Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Mario Brothers Cupcakes


Recently a friend asked me if I could make cupcakes with a Mario Brothers theme for her son's 8th Birthday.  Not a problem....cupcakes are easy (so I thought)!  While it is true that cupcakes are easy, making characters to decorate said cupcakes is not always a piece of cake (no pun intended)!


You may be surprised to hear that I have never worked with fondant.  I have absolutely no experience with it except for watching Duff work his magic on "Ace of Cakes".  Fondant always seemed a little scary to me so I just never even tried using it.  Well....those days are over.  I bought pre-made fondant (let's tackle one new thing at a time) and gel food coloring and started playing in the kitchen!  I found several pictures of Mario cupcakes on the web and used those pictures as a pattern for my designs.  SOOOOO much fun and not that hard, once I got the hang of it!  I don't have any special tools, I used my rolling pin and small, sharp paring knives for all of the cutting.  (sorry no pictures of the process, I was too absorbed in cutting to get the camera out)


I couldn't wait to share all of my cute pictures with my blog friends!


The cupcakes were just plain chocolate and plain white cakes so basically the only actual recipe I have to share with you is the frosting which is to-die-for!!  I used Martha Stewart's Swiss Meringue Buttercream which is perfect frosting, not to sweet, easy to color, easy to pipe.


Hope you enjoyed my little "Mario" album!  Lesson of the day: don't be afraid to play with fondant....it's like playing with playdough only it's edible!!!  ;)

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
2 1/4 cups sugar

10 large egg whites, room temperature
Pinch of salt
8 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Gel-paste food coloring (optional)


Heat sugar, egg whites, and salt in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisking, until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.

Return bowl to mixer, and whisk, gradually increasing speed from low to medium-high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Switch to a paddle attachment. Beat until air bubbles are gone, 2 to 3 minutes more.

Beat in food coloring, 1 drop at a time, until desired color is achieved. (If making more than 1 color, divide buttercream and work in batches.)

note:  when you begin to add the butter, the frosting will start to resemble cottage cheese.  This is normal...don't be afraid....don't throw the batch out....just keep beating.  Even if you have to keep beating for another 10 minutes....I promise it will turn out perfect!!

29 comments:

  1. These are the cutest things I have ever seen! P.S. I have totally thrown out batches of buttercream I thought were "curdled" before I knew what was going on! Hahaha live and learn right?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! As for the buttercream....it is a tough lesson to learn but I was lucky enough to have many people warn me that it will look curdled but just keep whipping and "ta da" perfection will appear right before your eyes!

      Delete
  2. This is too cute! You did a wonderful job. Congrats on your success with fondant :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Becky,

    Great job! They look great!! I need to clarify something-do you mean 8 sticks of unsalted butters= 2 pounds of butter?? And how many cupcakes would that frost and would that work for a whole cake?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know it sounds like a lot but it does mean 8 sticks of butter!! Tons of butter but it makes a ton of frosting! I had enough frosting for 60 cupcakes and I use a lot of frosting, so you could probably frost even more. This would definitely be enough frosting for a layer cake.

      Delete
  4. Holy moley! You are talented!!! Boys, young and old, will DEFINITELY love these designs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awww....thanks so much! I have a big smile on my face after all of these sweet compliments! :)

      Delete
  5. These are sooo cute - you are a goddess of baking!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohhhhh.....a goddess!!! I could absolutely handle being considered a goddess!! :)

      Delete
  6. How cute! I have a lot of video gamer friends, I bet they'd adore these.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure they would....you will have to give it a try! It was much easier than I expected!

      Delete
  7. This Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe looks soo good that I'm going to go to the store right now to get the ingredients!

    Thanks for the recipe,

    Grandma Kat
    XOXOXOXOXO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome Grandma Kat, I hope you enjoy it!

      Delete
  8. You are amazing Becky! These look awesome and so adorable! Great post

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the wonderful compliments! Big smiles again! :)

      Delete
  9. Becky, these look great! I haven't played with fondant yet, but my apprehension is starting to subside....we'll see, maybe soon.

    Also wanted to drop by and let you know I nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award. I love following your posts! If you want to check out the details, they’re on my blog:
    http://attemptingdomestication.com/?p=460

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diane-
      Thank you so much! I am honored that you follow my blog and enjoy my posts! I found your blog a couple of weeks ago when you made Raspberry Champagne Cupcakes and I am in some serious love now!!! Two of my favorite things together!!

      Thank you so much for nominating me!

      Delete
  10. I SERIOUSLY need these cupcakes at my next party. How awesome!! Great work, Becky!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sandy! Let me know if you try them out! :)

      Delete
  11. BECKY! THESE ARE FANTASTIC!

    I'm so rubbish with fondant.. Last time I tried to work with it was a disaster, I got so angry. Long story but I'll just say, there's still fondant on the ceiling which I'm having trouble cleaning off. Disaster.

    Your cupcakes though, they look AMAZING. They inspire me to try to work with fondant again. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you my friend! Trust me...you do not want to see my ceiling either! ;)

      Delete