Tuesday, November 25, 2008

How to make insanely delicious cupcakes

cupcakes with orange cream and candied orange peel
I recently made some cupcakes for a little shindig, and I have to say, they were really good. And there were many thumbs up and oohing and aahing in the room as people dug in. But you know they're really good when people have seconds. And thirds. So I thought I'd share with you my secrets.

1. Consult with a real pastry chef. Thanks to Purpletwinkie, we came up with a winning combination. And through the wonders of video iChat he held up photos from his books and also demonstrated the technique for hole punching the cupcakes. We'll get to that in a minute. If you don't have your own personal pastry chef to consult with, just copy me.

2. Go for a really strong flavor combination. Word was the birthday girl likes orange flavored desserts, so we chose chocolate + orange. But not too much. There's vanilla in this too.

3. Cupcakes with something stuffed inside of them, like orange bavarian cream, are always tasty. They're the surprise in your bundle of goodness. Punch a hole into your cupcakes with something wide, like the end of your rounded handle salad tongs. See? Press down, but not all the way through. Just enough to create some space for your cream.
cupcakes ready to be stuffed
And then fill them with something. Bavarian cream is good. I used this recipe. (I tripled the orange peel though: I wanted it tangy!)
mmmm..orange bavarian cream

4. Piped goodness of frosting makes everything pretty. I always use this simple recipe, thanks to Amy Sedaris.

5. Top it off with something fancy. In this case, it was candied orange peel. I followed these directions for candied orange peel. I have a whole lot of it left over.
candied orange peel

And in the end? Chocolate cupcakes stuffed with orange bavarian cream, vanilla frosting, and topped with candied orange peel. Sweet mother of god, they were good.
super yum

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, sweet mother of God, those look good! I've never thought of filling cupcakes before. Guess I better get to cooking after my Thanksgiving vacation.

Amy said...

They were damn good. Sonia ate my seconds...

Aleta said...

Oh my goodness! I too have never thought of filling cupcakes before. I am making these! Thanks for sharing.

bemused said...

OMG, that's just cruel to tempt me with delicious photos without any way to taste them! Chocolate and orange is a favorite combo for me - yummmm!

purpletwinkie said...

Sweet mother of God.

LeLo said...

Heather: They tasted even better than they looked. Not kidding.

Amy: Hey! You did eat them, didn't you? You should have taken thirds.

Aleta: If you do make them, let us know how you liked them!

Bemused: I will make a mental note of that.

Purpletwinkie: Sweet mother of god! Thanks for your help with these. ;)

bemused said...

Oops, I just realized my post kind of sounded like I was begging for a taste! Actually, I was thinking that it was a pity modern technology hasn't yet advanced to the point that I could at least get a good whiff through my computer screen - smell-o-vision, as Emeril calls it. But hey, if you and I meet up when you just happen to have some delectable goodies on you, well, I'm not so stupid that I'd say no!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anonymous said...

Those were the very most delicious cupcakes on the face of the earth! I can't wait for my birthday!!! (hint-hint!!)

Miranda said...

Those are absolutely drop-dead, heart melting and gorgeous. Bonus on the candied orange peel, it's great for snacking! :)