5 Steps to Great Tasting Cakes – Watermelon Cupcakes
No matter how pretty your cake is, if it doesn’t deliver on taste, you’re going to fall short! Check out these 5 steps to great tasting cakes!
There is nothing that brings me more happiness than to make pretty things! Whether is be with decorating or baking, the final look of something is one of the most important steps to me. But when it comes to baking, you’ve got to make sure that the taster delivers just as well as the display!
I’ve been baking cupcakes for a long time and I’ve perfected some tips and tricks that have worked for me that professionals also use! I’m going to tell you something —
It’s OK to use boxed cake mix!
I’ve said it before and I’ll stand true to that as long as I live. Big brands have taken the science out of cake making which makes my life soooo much easier! Along the way though, I have figured out how to change just a few things!
I’m going to share with you 5 steps to creating a great tasting cake – even if it is boxed! This is just a little something to take your desserts up a notch and have them truly taste “homemade”.
I’m also going to show you how to put together these adorable Watermelon Cupcakes!
Tip Number 1:
Always use one extra egg than what the box calls for. This will yield a little bit denser cake, but that is what people that want homemade are looking for.
Tip Number 2:
Use applesauce versus oil. This is two-fold; it’s healthier for you and it helps produce a moister cake.
Tip Number 3:
Use whole milk versus water. This is going to help it all come together with more richness in the flavor.
Tip Number 4:
Use 1 teaspoon of whatever variety of extract you chose to produce your flavor! I typically use “vanilla” cake mixes but always add more extract. If you want to produce a different flavor, use a “white” cake mix. For these watermelon cupcakes, I used watermelon extract! You can basically find extracts for anything!
When you use extract though – make sure you add 1/4 teaspoon on salt. This just makes the science of it all work the way it should.
For an excellent vanilla extract, here is my go-to recipe!
Tip Number 5:
Add instant pudding to the mix! This falls in line with the extract – whatever flavor you are trying to mimic is going to tell you what pudding mix to use. For my watermelon cupcakes, I just used vanilla though. I didn’t want them to be too over-powering.
To create these watermelon cupcakes, I simply dyed my mix with some green food coloring and baking according the package directions.
Once they were cool, I used my BUTTERCREAM ICING recipe and dyed it pink.
Sprinkle some mini chocolate chips onto the top to resemble the watermelon seeds and they’re ready to enjoy!
I promise, if you try to these 5 steps to great tasting cakes, you’re never going to go back to anything different!
Here are some other cupcakes I’ve created using these tricks:
Your friends and family will think you’re the next Martha Stewart!
You can PIN this image on your Pinterest boards and share it with all of your friends!
[…] definitely going to want to check out this blog post where I share the things that I change to a basic box […]