'Smores Cupcake Entry #3

This week I will be making a 'smores cupcake. When I think of 'smores I think of a nice summer night gathered around the campfire. The most important component to a 'smore is the marshmallow. Nothing beats a golden brown marshmallow that it slightly crisp on the outside and gooey in the center. To replicate this summertime treat I will make a chocolate cupcake with a marshmallow frosting complete with a light dusting of graham crackers. For the chocolate cake I will use my usual chocolate cake recipe. I really want a nice marshmallow taste for my frosting. I will make frosting how I usually do but add in marshmallow cream. The marshmallow cream will give it that recognizable marshmallow taste. For the graham cracker dusting I will smash up some graham crackers and sprinkle it on top. Hopefully if all goes well the end result will be a delicious 'smores cupcake!

Root Beer Float Cupcake Entry #2

With some trial and error I was able to perfect my root beer float cupcake! The cake came out wonderfully and was very moist. The butter cream took a couple of tries for me to get it perfect. My first trial was an epic fail! I tried the root beer reduction method I thought of and it didn't work at all. The reduction didn't have a strong enough flavor so the butter cream tasted like confectioners sugar. I tried adding more of the reduction but it was way too runny. I ended up going in circles with it because every time I would add more confectioners sugar it didn't taste like root beer. I then headed to the store and bought root beer concentrate. It was kind of expensive so I crossed my fingers this morning hoping it would work. If it didn't I didn't really know what else to try. Luckily the concentrate had a potent flavor and was able to over come the confectioners sugar taste! The butter cream has a nice root beer flavor that isn't too overwhelming. Coupled with my heavenly vanilla cake it is reminiscent of a good 'ol fashioned root beer float! Next week I will try a 'smores cupcake!

Root Beer Float Cupcake Entry #1

This week I will be attempting to make a root beer float cupcake. I first thought of the idea when I was watching Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee on the Food Network. Sandra had reduced down a can of root beer to make a topping for a sundae. I thought that that would be cool to incorporate into my butter cream. I know that a root beer float is a classic summer time drink and if perfected would be a great addition to my cupcake repertoire. For the frosting I will start off by making a simple butter cream with powder sugar, butter, and a small amount of vanilla extract. Instead of adding milk to the butter cream I will add the root beer reduction. I am also considering buying root beer extract to try out and see which one works and tastes better. I am a little worried that the reduced root beer’s flavor will be too overwhelming. I am also concerned that the consistency will be off. Butter cream is meant to thick, smooth when applying to the cupcake, but will harden up after a couple minutes of being in the refrigerator. For the actual cake part I want it to be reminiscent of vanilla ice cream. For that reason I am going to make a vanilla cake. I hope that the cake and the frosting go well with each other and taste like a root beer float. I also hope that it isn’t completely horrendous where I would totally have to redo my whole recipe. My main concern at this point is the frosting.