Big Brain Cupcakes Recipes

BRAIN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth.
• Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to wire racks, and let cool. Cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to 3 days.
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Place sugar and egg whites in the heat-proof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, and whisk until sugar has dissolved and egg whites are hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. Test by rubbing the mixture between your fingers; it should feel completely smooth.
• Transfer bowl to mixer stand. Using the whisk attachment, beat on high speed until mixture has cooled completely and formed stiff and glossy peaks, about 10 minutes.
• Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated after each addition. Don't worry if the buttercream appears curdled after all the butter has been added; it will become smooth again with continued beating. Add vanilla, and beat just until combined.
• Switch to the paddle attachment, and beat on the lowest speed to eliminate any air pockets, about 5 minutes. If using buttercream within several hours, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature in a cool environment. Or transfer to an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator, up to 3 days. Before using, bring buttercream to room temperature, and beat on the lowest speed with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 5 minutes.
• To decorate, use a medium round tip (such as Ateco #12) to pipe a mound of buttercream in the center of cupcake, then outline and pipe a brain design over it.

BRAIN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the egg white, scraping the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and beat on medium-high speed for about 1 minute.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the flour mixture and the milk into the egg mixture in three parts¿flour-milk-flour, taking care to scrape down the sides as you go, and incorporating each addition well. Mix until smooth.
• Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups using an ice-cream scoop--the batter should come about three-quarters of the way up the sides. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 16 minutes.
• Let the cupcakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Then remove from the pan to the rack to cool completely.
• For the filling and decoration: Use a cupcake corer to hollow out the center of the cupcakes, saving the tops; then fill with a couple tablespoons of candy goo. Slice the top off of the plug you removed from the cupcake and place back in the hole to seal in the filling. Use a couple of drops of red food coloring and the smallest amount of yellow and black to color your frosting. Frost the tops of cupcakes with a thin layer of buttercream. Place the remaining buttercream into a pastry bag fitting with a medium round tip. Pipe squiggles around the top of the cupcakes, creating two hemispheres of the brain. Thin the red piping gel with a teaspoon of water and use a spoon to drizzle over top of the brain to get into crevices.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine all the ingredients. Whip the mixture on low speed for a while. When the sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer speed up and whip until the buttercream is smooth and looks right to you. If it's too cold, persuade it with a blowtorch if you have one. If it's too wet, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it's too stiff, add a bit more butter. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure everything is combined.
• Use immediately, or store in an airtight container at room temperature for 24 hours or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Rewhip cold buttercream before using it.

BRAIN CUPCAKES

Steps:

• 1. Line cupcake tins with the liners. Fill the cupcake liners two-thirds full with the batter and bake the cupcakes as directed in the recipe .
• 2. Mix a drop of red and black food coloring into the frosting to make it a pinkish gray brain color.
• 3. Using the pastry bag, pipe the frosting in a squiggly pile on half of each cupcake top (brains have two hemispheres, you know). Now pipe the frosting in a squiggly pile on the other half of the cupcake top.