This weekend we have two social events at church. My daughter and I decided to make cupcakes, to avoid the “bigger piece” issue. I found the book “Baker’s Field Guide to Cupcakes” by Dede Wilson at our library, and decided to do Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes and Red Velvet Cupcakes.
I was ready to go, mixing and whisking and pouring and baking .. until the fine print. The pastry cream, to fill the Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes, needs four hours to cool!
While the pastry cream chilled overnight, I took the time to get creative with the Red Velvet Cupcakes. The Boston Cream Pie cupcakes will be finished tomorrow morning or afternoon, and I’ll add that information as an update / bonus on Sunday or Monday.
For the Red Velvet Cupcakes, we started with Duncan Hines mix from a box. Then, instead of following the basic instructions, we followed the “lower fat recipe” and used unsweetened applesauce instead of oil, and 3 egg whites plus 1 whole egg. After all, we want yummy but we also want healthy – MsLatina‘s sons might even want one of these cupcakes if they didn’t know my substitutions.
For frosting we have Betty Crocker whipped cream cheese frosting. I cheated a little bit, by putting the frosting on top of the stove. When the cupcakes were done, I smeared the frosting on top and then let them cool.
Here are photos of the yellow cake cupcakes (before being filled with pastry cream) and the red velvet cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting soaked into them. The second batch of red velvet cupcakes is in the oven right this minute, and as soon as I take out the tins it’s bedtime!
Red Velvet In Progress
Frosted Red Velvet
UPDATE: Saturday afternoon we took almost four dozen red velvet cupcakes to church (some got stuck to the paper liners), and brought back an empty case.
UPDATE #2: We came home and filled the yellow cake cupcakes with pastry cream. My favorite way to do this was to unwrap, slice in half across, then squeeze/spoon a layer of pastry cream and replace top of cupcake. The Duncan Hines glaze was easy to use, and when we chilled the cupcakes it dried smooth and glossy.
NOTE: Instead of making pastry cream from scratch, vanilla pudding (or your favorite flavor) can be used instead. I won’t tell anyone if you use instant pudding from a mix. I can tell you, it felt really good to make my own pastry cream. Instead of following the recipe which called for whole vanilla bean, I substituted banana extract.
Below is a photo collage showing cupcakes that we filled using a “flavor injector” and a “cookie press” which created tunnels of cream. My favorite has to be the cupcakes that were sliced into two layers. The video showing that center cupcake is
Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes
NOTE: I followed the book’s recipe for pastry cream. When it came to using a whole vanilla bean, I substituted banana extract. Tonight I realized that pastry cream tastes and looks almost like pudding, so feel free to use your favorite flavor of pudding. Try vanilla, butterscotch or maybe even chocolate (shh I won’t tell anyone if you use shortcuts)
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