Devil's Food Cake: Cupcake Recipe
It’s hard to get that picky eater to suck down a couple carrots, but offer up a devil’s food cake cupcake and the full stomach suddenly has “just enough room”.
I know that trick. No… I’ve done that trick.
With this devil food cake recipe, you won’t have to worry about being unhealthy. While, there is still sugar and such, you may find that this chocolate cake isn’t too much of a diet-buster.
Using unsweetened cocoa powder, low-fat yogurt and wheat flour, are all great ways to make this devil’s food cake a little less of a guilty pleasure so go ahead… have two cupcakes instead of just one. [singlepic=118,320,240,,right]
Yield: Two 9-inch or three 8-inch rounds, 16 servings each,
2 dozen cupcakes or one 9 x 13-inch sheet cake, 24 servings
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (7-1/2 ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (5-1/4 ounces) superfine or granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups (5 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup (4-1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (3 ounces) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (8 ounces) plain low-fat or whole-milk yogurt
- 3/4 cup (6 ounces) water
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the pan or pans of your choice or line with parchment paper. For cupcakes, lightly grease two muffin tins or line with papers and coat the papers with non-stick spray.
2) Cream together the butter, sugars and salt in a large mixing bowl till fluffy and light, at least five minutes. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl at least once during that time. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa and baking soda. If lumps remain, sift or strain the mixture.
3) Add the eggs to the butter mixture one at a time, beating well (at least a full minute) after each addition, and stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the next egg. Mix in the vanilla. Add half the flour mixture and mix until evenly combined. Add the yogurt and water, and mix again. Add the remaining flour, mix, and stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once more, to make sure the batter is evenly moistened. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
4) Bake the cakes; 30-35 for layered cakes and 35-40 for a sheet cake… even less for cupcakes! The cake is done when it begins to pull away from the side of the pan, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Place on a rack to cool completely before frosting.
These tasty devil’s food cupcakes are great for parties, or any other occasion really. For a frosting, I love to top these delicious cupcakes with a smooth cream cheese frosting. For an added twist, try torting your cupcakes. (That means to put a dollop of cream cheese frosting in the middle of your cupcake!) No matter how you ice it, this devil’s food cake recipe is devilishly delicious!
Elmo Cupcake Recipe
Sunny day…sweepin’ the clouds away—don’t lie. You know you love that giant obese yellow bird that sings to your kids and teaches lessons.
That’s right. We’re talking about the one and only Sesame Street!
For birthday parties and other gatherings, Sesame Street cupcakes are a popular choice for cupcakes. This design will help you to create Elmo cupcakes.
This Elmo cupcake recipe will give you adorable cupcakes that look just like the real thing. Come on… let’s head to Sesame Street and learn how to make these cute little Elmo cupcakes.[singlepic=92,320,240,,right]
Ingredients:
- Premade Cupcakes (flavor of your choice)
- Red Royal Icing
- Orange Gumball
- Marshmallows
- Black Icing or Mini Chocolate Chips
Directions:
1) Take your premade cupcakes and get them ready for frosting. Apply the Grass Tip to your pastry bag and fill it with red icing.
2) Frost your cupcakes with the Grass Tip, pressing down lightly at the base and pulling the pastry bag up, off the cupcake, about ¼ of an inch (depending on how furry you want Elmo to be).
3) With your marshmallows, you can either slice the regular size in halves or you can use mini marshmallows. If you’re not even a marshmallow fan you can just use some white icing and pipe a circle blob of frosting.
4) Use either some black icing or mini chocolate chips for the pupils. Have fun with this. Experiment with the position and size of the pupils to make Elmo excited, wild, confused, or just his regular cute self.
5) For Elmo’s nose, simple use an orange gumball– right in the middle of the cupcake or you could use an orange gumdrop, M&M, circus peanut… the possibilities are endless so be sure to try them all!
Growing up, Sesame Street was one of my all time favorite shows and I always loved Elmo, especially the segment called “Elmo’s World”. Although times are changing, it is good to know that our little red fuzzy friend will stay the same.
He is still learning to tie his shoes and count by twos… leaving a good example for the growing generation of Sesame Street lovers. Don’t spoil a good birthday with regular cupcakes. Choose Elmo cupcakes and they are sure to be the hit of the party.
Sailboat Cupcake Recipe
Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me! With these fun boating cupcakes, that’s what you’ll be singing all day long! These cupcakes are so tasty and very creative! The little boats look kind of hard to make, but in reality they’re so simple.
I found these cupcakes to be very fun and made them one day for some family friends. They were going down to the lake for a couple of days and these sailboat cupcakes were a great way to let them know that we’d miss them while they were away.
Whether you’re a boating expert, just like to dunk your feet in off the dock, or simply love cupcakes, this sailboat cupcake recipe is sure to please. [singlepic=84,320,240,,right]
Ingredients:
- Pre-made cupcakes
- Blue icing (butter cream with blue food coloring)
- Decorating Tip No. 5
- Red Icing (have fun switching up the different boat colors!)
- Corn starch
- Toothpicks
- Construction paper
- White cellophane tape
Directions:
1. Ice the pre-made cupcakes with blue icing, pulling up a little bit with each wipe of icing to create the desired “wave” effect.
2. Pipe in tip No. 5 oval boat bottom shape on the top of the cupcake (smooth with finger dipped in cornstarch). Outline the shape with tip No. 5 and pipe two more times to build up the boat sides.
