Guest Post // Tips to Creating the Perfect Cupcakes

Welcome! Today I have a guest post for all my cupcake lovers out there, as well as all of my readers who live in Australia! Little Bertha is a company that

bakes fresh, daily and to order, for café customers, corporate catering or direct at home.

They offer a range of handmade cakes and thanks to Melbourne's world renowned café culture boasting high quality boutique coffee houses, the number of their stock lists continues to grow, fast. They will  even bring Little Bertha to your home for big or little kids parties.

Their treats look so delicious If only they delivered to Oregon! :)

They are sharing some wonderful cupcake making tips today.

 

If you are interested in guest posting on Willamette Valley Wonder Woman check out my media kit. I love to work with other bloggers and small businesses!

 

~Melissa 

 

 

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Tips on Baking Cupcakes

 

Cupcakes are both one of the easiest and hardest cakes to make. They're cute and tasty, but can easily become dry if overcooked and they don't last very long if not stored properly. They can also be time consuming to decorate as you have to decorate multiple individual cakes instead of one large one, but you can take a simpler approach like the carrot cakes from Little Bertha (pictured above).

 

However, there is a way to make delicious and interesting cupcakes without having to go crazy on the decorations. I think you will 'love' these hidden cupcakes that are perfect for any lovely occasion, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, even birthdays and they are surprisingly easy to make. 

 

Start by making a basic vanilla cake batter, (a packet mix is fine). Once you have whipped that up, separate it into 2 bowls, one with a spout so it's easy to pour. Add red food dye to the bowl with the spout and mix well to get a solid red color.

 

Place 2 tablespoons of vanilla batter (you can make it chocolate if you'd like by adding cocoa) into your lined cupcake tins. Pour the red batter into a flat pan so the batter lies about half an inch thick. Bake the red batter for 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees C (350 F) and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, cut the flat cake into heart shapes with a cookie cutter and place vertically into each cupcake tin. 

 

Add the rest of the cupcake batter to each cupcake, pouring over the hearts and place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.

 

Once cooked, remove from pan and let cool. Top with some thick, fluffy vanilla frosting and serve to your unsuspecting guest, they will be delighted when they find your little surprise in the center!  

 

This is only one way of jazzing up your cupcakes, you could even change the shape if you'd like depending on the occasion if you have an assortment of small cookie cutters. I'm sure the kids would love hidden butterflies or dinosaurs, perhaps even a star or car.

 

Another simple way for making exciting cupcakes is to mix up the flavors a little bit, like I mentioned before, you can add cocoa to your vanilla batter to make it chocolate, or even split the batter into two vanilla and chocolate halves to create marble cupcakes. Add coconut to vanilla cupcakes with a little lime to create some tangy cupcakes perfect for those warmer months, or make them a little adult by creating cocktail inspire cupcakes with rum, Malibu, or Irish cream. Your options are endless, and if you've got the time its a worthwhile experiment to see what you can create with these tiny cake creations.