Chef 101: Mini Cupcakes

This installment of Chef 101 will not include a recipe, because, all I tried to do was make mini cupcakes.  From a box.  But what I discovered was the reason we pay up to $4 bucks for a cupcake from the mall is because it’s a freaking nightmare to bake stuff.

I had batter on the floor, between my fingers, splattered on my cute wine-themed apron…and most of all….in all of the spaces between the cupcakes holes of the cute stupid mini cupcake pan.  

Somebody please tell me what kind of kitchen instrument works to get just the right measure of batter into those little cups without dripping it all over the pan?  I spent more time wiping up the sticky stuff than I did preparing/cooking/frosting combined.

And, as I read the box to say 24 cupcakes, and didn’t realize they meant regular and not mini sized, I had too much left over batter.  I had to take out a second muffin pan, yeesh, and line with cupcake cups lickity split, so that I could serve something so tempting as:

This is what mine looked like

But my favorite cupcake (and more) caterers, The Poached Pair, charges much less than the ones at the mall.  This is a sampling of theirs that I found via their Facebook page.  Not a single bit of frosting in the wrong place:

Hummingbird, Strawberry, Red Velvet, and Coconut Lime

Conclusion: I’m so throwing in the spatula.

4 thoughts on “Chef 101: Mini Cupcakes

  1. Haven't done cupcakes, but I do my mini-quiches in a silicone muffin pan and use 2 spoons. There is still some slop between cups, just like between wine glasses sometimes! But this is a thick batter. Last time I did pumpkin cookies I used a plastic storage bag with a corner cut off. Like the fancy decorating tubes but available, cheaper & no need to clean. Just squirt some batter out on the pan. Much less fight.

  2. Thanks JD! If I ever brave the muffin pan again I will try the bag idea. Using two spoons might require more dexterity than I'll ever possess!

  3. I feel Mo better now. Thanks! Great idea! (The batter was really thin, so maybe I messed that up too!) Hope to see you and Bill soon, Pinot Days is this Saturday and the SCV Wine Fest is Valentine's weekend!

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