Trial and Error

Since my first blog last week, I've been busy testing recipes and perfecting my flavors.  It is important to me that I present delectable and irresistible cupcakes so that clients come back for more and tell their friends.  So far, I have been testing some classics - red velvet, devil's food, and carrot.  I also tested an almond cupcake.

Red velvet is a classic and adored by many. But I've seen red velvets that are too chocolaty and I don't agree with that. Yes, red velvet contains cocoa but only a hint of it. I think a red velvet should primarily have a tangy flavor, thanks to the buttermilk, and the cocoa flavor should be second to that. Cream Cheese frosting is a must for this. To top it off, I think this cupcake needs a touch of crunchy texture and for that crushed pecans will adorn the top of the mound of frosting.

Devil's food - I've tested recipes containing only cocoa, only melted chocolate, and both.  Surprisingly, the pure dutch processed cocoa recipe produced the best results for me.  I dissolved the cocoa in hot strong coffee and then let that come to room temperature before whisking into the wet ingredients.  The cake was moist and chewy and took me back to childhood - reminiscent of those sweet hostess cupcakes we loved to devour one after the other. I also used buttermilk in this recipe and that really brought it to life.  Before baking these goodies, I split the batter in half and added about 1/3 cup Nutella to the batter and mixed it in. This baked up with a brownie-like top. It was yummy but looked flaky and not too attractive.  I'll have to work on this or perhaps just inject the Nutella after the cupcake has baked.  I made a simple buttercream frosting for this using butter, powdered sugar, and cocoa - not happy with this at all - no matter how much I whipped, the frosting had a grainy texture.  I need to go back to this and work on it.  I think I will try melted chocolate version or perhaps cocoa/coffee combo since that worked so well in the cupcake.  More to test on this...

Carrot cupcakes, made with shredded carrots and all spice - I loved these flavors together and my co-workers, that I bring all my leftovers to, found is equally as delicious.  Moist and fluffy, packed full of carrots, but not overwhelmingly sweet.  Very pleased with this.  This too will be topped with a cream cheese frosting (maybe cinnamon flavored) and will most likely present it with crushed walnuts on top or perhaps add it to the batter before baking.

I made an almond cupcake last weekend and quickly learned my lesson that trying to manipulate a recipe doesn't always go as planned.  One recipe I tested called for whipping 4 egg whites into soft peaks and incorporating it into the batter. I figured I'll substitute the 4 whites with 2 whole eggs instead - in an attempt to make a richer flavored cupcake.  I baked off the entire batch and ended up with very dense cupcakes that within a few hours hardened up and dried up a little too much for my liking.  I realized as soon as I changed the recipe that the batter looked very thick and in hindsight I should have baked one cupcake as a test and then adjusted accordingly - perhaps thinning out the batter with some milk or cream.  I also made a salty caramel from scratch to fill these cupcakes and as a topper for the frosting.  It was to die for and I used the rest on my ice cream dessert.  Surprisingly the cupcakes were a hit at my office the next day despite my insistence that I was truly disappointed in the cake and thought they were tough as bricks - but everyone gobbled them up and some had seconds.  Regardless, I'm going to try this recipe again and strive for perfection.

Testing recipes is a fun and yummy but tedious process. I want to be confident in my product and want to be sure I am offering the best quality cupcakes I can possibly dream of.  More testing to go!And I need to start taking photos of my tests and work - we eat with our eyes first!

Thanks for reading!  Your posts are always welcome!