Pregled posta

Marketing

Makes 1 dozen.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, preferably European-style, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
Vanilla Frosting
1 (24-ounce) package fondant
Red or blue paste food coloring
Silver edible glitter
Red, white, and blue nonpareils


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, add milk and vanilla extract; stir to combine and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with milk mixture; beat until just combined. Add cocoa powder and beat until just combined.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool in pans for two minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Transfer frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large 5/8-inch round tip (such as Ateco No. 808). Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and set aside.

Meanwhile, press your thumb into the center of the fondant to make a well. Place a small amount of food coloring (red for Republican, blue for Democrat) in the well and knead fondant until color is well blended. Continue to add more food coloring to fondant until desired color is achieved. Roll out into a 1/16-inch-thick sheet.

To make Republican elephants, cut out 12 elephant shapes using 2-inch elephant cutters. Sprinkle with edible glitter. To make Democrat donkeys, cut out 12 bear shapes using a 2-inch bear cutter. Using a 2-inch daisy cutter, cut out enough daisy shapes so that you have 36 petals; sprinkle bear shaped and daisy petal fondant with edible glitter. Top each cupcake with a fondant elephant or bear, using two daisy petals to make donkey ears on each bear and one petal to make the tail. Sprinkle cupcakes with nonpareils and serve.

Vanilla Frosting:
Makes enough for 1 dozen cupcakes

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

Place all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat until well combined.

I have this simple silver ring that I wear everyday on my right hand. It's a very special ring to me and since I wear it so much, it began to look a little dull and dirty. Dave, a jeweler at the shop people, wanted to show me how I could really make my ring look new again. Wearing extra tight fitting overalls, shirtless with his prison tattoos covering his chest, Dave brought me up to his workshop loft which was filled with wax castings, dentistry tools, stacks of papers, and tons of random doo-dads. He took my ring from me and dropped it into some chemical that turned my ring totally black. He took it out of this chemical, scooped some baking soda in his hand with my ring, spit in it, and started scrubbing my ring in this saliva/ baking soda mixture. He got distracted with our conversation as he was doing this and set my ring down to show me some of his treasures. After about and hour of Dave showing me his works of art, and they truly were amazing, he handed my ring back to me and told me that I had the basic idea of how to finish cleaning it. So with my baking soda and saliva-crusted ring, which was still half covered in the black chemical stain, I left the shop people with a whole new appreciation for Dave.
The dude is crazy, dirty, and kinda quirky, but I've never met a person more passionate about his work and so determined to get people around him to somehow be involved with it... even if it means just showing them how to "clean" a ring for them.