Those with a sweet tooth half as big as mine will love The Candy Bar. It’s everything you’d expect a candy bar to be, particularly one that sells cupcakes. But cupcakes aren’t candy, you say to yourself. Erica is the candy cupcake creator extraordinaire. Those of us who prefer our sugar in liquid form (sodas!) will be blown away by one of Erica’s many soda cupcakes! This week she’s sharing tips with us on how to make cupcakes fun and unique.

Cupcakes are all the rage right now, aren’t they? Moms have been whipping up cuppies since the beginning of time (well, practically). Why is it, then, that so many people feel like they can’t create great cuppies at home? Anyone can do it, even YOU!

Starting with the basics, it is important that you measure your ingredients correctly. You should always sift flour when measuring for any cake or bread recipe (unless the recipe specifically states otherwise). If you don’t have a sifter (which I don’t), use a spoon and scoop the flour into the measuring cup. Do not tap the cup to level the flour, this will pack the flour back down…which is what you don’t want.

You should always allow key ingredients to come to room temperature before working with them. This includes butter and eggs. Your butter will cream much better if it is softened at room temperature first, and will make all the difference in your cuppie batter.

Remember to NEVER over-beat your batter, especially after the addition of the flour (if you’re creating cuppies from scratch)! If you do, you’ll risk the texture of your cuppies. Over-beating gives you a tough cuppie, something I’m sure you don’t really want.

On the other hand, you don’t want to under-beat your batter either. Under beating can result in the separation of your ingredients or even sinking of the cuppies.

A good tip to help your cuppies bake evenly is to fill them evenly. I do this by spooning my cuppie batter into a zip-lock bag and snipping the corner off. This helps me avoid getting the batter all over the pan and get each cup filled to the same level.

The question, it seems to me, most frequently asked is, “How do I get good, moist cuppies at home?” Well, my secret is simple…..buttermilk. Whether you’re making cuppies from scratch or from a boxed mix, substitute buttermilk in the recipe for water or regular milk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, no worries, my friend! You can make your very own substitution for buttermilk….just add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 C of milk and let stand for 5 minutes. Voila! You have yourself some buttermilk!

The next question I see a lot is, “How can I get filling inside the cuppie at home?” Again, friends, simple (which is the way I prefer things). After baking your cuppies, let them cool and then you can do it one of two ways.

1. Take a bag* half-full of your filling and push the tip down into the top of the cuppie. Squeeze gently. Now, the trick is to squeeze slowly and gently, not fast and hard (which will most likely make your cute little cuppie explode). (PHOTO F-1)
2. Take a spoon (or a small spreader, which is what I use) and scoop a small part of the center of your cuppie out. You want to make the top part of the hole small, so just use the tip of the spoon (if you don’t have any teeny spoons). Take your bag* half-full of your filling and pipe directly into the hole. Again, don’t do it fast or hard….just take it nice and easy. Be sure to save the little cut-out portion, you can top the filling off with it after you’re finished, before frosting. (PHOTO F-2)

In either filling method, you’ll want to make the filling pretty level with the top of your cuppie so that you can frost it easily.

F-1

Another great question pertains to frosting, “How do I get that fancy icing on the top of my cuppie instead of just smearing it on?” Guess what…..yup, you guessed it…..simple. Once you have mixed your frosting (or if you’re using canned frosting….once you’ve opened your can), spoon the frosting into a bag* and fill half-way.

*If you don’t have a piping bag with coupler and tips, another fantastic (and super easy) way to create this look is to use a zip-lock bag, the gallon size works best. Just reinforce the tip of the bag with a couple layers of scotch tape and then snip it off. You can cut straight across the corner for a “round” piping or you can cut it like a ‘V’ and get a more decorative look.

Squeeze your half-full bag gently until the frosting is right at the tip. Twist the top part (empty) of the bag until the bag is right up against the frosting. Start on the center of the cuppie and swirl it around, moving out to the edge of the cuppie, while GENTLY squeezing the bag from the top. After you have gotten all around the edge, start going inward (and upward on the first layer of frosting) and keep swirling until you reach the “peak”. Stop squeezing and gently lift the bag away and you’ll have the cute little point right at the top. Voila! Fancy iced cuppies. Once you do this a few times, you’ll find that you can do this in no time!

Taking a great cuppie to a WOW! cuppie is really simple, too! You don’t have to stop at the frosting….really. To make a great cuppie look even fancier (with minimal effort) you can toss some sprinkles, nuts, or even small candies on the top. Adding ‘pizzazz’ to your cuppies doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. I stopped into my local candy store and picked up a bunch of orange things to throw on the top of my cuppies.

Want a simpler, more classic look? Do a single candied (maraschino) cherry with stem right on the top of the “peak” of frosting. (Just be sure to pat them dry first so that you don’t have the stream of ‘mysterious pink juice’ running down the side of the frosting)

Want something more? Try doing a glaze that compliments the cuppie itself. You can do this by drizzling it over the top for a more casual and fun look OR you can dip your cuppie in the glaze for a more even and formal look. Experimenting with glazes is fun!

Another option is to fill the cuppie before baking….put little surprises in there. Remember, Mommy always told you, “It’s what is on the inside that matters.” Well, that same saying can go for cuppies, too! To get a baked in filling, just pipe your batter into the cuppie pan (or liner) about half-way, add your goodies, and pipe the remaining batter into the pan (or liner).

REMEMBER: Each cup should be about 2/3 full, so fill accordingly when adding baked in yummies.

Lastly, I hear a lot of people asking about the cuppie sticking to their pan or liners. If you’re not using liners, be sure to use a non-stick spray in your pan. Some people prefer using the grease-and-flour method; personally I find that method to be icky. Yes, I said ‘icky’. I don’t find that helps them from not sticking (and you get that weird “crust” on the outside of the cuppie), I always get better results from non-stick spray.

Now, if you are using liners, then your cuppie shouldn’t really stick…..if you’re using a good cuppie batter. The only time I’ve ever had the cuppies stick to the liners was with a very dry recipe. I baked them again, adjusting the recipe to make the cuppies more moist (buttermilk) and VOILA! No excessive sticking.

Good, moist cuppies should look like this:

Notice there is *some* sticking of the loose crumbs, but not a large amount at all.

This was the *Ultimate* cuppie, my hubby said so.

*Pictures featured are of my Orange Dreamsicle Cuppies*