— witsandnuts

The easiest way to a kiddo’s heart

While there are many ways to satisfy a person’s taste buds, there goes the so-called subways. Especially if your guests are the young ones, they tend to eat with their eyes first. Since the little girl in us wanted to be one of and/or be with those Disney characters, how about making cupcakes for the princesses? I put a little twist (I love doing that) to this recipe. You will need:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk

Tips: (a) Using cupcake liners will keep them fresher and fuller. (b) Cook only one pan of cupcakes at a time. (c) Place your cupcake pan in the very center of your oven. If your oven tends to cook items more that are towards the back (just like mine as shown in the photo), then rotate your cupcake pan halfway through the cooking time. In case it is really necessary to bake 2 pans of cupcakes at a time, switch the pans halfway through the cooking time. Put the bottom pan on the top and move the top pan to the bottom. (d) Do not store cupcakes in the refrigerator, it will loose its moistness.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In the bowl, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract for 2 minutes using an electric mixer or for 3 minutes with a hand mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Spoon the batter into paper cups until they are 2/3 or 3/4 full. Bake on the center rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until its golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean (I check if they are done even before the required baking time). Cool cupcakes in tins for 10 minutes. Ready to frost.

For the frosting, I used a whipped topping mix to achieve that taste of ala-sundae cone of Mc Donald’s to complement the vanilla flavor of the cupcake. To make 2 cups of cream, blend 1/2 cup of cold milk and 1 sachet of whip. Beat on highspeed with hand or electric mixer for 4 minutes until the topping thickens and forms light fluffy peaks. After swirling on top of the cupcakes, put rainbow sprinklers or chocolate sprinklers like those I used for the housewarming cake. Optional: you might want to play more by putting the edible images of Disney princesses (or the characters for the boys) on top just like I did. I got them from the supermarket; tasted like ostia (host/Holy communion wafers).

We are done. Now ready to serve the princesses (young ones and young once alike).