The Eloquent Moth: These are the voyages of the cupcake Enterprise

I haven't done a food tutorial thing in a looooong time (Christmas, I think?) so here we go!

Alright! Before you go on this expedition, you will need:

Cupcakes:

1/2 cup butter (softened)

3/4 to 1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup cold milk

red, yellow, and blue food dye

Frosting: (this makes a considerable amount, almost enough for two batches)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3-4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

up to 4 tablespoons of milk or cream

red, yellow, and blue food dye

Optional/Decorations

luster dust or edible sparkles

fondant (red, blue, and yellow)

*You can omit the food dye at any or all steps; we chose to do so for the frosting*

Recipes from cooks.com and savorysweetlife.com :)

Okay, before you even start, if you want to make little insignias to put on top of your cupcakes, you’ll need to get out your fondant. If you’re lucky enough to have a Starfleet cookie cutter or something, definitely use that. For those of us who aren’t that fortunate, we can trace cutouts of them with the tip of a knife or a mini pizza cutter (it took forever). Once you’re happy with your designs, you can put them on parchment paper or a Silpat and let them dry the whole time you bake and assemble the cupcakes.

In progress...

It may be a good idea to do this even the night before you plan to bake so that they dry completely and don’t flop over the cupcake.

Okay, to baking. Set your phasers to stun at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line twelve regular-sized tins with cupcake liners (silver ones are really cool because, you know, it’s Star Trek). In one bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, and then add the eggs (one at a time), stirring after each addition. Then add the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir until smooth. Then, mix in the milk.

Now, divide the batter into three smaller bowls and mix in the red, yellow, and blue food colorings. There should be about four cupcakes per color.

(Yes, I actually did color-coordinate the bowls)

Now spoon the batter into the liners and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes, then take them out of the cupcake tin. Put them on a wire rack to cool completely (otherwise the frosting will melt and it’ll just be a mess).

To make the frosting, beat the butter for several minutes to whip it. Then, add the powdered sugar slowly so you don’t get a sweet explosion over everything. Make sure that the mixer is on the lowest possible setting as you begin. Then, add the salt, vanilla, and a tablespoon of milk/cream and increase the mixer speed. If the frosting is too thick, add a bit more milk/cream, (gradually) until it is the desired texture.

Separate the frosting into three bowls (if desired) and mix in the red, yellow, and blue until it is the desired color. Use a large star tip (ha – puns) and a piping bag to add the frosting to their corresponding colored cupcakes. We had almost no time at the end so we just spread it over... so sorry about that :)