Sunday, December 13, 2009

Miniature Cupcakes with Marzipan Cherries


What to do with leftover cake batter?!

Earlier this week, I found myself with leftover cake batter from the Bacon cake. There really wasn't much left, and despite being boring ol' yellow cake mix, I was reluctant to throw out the cup of batter that remained. Something neat could be made with it, I just had to think small...

I decided on a batch of bite sized mini cupcakes. In the classic cupcake style, with swirls of pink frosting and a marzipan cherry on top.


My daughter, who turns two at the end of the month, has a book that features a drawing of a cupcake just like this, one that she likes to grab at with her hands and pretend eat. Which is a little strange, since she has only had one cupcake in her lifetime and that was over a year ago. She seems to naturally know that cupcakes are yummy.



Well maybe...



She also tries to eat this sail boat on the same page.

Anyway, I figured I'd make the littlest Humble a treat from the remaining batter.

If you have any leftover cake or brownie batter, feel free to give this a go. I wouldn't attempt this with a full batch of cake batter as it will make well over a hundred cupcakes. I don't know about you, but dealing with that many tiny cupcakes seems a little tedious to me.



Not so Humble Mini Cupcakes with Marzipan Cherries:
makes approximately 2 dozen

Leftover cake batter, roughly one cup

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon heavy cream
1 oz marzipan
1/2 oz fondant
red food coloring
brown food coloring

Using 1 1/3" x 3/4" foil liners set into a mini muffin tin, divide your leftover batter among the cups. Bake at at 350 degrees for roughly 10 minutes and then allow to cool completely.

In your mixer beat the sugar, butter, vanilla, cream and a drop of red food coloring until light and fluffy. Add the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a medium sized round tip (Ateco 12).

Tint your marzipan with a drop of red food coloring and kneed to distribute. If it gets sticky add a little powdered sugar to your hands. Roll the marzipan into a half inch thick log and then slice into small even pieces. Roll each into a ball and then roll one side of the cherry along the length of a bamboo skewer to create a little crease in the side of the cherry.

Tint the fondant brown in the same manner as the marzipan and then roll out into a very thin length. I used the tip of my skewer to cut each length, stabbed one end of my 'stem' to pick it up and then stabbed it (the stem and my skewer) into the top of my cherry to securely place it.

Top each cupcake with a swirl of frosting and top with your marzipan cherries and you're done.

My daughter was thrilled by them. These would be great for a child's tea party.

38 comments:

  1. They are so darn cute. You are very talented..

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  2. These look so good! Great pictures too, thanks

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  3. This is a great idea, the pictures look so yummy that I think I need to try this.
    Thank you for sharing.

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  4. Heh, that's awesome. Aren't kids strange? The cupcakes are stunning, of course.

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  5. Your pictures are very attractive. The recipe I would most like to taste is/are the cheese biscuits. Thanks, Johnnny

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  6. Oh, WOW. They look absolutely delicious. I'm channeling garden party all the way.

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  7. Came across your blog from blog of note. Your blog is absolutley beautiful! Normally, cooking blogs scare/intimidate me, but this is all so fun, I'm going to stop by frequently.

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  8. mmm yummity yum, they look wonderful!

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  9. I'm so glad I found you! Congrats on being a Blog of Note! xoxo

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  10. This made me so hungry! lol.

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  11. Congrats on being a Blog of Note!

    Love the cute ideal.

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  12. Early in the morning, here in Pakistan and so yummy pictures made me hungry.

    Congrats! for being a "Blog of Note".

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  13. Those are ADORABLE! And, btw--I only live a few hours south of Seattle. So much for the rumors of snow...we've been getting rain here for the last 24 hours, which washed away the inch of snow we'd been cherishing for the past week.
    Lovely blog--well-deserving of Blog of Note!

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  14. Lovely Blog, and I love the cupcakes with marzipan cherries, what a neat idea!

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  15. What A very talented woman. You made the pictures as if i'd like to eat 'em..
    Thanks for sharing!
    http://dontwonderabout.blogspot.com/

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  16. Wow! For being a stay at home mom you sure have a lot of time to do things like this entire blog and everything it has on it. Nice! You really have talent...

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  17. Sweet pictures. I'm pretty hungry now..

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  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  19. emmmm...yummy....!!!
    I'm so hungry

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  20. This blog delicious blog
    Sorry I mean beautiful blog

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  21. Congrats on Blogs of Note! My mouth was watering just flicking through your blog lol Elissa x

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  22. Congratulations on your Blogs of Note.

    Waves from a Scots Lass living in South Africa.

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  23. Wonderful blog you have here, and I love your bacon cake and fudge look great and tasty. Thanks for sharing and congrats on the Blog of Note too:)

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  24. Congrats on the Blog of Note.
    The photos are very, very inviting.

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  25. Congrats to you on being a Blog of Note. I can definitely see why you got the honor--you are quite talented! I'm going to attempt these...someday. ;-)

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  26. I discovered your beautiful baking blog by random on my blog Village de Vaux, which is written from my home in France. Francesca, my only grand daughter, would love to have a Monsieur ou Madame Souris cutter for her 2nd birthday in March as a squeaky mousey gift from Gran'mama. Are there any ladybird cutters as she loves this insect and I have to find her all things ladybird to send through the post!

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  27. LOVE your blog!
    Never fails to make me hungry and run into the kitchen to start baking:)
    Thanks for letting us snoop into your life.
    Congrats on the Blog of Note!

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  28. Marcipan cherries (yum!) beat maraschino cherries any day... (well, on a cupcake anyway!) adorable!

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  29. wow, these are adorable. do they taste as sweet? I'm sure they do. :)

    congrats on being a blog of note too.

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  30. Those look fabulous ...

    ** please help me find a home for the boys .. stop by my blog and mention them on yours **

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  31. Those look too gorgeous to eat....almost. Who can resist a cupcake?

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  32. Wow, these look amazing. I came by through the Livejournal of a friend who posted a link to your cookies. I scrolled through your blog and decided I just had to have your RSS feed. :-D

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  33. those are absolutely adorable!

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  34. Great for a tea party if you have some way for the kids to run around a while after they eat those cupcakes.

    Says the dad of a 2.7-year-old who loves chocolate cupcakes.

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