The Bakery is Now Open!

I got paid to bake! This could be the beginning of a new career. Someday. Maybe.

I can dream, can't I? People like baked goods a lot more than they like websites!

42 cupcakes
21 chocolate chocolate chip, 21 vanilla chocolate chip
swiss meringue buttercream (heavenly)

These were made for a little girl's second birthday party. The theme was bubbles. I don't know if 'bubbles' is the first thing you think when you see these cupcakes, but trust me, they looked great at the party! They really fit in well.

Choosing an icing for these cupcakes was definitely an experience. I like making Italian Meringue Buttercream and that is what I intended to make for these, but I could not find pasteurized eggs anywhere! Food Network always says "you can find pasteurized eggs in your local supermarket" and ya know what? They're wrong! I cannot find them! What we found plenty of is pasteurized egg whites in a carton -- Bruce found them and brought them home last week. (What a sweetheart.) So yesterday I tried making an Italian Meringue with the carton whites. Everything was going just fine until I poured the hot sugar syrup into the whipped whites, at which time they decided to become not meringue, but soup. And even with much more whipping, they never stopped being soup.

I can't decorate with soup!

I almost decided to just say forget it and use shortening-based buttercream (shudder). I mean, I would just use the Italian Meringue if the party-goers were all healthy non-pregnant adults. I am pretty confident that the hot sugar syrup (boiled to 240F) wipes out any potential bacteria in the eggs. Since I don't know for an absolute fact that the egg whites get to a safe temperature, I could not possibly serve that buttercream to small children. That would be irresponsible. So I went with another option: Swiss Meringue.

Swiss Meringue is made by whisking the egg whites with sugar in a double-boiler before whipping into meringue. By continuously whisking it is possible to get the whites to the safe zone without curdling them. As it turns out, Swiss Meringue tastes remarkably like Italian Meringue (read: dangerously delicious -- I can eat a bowlful with a spoon). From what I've read, it's a bit less heat-stable. It could potentially melt off a cake if left out in warm, humid conditions. Intricate decorations might not hold up very well. For my purposes? It was perfect!

I hope they liked them! :)