Low Maintenence Cupcaking

Sometimes I go all out and bake cupcakes completely from scratch.  Like these chai tea cupcakes from last week.  Other times, I have to bake in a frenzy because I have very limited time, but people are expecting cupcakes the next day.  Okay.  Here are some strategies I use to prettify out-of-the-box cupcakes and out-of-the-tub frosting.

First things first.  Bake the cupcakes as instructed on the box.  And be careful not to overmix.  I know the tendency for some of you obsessive-compulsive grad freaks like to make sure every last clump of mix is destroyed, but it doesn't have to be like that.  It's better not to overmix batter, which will make it rise funny.  See Exhibit A.

Exhibit A

Haha this is one of my favorite pictures from undergrad.  A certain dear friend of mine had a snafu with cupcake mix, and we laughed about this for ages.  We didn't know what happened, but i think this is from overmixing batter.  I cropped her head out of this picture to protect her identity :)

Okay, so don't overmix!  Make the cupcakes.  Then as soon as they're out of the oven, pull them out of the hot cupcake pan and put them on a rack.  If you keep them in the hot pan, they might get overcooked.

If you don't have a cooling rack like me, you can just put them on the rack of your toaster oven.

Now, make sure the cupcakes are fully cooled.  The next thing that makes your effortless cupcakes super cute is food coloring.  Just get one of those little packs of four colors (i prefer the gel food coloring) and get to work.  I just mix it straight in the container because there's no use in dirtying more dishes.

Here's my purple frosting.  First grade art class concepts, really.

It will look gross like this for a while. 

I love this soft purple. 

Okay, another thing that I like to use is my handy dandy frosting knife. 

Plop a big dollop of frosting in the middle, then use the knife to swirl it out to the sides.

Here we go!

My last trick to making box cupcakes look like you spent time on them are these babies.

Because cupcaking has become more and more popular with lay people and young folks, they make these cute decorative candies readily available at basic grocery stores.  

Look how cute they look with just a few pearls and silver sugar crystals on them.

Really, these were just cupcakes that anyone could make, but I just made them look like they were made with tender loving care.  Haha, fools!  Kidding. 

I am a realist.  I'm a food blogger that occasionally eats microwave meals, soup out of a can, and bakes cupcakes out of the box.  It's not a crime to take advantage of a few cooking shortcuts once in a while :)  I hope you enjoy these tips!  Come back Friday for a fun post on my trip to a Mexican taqueria in Chicago and what I found there.


Have a wonderful day!  Oh BY THE WAY, there are now 300 people on Sunny-side Up Recipes's fan page!  I cannot believe it, that is out of control ridiculous.  You guys are amazing!