How I did it: This would have been a one week project, except I insisted on practicing. I actually made the Pink Lady Cake and Key Lime and Coconut cupcakes before K came to visit earlier in the summer, and she decided she'd rather have Carrot Cake than the Key Lime and Coconut. I froze a batch of PL make sure they'd survive the trip. It was so good to know that at least those would be ok. I made the Swiss Buttercream twice, and the second time, learned what happens if you don't whip the egg whites before adding the butter (no lift!).
The Carrot Cake recipe barely made enough cupcakes. It took me forever to get THE recipe from a college roommate, so I never got to practice. Just as well...it's a pain in the ass...but there's a reason we do it. It's the most amazing carrot cake ever. I grated the carrots by hand: they come out softer that way. It took forever. I watched all of Reservoir Dogs in the time it took me to grate them.
The Pink Lady cake is such a keeper...easy, delicate white cake with a bit of strawberry flavor. I put a bit of pink food coloring it in, just to highlight the color it wants to have.
I made the cupcakes the weekend before the wedding, triple wrapped each in saran wrap, put it in a Ziploc bag and dropped them in the freezer. Barely fit them all.
Thursday before the wedding, the cupcakes came out of the bags and were packed into the Couriers. Carried them on the plane...you get a LOT of comments when you travel with cupcakes. By the time we got to the hotel, the cupcakes were thawed, so we packed them in the fridge and prayed they wouldn't get stale.
Friday afternoon we went to K's house, whipped up a double batch of Swiss Buttercream and Cream Cheese Frosting. Tinted the Swiss Buttercream pink, and piped it with a large closed star tip in a tall spiral...sprinkled some sanding sugar on...very elegant. Cream Cheese frosting went on the (admittedly short) Carrot Cakes with a large round tip, making a nice smooth spiral.
Cupcakes sat in the Couriers overnight in a fridge, and were GREAT at the wedding the next day. They were the only ones to travel 400 miles to the wedding, and were the first ones gone. Granted, I probably didn't bring as many cupcakes as the local bakers, but still! Win! Read how I did it… 3 years ago
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I borrowed the Pink Lady Cake from SmittenKitchen (http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/10/pink-lady-cake/ ) for a colleague’s last day, tomorrow. Topped with Swiss Buttercream. Froze 4 (unfrosted) for K to taste when she’s in town in a few weeks.
It’s not necessarily my kind of cake, but I think it’s something that should be at a wedding. It’s wedding cake cake…white cake with just a hint of strawberry (I do want to double the strawberry content when I make it next) and a delicate buttercream frosting. I’ll add some food coloring so the frosting is a pastel shade of pink and pipe smooth swirls or twisted stars across the top.
The recipe is light and fluffy, and makes about 40 cupcakes…gives me several to muck up on. They definitely need to be in paper liners…I don’t have enough muffin pans to wash between batches in the oven. And though I hate to admit it, the silicone pans have a much more even bake, a fluffier texture and a taller, more elegant form.
So now I’m shopping for new pans. Damn. This is in addition to the cupcake carriers I’m afraid I might need to buy.
Speaking of which, a question of etiquette:
If someone has something on their wedding registry, say, a cupcake carrier, and you need said item to help them with their wedding, is it bad form to purchase the item, use it once for their wedding, and then give it to them? I’m afraid it might be, but I just don’t see another time that I’d use a cupcake carrier.
Next week (or maybe this weekend when I’m visiting the folks) I need to make Key Lime cupcakes with toasted coconut frosting. Anyone in DC know where I can get Key Limes in the DC area? 3 years ago