3. Cut the sail shapes from construction paper and tape to the toothpick; insert into the boat on the cupcake to finish.
4. Enjoy!
Catch a wave, catch a tan, or catch a sailboat cupcake. These cupcakes are easy, adorable, and great for the marina lover in all of us. This recipe will make you wish you could whip the sail up and go out for the day. Call the office and tell them you’re out baking boat cupcakes… be back on Monday!
Fourth of July Firework Cupcake
It’s explosive. It’s amazing. It heats up the whole neighborhood. No, not fireworks, it’s these Fourth of July cupcakes!
These cupcakes are absolutely so easy, it the perfect dessert for anyone to make! This cupcake recipe makes a fantastic addition to any firework extravaganza or summer barbeque.
The thing that makes these cupcakes so easy is that all you need is a pastry bag and some icing. Flags are a nice addition to these 4th of July cupcakes as well, but they’re not necessary.
Sound like fun? Okay then, let’s get started. [singlepic=86,320,240,,right]
Ingredients:
- Premade Cupcakes
- Red Royal Icing
- White Royal Icing
- Blue Royal Icing
- Flag Sticks (optional, but recommended)
Directions:
1. Start with the blue icing and fill it into a pastry bag with a “grass” decorating tip attached. Place a small dot of icing on the middle of the cupcake. [singlepic=85,160,120,,left]
2. Start in the center and move in a circular pattern around the cupcake, with the starting point of your filled pastry bag on the dot. Drag to icing from the dot all the way until the edge of the cupcake.
3. Switch to white icing and repeat step two, not dragging the icing as far this time.
4. Do the same with the red icing and when you’re done, top the cupcake with a little American flag as the topper.
Tada! There you go. Your 4th of July cupcakes are complete and with this recipe, the cupcakes may be just as popular as the fireworks! You can vary the end product of this recipe by using different cupcakes.
Try different flavors like vanilla, chocolate, marble, or dye vanilla batter red, white, or blue! The possibilities are endless so have fun mixing up a batch of 4th of July cupcakes for yourself!
Popcorn Cupcake Recipe
Movie nights, for me, are the perfect way to spend any evening, but where would a movie be with no popcorn? Well, it would just be wrong. That’s what makes these cupcakes so much fun. I found them at familyfun.com and I just love the idea. This recipe allows you to create creative little popcorn cupcakes and gives off the image of a bucket of popcorn.
I’ve found that these cupcakes are great for parties, gatherings, or a fun girl’s night in! Who would have ever thought that marshmallows could be popcorn! So go ahead, pop in a movie, pop down on the couch, and don’t worry about popping that popcorn. These popcorn cupcakes already have it all taken care of! [singlepic=82,320,240,,right]
Ingredients:
- Premade cupcakes
- White icing
- Mini marshmallows (white or pastel yellow and white)
- Yellow food coloring (optional)
- Clean paintbrush
- Scissors
- White construction paper
- Blue and red markers
Directions:
1) Frost the cupcake with white icing. To create each piece of “popcorn,” cut one mini marshmallow in half and squish the two pieces back together into a whole mini marshmallow, pinching firmly.
2) Pile the finished popcorn onto the frosted cupcake. For a buttery look, either dilute a drop of yellow food coloring in water and brush it on with a clean paintbrush or mix pastel yellow marshmallows in with the white.
3) To make the band, cut a strip of construction paper about 1 1/4 inches by 8 inches, or to fit your cupcake, and decorate as shown. If you’re creating many cupcakes, design just one band and color photocopy it. Wrap the band around the cupcake and secure with tape.
Well, that’s it. With these simple instructions and a little creativity, you too can enjoy a popcorn cupcake to accompany any movie night! This popcorn cupcake recipe is a fun twist on a traditionally salty snack!
Cupcake Decorating Tips (Part 2)
Well now that you understand all about a cupcake decorating tip, the little metal ones, lets move onto some hints that will help you create the best cupcake ever!
1. Start out with a good recipe
Sure those mixes in the box are tasty but if you’ve got the time, then splurge for the homemade cupcake recipe version. You’ll be glad you did. Also try to set aside the time to make your own cupcake frosting. Homemade frostings are rich, tasty and most definitely worth the effort. [singlepic=72,320,240,,right]
2. Bake your cupcakes in paper cup liners…and muffin pans
The pan keeps the cupcakes shape while the liners keep them from sticking. It also gives them a protective cover when its time to serve; helping to keep fingers clean.
3. Make sure you have the right equipment
You should use rubber spatulas for spreading the frosting onto the cupcakes. They’re gentler than knives or metal spatulas and you’re less likely to cut the tops of your cupcake. After all you want your cupcakes to look as good as they taste.
4. Frost a cupcake, top-down
It’s best to place a dollop in the center of the cupcake and work your way around by going in a circular motion, a little further out with every turn. By using this method your cupcake will have a smoother top and not have frosting falling of the edges.
5. Select the right decorating tip; one that’s proportional to your cupcake
By using this cupcake decorating tip your result will be much more professional looking. If you use a huge decorating tip on such a little cupcake, it will become overwhelmed with frosting. So when in doubt, leave it out. Cupcakes kept simple with little features, and less of them, will stand out more than so many things on one tiny cake.
I really hope that these tips helped your cupcakes. Just remember, less is better; homemade beats store-made; and most importantly keep even proportions. By following even one cupcake decorating tip your cupcake will be good; follow all the tips and it’ll be amazing! Happy cupcake baking and decorating!