking supplies is just as fun! So I hit up the nearby Michael's and found some new frosting tips. Let me tell you, the amount of frosting tips is pretty overwhelming and they all start to look the same. So here's a little buying guide, how-to, and a demo of each of the tips. P.S. There are TONS of decorating tutorials on YouTube if you need more visual instructions :)

#1M: A very popular tip with decorators (and my new personal favorite) is the Wilton #1M tip. I love it because it's so versatile. You can make stars, swirls, borders, and roses with this tip.
         
How-to (swirl 1): Using the 1M tip, pipe a border around only the outer edge of the cupcake. Stop pressure and pull the tip away. Pipe a second spiral in the center of the cupcake and pull away at the top of the spiral.
How -to (swirl 2): Using the 1M tip, pipe a border around only the outer edge of the cupcake. Stop pressure and pull the tip away. Position the piping bag about 1/4'' above the center of the cupcake, and press down with light pressure to create a star in the center.
How-to (swirl 3): Hold piping bag about 1/4'' above center and put pressure until the cupcake is almost completely covered. Stop applying pressure slightly and lift up a little, then twist the bag slightly and put more pressure to create a second layer. Then do this one more time, twisting again, on top of the second layer.
Rosettes: Start from the center, and continue going around the cupcake. Each ring of frosting should slightly overlap the previous one. Finish on the outside edge.

#4B: The 4B tip is an open star tip. It can create stars (big surprise), shell borders, and a basket weave.

Shell Border: Holding the icing bag parallel to the surface, apply moderate pressure to create a small bulb of frosting. Gently, decrease pressure and pull away from the bulb. Without pulling away, create another bulb of frosting almost overlapping the previous bulb. Continue until finished with border.
Star: Apply pressure and release. 
Basket Weave: A lot of people use a flatter tip for a basket weave, but the 4B works for a thicker weave. First, make a vertical line with the frosting. Over the line, create 3 (or more) short, horizontal lines (like the stitching on a football). Draw another vertical line, parallel to the first, about a centimeter away from the first. In the empty space in between the two vertical lines, start one of the short horizontal lines for the second line. The horizontal line should go from the gap to the other side of the second vertical line. Repeat.

#12 Round Tip - great for outline, lettering, dots, balls and beads (which looks great as borders)
I have been looking for a really really REALLY big round tip. However, this was the biggest I could find. It won't make swirls as well as a larger tip would, but it does make some other useful designs and borders.

Dots: Position icing bag right on top of surface, apply pressure, release.

Beading: (see shell border)

#104 Petal Tip - flower petals, ruffles, ribbon, and bows.

I bought this tip to start practicing with roses and bows. That was a complete failure and I'm going to have to leave those to the experts because they're a whole lot harder than they look. I was able to make some ruffles with the tip, which also look impressive as borders.

Ruffle: Make the wider end of the 104 tip lightly touch the surface, with the narrower end raised. Apply even pressure as you move the bag up and down, moving across the surface.

Butter Beer Cupcakes

Maddy and Thomas are hardcore Harry Potter fans, so for their birthday I decided to make them Butter Beer cupcakes. The cupcakes are filled with a butterscotch ganache and topped with a butterscotch buttercream frosting. I was really skeptical about these cupcakes. I tried the Butter Beer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and it was kind of weird. People either love it or hate it. These cupcakes, however, were PHENOMENAL and everyone loved them. I definitely would make them again.

The ganache should be liquid-y but not too thin

After they are cooled, you have to cut the centers of the cupcakes out. To make the holes in the cupcakes, I used a 1/4 teaspoon. You can also use an apple corer. Make sure you do not core all the way to the bottom, or the ganache will drip out :( 

Use a swirly motion to frost the cupcakes. For a little extra pizzazz, you can  decorate the tops of the cupcakes with some left over ganache. I made a little star design on the top of each.

Butter Beer Cupcakes (from amybites)

Makes 18 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1&1/2 teaspoon vanilla1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cream soda
For the ganache:
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
1 cup heavy cream
For the buttercream frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup butterscotch ganache
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 16-oz. package powdered sugar
Splash of milk or cream (as needed)
For the cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with paper liners. 
2. Combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, cream your butter until light and fluffy.
4. Add your sugars and beat until well-combined. 
5. Beat in your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
6. Beat in your vanilla and butter flavoring.
7. Alternate adding your buttermilk, cream soda, and dry ingredients in batches until all are well     incorporated. 
8. Fill each cupcake liner 3/4 full
9. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and cake springs back to the touch. 
10.Cool completely on wire racks.
For butterscotch filling: 
1. In a double boiler (heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water on the stove), combine butterscotch chips and heavy cream and stir until completely combined and smooth.
2. Cool to room temperature.
3. Fill a squeeze bottle with ganache and insert into the center of each cupcake, squeezing until filling begins to overflow.
4. Set extra aside (it goes into the frosting and can be used for decoration later)
For buttercream frosting:
1. Cream butter in a large bowl until fluffy. 
2. Add in ganache, vanilla, butter flavoring, and salt and mix until well combined. 
3. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until reaching desired consistency.
4.  Add milk or cream by the Tablespoon as needed. 
5. Frost cupcakes and top with a drizzle of butterscotch ganache.

Burgers & Buckeyes

First things first: if you did not just grunt at the photo above, sorry, you're not a true American. This past weekend the group got together and we cooked, ate, and took pictures (crazy Saturday night, what can I say). I had always heard how Thomas makes the best burgers, so I really wanted to try them out. These bad boys were heaven in a bun. I don't have a specific recipe for the burgers because Thomas is being a diva and refuses to disclose his secrets, but I did gather some tips for achieving burger perfection:

• Put some ketchup & BBQ sauce into the ground beef for extra juice (about 1/4 cup of each per lb. of ground beef)
• The burgers were about 4 inches wide and 1 inch thick
• ALWAYS toast the buns. Nothing ruins a party like a soggy, pathetic bun.

Oh man, look at that juice

While Thomas was competing for America's Next Top Grill Master, I started baking. We had a ton of peanut butter in my house, A TON. I'm talking an industrial size vat of peanut butter. So, I was inspired to make one of my favorite candies, peanut butter buckeyes. 

For those of you who do not know what a buckeye is, it is a peanut butter ball dipped in chocolate, made to resemble the buckeye nut from Ohio. I'm not from Ohio, nor do I know many people from Ohio, but I do love peanut butter. And peanut butter with chocolate? Get outta town. That's gold.

The peanut butter mixture should be firm enough to hold a shape

Make sure that the chocolate is shiny and smooth and that there are no lumps. The chocolate should be a little  on the liquid-y side, so it is easier to dip the peanut butter balls into.

Peanut Butter Buckeyes

makes about 35 buckeyes

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 stick salted butter (softened)

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. In a large mixer, beat the peanut butter, butter, and vanilla at a medium to high speed until combined
2. Gradually add the sugar and blend until combined
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil
4. Shape the peanut butter mixture into small balls, about 1 tablespoon of mix per ball
5. Put the balls in the freezer for at least 15 minutes to harden. The more time they have to harden, the easier they are to work with
6. Use a double boiler to melt the chocolate chips until smooth and shiny
7. Using a toothpick, dip each ball in the melted chocolate, making sure the sides are even
8. Once all the balls have been dipped, place the balls back into the freezer for 15 minutes or into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until the chocolate has hardened