Delicious and fun: The Pink Lemonade cupcake (left) and The Slash (right).
Win it! We're giving away three copies of Who You Callin' Cupcake?
Michelle and Vinny Garcia of Bleeding Heart Bakery and Smash Cake declare cupcake anarchy with their new recipe book—and we're giving it away to three lucky readers!
By Venus Zine Staff
Published: September 20th, 2010 | 4:05pm
Michelle and Vinny Garcia own The Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago. It's what they call a "local, sustainable, punk rock pastry shop." Their recent recipe book, Who You Callin' Cupcake?
What's better than two free recipes? Three free cookbooks! Three lucky Venus Zine readers have won a copy of Who You Callin' Cupcake? through our online contest: Monica Wright, Anna Campbell and Amie Althaea. Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who entered the contest! Keep an eye out for more giveaways and contests!
Pink Lemonade
We have one wholesale customer who really keeps us on our toes with cupcake flavors. This one was a specific request from them, and it proved to be very popular.
Cupcakes
1 recipe Vanilla Bean Cupcakes [see #1 below]
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
Frosting
1 recipe Vanilla American Buttercream [see #2 below]
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
How to Make It
Cupcakes: 1. Purée the raspberries in a food processor until it has the consistency of a really loose jam. 2. Prepare the Vanilla Bean Cupcake batter according to the recipe directions, but leave out the milk and replace it with 1/4 cup raspberry purée. Bake the cupcakes according to the recipe directions.
Frosting: 1. Prepare the Vanilla American Buttercream according to the recipe directions, but replace the milk with the lemon juice. Add the lemon zest to the finished buttercream.
Put It All Together: 1. Prepare the lemon curd according to the recipe directions. 2. With your index finger, poke holes through the cupcakes and fill the holes with the lemon curd. 3. Frost the cupcakes with the lemonade buttercream. Top each cupcake with a fresh raspberry.
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The Slash
Really this cupcake is simple, but the little chocolate curls make it stand out. And yes, it’s a nod to Slash, arguably one of the best guitarists of our time.
Cupcakes
1 recipe Devil’s Food Cupcakes [see #3 below]
Frosting
1 recipe Vanilla American Buttercream [see #2 below]
How to Make It
Cupcakes: 1. Prepare and bake the Devil’s Food Cupcakes according to the recipe directions.
Frosting: 1. Prepare the Vanilla American Buttercream according to the recipe directions.
Put It All Together: 1. Prepare the chocolate curls according to the recipe directions. 2. Using a piping bag with a large round tip, place a big dollop of buttercream on each cupcake. 3. Lightly dip the tops of the cupcakes into the chocolate curls. You can mix this recipe up a bit by coloring or flavoring your frosting. I’ve used flavors like raspberry extract, peppermint extract, orange oil, and kirsch.
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[1] Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
For years we made classic European-style butter cake. Personally, I loved it; it was rich and buttery. However, it dried out quickly and we knew that we had to find an alternative. So many customers came in asking me for white cake, but I never really knew what flavor “white” was, so vanilla bean was the answer. This recipe uses a different mixing method than most and bakes quickly, but it stays moist and lends itself well as a base for other recipes.
3/4 cup sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup skim milk, divided
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 1 additional tablespoon vanilla extract)
How to Make It
1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 2: In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. 3: Combine the dry ingredients and the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix on low speed until the butter is completely mixed in and there is a mealy consistency. 4: Add ? cup of the milk and mix slowly to make a paste. This will break up any lumps that are trying to form. 5: In a separate medium bowl, combine the eggs with the rest of the milk, the vanilla extract, and the vanilla bean scrapings, and slowly pour the mixture into the batter in the standing mixer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on high for about 10 seconds. 6: With an ice cream scoop, fill the cups in the cupcake pan about ? full and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. The cupcake tops will just be slightly golden. If you overbake the cupcakes, brush the tops with Simple Syrup (page 44) right when they come out of the oven and they’ll be good to eat that day, but cannot be eaten the next.
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Keeps: Three days in the fridge in an airtight container
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[2] Vanilla American Buttercream
The pastry geek inside of me does not want to call this recipe buttercream, but I’ve learned that it’s what most people think of when they ask for buttercream, so I gave in. I named it American Buttercream because when I worked in Europe, it was unheard of and just considered an American thing. We keep this recipe vegan because it stores better and longer, and vegan margarine has a good salt content. You can always equally substitute milk and butter for the vegan components, but you’ll have to use the buttercream right away and not store it, as it will sour.
1 cup shortening (I prefer palm)
1/2 cup vegan margarine
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup soymilk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
How to Make It
1: Combine the shortening and margarine in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix on high until all lumps are out and the consistency is light and fluffy. 2: While the mixer is on low, slowly add the powdered sugar then the vanilla, and then the soymilk at the end. 3: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and put the mixer on high for about 10 minutes, the longer the better—your goal is to mix out any of the graininess from the powdered sugar.
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[3] Devil's Food Cupcakes
This vegan chocolate cupcake is hands down the very best recipe we’ve ever made. It’s vegan but doesn’t scream vegan. We’ve done many taste tests with this cupcake up against a non-vegan competitor and it won every single time. We now use it for almost every chocolate cake concoction we make.
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons canola or sunflower oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup hot coffee
How to Make It
1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 2: Place the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and mix together with a whisk. 3: In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Slowly pour this mixture into the mixing bowl while whisking, and then continue whisking as you slowly pour in the hot coffee. 4: At this point there’ll be some lumps—it’ll happen, so don’t think you screwed up. There are two things you can do: You can try to whisk them out, or you can clean your hands and get them out with your fingers. This second way may be a little messy, but it beats standing there endlessly whisking and whisking. 5: With an ice cream scoop, fill the cups in the cupcake pan about ? full and bake for about 15 minutes. You’re looking for a dime-sized soft, shiny spot in the center of the cupcakes that looks like it’s not all the way cooked; this is when you know they’re done.
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Keeps: Up to five days in the fridge, tightly covered
Issue #40
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