Chocolate Ganache & Christening Cupcakes

hi everyone, long time no see.

blame it on my asian genes >> clutter tendencies >> lost camera battery >> no pictures for blog! thank goodness for brothers and boyfriends who have extra cameras to borrow haha.

i recently took an order for 50 cupcakes for a baby christening. little baby zane - he's a cutie! his mom requested lemon cake with lemon buttercream & chocolate with chocolate ganache.

the lemon was pretty easy, just the magnolia vanilla recipe with 2 lemons grated into the batter and one lemon grated into the buttercream. it turned out nice and light, although next time i think it could use a little lemon exract for some punch.

chocolate ganache makes me nervous because that last time i attempted it for the 50 baby shower cupcakes, i had to throw away two batches. why? because 1) i didn't let the cupcakes cool long enough and 2) when you pour the boiled cream into the chocolate, you have to let it sit for a minute before you stir. rushing on either of these two steps will result in a chocolatey goo that won't stick to your cake - it will just drip right off.

here's the recipe for chocolate ganache. it seems intimidating, but personally i think it's alot easier to frost cupcakes with chocolate ganache then buttercream!

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 c whipping cram
4 oz chocolate

Place chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl. Bring cream just to the boil and pour over chopped chocolate. Allow to sit for 1 minute before mixing until smooth. Can be reheated as needed. If the ganache splits, looks grainy or oily, stir in milk in teaspoons to restore.

it was my first time working with fondant, and I also made some fondant cutouts, which decorated with brushstrokes & edible glitter (which you paint on with vodka!) i wish i had more time, i would have made more cutouts and angels.

Baby Shower Cupcakes

I lost the battery to my digital camera and haven't been able to take photos for weeks. So sad as I have made at least 3 batches of cupcakes since then. One of them was for a baby shower. I made little bird nests and got bored with those, so made little baby booties, rattles and safety pins with buttercream. They were displayed very well given the variation in designs (I tried to tie them altogether with the theme colors - orange & teal.)


Close up shot of the baby bird cupcake:


And I also made a diaper cake for the baby, Dylan, whose sex was still undetermined!

You can learn about how to make these cupcakes from Martha Stewart.

Buttercream Begonias

I've always been intimidated by floral cream decorations, but with the upcoming birthday brunch I was having for my dear friend G, I decided it was time to get over those fears.

Homework:
Read up on buttercream flowers in Cake Art by the Culinary Institute of America.
Watch "A Cupcake Bouquet" youtube clip from the Culinary Institute of America



For the cake, I used the Magnolia Vanilla Cupcake recipe, using soy milk instead of whole milk(because I didn't have any.) The cake was very moist and fragrant, but a bit sweet for my liking. I think next time I will cut back on the sugar.

For the frosting I used my own buttercream recipe. I made one batch dyed yellow and left one white. Here is the result of my first buttercream flowers. What I learned is that you should make sure the buttercream is chilled just a little so your flower petals don't fall flat. And practice makes perfect!

Happy Birthday GK!

Decorating Tools

Well, it's been a while since I've baked anything (two weeks!). So I'll just blog a little about a question that I get asked alot - "How do you make those perfect swirls?"

It looks difficult, but mastering the frosting swirl is actually quite simple. All you need is some practice and a pastry bag or pastry gun. A pastry gun is a better tool when you are making the big cupcake swirls, but a pastry bag offers more control for detailed decorating. The pastry gun that I have is from Williams-Sonoma. I actually recommend researching other brands, because this one was kind of pricey, and also has a problem where the frosting gets lodged in the plastic.

There is a Wilton one at Bed Bath and Beyond, but you can also try Sur La Table. Happy decorating!

Christmas Ornament Cupcakes

Cupcakes from another Christmas order. The client requested cupcakes to look like Christmas tree ornaments. I used candies and butter cream frosting. It took some time to come up with different designs for each cupcake and the execution - lots of colored sugars and food dyes!

Chocolate Christmas Cupcakes

Happy Holidays everyone!

I took some orders over the holidays for Christmas cupcakes. My friends were ordering as gifts for their boyfriend's families. Isn't that sweet?

These were classic chocolate cupcakes with double chocolate frosting. I hand decorated them with butter cream. it was hard work not to shake while squeezing out these little penguins and snowmen!