Happy Thanksgiving! In the spirit of giving thanks for friends, I'm happy to introduce Emily Hanhan, avid cupcake baker and a regular participant at Cupcakes Take the Cake events in NYC. She's the creator of the crowd-pleasing Salted Caramel Peach White Chocolate Cupcakes for our 2010 Delicious Sandwich Social. Emily, an experienced food throwdown/bakeoff/contest veteran, has shared some of her cupcake competition tips at the bottom of this post.
Also check out her Honey Glaze Carrot Cupcakes with Salty-Sweet (Local) Honey Butterscotch, topped with Crunchy Pecans and Fresh Currants, for a dash of holiday baking inspiration!
Name: Emily Hanhan
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Website: www.nomnivorous.com
1. How did you get into cupcake baking?
Cupcakes popped into my life once I realized how much I enjoy baking for others. Two dozen cupcakes for a friend's birthday seems less daunting than a two layer, leveled and frosted cake. Perfection is NOT my specialty, yummy is. 2. Do you have a signature cupcake?
I love changing flavor combinations too much to give one the reigning title of signature. But I think most people know me as the salty-sweet baker. And the flavor combination that introduced most of my friends to my baking bug is a Guinness chocolate cake, whiskey ganache filling and Bailey's buttercream. It's a decadent, drunken affair. 3. What kind of cupcake do you plan to bake next?
Homemade marshmallows have completely captured my attention, so I would like to work on a scorched, ooey gooey S'mores cupcake for the winter. The graham cracker is the most mystifying part of the equation! 4. Where do you find inspiration?
The flavors that are comfortable to me, familiar, inspire me. To make it more interesting, more balanced, to fill every nook and cranny with flavor. Bringing savory touches to sugary sweet ideas has become a huge part of my repetoir. What a sprinkle of salt has done for my sweet tooth, it's just beyond words. 5. Describe a memorable (funny/disastrous/life-changing) cupcake baking moment you've had.
Over the summer, I discovered just how rough the heat can be to a delectable buttercream. In New York, there is an indie food competition community and I've jumped into it. When I decided to make 200 carrot mini cupcakes with honey butterscotch buttercream for one competition, I didn't factor in that it would take place over a three hour, steamy July afternoon. To say I was frazzled by it all would be an understatement. The puddling oozes of frosting didn't win any awards for looks. But the flavors were on point, which helped my bruised ego. It was a sad afternoon, but at the worst a pricey learning experiment. 6. Give one piece of cupcake advice for other bakers out there.
Don't let baking paralyze you! In the end, baking has alway been about having fun and sharing the love (final products) with friends and family. If you're freaking out over the missing sour cream or frustrated that you can't find your vanilla extract, the fun is gone. Baking is a science, but a flexible one. The more you let yourself get comfortable in the kitchen, the more natural making substitutions will feel. And I can almost guarantee - the happier you are while baking, the more delicious that final cuppycake will be! |
| Honey Glaze Carrot Cupcakes Honey Butterscotch, Crunchy Pecans & Fresh Currants |
Emily's Cupcake Competition Tips
I. Moisture. Cupcake competitions make you realize how delicate and fault-ridden most cupcake recipes are. Starting from the cake up, when it comes to competitions I try to use extremely moist recipes. Usually I am baking in advance, so the moisture is very important.
II. Stability. Just recently, I've discovered one of your best tricks at keeping frosting more stable for transportation and storage outside is shortening. It's not a new idea, but even replacing two tablespoons of butter with shortening will help the frosting whip up smoothly and keep it from melting a bit. The addition of marshmallow fluff is also a fun way to make your frosting more friendly!
- Use a fresh fruit or jam to flavor fruit-based cakes instead of an extract.
- Brush liquid onto the tops of vanilla, chocolate, or non-fruit cupcakes. I do that both when they're warm and once cooled down. Coffee is great on chocolate, Bourbon or rum makes vanilla more interesting, but there are any number of ideas.
III. Decoration. And, a great tip is, if you're not the best at piping, play around with decorating. I'm a fan of decorations that also taste fantastic, like the currants in the above cupcakes. Fresh fruit, a chocolate drizzle, toasted nuts, fresh herbs, or even some jimmies make for a more enticing cupcake.
Thanks, Emily! Stay tuned for next week's Cupcake Baker of the Week. Leave us questions, feedback, and suggestions for future bakers in the comments below, or e-mail Melissa at cupcakestakethecake@gmail.com with the subject "Hey Melissa! Meet this Cupcake Baker!"
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