Cup Cake Domes and Tree

http://www.giverslog.com/?p=7787

MAY 18, 2010

DIY Cupcake Dome & Cupcake Tree

Here in my little town we have some amazing places to pick up dessert. We have a country roadside stop for soft-serve cones, we have this incredible European-style pastry shop, and finally, we have a cupcake bakery that sells the best cupcakes I have ever tasted. Yumm. Just thinking about it makes me want cupcakes for breakfast.
Incase you can’t tell, I’m a sucker for a pretty dessert. Especially a pretty cupcake. And though I love eating them, I also like giving them away. So a few months ago, I came up with a fun way to present a single cupcake, enthroned in all its sprinkled glory. It started when we realized these make the perfect dome over a cupcake.
I ordered a set of these deli containers, and flipped them upside down.

I pulled out the drill and made a single hole in the center on top.

Then I added a favorite drawer pull that I picked up, where else?, from Anthropologie. (Note: the knobs at Anthropologie are always long, so if you get one from there, you’ll need to either cut it down or replace it with a shorter screw. Some unscrew easier than others, so check before you buy.)
We discovered that a liner beneath the cupcake is the perfect place for a secret message. If you have a particularly buttery cupcake (the best kind) and are worried about grease spoiling your message, use a layer of glassine.
All that’s left to do is snap on the dome. And there you have it, a pretty cupcake, packaged and ready to send home with a guest or birthday girl, even with a handle for easy carrying. After finishing this project I decided that the next time we have a tea party over here,

we are definitely having a cupcake tree.

St. Paricts Day Printables

http://www.livinglocurto.com/2011/03/rainbow-free-printables/

Cup Cakes

http://networkedblogs.com/f5UhY

Cup Cake Truffles

http://widget.linkwithin.com/redirect?url=http://www.pizzazzerie.com/parties/holidays/how-to-make-cupcake-truffles/&vars=[%22http://pizzazzerie.com/parties/make-it-vintage/%22,%20370091,%200,%20%22http://pizzazzerie.com/parties/make-it-vintage/%22,%20null,%204,%2057846801]&ts=1299321969735

Popcorn Cupcakes

I am soooo defiantly going to make these for our next sleepover!

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/popcorn-cupcakes-686323/?CMP=NLC-NL_FFUN_Wkdr_021611_popcorn-cupcakes

sundae cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from Hershey’s
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water

Method
Heat oven to 350°F. Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper baking cups.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Using the cone method, fill cupcakes with chocolate ganache (recipe follows).  Frost with buttercream (recipe follows) using a round piping tip, then spoon chocolate ganache glaze (recipe follows) on top of buttercream.  Put sprinkles on as soon as you finish putting the ganache on each cupcake, just in case the ganache hardens too much for the sprinkles to stick.  Push a maraschino cherry into the top of each mound of frosting (the ones with stems make a better presentation!).

Chocolate Ganache Filling
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes enough to fill 12 cupcakes (with a little leftover)

Ingredients
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature

Method
Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and stir until combined.

I put the ganache in the refrigerator to firm it up just a little teeny bit, about 15-20 minutes I think it was.  It was still pourable, but it wasn’t dripping everywhere, either.

Vanilla Buttercream
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method
Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Reduce speed to medium. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition, about 5 minutes. (After every 2 additions, increase speed to high, and beat for 10 seconds, then reduce speed to medium-high). Add vanilla, and beat until buttercream is smooth.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes enough to top 12 cupcakes (with a little leftover)

Ingredients
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup

Method
Place chocolate in a medium-size heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.

Gently stir chocolate and cream until totally combined; begin near the center of the bowl and gradually work your way toward the edge, pulling in as much chocolate as possible, until the mixture is smooth and glossy.