Starry cupcakes

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Fourth of July baking took over my kitchen, and so I also made this cute little cupcakes. What is special about them is a hidden white star you find inside them when cut. It is so unexpected, pretty and festive! Perfect to take to a 4th of July barbecue.

To make the cupcakes I used the same white cake recipe as for the Fourth of July Cake. Make one recipe of the cake, and bake it in a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, at 325 degrees F, for 20 minutes. Let it cool to room temperature, then pop it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. 

Freezing the cake sheet will make it much easier to cut and then stand in the cupcake pan. 
Prepare your cupcake pan, using your favorite cupcake liners.
Preheat oven at 325 degrees F. 
Prepare another recipe of the white cake, tinting it at the end with blue gel food coloring, or any other color you wan to use, just make sure the stars and the other batter have different colors. 

With a 2-2.5 inch star shaped cookie cutter, cut out stars out of the chilled cake sheet. 

Place a star, standing on two of it's five little feet, in the center of each cupcake liner, and make you sure you put all of them on the same line, so that you will remember where the stars are facing. This is important. I like to put them paralel to the pan's edge. 

Using a spoon, carefully spoon blue/colored batter in front, and back of the star, so that it is helps it stand. If you just pour the batter on top you risk the star to fall, and it won't stand strait. Keep adding batter in the cupcake liner, up to 2/3 of it's height, as you would normally do for regular cupcakes. Carefully place the pan in the preheated oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Check them with a toothpick to make sure they are done. 
Let them cool on a wire rack in the pan.
Take a small sharp knife and make small superficial cuts on top of the cupcakes, all the way across, till the paper, on the same line as the stars inside, so after you take the cupcakes out of the pan, you will be able to see exactly what way the stars are oriented. The cut won't be obvious unless you look carefully.
Prepare your favorite cupcake frosting recipe. I used Swiss meringue buttercream on some , and cream cheese frosting on others. (left overs from the cake :) )

Frost the cupcakes to your liking, but remember not to cover the cut near the paper liner, so you can still  see the sign you made, and so you can cut them when serving, to make the stars show up! 
You can use this technique for making many fun cupcakes. You could make pink hearts inside of Valentine's Day cupcakes for example!

"Fourth of July" cake

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I was really excited to try making my first Fourth of July "Independence Day" cake, and here is what it turned out like!

It was so much fun making it! But it took two days... 

First day I made the marshmallows, as they had to have time to set overnight, and baked the cake layers too, letting them chill overnight in the fridge, so that it would be easier to cut and handle when assembling the cake. Today I made the filling and frosting, and put everything together. 

I used Alton Brown's marshmallow recipe. They are very easy to make, and it is so much fun to be able to make your own colors and shapes! I made one batch, spread it on a 9 by 13 inch pan, and next day I cut them with a cookie cutter. So easy! 

 I baked 3 batches of regular white sponge cake, this means 6 7 inch pans, leaving one (2 pans)  all white, while tinting with food coloring the other two in a vivid red. To make white sponge cake I just replace the egg quantity in my regular vanilla cake recipe, with a same quantity of egg whites only. For the batter recipe, you can check my "Perfect vanilla cake" recipe.

I then cut out the domed upper part of each baked cake, so that it would be perfect straight. Then cut it in two equal layers, using a cake leveler, having now 8 layers of red cake, and 4 of white cake. This tool is very handy when making layered cakes like this. I used only five of the red cake, for symmetry. Also It was dangerous to make the cake taller, it is 8 inches tall as it is, and only 7 inches in diameter! 
For filling I used the cream cheese frosting recipe that you can also find in the "Perfect vanilla cake" post. 

 Placing pieces of parchment paper under the cake helps keep clean the cake stand while frosting it! After finishing frosting gently pull them out and you have a clean stand! This is very helpful especially when using bright colored frosting, like the blue one I used.

I started assembling the cake with a red layer, alternating with a white one, and so on, and finishing with a red layer as well. In between the layers I used a dollop of cream cheese frosting only. Using a large ice cream scoop for picking up the cream ensures you have equal amounts of it between layers. I decided on this filling because it is a little thicker, and would hold better under the weight of the cake. This is a huge cake, about 8 inches tall, so you have to take in consideration it's stability. Having the cake layers chilled also helps a lot. You can also freeze them before, but chilling was enough.

