Birthday Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
• Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend on low speed with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl; increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more. The batter should be smooth and thickened.
• Fill each cup 2/3 full and place in oven.
• Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove pans from oven and cool on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing cups from pans. Cool completely before frosting.
• Eat as is or frost as desired.

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray the liners lightly with cooking spray.
• Sift the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt through a fine sieve into a medium bowl; stir in the sprinkles and set aside.
• Combine the egg whites in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the granulated sugar, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium-high, and continue beating until the peaks are stiff and very shiny, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Remove the bowl from the mixer.
• Sprinkle 1/4 of the flour mixture over the egg whites and gently fold in with a rubber spatula. Fold in the remaining flour mixture in 3 additions.
• Divide the batter evenly among the lined muffin cups, mounding it so it's taller than the liners. Bake until the cupcakes spring back when pressed gently with your fingertip and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. (The cupcakes can be made a day ahead and stored at room temperature in an airtight container.)
• For the frosting: Put the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and continue to beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks. (The frosting can be made and refrigerate up to 1 hour before serving.)
• When ready to serve, top each cupcake with a generous dollop of frosting. Use the back of a spoon to swirl the frosting a little. Decorate each cupcake with some sprinkles.

Steps:

• Prepare batter for Yellow Cake as directed; fill a 5-inch-round, 3-inch-deep buttered cake pan with 2 cups batter, and use the remaining batter to fill 64 cups of three 24-cup mini muffin tins lined with paper liners (1 tablespoon batter per cup). Bake until golden and a cake tester inserted in middle comes out clean, 10 to 11 minutes for the cupcakes and 45 to 50 minutes for the cake.
• Using a serrated knife, trim top of cake level, then cut in half horizontally. Place 1 cake layer on a small cake stand or a cardboard round wrapped in parchment paper. Spread with 1/3 cup frosting. Top with remaining layer. Thinly coat top and sides with 1/4 cup frosting. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Remove from refrigerator, and frost with 1/2 cup frosting. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Frost mini cupcakes with remaining frosting (about 1 1/2 teaspoons frosting per cupcake).
• Place 1 cup buttercream in a small bowl; tint buttercream pink. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #5). Using a toothpick, make an outline of a garland on the side of the cake. Pipe buttercream over design, doubling back and forth over the line to create a crocheted effect. Ruffles along the bottom border of the cake can be made by switching to a ribbon tip (such as Ateco #44). Gently press rounded gumdrop halves into frosting at the top of each garland strand; reserve flat gumdrop halves for another use.

Steps:

• Preparation for cake:.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Line a muffin tin with liners. In a large bowl combine egg whites, lemon juice or vinegar and sea salt.
• Beat whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. This will take a few minutes- about 4 or 5. When you have finished you should have doubled the volume.
• Fold the egg whites and the rest of the ingredients together so everything is just combined. Don't over mix or you will lose the volume in your egg whites. Fill muffin cups with batter.
• Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes. Check about 15 minutes into baking to check their progress. The muffins should be golden brown, not dark.
• Remove from heat and let cool on wire rack.
• Method for Frosting:.
• Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Frost cupcakes and refrigerate.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin tins with white paper liners.
• Make the cake mix according to package instructions, substituting the milk for water. Pour the batter into the lined muffin tins and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 to15 minutes. Remove the tins from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
• In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the frosting with enough confectioners' sugar to create a stiff consistency. Remove about 1/2 cup of the frosting and color it with either red or yellow food coloring. Put the frosting into a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag fitted with a small star tip.
• When the cupcakes are cool, frost the top of 12 cupcakes with an offset spatula. (Reserve the remaining cupcakes for a centerpiece or frost if you have more guests). Put each cupcake into a red or yellow liner. The liners will not fit snugly but will resemble a frilly clown's collar.
• To decorate: Write the name for each guest on colored flags. Using a small amount of rubber cement fold 1 edge over the top of the toothpick to attach. Using a serrated knife cut about 1 1/2-inches off the bottom of the sugar cones. Using pastry brush, coat each lightly with piping gel. Roll 6 cupcakes in yellow sanding sugar and the other 6 in the red. Firmly but gently insert the flag into the top of each cone. Put the cones slightly towards the back of each cupcake. Snip the licorice into 12 (2-inch) pieces for mouths, and approximately 120 (1- pieces) for hair. A clean pair of tweezers is helpful for attaching the hair along the base of the sugar cone. Add a gumball to each for a nose and either 2 brown or blue candy coated chocolates for eyes. Pipe small stars with colored frosting along the base of the cones and hair and along the base near the top of the liner.
• For extra cupcakes: Divide some white frosting into 2 small bowls and color 1 with red coloring and 1 with yellow. Fit 2 pastry bags with a star tip and fill each with 1 color of the frosting. Pipe a swirl of red frosting onto 6 cupcakes and a swirl of yellow on the remaining cupcakes. Sprinkle each cupcake with nonpareil sprinkles.
• Arrange all of the cupcakes on a cupcake stand and serve.