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America's Love Affair with Cupcakes Evolves
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By Kristen Payne
Millions of Americans have indulged in a moist, buttery cupcake decked out with colorful icing and savory garnishes, becoming a part of the proclaimed “cupcake craze.” New York City’s Magnolia Bakery has been attributed to starting the craze, thanks to its cameo in “Sex and the City” in 2000. While many predicted that cupcakes were simply a fad, here we are 13 years later still talking about them and watching intently as new cupcakeries open for business all over the country.
According to the Huffington Post and Mintel, nationwide cupcake sales are projected to rise by 20 percent between the years of 2010 and 2015, at a time when other baked goods are expected to grow only in the single digits. Additionally, the LA Times recently posted that the well-known cupcakery Sprinkles Cupcakes opened its 12th location this month in Los Angeles and has also begun dabbling in the market of cupcake ATMs on the West Coast. These two statistics alone show that consumers aren’t getting tired of the cupcake concept anytime soon.
Click here for the full story or scroll down for tips and techniques on choosing the right icing, keeping cupcakes moist, the best way to fill a cupcake and why to use a classic cupcake versus a frozen cupcake.
 
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Buttercream Frosting
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Buttercream frosting can be made a few different ways, but the simplest recipe is "American-Style Buttercream" which is made with shortening.
Pros: Simple method of preparation
Cons: It doesn't have the buttery flavor usually associated with buttercream
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Italian-Style Buttercream Frosting
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This frosting is commonly used in bake shops and requires chefs to cook a sugar syrup before adding it while beating egg whites.
Pros: Classic flavor and color
Cons: More difficult method of preparation
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Ganache
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Ganache is a mixture of melted chocolate and cream, and can take on various textures based on the ratio of cream to chocolate, as well as the temperature as it thickens up when cooled to room temperature. Cooled ganache can be whipped for a lighter, mousse-like texture, perfect for icing cupcakes. This is a great option for chocolate frosting and can be flavored to give fun flavor combinations such as chocolate passion fruit or chocolate raspberry.
Pros: Good quality while generally simple to make
Cons: Quality chocolate can be expensive
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Cream Cheese Frosting
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Cream cheese frosting is a classic frosting that is versatile, easy to prepare and complements cupcakes without overwhelming the palate. It offers a unique, delicate flavor option and is generally found piped on carrot or red velvet cupcakes. Its soft consistency is ideal for swirling, but makes it difficult for detailed piping.
Pros: Unique flavor
Cons: Usually softer than buttercream, making it more difficult for detailed piping
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Flat Icing
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Flat icing is a simple mixture of water and powdered sugar, with flavoring as an optional step. It is simple to make, but does not offer many options in terms of pipability. Typical flat iced cupcakes are presented with just a thin layer of icing as pictured here.
Pros: Easy to make
Cons: Simple in presentation with little creativity for design aesthetic
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Flavored Icing
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Each of these five icing options can be flavored using PreGel Traditional Pastes or Fortefrutto®, adding extra flair to these bite-sized treats. See below for flavored buttercream recipes.
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Tips on Keeping Cupcakes Moist
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1. To increase moisture in cupcake recipes, add an inverted sugar such as trimoline.
2. Plain cupcakes that have not yet been iced tend to dry out quicker, so as soon as the cupcakes are cool enough to handle, transfer to a pan and wrap well with plastic wrap in order to keep moisture in.
3. Brush cupcakes with a simple syrup when they are cool enough to handle. When still warm, cupcakes absorb liquids better than when refrigerated. Simple syrup can also be flavored for a fun twist.
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Tips on Filling Cupcakes
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To add a twist to the standard cupcake, fill cupcakes with PreGel Arabeschi® for extra flavor and crunch components. Follow the tips below to learn how to fill cupcakes like a professional.
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Cutting a Hole in the Center of Cupcakes
Make a small hole in the center of the cupcake using an apple corer or small scoop. An apple corer will create a deep hole, great for firm or thick fillings that can hold their shape when bitten into. A small scoop will create a crater, perfect for softer fillings to sit in. With either method, be sure not to cut all the way through to the bottom of the cupcake to avoid the filling oozing out when unwrapped.
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Filling Cupcakes Using a Piping Bag
For fillings that do not have nut or fruit pieces in them, use a piping bag to pipe the filling into the center of the cupcake. For fillings that do contain nut or fruit pieces, follow the next step.
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Filling Cupcakes Using a Spoon
For fillings that may contain nut or fruit pieces, use a small scoop or spoon to fill the cupcake as these pieces can get clogged in the piping bag.
Once the center of the cupcake is filled with PreGel Arabeschi®, pipe the top with ganache or frosting.
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Classic Cupcake
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Pros: Easily identifiable, simple to make, customizable and only requires refrigeration for storage
Cons: The concept is nothing new, as the classic cupcake has been around for years
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Frozen Cupcake
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Pros: It's something unique and exciting, it's a new way to utilize leftover gelato, and there are even more flavor combinations available when mixing and matching the cupcake with gelato and semifreddo
Cons: Requires a freezer for storage and must be topped with a semifreddo frosting
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View Chocolate Hazelnut Crumb Frozen Cupcake Demo
Tune-in to this demonstration for step-by-step instructions on how to create a Chocolate Hazelnut Crumb Frozen Cupcake using a chocolate cupcake, vanilla semifreddo mousse and chocolate gelato. Although chocolate hazelnut was the flavor combination chosen for this demonstration, any flavor can be used to create frozen cupcakes.
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