After finishing layering, I covered everything with a Swiss meringue buttercream, because it is a very white cream, so tinting it a bright blue is easier, and gives you a nice color. 

 Place a dollop of frosting on top, and using an offset spatula crumble coat the cake first. This means putting a thin layer of frosting all over it, so the crumbles won't get in your finishing layer of frosting. After crumble coating it, let it chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, then continue with the rest of the frosting.

The recipe for the meringue buttercream:
1 cup egg whites
2 cups granulated sugar
3 sticks softened but cold butter, cut in cubes
1 tablespoon pure Tahitian vanilla extract
small pinch of salt
5 drops of Royal Blue Ateco gel food coloring


Method:


Wipe the clean bowl and whisk attachment of your stand or regular mixer and a hand whisk with a paper towel with vinegar or lemon juice, to make sure you remove all traces of grease.
Put a sauce pan with 2-3 cups of water  on heat, and let get to a simmer. Mix the egg whites with sugar in the mixer bowl, and place it over the sauce pan, making sure the bowl does not touch the simmering water bellow. Mix continuously with a whisk, until the egg and sugar mixture gets to 140 degrees F. You can use a candy thermometer. I did not have one, but for this cake went and got one at Sur la Table, for $12. This little gadget is not expensive but it helps you so much in the kitchen, from making candy and marshmallow, to playing with chocolate or getting a perfect steak or turkey!
If you don't have one just heat everything for 6-8 minutes, until all the sugar is melted, and the egg whites are quite warm, but you must be able to touch it, so not very warm. 
Place the bowl on the mixer, and let it whip for 5-6 minutes on medium heat, until you get a glossy meringue, and the bowl reaches a neutral temperature to the touch.
Change the whisk with the paddle attachment, and with the mixer on slow, add the butter cubes one by one, until incorporated, and the cream is spreadable. If it is too runny, the butter might have been to warm. Put the bowl in the fridge to cool fo 10-15 minutes, then beat again. If the mixture curdles, keep beating and it will come together. At the end add the vanilla, salt and food coloring. Mix.
Use the frosting  immediately. If not you can keep it in the fridge or even freeze it.


After frosting the cake with the blue buttercream, I made a cake topper using my marshmallow stars. I wanted white stars to put on the blue cake, and marshmallows seemed the perfect choice for USA's Independence Day, because they are sooo... American! An explosion of stars on a beautiful blue is what I wanted. I am happy how it turned out!

The red and white striped "stick" holding the largest star is actually a paper beverage straw! ;)


So here you have it, a 9 layers cream cheese frosting filled, red,white and blue, taller than wide cake, covered in blue meringue buttercream and topped with an explosion of homemade marshmallow stars!

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

The perfect vanilla cake

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For me at least :)

I love vanilla, and this cake is so soft and fluffy, it makes my tummy tickle. Pair it with an amazing cream cheese frosting, and it can't get any better! Oh wait! It does get better! It is pink, and lavender... a wonderful delicate yumminess. Perfection.

I wanted to bake a  gradient colored cake for a long time, and I am so happy I finally did. Can't wait to try a rainbow one too!

The original recipe for this cake was with butter cream frosting, but I don't really like butter cream. Why would you use butter mixed with sugar for frosting? Yes, it looks good and is easy to use and frost with it, but I really don't like the texture or taste of it. It is just greasy. And I tried them all, simple butter cream, meringue butter cream, but none works for me. 

Cream cheese frosting has a lovely texture, is super creamy but not greasy, it has a tang to it, that I love, that really compliments the rich vanilla cake. It goes beautiful with chocolate too. You can as well color it anyway you want using food coloring.

You can also use a custard base cream for this cake. 

And I am planning to make one covered in fondant as well. So many thinks to try and do!

The white frosting works very well with a layered and colorful cake like this, because it just makes it a wonderful surprise when you cut a simple white cake and discover such a pretty inside. 

