WE'VE MOVED

Hello!

Thank you for the amazing 8 years here at A Baked Creation, we can't thank you enough for the memories! But we've decided to move over to a new site - Sincerely, Syl. Please join us there for future posts on all the things you loved here!

Sincerely,
Syl

Sunday, March 10, 2013

One Million

Hello friends! Something special happened this weekend . . . our all time history count tells us that we've reached over one million views! It's a little unbelievable, but hopefully the stat isn't tricking us, because we we want to thank you.

Thank you for visiting our blog. Thank you for commenting on our posts. Thank you for following us on facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest, and all of the other neat platforms. Thanks for sticking around and reading about our food adventures and kitchen stories. We wish we could give each and every one of you a bouquet of cupcakes. Since no one has invented a cupcake-teleportation device, we hope that you'll accept this for now:

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
(Makes about 22 cupcakes)

2 large eggs
3/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup of warm water
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of salt
  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F) and line your tray with cupcake liners.
  2. In your bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, warm water, and vegetable oil together.
  3. Sift in the cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the mixture. Mix until incorporated (don't over mix).
  4. Using an ice cream scoop, evenly distribute the batter into the cupcake liners.
  5. Bake for about 20-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cook before frosting.
You can use your favourite buttercream or frosting recipe. Make sure the consistency is firm enough to hold the shape of the flowers.

Vanilla Buttercream

1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups of icing sugar
1/4 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
Gel colour dyes
  1. Using a stand mixer, put the butter into the bowl and cream until smooth. Add in the icing sugar in three batches. Slowly start the mixer as you don't want the icing sugar to fly out! When it is all incorporated, add the vanilla extract.
  2. You will need to use your own judgement here, add the milk a tablespoon at a time and check the consistency of the buttercream. It should not be so stiff that your spatula can stand upright if you stuck it in the middle of the ball of buttercream. It shouldn't be so soft that it won't hold it's shape after piping.
  3. Add the gel colour you prefer and scoop the buttercream into your piping bag. Fit it with a large petal decorating tip (we used Wilton 127).
Holding both the cupcake and your piping bag, with the wider end of the tip on the bottom, rotate the cupcake as you pipe a small volcano. There should be a small opening on the top and a wide base at the bottom.

Then, pipe three petals around the middle, notice that these are not full petals. They don't go all the way around. Try surrounding the middle tip in three overlapping parts.

Continue and slightly angle your piping tip so that the petals eventually lay flat on the edge of the cupcake.

Even if the buttercream ruffles, tips over, or doesn't fold exactly where you want it to, it'll still look beautiful!

Try a different colour! It is almost spring!

We can't say it enough. Thank you!

Now let's eat cake!

18 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! Absolutely stunning and a HUGE congratulations to both of you for this amazing milestone!

    I don't know if I'll ever be able to pipe like this, but it's definitely a goal I'll set for myself. I foresee lots of cupcakes and funny looking flowers in my future! LOL

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    1. Thanks Stephanie!

      You can do it, this was our first time piping flowers onto a cupcake! Even if it doesn't turn out like you think it will in your head, it has a nice "shabby chic" look to it.

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  2. Congratulations on your one million views! Your cupcakes look gorgeous!

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  3. Congratulations to you both! Your cupcakes inspire me to take up my paper flowers crafting again!

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    1. Thanks Annie! Yes, make paper flowers for spring!

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  4. sooo pretty! and CONGRATS!!! that is awesome!! ^__^

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  5. one million?!! that's awesome, congrats! oh... and we love this one-bowl chocolate cupcakes. it's one of our fave cupcakes. so easy to make. your rose/flower piping looks fabulous. wish i had those kind of piping skills. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Mai! You do have awesome piping skills, and you're inspiring me to get off my butt to work out!

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  6. hi! I have justdiscovered your website but congratulations!
    also these cupcakes look great- after I hav frosted them do they need to be refrigerated? please answer as soon as possible- I am hoping to bake them for a bake sale at my school on Tuesday :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Laura,

      Thank you!

      Depends what the temperature in your kitchen is. If you're in a cool climate like we are in Toronto, then leaving them out overnight is okay. If you're in a warmer spot, I would put them in a bakery box and in the fridge.

      Cheers,
      Sylvia

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  7. Hi again and thank you!! Also sorry to ask so many questions, but when making the cupcake batter should I hand mix with a wooden spoon or use an electric beater or a stand mixer? thank you again!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Laura,

      No worries! I don't mind questions at all. I used a stand mixer, but a rubber spatula would also work. The electric beater might add too much air into the batter.

      Cheers,
      Sylvia

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