2013′s summer of cupcakes

Here it is. My summer pride and joy. I am thrilled that this idea worked out so well and helped me improve upon some flavor combinations that really had the possibility to shine.

Looking at all the cupcakes on the righthand side of the infographic above, you can see how I’ve grown as a decorator (and iPhone photographer). Since it’s difficult to see the difference between some of the flavor details, here they are:

Sriracha Chocolate
Original: Sriracha chocolate cake with whipped chocolate ganache and red sugar sprinkles. This cake was dry and the sriracha was hard to pick up.
Rework: Slow Burn Sallies: Chile chocolate cake, sriracha chocolate truffle filling, chocolate buttercream and red sugar pearls and sugar sprinkles. What a difference a new chocolate cake recipe makes, and the addition of the spicy truffle makes this recipe the success that it is. Sticking with a balanced and rich chocolate buttercream keeps this cupcake from being over-the-top spicy.

Orange Chocolate
Original: Chocolate cake topped with orange cream cheese frosting, dipped in chocolate and adorned with orange sprinkles. I wasn’t happy with the chocolate cake, the orange cream cheese frosting was a goopy mess, and I thought these looked like sad Halloween donuts.
Rework: Chocolate dipped orange chocolate stout cupcakes with orange curd filling and orange meringue frosting. Yet again, a better chocolate cake recipe makes a HUGE difference. Add in the tart orange curd, the fluffy orange meringue, and dip it in chocolate — you have a recipe for success.

Blackberry Vanilla
Original: Blackberry cake with vanilla frosting. Can it get any more boring?
Rework: Blackberry crumble cupcakes: Vanilla cupcake (with a hint of blackberry extract), spread with blackberry jam, coated in cinnamon cardamon streusel crumble, topped with a dollop of vanilla buttercream and finished with a fresh blackberry. These cupcakes were perhaps my most elegant in decoration, and I loved how they turned out … jammy and warm with vanilla. Definitely one of my favorites.

Raspberry Chocolate
Original: Raspberry cake with chocolate buttercream. This cupcake did not say wow. It barely made a peep.
Rework: Raspberry Chambord cake, filled with a raspberry Chambord chocolate truffle, and finished with a raspberry Chambord buttercream piped on to look like a hydrangea. Helllllllo wow factor. The cupcake exploded with raspberry flavor, yet was grounded by the truffle filling in the center.

Cinnamon Dulce de Leche
Original: Cinnamon cake filled with dulce de leche and topped with cinnamon buttercream. This was one of my first catastrophes. The cake was dry, the dulce de leche (made in the microwave) was a sticky mess, and I think the only saving grace was the buttercream.
Rework: Cinnamon cake, dulce de leche whipped cream filling, dulce de leche buttercream, dulce de leche drizzle AND cinnamon chips on top. What a mouthful … an extremely delicious mouthful. This time, I used Alton Brown’s recipe for making the dulce de leche and it was a success!

Pina Colada
Original: Pineapple coconut cake recipe (adapted from Smitten Kitchen), pineapple rum buttercream and a pineapple garnish. This is the only reworked cupcake from 2012, and according to my stats, it was the most viewed cupcake recipe for 2012. And it was a stinker. I had so many complaints about this recipe that it became a thorn in my side. I HAD to fix it.
Rework: Coconut cake, pineapple filling, rum buttercream and baked pineapple garnish. Though this cupcake was a vast success compared to the original, I still had issues with it. I rewrote the recipe to use cream of coconut (which I used before), but the recipe failed both times, filling my cupcake tins with a gooey, sticky mess (it DID smell good, however). I ditched the cream of coconut and worked exclusively with bakery emulsion and was pleased with the fragrance and flavor of the cakes. The simple pineapple filling kept things moist, and who doesn’t love a rum buttercream?

As I’ve been saying, I am so, so, SO glad I decided to do this project. It helped kickstart my motivation again, let me improve upon my recipes and create 6 cupcakes I am absolutely thrilled with. I recorded 77 votes total over the course of the 6 weeks I baked, and was glad to see my wonderful weigh in (even though they didn’t get to try a single cupcake).

Now onto my next big thing … stay tuned!