Experimenting!

Last week I had 3 projects that just ended up working out perfectly together!

Engagement BBQ:
1 dozen key lime

1 dozen red velvet
1 dozen my choice

Chiropractor:
1 dozen of anything I felt like making

Parents anniversay:
A surprise for my family

Since most recipes make 2 dozen cupcakes, this worked out perfectly! I decided to make the third flavour a toasted coconut creation.

I started with the red velvet. I decided to try Martha Stewart's recipe. BAD IDEA!! It took over an hour before they were ready to go in the over and when I tasted them, they were disgusting! I ended up throwing them all out! I'm pretty sure I followed the recipe exactly but they just tasted like baking soda.

Then I started again with Bakerella's recipe. This took about 10 minutes, they were a better colour and tasted delicious!

I added some classic cream cheese buttercream and fondant flowers. Voila!

Next were the key lime cupcakes. I searched through tons of recipes and finally ended up mixing and matching a number of different recipes. I also added just a touch of leaf green food colouring. I loved the colour of the cake itself.

I added some vanilla buttercream that was flavoured with key lime juice and lime zest and decorated with a wedge of lime gummy candy and some more key lime zest.

Lastly I made the coconut cupcakes. These called for reduced coconut milk which took a LONG time to make. You have to boil coconut milk on the stove for 45 minutes until it reduces and gets thick. Then it goes in the fridge for a couple of hours until it separates. What you are left with is the most rich and delicious liquid that you add to the batter and the icing. They were decorated with toasted coconut.

I ended up filling all three orders for the weekend with variety packs of cupcakes! Most people loved the red velvet and the key lime and liked the coconut. I'm gonna have to work on that one.

What is your favourite cupcake flavour/recipe??  What should I try next?