Cupcakes are a classic, sweet delight which many have come to know and love. Within the book "What's New, Cupcake?" by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, these treats have been taken to a whole new creative and tactical level which I've set out to achieve this quarter.
To begin this journey, I've set my sights on these adorable confections called "Frosty Mugs".
Ingredients Include:
- Chocolate cupcakes baked in silver foil liners.
- White decorating sugar.
- Thin (chocolate) cookies.
- Orange candy slices.
- Vanilla frosting.
- Green food coloring.
- Chocolate chips.
- Mini chocolate chips.
- Small red candies.
After baking the cupcakes, the snowmen were decorated with: a snowy complexion using course sprinkles over frosting, a face by the help of chocolate chips, a faux carrot nose using orange candy slices, and a chocolate-cookie hat with a sprig of holly (Tack and Richardson 200).
This may sound simple, however, in order to create a neat finished product, there were tedious steps involved in decorating the cakes. For example, in coating the cupcakes you are to, "Place the material in a shallow bowl large enough to accommodate the cupcake. [Then] hold the bowl at an angle and lightly press the frosting.... into the coating material to coat and shape the entire surface" (Tack and Richardson 17). Though the intricate detail the authors put forth in their text may seem like "too much", I found myself being thankful for this: it leaves less room for error. After following this step, I guess you could say I had clean and perfectly coated cupcakes.
These guys may not have ended up perfect, but I'm pretty happy with them.
In the introduction of this book, the authors reminisce on a turning point within their culinary career. They ended their tale of recreating van Gogh's "Starry Night" on a canvas of cupcakes with their peers reaction to their masterpiece; "they said we were as looney as van Gogh himself" (1). This made myself wonder; how did this duo push beyond what others think in order to express themselves to the fullest whilst doing what they love?
So I ask you: what makes you push past what others think to fulfill your ambition?
Tack, Karen and Alan Richardson. What's New, Cupcake?. New York, New York. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Boston 2010.
Hey, Janelle! Those look pretty good! Whenever I feel like I'm in between a rock and a hard place, it always helps to take a step back and look at the situation from a different perspective. Hopefully that helps you next time! I can't wait to see what you create next! Good luck with your future cupcake endeavors!
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