Summertime Cupcakes
Red Velvet Cupcakes, Cream Cheese Frosting, and Lollipops
It’s summer and that means cupcakes. All day, every day. This review is all about how to switch-up a design in your favorite go-to cupcake that can make a big difference from one party to the next.
The classic Red Velvet Cupcake is frosted with Cream Cheese – aaand what to do after that? Strawberries are a natural choice, but if you’re like me and don’t have fresh strawberries sitting on the countertop, what do we do?
I had a little paper bag filled with these sweet boutique lollipops brought home from a visit out-of-town. Have you ever had this moment while traveling: “I don’t know what I’m going to do with them, but they’re too adorable to pass up.”
By matching the topper with the cupcake wrapper with the cupcake stand – we can visually turn up the volume on this presentation. How adorable is this look on a dessert table?
Let’s start with the cupcake batter. Remember with Red Velvet, there is a wee bit of cocoa powder.
I’ve used the HLC Fiesta Dinnerware Extra Large Bistro bowl for combining the dry ingredients. There’s room aplenty for sifting and whisking. And I’m in love with this newest color, Claret.
I like baking Red Velvet in a dark brown cupcake liner. I think it provides a cleaner, more polished finished look.
The final three cupcakes we’re going to look at are Chocolate Cupcakes. I’ve said it before… it’s my easiest, most favorite, go-to cake/cupcake to bake.
With tinted Swiss Meringue Buttercream, I recreated a stylized watermelon – which is nearly perfect for a picnic or backyard cook-out.
Without fully integrating the green tint into the buttercream, the result more closely matches a watermelon rind.
I knew I wanted to shoot these cupcakes from overhead and would need to press into service many of my Homer Laughlin Fiesta Dinnerware greens and pink; I even pulled from my vintage stack of plates. But the results are so stinkin’ colorful!
Continuing with chocolate cupcakes… American Banana Buttercream is a natural. If some banana is good, more banana will be better. And more chocolate, too!
Hot tip: After slicing the banana at an angle, I placed each piece in a bowl with natural lemon juice – this stops the oxidation process and the banana maintains it’s natural color.
Both of these Banana Chocolate Cupcakes are nearly identical, yet have something special to offer. This is part of the sparkle of decorating cupcakes – no matter how many chocolate cupcakes I design, there are still many untapped ideas just out there waiting.
Cupcakes are joyful and I like designing them. It’s what I get to create…I hope you have a creative outlet that brings you joy and satisfaction, too.
My life partner husband brings me joy. As well as our people. And then there’s sobriety.
