Hi!
My mind was probably in topsy-turvy when I was planning the Cupcake Baking 101 series. This post should have been the first.
Anyway, if you have missed the first four posts, here they are:
Okay, let’s pretend this is the first post.
Hi!
Welcome to Bake Happy Blogger’s Cupcake Baking 101. When I started baking cupcakes, I was so excited I went to all the baking stores I could find and bought all the “toys” I can get my hands on. That made a serious dent in my baking funds. Ouch! So I thought I’d spare you all the trouble and list the 10 basic tools you’d need to start baking cupcakes.
If you decide to take it up as a hobby, you add more “toys” as you seem fit
1. Mixing Bowls
Bowls have several uses in cupcake making. It’s used in mixing the cake butter, the frosting and it can also be used when you choose to dry whisk the dry ingredients (see #4)
2. Whisk
A whisk smoothly blends a cake batter when you do not have a mixer on hand. I must admit, sometimes when whipping up a small batch of cupcakes, I prefer using a whisk than a mixer. It tones my arms. And believe me, I need the exercise.
3. Spatula
This utensil is helpful when folding egg whites to an egg yolk mixture, like when I did this cheesecake or when scraping the sides of a bowl when using a mixer.
There are two ways to evenly combine dry ingredients (ex: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cornstarch) together. You can either (a) use a sifter and run through the ingredients three times or (b) dump all ingredients in a bowl and using a whisk, vigorously whisk until evenly combined. If you choose the former, you’d need a sifter. If the latter, an additional bowl is needed and #9 is no longer necessary.
5. Measuring cups for dry and liquid ingredients
There are two types of measuring cups – one used for liquid ingredients (oil, water, milk) and the other one, used for dry ingredients (flour, sugar)
6. Measuring spoons
Baking is an exact science. Recipes should be followed to a “T”. If a recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of baking powder, you cannot just eyeball the leavener to be placed in your batter and expect a perfectly baked cake. No can do, buddy.
7. Cupcake Pans
All about cupcake pans here.
8. Cupcake Liners
All about cupcake liners here.
9. Parchment paper
If you choose to mix the dry ingredients using a sifter, two squares of parchment paper will help mix the ingredients evenly.
10. Offset spatula
Once all cupcakes have been baked, the offset spatula will help you frost the cupcake with buttercream. I used an offset spatula to create the sea-like buttercream in this post.
Here are some other “toys” you might like to have -
Scoops
All about scoops here and here.
Mixer
I would loooove a Kitchen Aid!!! That’s all I’m going to say.
Oven thermometer
Like people, ovens have temperaments too. You’ll get to know your oven as you use it, so use it often and with an oven thermometer so you can control the temperature. Remember, most ovens have hotspots (the part of an oven it is the hottest) so observe where it is as well.
Cooling rack
After taking cupcakes out of the oven you’d need somewhere to place them to cool. And for cupcakes, this is the cool place to be. Yeah!
Cake tester/Toothpicks
I have a cake tester but a toothpick will do as well when testing a cupcake for doneness. Sometimes, a light tap on the dome of the cupcake will also indicate if a cupcake is done. If it springs back, its done. But if you can’t stand the heat, use a cake tester or toothpick.
Have I missed anything? If so, do let me know.
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