The Perfect Cupcake
Overview
About
01: Meet Jennifer & Get Baking
Meet your instructor, baker and cupcake shop owner Jennifer Shea, and get started baking the perfect cupcake! Jennifer will walk you through her famous vanilla cupcake recipe, pointing out proper technique and pitfalls along the way. You'll gain invaluable tips not only for mixing your batter, but for portioning and baking too! Never again will your cupcakes be tough, dry or underdone!
02: Adding Fruit
Take your cupcakes to the next level by adding real fruit flavor. Learn three different methods for adding fruit: mashed into the batter to make moist banana cupcakes, caramelized and layered on the bottom to make delicious piña colada pineapple cupcakes or cooked into a berry compote using fresh or frozen berries to capture the taste of summer!
03: Adding Texture With Crusts
Create cupcakes with crunch as you learn three different crusts to pair with your baked sweets. Learn the importance of and secrets to parbaking as you create a sweet graham cracker crust, a tender shortbread crust and a flaky pie crust. Pick up shortcuts for adding a textured base layer, even when you're short on time! Then, learn how much batter to add before baking your crusts and cupcakes to perfection.
04: Creative Fillings
Discover delicious, sophisticated fillings as you make a mouth-watering caramel, a sweet and tart lemon curd and a refined lavender pastry cream. Master techniques for cooking sugar, tempering eggs and creating a silky-smooth custard. Then, Jennifer demonstrates four different ways to hollow out and fill a cupcake, all using tools you may already own!
05: Trophy's Smooth & Creamy Buttercream
Master Trophy Cupcake's delicious signature buttercream. Learn how properly whip it up into a fluffy "cloud," as well as how to color and store buttercream if you're making it in advance. Finally, explore the delicious flavor variations you can create by adding extracts, fresh vanilla beans or even melted chocolate!
06: Decorating With Buttercream
Learn several easy methods for achieving professional-looking results as Jennifer demonstrates how to frost your cupcakes by hand or using a pastry tip. Learn how to edge your cupcakes with sanding sugar or sprinkles, how to make domed cupcakes by hand or by rolling in sprinkles and how to tint sanding sugar any color you can image. Then, gain confidence using a piping tip to create low and high swirls as well as rosettes and ruffles!
07: Creative Icing Techniques
Delve into advanced decorating techniques as you learn how to toast meringue swirls and make truly creative hi-hat cupcakes topped with a swirl of silky meringue and dipped in rich chocolate ganache. You'll learn the proper method as Jennifer shares her tips and advice for keeping your hi-hats in place. Then, learn Jennifer's own method for making crème brûlée cupcakes, complete with a baked custard layer topped with crisp caramelized sugar!