Tested Recipe: Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Difficulty: intermediate
Satisfaction: AAAAAMAZING! 
I always love to share a little something sweet with others on my birthday, and this year was no exception! My fiance's brother and girlfriend gave me the Martha Stewart Cupcakes book for Christmas and as you can see, I have become obsessed with recipe testing her latest and greatest cupcake recipes. I deviated this year from my usual chocolate cake tradition for something a little different and these totally satisfied my craving for moist, rich cake and frosting. All I have to say is DELISH! As I write this evening, I am simultaneously stuffing my face with one of the remaining cupcakes, so let's get to it!

Recipe yields 28 standard cupcakes

Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 c. cake flour
  
• 1 tsp. baking powder
  
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon, plus 1/2 teaspoon for dusting*
• 1 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 c. sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting*
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp.  pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
   
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.
   
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
   
4. To finish, combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 2 tablespoons sugar. Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip (Ateco No. 809 or Wilton No. 1A)*, pipe frosting on each cupcake: Hold bag over cupcake with tip just above top, and squeeze to create a dome of frosting, then release pressure and pull up to form a peak. Using a small, fine sieve, dust peaks with cinnamon-sugar. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are frosted; keep at room temperature until ready to serve.* 
   

7 minute frosting (or 10-12 min):
Unfortunately the 7 minute frosting recipe that is listed with these cupcakes did not turn out to well, in fact it never actually made frosting. So here is my favorite 7 minute frosting recipe that is easy and requires minimal ingredients.

• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 t. light corn syrup
• 1/4 t. cream of tartar*
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1. Combine egg whites, sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar, and 5 tbsp. of cool water in a heat proof bowl set over the top of a pan of boiling water.
2. Using handheld mixer, beat on low 4 mins. Beat on high 3 mins until soft peaks form. Remove from heat, add vanilla and beat for additional 3-5 mins...therefore 10-12 min frosting. Decorate cupcakes immediately.

 

 

 

 

Notes:
-Once again...I always use Butter-Vanilla Lorann Bakery Emulsion in place of your standard vanilla extract.
-For those who don't know, you can find cream of tartar in your spice section of the grocery store, it is a white powder.
-I frequent my local cake store (West Los Angeles): New York Cake West any time I want something new to make my baking pretty. They have a wonderful store with so much to keep you busy with, this is where I got my yellow cupcake holders and gold disco dust-they have EVERY color. However if you don't have access to a local cake supply store, check out this site: Bake it Pretty to order anything you could possible need from cupcake liners to packaging material, this site is AWESOME!
-Instead of using the sugar cinnamon dusting on the frosting, I chose to use some gold disco dust to spice it up a little, I mean after all, these are birthday cupcakes!
-If you are new to decorating and baking here are links to Ateco No. 809 or Wilton No. 1A decorating tips. You can find similar decorating tips on Bake it Pretty as well as pastry bags.

I will be suprised if you can have just one of these! Happy baking...happier eating!