The test kitchen has been transformed into a laboratory for cupcakes and macaron experiments. Jessie of Cakespy gladly sent Cuppie to oversee the mischievous macarons and prevent them from accidentally grinding one of their own in the food processor (although by the looks of it that would be quite a challenge). 

The "Hungry" Hubby is turning a blind eye to the occasional chaos in the kitchen when I get the sudden urge to play with gumpaste, food coloring and lustre dust. I realize that there are a number of shops offering cupcakes in Richmond, VA  and my mission is to set my cupcakes apart. Which might not really be the cheapest option for my customers –  but quality is never cheap. I am quite pleased with my base cake flavors but I would love to explore better ways to dress up a cupcake than the common swirl.

That's where fondant and gumpaste come in. I was quite shocked when I found out that people actually ate the fondant. The first brand of fondant I used tasted atrocious and I have since found one that at least tasted like the middle of an Oreo cookie. As for gumpaste…they are tasteless anyway so it is important to make sure the frosting and the underlying cupcake more than make up for that.

I am pleased with my buttercream trials from this post.

I had an epiphany earlier this week. It does not matter how many unique cutters or textures you have if you cannot get the color right. It all goes back to the basics of Color Theory. Have any of you ever wondered why, when you look at some wedding cakes or decorated cupcakes, an element seem to be missing? The colors, or rather the value of the colors are all wrong. Interior decorators tend to think of value rather than color at first. A value is the range of a color where it is closest to white or black. It is hard to explain right now, but if I get the chance I might write up a post about it with some illustration.

Anyway, I've been playing this week – making my own cupcake wrappers and treating gum paste like it was play-doh.

I just love Marthat Stewart Crafts and all their flower stickies! I have a template for making the wrappers and might type out a how-to about that too -this time with some cupcakes to go with it.

And I know many of you are waiting for the results of the calendar giveaway, so here it is!

37 Bonny Dixon MacIsaac said…

I absolutely love cupcakes because they are easy and quick to make. Of course the best part is eating them. A couple of bites make them the right size for a quick snack when time is running short. Ok now I am craving one…

& 

100 Melanie said…

I just think that they are instant moodboosters! Everyone that knows me knows that if Im having a bad day, they can just bring me a cupcake and it will turn it around.

Congratulations!

Oh, and why do I love cupcakes?  Because like macarons they have endless flavor and decorative combinations with built in portion control and they just bring back so much childhood nostalgia!

My thanks to Jessie for creating such a fabulous watercolor and being so easy to work with as we came up with my vision of Laboratoire de la Patisserie Petites Bouchees!

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