Cupcake Icing - Recipes

Last night was the Ladies Christmas Party at Avalon Hills, and I was lucky to be in on some of the planning! I had a (hopefully) fun idea to have a cupcake "bar", where you decorate your own cupcake, a la Cake Boss, or DC Cupcakes...or something like that. Who doesn't love a cake...the size of a cup...with tons of icing...and a garnish? I figured everyone is probably like me, watching these shows on tv and drooling every week! It seemed to be quite the hit, so, at the unending request of the public here are the recipes I used for this event. Enjoy!

CUPCAKE RECIPE
I had grand and yummy ideas of all the cake flavours I would like to make for the event, but taking into consideration my real world, and not the fantasy one in my head where I bake and craft all day...I had to think about my busy schedule, time constraints, and volume of production (100+ cupcakes needed), and decided to go the easy route. DUNCAN HINES baby. This is my very favourite brand, because of moist-ness, texture, and flavour. The secret to a cupakes is not to overbake them. I made Duncan Hines Devil's Food and D.H. French Vanilla as per the instructions on the box. I am very familiar with my oven, so I knew that 17 mins was the perfect amount of time to cook them without overdoing it. They were very very moist and yummy!

ICING RECIPES
Since the cupcakes were pretty "plain" I had to make the icings fun and yummy to give it all some interest! The suggested combos were: Chocolate & Oreo, Vanilla & Cookies, Coffee & Chocolate, Peppermint, Lemon & Strawberry and Blackberry

A pre-made example of the cupcake combos! People could mix it up as they wished though:-)

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM - garnish with Mini Nilla Wafer (or big ones, cut in half)
1/2 C butter, softened to room temp
1 t vanilla extract
4 C icing sugar (confectioners sugar or powdered sugar, to the Americans who are currently scratching their heads:-)
3 T milk (I used whole milk)

Beat together. Makes enough to ice a small layer cake, or cover about 18 cupcakes.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM - garnish with Mini Oreos
1/2 C butter, softened to room temp
1 t vanilla extract
4 C icing sugar
3 T milk
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

Beat together. Makes enough to ice a small layer cake, or cover about 18 cupcakes. This one can get a little thick, especially if not used right away. Can thin it down with a touch more milk.
********
Now I'm about to go all Rachael Ray on you, and give you un-precise recipes, using terms like "a splash" and "a zhuzh". I didn't really measure, I just did it, and it turned out...

COFFEE BUTTERCREAM - garnish with snack size Hershey bar square or a chocolate covered espresso bean
1/2 C butter, softened to room temp
4 C icing sugar
dissolve 1 t of instant coffee in 2 t of boiling water
about 2 1/2 T of milk (take away just a little b/c of the liquid coffee)
....I may or may not have added 1 t of vanilla too. I can't remember. Make it as above, and if you think it's missing something, add vanilla:-)

Beat together. Makes enough to ice a small layer cake, or cover about 18 cupcakes

LEMON BUTTERCREAM - garnish with fresh strawberry
1/2C butter, softened to room temp
1 t vanilla extract
4 C icing sugar
2 T lemon juice
zest from 1 lemon
Add enough milk to make it look "right", should be less than 1T.
Beat together. Makes enough to ice a small layer cake, or cover about 18 cupcakes.

PEPPERMINT BUTTERCREAM - garnish with a peppermint "round" or a tiny candy cane
1/2 C butter, softened to room temp
4 C icing sugar
3 T milk
1/2 t - 1 t of peppermint extract
crush peppermints or candy canes into very very small pieces

I added about 3/4t of peppermint, I think. You can always add more, but can't take it away, so start with 1/2t, then taste it and add more as needed. Beat together. Makes enough to ice a small layer cake, or cover about 18 cupcakes


BLACKBERRY BUTTERCREAM - garnish with fresh blackberry
1/2 C butter, softened to room temp
3+ C icing sugar
3 T milk
splash of lemon juice
1 or 2 spoonfuls of seedless blackberry preserves

Cut down a little on the icing sugar, as the blackberry preserves are also very sweet, you will need 3C, and maybe another 1/2 cup of icing sugar. Add preserves a little at a time, you can always add more, but can't get it back out! A small splash of lemon juice helps keep the sweetness in check from the sugar and the berries, and so cut back your milk accordingly (adding less than 3T, to coincide with the amount of lemon juice added)

To apply the icing in a fancy way, use icing tips!! (The large sized ones). I have Wiltons, 1M (x2), 2A, 2D, and Astor brand equivalents to 2A & 2D, which are slightly larger. Put these in the bottom of a disposable icing bag, snip the tip off, put all your icing in the bag, twist and hold the top of the bag while squeezing it midway down. It takes only a little practice and muscles to get it perfect every time!