Cupcake courtship
Over the last several years, weddings seem to have gotten bigger. Bigger guest lists, bigger expectations and bigger budgets.
But there’s one wedding trend that’s on the small side: More and more couples are opting to serve cupcakes instead of traditional multitiered wedding cakes.
Spokane area bakers say cupcakes are a way to add whimsy to a wedding and make the event feel more casual. Cupcakes also are less likely to melt in hot weather and can save brides and grooms money.
“Cupcakes can be cute, fun, festive and a little more cost effective,” says Eva Roberts, of Spokane Valley-based Just American Desserts.
Many couples are looking for ways to make their weddings memorable, and serving an unforgettable dessert is one way to achieve that.
Roberts says clients often come to her with photos of elaborate cakes they’ve bookmarked in books by wedding gurus Martha Stewart or Colin Cowie, hoping she can recreate them in her bakery.
“I tell them, ‘Sure, I can make them, but those are $3,000 or $4,000 cakes,’ ” Roberts says. “Not many people in Spokane have a budget for that kind of cake. It can be disheartening for brides.”
At Just American Desserts, cupcakes are a less expensive alternative. They cost $1.75 to $2.50 each, compared with $3.95 per slice for the bakery’s typical wedding cakes.
The design ideas for cupcakes are endless. Roberts has topped them with daisies made out of fondant, chocolate squares with the newlyweds’ monogram piped onto them and fresh flowers. She says the most popular wedding color combinations this summer are brown with pink or brown with sage green.
At Stefanie’s Isn’t it Sweet, in Northwest Spokane, bakers often adorn wedding cupcakes with fondant swirls, geometric shapes or flowers. They’ve also created animal prints, such as tiger stripes, for wedding cupcakes.
“Cupcake brides are usually more casual, and they’re willing to think outside the box,” says owner Stefanie Gruenig. “People are going way creative.”
She has noticed something different about cupcake-wedding guests, as well.
“They eat more cupcakes than they eat (slices of) the traditional cakes,” Gruenig says. “I think people feel more comfortable having a second cupcake than a second slice of cake.”
If cupcakes or cake made by specialty bakeries are out of a bride’s budget, About.com’s wedding site suggests couples buy ready-made grocery store cupcakes and adorn them with personal touches or bake them themselves. For most amateur bakers, making cupcakes – even a couple hundred of them – is usually less challenging than assembling and decorating a traditional three-foot-tall cake.
One way to dress up a cupcake is to, well, dress it up. Paper Orchid Stationery (www.paperorchid stationery.com) sells delicate, laser-cut paper wrappers in a variety of motifs that fit around cupcakes like snug little shawls.
Just as local bakeries do, do-it-yourself brides and grooms can top cupcakes with edible flowers such as chrysanthemums, mint, rose petals, pansies and dandelions. In the cookbook “Crazy About Cupcakes,” author Krystina Castella gives instructions for crystallizing flowers with sugar: lightly brush the top and underside of each flower with egg white, sprinkle them with superfine sugar, then place the flowers on parchment or wax paper until they set, about an hour.
For (somewhat) traditionalists, Plum Party ( www.plumparty.com) offers miniature cake toppers for cupcakes, including a tiny version of the bride-and-groom sets typically seen on traditional cakes.
In Spokane, stores such as Carolyn’s Cake Decorating Supply, on Spokane’s near North Side, and Michaels craft stores, in North Spokane and Spokane Valley, also sell cake and cupcake decorations.
Many stores also sell stands that hold a dozen or so cupcakes, which can be used as table centerpieces in place of flowers, About.com suggests.
To mimic the bold shape of a large traditional cake, though, a custom cupcake stand might need to be built.
Roberts, of Just American Desserts, created such a stand out of corrugated cardboard six years ago when she saw the buzz about cupcakes at baking conferences and in industry magazines. The trend was huge in cities like New York, but it took its time reaching the Lilac City.
“It’s probably time to pull it out (of storage) now,” she says of the cupcake stand.
Roberts adds that she’s glad Spokane takes its time before jumping on national bandwagons.
“It gives me a heads up to be prepared,” she says.
Deluxe Vanilla Cupcakes
Courtesy of Just American Desserts
2 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dairy sour cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Sift and measure the flour, then sift again with the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until fluffy and light in color.
Add the dry ingredients in three portions, alternating with the sour cream.
When all the ingredients have been added, beat on medium speed for one minute. Fill the muffin tins with batter, one-half to two-thirds full. (An ice cream scoop works well for portioning and ease of filling.)
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Yield: 20 to 24 cupcakes
Approximate nutrition per cupcake: 166 calories, 8 grams fat (4.5 grams saturated, 41 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 23 grams carbohydrate, 39 milligrams cholesterol.
Champagne Cupcakes and Champagne Buttercream Icing
From “Crazy About Cupcakes”
For the cupcakes:
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup champagne
6 large egg whites, room temperature
For the icing:
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons champagne
4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
For the cupcakes, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Blend the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with the champagne.
In a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold one-third of the whites into the batter until blended, then fold in the remaining whites until well blended.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full with batter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Cool the cupcakes in the pan.
To make the icing, beat the shortening and butter in a large bowl until combined.
Add the champagne.
Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth.
If necessary, add additional champagne to achieve desired spreading consistency.
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Approximate nutrition per serving: 337 calories, 17 grams fat (8 grams saturated, 46 percent fat calories), 2.5 grams protein, 42 grams carbohydrate, 29 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 225 milligrams sodium.
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting
From Cupcakeblog.com
For the cupcakes:
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup powdered cocoa
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
For the frosting:
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut, flaked
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
To make the cupcakes, beat the butter until softened. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each addition.
Measure the flour, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and espresso powder into a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the milk and vanilla into a measuring cup.
Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture, and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and vanilla mixture to it, and beat to combine.
Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
Scoop the batter into cupcake cups until they’re about three-quarters full.
Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
For the frosting, beat the butter briefly, scraping the sides of the bowl.
Add the powdered sugar and milk, beating until smooth.
Add the coconut and mix until combined.
To assemble the cupcakes, top the cupcakes with the buttercream frosting then sprinkle with the coconut flakes.
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Approximate nutrition per serving: 229 calories, 9 grams fat (6 grams saturated, 34 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 36 grams carbohydrate, 43 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 154 milligrams sodium.