There are so many lessons about cooking and baking that we can learn from taking a closer look at each step of the cupcake making process.

1. What Can We Learn from Making
Cupcakes?

2. To find out...lets make some!
Strawberry Peach Cupcakes
Peach Cupcakes:
1 box French vanilla cake mix
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs 1/3 C. melted butter, cooled
¾ C. buttermilk
¼ C. peaches, peeled and pureed
1 T. vanilla
1 C. peaches, chopped
Strawberry Buttercream:
1 C. butter, softened
1/3 C. strawberry puree
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. strawberry gelatin
4-5 C. powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line pans with
cupcake liners.
2. Sift cake mix and cinnamon into small
bowl—set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine eggs, melted
butter, buttermilk, peach puree, and
vanilla until smooth.
4. Slowly add cake mix and cinnamon.
5. Fold in chopped peaches.
6. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 17-
20 minutes. Let cool completely.
7. For Strawberry Buttercream: Beat butter
for 2 minutes. Add strawberry puree,
vanilla, and strawberry gelatin. Slowly
add powdered sugar until buttercream is
a good consistency.
8. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes.

3. Cast of Characters

4. Start by sifting together cake
mix and cinnamon...

5. ...Why do we need to sift dry
ingredients such as flour, baking powder,
baking soda etc?
No one wants to eat a lump of flour or baking soda as
they bite into their cupcake!

6. Next step, combine melted butter...

7. ...pureed peaches...

8. ...eggs...
Functions and
uses of eggs:
-add nutrients
-coats food
-acts as a leavening
agent
-acts as an emulsifying
agent
-improves color, texture,
and flavor
-binder

9. ...and buttermilk. But why not make
things easier and just use milk…?
Buttermilk adds acidity to your baked goods
which make it moist and tender. The acidity in the
buttermilk breaks down tough strands of gluten in
the flour. Buttermilk also gives a tangy and rich
flavor and creamy consistency to your cake.

10. Easy buttermilk substitute
One C. milk + one tsp. vinegar = buttermilk
Pour 1 tsp. of vinegar into a measuring cup, then fill the
remaining amount up with milk. Let mixture stand for 5-10
minutes. You will notice that your milk has curdled a bit. The
acid in the vinegar will react with the milk over the 5-10 minute
period and will provide the acidity necessary for moist and
tender baked goods.

11. Blend the wet ingredients
together...

12. ...then add the dry
ingredients. Why do we do this
separately...?

13. Baking is a science!
“One of the primary reasons for separating wet and dry
ingredients is that they interfere with each other
during the mixing stage. If you take flour, sugar, baking
powder, salt and spices and drop them in a bowl
containing milk and eggs, the ingredients won't be able
to mix properly throughout the dough. If you take
those same dry ingredients and sift them together
before adding them to the wet ingredients, however,
they'll be evenly dispersed and create a consistent
flavor and texture throughout the finished product.
The same holds true for liquid ingredients such as milk,
honey and vanilla.”
http://www.livestrong.com/article/555058-a-baking-mistake-of-not-separating-the-wet-dry-ingredients/

14. Next, we fold in the chopped
peaches. But why do we fold them
instead of mixing them...?

15. There are multiple reasons
actually:
-we took all that time to chop the peaches—we
want them to maintain that chunky shape that
might be lost if we used the mixer
-at this time, the batter has been mixed so much
that over-mixing it is very possible—no bueno
-folding is fun to do—it makes you feel like a
pastry chef :)

16. Time to line the muffin tins!
But why not fill them all the
way to the top...?

17. ...because cake does amazing
things in the oven.
The baking powder in
the cake mix acts as a
slow acting acid. Once it
is exposed to heat,
leavening occurs and your
cake will rise and be nice
and fluffy!
Ding! They are done!

18. Strawberry Buttercream
Cast of Characters

19. First, beat the butter for 2
minutes,but why make your hand
so tired...?
We want to
incorporate air
into the butter
to make it light
and fluffy.
Don’t forget to
scrape down
the sides!

20. Then add the strawberry puree,
vanilla, and gelatin...why gelatin?
Gelatin is pretty
much equivalent
to a juice
concentrate. It is
packed with
wonderful, potent
flavor! Gelatin
packets and
pudding mixes are
great in baking for
this reason.

21. ...mix until well
incorporated...

22. ...then add the powdered sugar
until you reach the desired
consistency.
1 cup powdered sugar 2 cups powdered sugar 4 cups powdered sugar
The recipe calls for 4-5
cups. I stopped at 4
because the peaks I made
were stiff, but not too
stiff. The perfect amount
of powdered sugar!

23. Go ahead and frost them, and
voila! The finished product!