I heart reader email!
From: Julie
Date: Wed, Jan 20, 2010 at 7:00 AM
To: thegirlkyle@gmail.com
Subject: cupcake question for you!hey Kyle!
I know how much you love baking up the world’s most perfect sweet treat - cupcakes - so I was hoping you could help me out. I love too cook, but I’m not much of a baker. Typically, I just go for a box of Betty Crocker and a jar of pre-made frosting. However, I’m hosting a baby shower in February and have been tasked with making the cupcakes, so I’d like to up my game a bit. Do you have any suggestions for an easy, but cute (in terms of decorating the cupcakes), cupcake recipe. The shower is for a baby boy if that will help. Any ideas you have would be much appreciated, otherwise I fear my guests will be eating Betty Crocker cupcakes with blue food coloring. eek!
Thanks doll!
xo,
Julie (thecooknook)
From: Me {thegirlkyle@gmail.com}
Date:Wed, Jan 20, 2010 at 9:24 AM
To: Julie {thecooknook}
Subject: Re: cupcake question for you!Hi Julie!
I am so honored you would ask me! I have about 5 varied recipes that I could recommend with the highest confidence, but I’d narrow it down to 3 for the easy factor.
1) banana cupcakes: which you can doctor it up a bit with some cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Add nuts if you’d like. I like to frost with cream cheese and drizzle it with caramel sauce, which may sound more complicated than it is. If you were feeling wild you could stick a chewy caramel into the center of the batter of the individual cups.
2) chocolate cupcakes: I have a fairly simple recipe that doesn’t involve melting chocolate or a double broiler or any of that nonsense. It uses cocoa powder which I’ve subbed with mocha hot chocolate for a slighty coffee flavor or you could do mint chocolate with mint extract or Andes chips (which is usually in the baking section of your regular grocery store).
3) pink lemonade: this is the simplest recipe and my dad’s favorite. It’s probably a little more summery than you were thinking, but it’s worth mentioning purely for it’s simplicity. If it were a girls shower I’d say it was a must since it has a faint pink hue.
I hope that’s not too overwhelming. I thought I’d give you more options to sift through and then I can help you better.
As for frosting techniques - are you looking to use a piping bag? Or make do with a knife? If you have a Michael’s locally they usually have a pretty extensive cake decorating section. Cupcake wrappers, premade fondant, sprinkles etc.
Hope this helps move you in a positive direction. Away from the boxed mix! I can give you recipes for whatever you decide. Send me any further questions.
Xo,
Kyle