From Victim to Addict?

NOW I've gone and done it!  I've crossed from recreational cupcakes to the hard stuff and I'm not sure I'll be able to control this.  I'm not sure I even want to!

The "hard stuff" is Snickers Cupcakes.  This recipe rates a full scale O M G.

Just looking at the picture makes me want a cupcake NOW!

The recipe can be found at My Baking Addiction  http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/snickers-cupcakes/     It's one of the recipes I'd marked to try out .  If I ever thought I could stop making cupcakes, this just put an end to that thought.   I should just start applying to be on The Biggest Loser now, because just one cupcake must be 4000 calories.  And I DON'T CARE!

I was a bit concerned about the measurements in the recipe since my trusty Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake mix is now short 2 ounces AND I didn't have the large package of chocolate pudding mix.  I kept to the recipe except for using less cake mix and pudding and they came out unbelievably amazingly totally yummy GREAT! 

This recipe was originally posted in 2010  and is still getting comments on the My Baking Addiction blog and I noticed one from just a couple of days ago asking what to do if the only cake mix you can find already has pudding in it.  She responded to just use the smaller 3.9 oz box of pudding.  I'm anxious to try this recipe again with a) a large box of chocolate pudding and b) with the smaller box of pudding in the cake mix with the pudding already in it.  I'm curious what the difference might be.  Probably not much - I swoon too much when eating these to take note of anything but a huge difference!  LOL

If you like Snickers at all, you MUST make these cupcakes.  They're very easy.  Just watch out that you don't taste test the frosting too much (spoken as someone who did).  It is VERY sweet and it is VERY delicious and VERY addicting.  Also, I had exactly the amount needed to pipe the frosting on top.

You know ... the baker gets to eat the messy looking ones!

Round Two - Me vs Cupcakes - THE RESULTS

Here are the results of my definitely non-scientific test of cupcake liners.  The liners I used were based on what is available at our local grocery.

We went and got 4 packages of cupcake papers. 

• Betty Crocker liners (White)
• Reynolds Foil liners (Silver and White)
• (Pink) Reynolds StayBrite™ Baking Cups

• (Blue) - Cupcake Creations ™ by Siege™ (Identical, except for color, to the green set that peeled 

I set them up in my 12 cupcake pan and then in all kinds of configurations in my two 6 cupcake pans.

When they came out of the oven, I let them sit about 5 minutes in the pans and then took out two of each kind.  They were still very hot.  I left the rest in the pans to cool enough to not hurt myself to remove them from the pans.

Within 5 minutes out of the pans, the cupcakes that I had removed when they were very hot - the ones in the blue wrappers - had already peeled!  The rest remain fine.

After 3 hours, the same two  that peeled immediately remain the same - no more peeling, no less.

I left them overnight and all blue ones are peeled.  The pink ones had peeled partially.  Here is the full report:

In the pan with the 12 cupcakes --

• Blue - All 4 papers peeled - both the ones I took out of  the pan right away, and the ones I left
• Pink - 1 peeled, 2 had partially peeled on one side, and 1 was fine

• Betty Crocker White - 2 of 2 were perfect

• Foil with white liner - the white paper part was perfect and the foil had slightly pulled away
• White liner from the foil (didn't use foil) - pulled in one spot, but overall not bad
• Foil with no paper liner - perfect

In one of the pans with 6 cupcakes --

• Foil with white liner - perfect

• Foil with no paper liner - perfect
• Pink (2) - one peeled on one side and the other one was good
• Betty Crocker White (2) - both perfect

In the other pan with 6 cupcakes --  I used the blue papers as the inner paper (liner) inside various other liners

• Blue  in Pink - peeled

• Blue in white liner from the foil  liners - peeled
• Blue in foil liner only - peeled

• Blue in foil lined with white - peeled

• Blue in silicone cupcake liners (2) - both peeled

THE WINNER of this "contest" was the Betty Crocker white liners.  I had NO trouble whatsoever with them.

The Reynolds foil in all configurations worked extremely well.  Only one white paper only, pulled away in one spot.

The Pink Reynolds StayBrite™ was not very good.  Only two of six were good.

The Blue Cupcake Creations ™ was a total failure.

Now, in defense of the liners that did not win I wonder how they would do with a regular, plain old out of the box cake mix.  The recipe I used seemed to deflate as they cooled - I imagine this is due to the fluffy egg whites.  This may mean that the test was good only for this particular recipe or similar recipes.   The recipe also used buttermilk.  Some people reported that they had trouble whenever they used buttermilk in the recipe.  Therefore,  more testing is essential with all types of cupcake recipes.  I would like to TRY to use one of each kind of cupcake liner whenever I make cupcakes and keep track of the results.

One last comment about the blue liners - these liners are very nice, heavy weight papers.  The packaging states "Bakery Quality / Easy Peel / No Muffin Pans Needed! / Grease Proof.  They actually seem to be doing what they are supposed to be doing.  Unfortunately, for my purposes - the wedding cupcakes - they just don't seem to work.  I think I have no choice but to bake in the Betty Crocker white liners and put the baked cupcakes into the pretty, decorative liners before frosting.

But here's the really good news:  Hubby took the cupcakes to work and said they got seriously rave reviews!  I think we've got a winner!