Ingredients:

For the cake

5 ounces egg whites ( 5 large egg whites or 150 grams ) I just put 2/3 cup

3/4 cup whole milk ( 180 ml )

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract ( 15 ml )

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour ( 10 ounces or 285 grams )

1 3/4 cups sugar ( 12 ounces or 350 grams )

1 tablespoon baking powder

pinch of salt

12 tablespoons butter ( 6 ounces or 170 grams ) cut in cubes

pink and lavender food colorings

Cake recipe adapted from Sweetapolita

Cream cheese frosting

16 oz cream cheese ( 450 grams) I use Philadelphia regular 

1 cup heavy whipping cream ( 8 ounces or 240 ml ) 

2 cups confectioners sugar ( 200 grams ) You can put 3 cups if you want it sweeter 

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

When you bake any cake it is very important to accurately measure the ingredients and for all the ingredients to have room temperature.

Method:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees F ( 180 C ).

Butter and line with parchment paper 2, or 4 if you have, 8 inch cake pans. I have 2, so I baked the cake in 2 rounds.

Mix in a bowl the egg whites, 1/4 cup milk and the vanilla. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electrical mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the dry ingredients : flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 

Add the butter and remaining milk ( 1/2 cup ) and mix on low speed until combined, then on medium ( 4 ) for 1-2 minutes.

Add the egg white mixture, in 3 separate batches, beating for 20 seconds after every batch, scraping the sides of the bowl. Your batter should look smooth like this. If it curdles means you had too much liquid in the batter. I don't know if it will work adding just  a little more flour, like 1-2 tablespoons, because it never happened to me, but you can give it a try if you have a curdled batter.

Divide the batter equally in 4 separate bowls. You can do that using a kitchen scale. I don't have one yet, so I just divided it using a large ice cream scoop like this one, that you can use to divide batter for cupcakes too. It is important to have equal amounts of batter to make sure your layers will be equal in thickness when baked. 

Put one drop of pink food coloring in the first bowl, one pink plus one purple in the second, 2 purple drops in the third, and 3 drops of purple in the fourth. Mix well each, with different spoons/forks/spatulas.

You can do this using whatever colors and combination you want. This is a fun cake to make!

Bake the 4 different colored batches of batter. I put two pans at once in the oven, on the same rack, int he middle. Bake for 16 minutes. Baking time depends on your oven as well, so make sure to check them around minute 14, and see if  when you insert a toothpick in center comes out clean. It can be 15, 16 or 17 minutes. Is important not to over bake, and this is easy because the layers are quite thin, so keep a watchful eye on them.

After baking the first two layers, let them cool, then delicately take them out of the pans. The layers are thin and very delicate. The colder they are the easiest will be to take them out. Parchment paper helps you a lot in this step. so it is important to use it.

Put them on a wire rack to cool completely. 

Wash, dry, butter and line with parchment the pans again quickly, and bake the other two layers.

Let them cool too, and here you have 4 beautiful different colored cake layers.

Prepare the frosting:
Whip the heavy whipping cream using and electric mixer, using the wire whip attachment, until it gets stiff whipped cream. Put it aside in a bowl.
In the same bowl of the electrical mixer beat the cream cheese using the paddle attachment, on medium speed, until fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar gradually, and the vanilla, and beat on medium ( 4 on my KitchenAid ) for 7-10 minutes, until light and fluffy. Fold in the whipped cream and mix well. 

I love cream cheese frosting, but I wanted it to be a little more light and airy, so I thought of combining it with whipped cream, and this is now my favorite cake frosting! It will work great on cupcakes as well, I can't wait to try!

Place the darkest lavender colored layer ( the one with 3 drops of coloring ) on the cake stand, or serving platter you will use for the cake. Using the same ice cream scoop place two dollops of the frosting in the middle of the layer, and spread evenly using a spatula.

Place the layer with two purple coloring drops on, spread with another 2 dollops of frosting, then the one with pink and purple coloring, spread with frosting, and finally the last pink layer on top. 

Frost the whole cake with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting, to crumble coat it. This will ensure that no cake crumbs will get into your final layer of frosting, and have a perfect result. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to set. You can then finish frosting it with the remaining cream.

Hope you will enjoy making this cake as much as I did. It is like playing in kindergarten! And there are so many variations you can try, just let your imagination go wild. I am planning on making a double batch of this batter, in order to make more layers to this cake! A six or seven layer cake would be so cool! 

Thanks for reading!

A