Here it is! My first attempt at a "made-from-scratch" cupcake. Not exactly the grand & majestic cupcake I envisioned, but fun, none-the-less!
I learned so much from my first attempt. For example, cutting out all the numbers with those tiny little cutters can bruise your hand. I learned tons more too:
1. Making the batter from scratch is considerably more extensive and time-consuming than using a boxed mix.
2. You can't do this kind of project without a Stand Mixer. (Okay, maybe you can, but if that's true then you can also wash your clothes by hand, without a washing machine)
3. It takes many bowls to make frosted cupcakes the right way.
4. Using egg whites to make a meringue that you then "fold" into the batter is pretty fun!
5. Butter is used in large quantities. No oil, like in the boxed mixes.
6. The frosting is also incredibly fun to make and requires much butter.
7. Cake flour is very "floury" and way puffier to use than regular flour.
8. Cupcakes from scratch should only be made when toddlers and babies are asleep. Boxed mixes should be used when your 4-year-old wants to help.
9. Fondant should be rolled then allowed to dry for 30 minutes before cutting it out with those tiny little bruise-making cutters. Otherwise the fondant will gum up when you're trying to push the letters out of the cutter.
10. Using a little spatula or other item to push the cutter into the hardened fondant will save you a bruised hand.
11. Piping frosting onto the cupcake is exactly as fun as I always hoped it would be. :
