Tools & Supplies:
Mini cupcake pan.
Regular cupcake pan.
Jumbo muffin pan.
Liners for all 3 sizes if you want to use liners.
Heavy duty mixer for the frosting.
Disposable frosting bags.
Small round or star tip for cake decorating.
Knife for trimming.
Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature.
6 Tablespoons whole milk, room temperature.
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups of confectioners sugar, aka powdered sugar, icing sugar. (2 lb. bag.)
Cake:
Use any cake mix or cake recipe you like. Fill each cup a little over 1/2 so that the cake rises all the way to the top, all around, rather than peeking at the top and having shallower sides. Cool all the way then freeze if you have time.
As another option, you can bake the cake mix in a 9"x13" pan and cut 3 sizes of circles. I think this wastes more cake but then you don't need to buy the different sizes of muffin pans.
Here is a video of trimming the sides of the cupcake so that they are straight, not angled, and of piping the frosting on.
Frosting Instructions:
Using ingredients at room temperature speeds up mixing the frosting properly and lets more air in. Air is the secret. When butter frostings fail or separate, especially so in heat, it's because there isn't enough air to stabilize it. Use butter, not margarine, not shortening.
I recommend using a metal bowl and a wire whisk attachment. If you only have glass and a handheld beater attachment, avoid hitting the beaters on the sides of the glass bowl. A note about the size of the bowl. When I doubled the recipe to save time mixing 4 batches of frosting for class, it did not turn out right. The size of the bowl needs to be big compared to the amount of ingredients. I use a 6 quart bowl for the single recipe and it turns out well. If you have a smaller bowl, cut the recipe into half.
1. Aerate the butter. Whip the butter until it is much lighter in color. It should be nearly white. Be patient. This is the crucial step. If you want your frosting to hold up in heat, invest your time into this step.
2. Thin the butter. Start the mixer on a low setting and pour in 1 tablespoon of milk. Pick up speed slowly so the milk doesn't splatter out. At first, the milk will make everything separate, but a little while on medium or medium-high speed, it will begin to incorporate in and give a new texture. Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape down the sides. Push everything into the middle and whip on high speed till lighter. Continue this process for the remaining 5 tablespoons of milk. By the end, it should look like whipped cream.
3. Add flavoring. Add the vanilla or other flavoring. Proceed like step 2.
4. Add powdered sugar. Gently place in 2 cups or so of sugar. Put the mixer on low until all the the powder has been incorporated. Now mix on medium high, pausing once or twice to scrape down the sides. Continue three more time.
5. Pipe onto cake. Cut the tip on the disposable frosting bag. If you don't have a frosting bag, you can make a tube with freezer paper or even a heavy-duty freezer bag. Place the tip in the bag and fill halfway with frosting. Push the frosting down the bag and either twist the top of the bag or roll down the top. Pipe the frosting in any pattern onto the sides of the jumbo cupcake. You can smooth out the frosting with a knife Place on plate or foil round and frost the top. Finish the next two layers and decorate how you like.
