Test Kitchen: More Cupcakes!
I’m getting closer and closer to finishing all of my testing. Looking at my list now, I only have about six or seven left to test (there are some in the oven now and some baked yesterday that aren’t included here, so more to come tomorrow!) These cupcakes don’t really have that much in common with one another, but they’ve gotten some good reviews!
The Pina Colada
(Coconut Cake. Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting. Sweet Coconut Topping.)
(Coconut Cake. Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting. Sweet Coconut Topping.)
The Good: Ridiculously good coconut cake. I didn’t even think I liked coconut cake- I was very wrong. Fun pineapple frosting- a little break from the usual coconut cake.The Bad: The batter was a little odd, a little thin, and rose funny. Frosting was a little thin because of the extra pineapple juice, but I wanted stronger flavor.
The Verdict: Play with the batter a bit, thicken the icing. Otherwise- amazing flavor.
The Little Black Dress
(Chocolate Cake. Chocolate Frosting.)
The Good: Great match- frosting isn’t too overpowering.
The Bad: Couldn’t decide which way I liked the icing.. inner twist or outer twist?
The Verdict: Great classic recipe.
The Lemon Meringue Pie
(Lemon Cake. Lemon Curd. Toasted Meringue Topping.)
The Good: Great look – really makes you want to eat it! Delicious lemon curd.The Bad: Strong lemon flavor, but that didn’t seem to bother my tasters!
The Verdict: A good alternative to sweeter, heavier options.
The Buckeye
(Chocolate Cake. Peanut Butter Frosting. Mini Buckeye.)
The Good: I’m obsessed with this pairing, I love it. The mini buckeye just adds to the awesomeness.The Bad: I altered the PB frosting a bit, I think I might go back to the older version since this one didn’t stand up in room temperature like the other one.
The Verdict: Fantastic.
The Caffeine Addict
(Chocolate Mocha Cake. Coffee Buttercream. Chocolate Expresso Bean.)
The Good: This one was very popular with my testers. One of Nick’s friends said that it “reordered his Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.” (That’s a pretty great compliment from a physicist.)The Bad: Ugly presentation. I was messing around with new pastry bags and tips, and I didn’t want to waste an extra bag on this one.. sort of silly in hindsight. I’ll pipe the frosting next time.
The Verdict: A few adjustments visually, but otherwise, great.
The Sweet Strawberry
(Strawberry Cake. Strawberry Frosting.)
The Good: Tastes like a strawberry, has fresh strawberry puree in the batter.The Bad: The cake looked horrible and gray from cooking the puree.
The Verdict: I need to add food coloring to the cake and add fresh puree to the frosting.
The Lush Lemon
(Lemon Cake. Lemon Buttercream.)
The Good: A strong, sweet lemon flavor.The Bad: The lemon is a little too strong for me, but everyone else seemed to like it.
The Verdict: Still deciding which lemon cupcake I want to carry regularly.
So what do you think? Have I been improving? Which cupcakes look most inticing?
jesus christmas natty i cannot wait to try these!!!
The Lemon Meringue Pie is so pretty! That’s definitely my favorite, and looks different than anything else I have seen.
Hi! I’ve been reading your blog for a little while, but never commented before. I just wanted to say, all the cupcakes look so yummy! Regarding the black dress cupcake, the cupcake on the right looks nicer. The way you did the frosting reminds me of a rose, and it makes the presentation really nice!
OMG, they are looking awesome. I am a huge fan of lemon meringue 🙂 I wish I could find where to buy those paper cups (that are in the picture) in my country the best thing you can find – are only muffins paper bags 🙁
The lemon meringue is perfect! Definitely a show-stopper.
I’d probably eat far too many of the peanut butter ones. Peanut butter and chocolate is dangerous.