Let the testing begin...

Most of you probably know that I am getting married this year and most of you have probably figured out that I am planning on baking cupcakes to serve at this massive event. There has been a lot of talking but not a whole lot of baking going on and I'm starting to get anxious. The lack of baking mostly had to do with the fact that Eric and I moved a few weeks ago. Now instead of having a whole apartment to ourselves, we are renting a room from a friend's house. One of the major selling points for me on this move was the fact that our new kitchen has a dual oven! YAY! It took me a couple weeks before I was organized enough to actually tackle a baking project in the new kitchen but I'm so glad I did.

The ovens are old but they work very well. Where as our apartment oven changed temperature frequently throughout the bake time, these stay constant. My oven thermometer was happy to report that they actually run at the temperature they are set to. I never knew an oven to be this exact! I am very thrilled.

So on to the project. I am now testing cupcake recipes that will be mass produced for the wedding. For Christmas I received Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and immediately started bookmarking pages for testing. My first attempt was the Snickerdoodle Cupcakes. Snickerdoodles always make me think of my childhood and going to the mall with my parents. There was this amazing bakery there called Paradise Bakery and us kids would only put up with a day of mall-shopping because we knew the cookie reward was waiting for us. Snickerdoodles were always a family favorite so when I saw this recipe, it gave me a nostalgic feeling and I knew I had to try it soon. Here is the recipe:

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift together both flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on med-high speed, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until combined after each.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool. After about 10 minutes, carefully removed cupcakes from tins and place on wire racks to cool completely. Frost with Seven-Minute Frosting.

Seven-Minute Frosting
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp sugar
2/3 cup water
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
6 large egg whites, room temperature

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar with the water and corn syrup in a small saucepan; clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling, without stirring, until syrup reaches 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add remaining 2 Tablespoons sugar, beating to combine.

As soon as sugar syrup reaches 230 degrees, remove from heat. With mixer on medium-low speed, pour syrup down side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream. Raise speed to medium-high; whisk until mixture is completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) and stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 7 minutes. Use immediately.

Dust tops of cupcakes with a mixture of 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 2 Tbsp sugar.

And here is the grading system I've come up with for this and all future wedding recipe testing.

Cupcake: B
Notes: A good flavor - tasted just like a snickerdoodle cupcake. Not really soft or moist enough in my opinion.

Frosting: A
Notes: Yummy! An excellent alternative to the usual buttercream. Tastes like fluffy marshmallow. A lot of work but worth the effort.

Wedding Contender: D
Notes: Although these cupcakes were yummy and I received many compliments on them, they are much too time consuming (mainly the frosting) to bake on a larger scale.