I’m a sucker for Sex and the City. It’s all too appealing to imagine myself a West Coast foodie version of New York City sex coumnist Carrie Bradshaw. Sadly, unlike Carrie, my writing career won’t support a Manolo habit, but there is one SATC-spawned trend that's within my budget: cupcakes!
Like millions of others, I watched hungrily a few years ago as the ever-adorable Carrie, while gushing about her latest crush to her friend Miranda, sunk her teeth into a luscious pink-frosted cupcake on a bench in front of New York’s now-famous Magnolia Bakery. And with that, cupcakes became the new black.
Though I like to fancy myself a Carrie Bradshaw—golden locks spilling over my stylishly clad shoulders as I trot into my neighborhood bakery on stiletto heels—the truth is, I'm more like the Miranda of later seasons—a sleep-deprived mom with a no-fuss short-cropped hairdo and sneakers. That said, I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that I’ve been debating what flavor of cupcake to bake for my son’s first birthday party since long before he was born last August. So when Martha Stewart's Cupcakes landed on my desk recently, I was beside myself.
Flipping through the pages of this fanciful ode to those beloved mini confections, I was tempted by virtually every recipe. Buttercream bluebird chicks snuggled sweetly in a toasted-coconut nest tugged at my maternal heartstrings. Beetles made by slicing off the domed tops of the cupcakes, halving them and then reattaching them, set askew, as wings, seemed ingenious and undeniably appropriate for a young boy’s party. But the little lions—toasted-coconut manes framing fondant faces topped with mini M&M eyes, gumdrop cheeks, and licorice-lace whiskers—struck me as the perfect symbol for my little Leo baby. And when I spied monkey faces in a similar vein, I instantly pictured a jungle theme and an invitation reading “Monkey Boy Is Turning One!”
And then I came to my senses. Though Stewart's step-by-step, illustrated decorating instructions make it all look surprisingly easy, the ensuing years will deliver plenty of opportunities for me to tackle Cake Decorating 101. These days, a simple cake-and-frosting combo is more my speed, so I’ve settled on a delicious mix-and-match mashup of Roasted Banana Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting. Embracing my inner Miranda, I’ll deliver them to the party wearing my comfy sneaks, my wash-and-wear hair speckled with frosting. But with a dusting of toasted coconut and perhaps an artfully placed mini marshmallow or two, the cupcakes may just turn out to be stylish enough for a Sex and the City close up. Regardless, I think Monkey Boy will be pleased.
Roasted Banana Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, available in paperback this month.
3 Ripe bananas
2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ stick unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
3 large eggs, separated
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dark chocolate frosting (recipe to follow)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
Place 3 whole, unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes (the peels will darken). Meanwhile, sift together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Remove bananas from oven and let cool before peeling. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed. Add roasted bananas and beat to combine. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream, and beating until just combined after each. Beat in vanilla.
In another mixing bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites to soft peaks; fold one-third of whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in two batches.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Using a small offset spatula, spread cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting.
Dark Chocolate Frosting
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 ¼ cups (4 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ pounds best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add melted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture.
