I think I'm starting to get a hang of this buttercream thing. I think it helps having different recipes to test out various methods. This time, twenty-something chocolate cupcakes were topped with strawberry buttercream, which were then topped with the previously mentioned special-for-purchase raspberries.
The cake I used was a classic dark chocolate cake that I've used for years - it's extremely reliable, light (yet rich), fluffly (yet dense), and delicious. There are definitely a lot of smudge marks on that page! It was a last-minute frosting job - the event I was going to was further away than expected and it was a last-minute decision to attend. I'm glad I did!
As a result, as soon as I got home, the butter got softened, and away we go!
Recipe?
The short form - 3 egg whites + 1 cup sugar, whisked over simmering water until the sugar was dissolved and the mixture was warm to the touch. Stick that bad boy in a mixer and whip until good 'n ready - and then gradually integrate a cup of butter and cup of jam. Yeah - not for the dieters, for sure, but it was delicious! And easy!
It does look a little....congealed, right? But even in the Martha vid - they looked kind of gloppy. I'm wondering if the jam separates the fat a bit to make it not-as-appetizing-looking.
So apart from that horrendous first buttercream, I'm 2 for 3! Let the good luck continue!
(below left: up close shot of the cupcake, below right: tray of cupcakes)
Recently I acquired yet another cookbook which features fun and creative way to decorate cupcakes. As a cupcake aficionado myself, I was immediately inspired to make some - decorated like Shibas! What's a Shiba, you ask? Only the cutest breed of dog in the world! They are a beautiful and quirky Japanese breed of dog and my family and I have been helping take care of one for years. She's my fur baby and I thought it would be an appropriate homage to her to make cupcakes with her adorable face on each one. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out quite how I had envisioned it. The cake was great! Amazing, in fact! (Martha recipe, of course - Yellow Butter Layer Cake) But the buttercream...wow...not so much. Looks decent in the photo, right? But let me tell ya - a classic buttercream is a skill to be learned. And I was schooled. Big time. The method has three parts:
Make a syrup.
Heat and whisk eggs
Incorporate the two and a mutha load of butter.
Step 1 and 2 went well and as planned, but Step 3 - not so much! My problems were:
The syrup was waaaaay too hot. (no thanks to my TWO thermometers!)
It cooked some of the eggs (yeah, I know, eewwwwww!).
I didn't strain out the egg bits - I didn't know if straining the syrup would break the syrup or not and I didn't want to risk it.
There are teeny globs of egg in the icing.
I know! Gross, right? But you can't taste them! And I already put three bloody sticks of butter in that mess, so it's too late!
Other than the little globules of egg - they look really pretty.
End result: I didn't make little Shiba faces. I made pretty pink starbursts instead. And sprinkled them with clear sanding sugar. and they taste pretty darn good. Globules of egg and all.
