Crave: Debbie Meyer CupCakeGenius

writergirl
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:04 pm: [report]

You can also just cut a hole in the cupcake with a paring knife and save yourself the $20.

*sam*
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:05 pm: [report]

OMG, I LOVE THIS!!! I *must* have it!! where can I get it??

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:07 pm: [report]

@writergirl or you can just jam a wide round tip into the cupcake and fill it while it’s still warm, and save yourself the $5 on the pairing knife

writergirl
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:10 pm: [report]

@Maroon—That is a great idea.  Which I wish I had thought of when I spent two hours cutting freaking holes into cupcakes for some school event.

*sam*
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:12 pm: [report]

I was going to ask what you would do with all of the cupcake cut outs.. seems like such a waste when you figure all of the ‘extra’ pieces could have formed a whole ‘nother cupcake (or perhaps even two)

@maroon: yeah, but you’d still have to shell out the money for enough wide round tips

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:16 pm: [report]

@sam- those are staple in my household.  see avatar   aside from that, you can pick up that tip for about $1-2, and save the $18-19 on some decent chocolate for a ganache icing or other delectable ingredients.

writergirl
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:16 pm: [report]

@sam—you dip the extra pieces in whipped cream, or iceing (sp?), or drizzle it with chocolate sauce and then eat them.  Kinda like munchkins.  No waste in THIS house!

*sam*
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:18 pm: [report]

**light bulb** where were you ladies when I was baking goods for the the LGBT center’s bake-sale!?!?!

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:19 pm: [report]

hehe baking my own cupcakes for my lab and for my Honey

conspicuous
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:19 pm: [report]

I’m a big fan of Alton Brown from food network, and I believe he would dub this a ‘uni-tasker’ as would I… Agree with maroon—money better spent on better ingredients! mmm ganache

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:23 pm: [report]

@conspicuous- i wouldn’t definitely pin it as a unitasker…i’m sure you could come up with a way to make it a wierd back massager or something!
and omg ganache…scharffen berger…damnit i need chocolate STAT!

_jsw_
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:27 pm: [report]

I love this concept but agree that it’s cheaper (but not necessarily easier) to replicate with other tools. However, if there were a little inflatable bulb (think inverted lightbulb) at the end of each that you could somehow deflate when baking was done (via plunger, perhaps? the physics of getting an airtight seal to work over such large temperature ranges might be daunting), then that is something I’d buy, as it would create a true cavity with a tiny hole at the top, as opposed to basically just a pit in the top.

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:31 pm: [report]

jsw- the method of filling them with a cool filling while the cupcakes are still warm achieves the same thing- the small borer tip dispenses the filling and creates almost a vacuum after the cupcakes have set up a bit.  if you deflate the bulbs while still in the oven, the cupcakes would just collapse on themselves

writergirl
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:34 pm: [report]

Oh, *sam* you can also use the pieces you cut out by cuttin them in half then placing them on the iced cupcake like butterfly wings then decorate accordingly.

_jsw_
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:34 pm: [report]

@maroon: Oooh. Thank you. I’ve wanted to start dabbling in cupcakes for some time. I’ve mastered marshmallows (which, face it, a five year old could make) and want to move to cupcakes. Mmm. Question: will a any decent cake recipe (I want to work from scratch)  work fine for cupcakes, or is there some alteration that might be needed due to their smaller size (aside from baking time, which I understand is different)?

writergirl
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:36 pm: [report]

@jsw—I use the standard cake recipe from one of my cookbooks for the cupcakes.  There is no difference other than baking time, which is noted in the recipe.

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:40 pm: [report]

@jsw- i agree with writergirl, any cake recipe will do for a tried and true cupcake.  if you want them to be a little daintier to go along with their diminutive size, i suggest separating the eggs, mixing the yolks in with the rest of the wet ingredients, and then whipping the egg whites to soft peaks and then gently folding those in.  they tend to create a lighter, fluffier cupcake overall (also, cake flour FTW).  and speaking of marshmallows, i have a kickass recipe for a marshmallow-based fondant that doesn’t taste like cement!

writergirl
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:43 pm: [report]

@maroon—thanks for the tip, I’m writing it down and saving it for the next cake I make.

*sam*
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:45 pm: [report]

also, if you’re looking for a cake recipe from scratch, I tend to favor the ones that have ‘instant pudding’ in them… it acts as a preservative to keep them super moist and doesn’t change the flavor. (in case you weren’t aware of this already)

_jsw_
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 02:59 pm: [report]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I’m looking forward to starting out.

For marshmallows, I’ve been adapting recipes from this amazing book. The chocolate-espresso ones are amazing, and I’ve made only a few tweaks to her recipes.

For cupcakes, I’ve gotten this book after seeing it at the bookstore, and I particularly like it because it uses weights as well as volumes for measurements. It’s the geek in me, I guess. I look forward to experimenting with her recipes.

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 03:00 pm: [report]

@writergirl- you’re quite welcome! 
@sam- pudding does the trick, but generally there are too many things in the instant pudding that i find on the shelf in my lab x_x.  i tend to just use a small bit of sour cream if i want a super-moist cake, and to keep all of the ingredients on the simple side.  or alternatively, i poke holes in the cake a douse it with a generous helping of my favorite liqueur

*sam*
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 03:12 pm: [report]

@maroon: thanks for the tips! I’m going to have to keep that in mind the next time I get the opportunity to bake something from scratch!!—after reading this post, I’m actually kind of sad that I copped out and just bought a box of Dunken Heins (sp?) red velvet cake mix & cream cheese icing for my hubby’s homecoming :(  but, in all fairness, we are rather poor and don’t have the funds to buy all the ingredients required (or the electric mixer for that matter), so I suppose he will just have to wait until he comes back from deployment for those

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 03:20 pm: [report]

@sam don’t be sad…my guilty admission is that i freaking LOVE that cake mix.  easy to whip together on a week night and om nom nom.

*sam*
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 03:23 pm: [report]

@maroon: awesome, now I don’t feel so guilty!!!!!

maroon
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 03:27 pm: [report]

@sam yay!   i don’t mind the cake mixes when i’m making something in a pinch.  baking is like a form of therapy for me, and when i do it from scratch i get pretty serious (ahem, obsessive?) about it.  plus when using everything from scratch you force yourself to get creative with your ingredients- this weekend i threw bananas, peel on, into the oven to roast them for my banana cream pie cupcakes.  that’s another really good way to moisten up the cake

AgentBeryllium
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 03:29 pm: [report]

This makes me want a hostest cupcake now.

writergirl
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 03:47 pm: [report]

@sam—I use boxed stuff too, probably more than bake from scratch because it’s easier to have the child “help” with boxed stuff than doing something from scratch.

Coral
wrote on August 26 2009 @ 09:30 pm: [report]

Mmm, my boyfriend would love this, but I’m sure he has something like this with the same purpose. He’s a cook and pastry chef in his free time, and honestly, half our dates consist of us making cupcakes and pastries in the kitchen. Haha.

Gavinsmom
wrote on August 31 2009 @ 03:37 pm: [report]

I recently purchased this product and I LOVE IT!  Yeah you can take the time to cut little holes out of the center but like most people with kids I don’t have the time and if you happen to cut the whole too big then you have wasted a perfectly good cupcake.  You can also use a bag and a tip but the last time i looked it’s really hard to squeeze out a Reeses peanut butter cups, or pie filling out of a pastry bag.  All you have to do is pop on the rack and all of the work is done for you.  Something that saves me time is always worth the 20 bucks and i get a good cupcake pan out of it.  Why the heck not!!!!!!