Beautiful Food

It’s Super Bowl Sunday!  What better way to celebrate a football game than with a special treat along side the wings, dips, drinks, and other yummy goodies that go well with the game of all games.  Who are you rooting for?  No matter which team you choose, I have the colors in the cupcakes to match either side.  Blue for the Carolina Panthers, and Orange for the Denver Broncos.  Yahoo!

This recipe isn’t completely made from scratch (cheater alert!), BUT it is a simple twist on a box recipe that anyone in a hurry can use to make yummy, moist cupcakes.   Anyone who eats them will appreciate the delicious flavor as well!

In fact, you can hack any cake box recipe to your liking by altering the liquids and proteins you add to the mix.  There are whole books out there on how to up your game with cake mixes.  I suggest you experiment and try new things as cake mixes are cheap!

The buttercream frosting however, IS homemade, and my very favorite.  The blue frosting however, was pre-packaged and used only for its color to match the super bowl team colors!  Apologies in advance– BUT if you do happen to have food coloring at home, go nuts with it.  The more drops you add, the darker/bolder the outcome of your colors.

Onward!

*Note:  You can make the cake according to the directions on the box too–but what I did was substitute milk (coconut milk specifically) for some of the water, and 1/2 of the oil for applesauce.  There are endless options trust me!

Cake Ingredients: 

1 package of EXTRA MOIST confetti deluxe cake mix

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup milk of choice (coconut milk)

4 egg whites

2 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 1/2 Tablespoons applesauce

Buttercream Frosting: 

• ½ cup of room temperature, unsalted butter

• ½ cup shortening

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2 tablespoons milk

 

*Sprinkles optional!

Directions for cake: 

Preheat oven to 350º F.

*Note- Separate egg whites into separate small bowl as to make sure yolks do not enter the batter mix.

In a large bowl, combine the egg whites, water, milk, and oil.  Using an electric mixer, blend on low until just combined.  Add the cake mix a little at a time and blend on low for 2 minutes or so.  Pour the batter into prepared cupcake pan.

Bake for 18-22 minutes.  Insert toothpick to assess doneness.  Toothpick should come out clean.  Do NOT try to touch the tops to check for bounce back.

Cool pan on a wire cooling rack for at least 30 minutes.  You can speed up the process by putting them in the refrigerator as well (at least 15 minutes).  They must be completely cooled if you wish to have frosting success!

While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting.

Directions for buttercream frosting:

Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and shortening until smooth.  Add vanilla.  Continue mixing.  Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and continue on low setting for about a minute.  Add additional teaspoons of milk as needed.   Fill into a pastry bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  I found this helps to let the frosting set up as the butter can melt if your house is too warm, or if it’s prepared too near the hot oven.  If this happens you can also add more powdered sugar!

After cakes have COMPLETELY cooled, (I mean they should be cold to the touch) proceed with frosting the cupcakes.  If you have a pastry bag complete with a tip set, go nuts.  I admit I need more practice in this area.  If not, you can use a flat spatula or butter knife to gently spread the frosting across the tops of the cupcakes.

If you’re curious, I used a star tip for my frosting.  You can find it at virtually any grocery store in the baking section, or a craft store, like Michael’s!

It looks like this: 

I am not sure how to offer tips on how to frost cupcakes perfectly yet, as I am still working on it myself.  BUT I found some AWESOME videos on youtube that you may want to check out HERE, HERE, and HERE.

In the mean time, kick back.  Relax.  Enjoy your cupcakes after dinner.  Or during the game.  With a beer.  Or for breakfast tomorrow!  Er, maybe not.  But whenever you do decide to make these colorful and fun confections, I hope you enjoy every last crumb!

Happy baking,

-K