Cupcakes from the past!

Here are a few cupcakes i have made over the last few months....

Vanilla cupcake with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream, and dark chocolate shavings


Vanilla cupcake (not a great recipe- they had a texture that was too eggy!) with chocolate buttercream and a cute cherry jelly belly

Chocolate mini-cupcakes with chocolate buttercream

I have learned a lot over the last little while through trial and error, trying different recipes, and of course through the amazing resource that is the web, regarding the art of the cupcake....
1) There is a definite relationship/balance that is necessary between the cake, filling (if there is), and icing.... The cake, of course, must able to stand alone (a science!). The filling and icing must highlight or contrast the flavour of the cake. The icing must have a texture and a weight that is complementary to the weight of the cake. Any embellishments must be of an appropriate texture and taste. This is an art!
2) There really are endless flavour combinations......... I have been trying to think of every dessert that i love, and invent a cupcake-version. so many possibilities!
3) Decorating adds to the magic of the cupcake. The initial "oooh" factor adds to the whole experience!
4) There are amazing trends in the pastry world at the moment. There's so much to learn!
I'm on a roll, and i'm just getting started! And my little cakes are just getting'better :) yippee!

1st Ever Post!

Well, I have to say that i honestly never thought i'd have a blog! yikes :)
BUUUUUUUUUTTTT... my love of baking has become overwhelming! I need a place to post my projects, recipes, and photos.
So, here goes!
The picture above is from tonight's cupcake adventure, and MAN are they good!
Devil's food cake with brown sugar swiss meringue buttercream, and skor bits. yummmm
It was martha's recipe - the only thing i changed was i added another tablespoon of hot water to the cake batter at the end. Really nice and light, but a great chocolatey-ness. I'd like to try them with a really high quality cocoa - that might add to it a bit. An issue I had, was that although I tried to incorporate all the bits of the side of the mixing bowl, i missed a bit at the very bottom - so the last few cupcakes had "blow-outs" out the sides, because of the buttery-bits.
I made the buttercream from martha as well, but i used Demerara brown sugar. delicious!