This is a great example of using happy sugar flowers to personalize your cupcakes in a fast way! The effect of all the cupcakes is simply stunning.
I wish we had a cupcake bakery in Bellingham, WA. I’m reduced to driving to Seattle (Hello Cupcake Royale!) or heading to Vancouver, BC for my fix. It’s just not doing it.
Hmmm, I just noticed that the last comment I left never went through…sorry. Anyway, I was just saying thanks for going to the trouble of copying that whole recipe. It sounds delicious!
I love the Cake Doctor so I checked out her idea of a good Red Velvet Cupcake. You can find the recipe here:
http://www.cakemixdoctor.com/recipes/what_kind/cupcakes/red_velvet_cupcakes_as_seen_on.php
Cupcakes
24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2 -inch size)
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain German chocolate cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream (see “the Cupcake Doctor says”)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 bottle (1 ounce) red food coloring
3 large eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, food coloring, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon or scoop N cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.
3. Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting.
5. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. Place these cupcakes, uncovered or in a cake server, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. The cupcakes are ready to serve.
Store the cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
The Cupcake Doctor Says
Use reduced-fat sour cream, and you’ll sacrifice only fat and calories, not flavor. If you can’t find plain German chocolate cake mix, buy the pudding in the mix version and forgo the added pudding. For more chocolate flavor, use chocolate pudding mix instead of vanilla, but the cake won’t be as red in color.
After ogling all these cupcake sites, I think it is time that I finally make some myself. Can you recommend a good “beginners” recipe?
I see a big project coming up …. cupcakes with gumpaste flowers. At the rate my cupcake obsession is going, I’m going to need to start a new business just to get it out of my system!
=)
Anne-Marie
Well, maybe it isn’t that hard:
http://www.wilton.com/yearbook/productinfo/rtugumpaste.cfm
Just did some research–here is what “be cheery” said about the flowers:
hey’re made out of sugarpaste & decorated with royal. super super easy!!
Something tells me that I wouldn’t find them to be super, super easy!
So, do you think “be cheery” just put pre-made decorations on those cupcakes, or did she/he make them?
Making sugar flowers? Hm, that’s an interesting question. I haven’t seen instructions on making sugar flowers before but you can buy them pre-made from a variety of places online. Here are just a few:
http://www.sugarflowers.com/newitems.html
http://www.express-creations.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=E&Category_Code=SPPF
http://www.wildflowersbylori.com/Garden%20cakes.htm
When I find instructions for making the sugar flowers from scratch, I’ll let you know!
Anne-Marie
Any idea on where I can find instructions for making happy sugar flowers?? Thanks!