Mini Angel Food Cupcakes & Whipped Frosting




If there's one thing every girl knows, it's that New Year's Eve requires lots of sparkle. Now, the typical girl will satisfy that craving in the form of a glitzed-out dress; I, on the other hand, dress up my desserts instead. This reason is two-fold: first off, I'm spending New Year's with my beautiful niece and nephew, and they're quite easily impressed. As long as I tickle them and share my fries with Mimi, they're good. The second reason is because I normally don't buy a glitzed-out dress. Why would I spend that money on one outfit when I could buy 3 pairs of yoga pants instead?

Common sense.


Speaking of common sense, I lost some when I made these cupcakes. My parents bought me a beautiful and long-awaited stand mixer for Christmas. This thing is no joke. I'm pretty positive its engine could run my car. It's pure steel, and while I started to make the frosting, I lightly grazed the "whisk" to let some butter free.

This was a poor decision. We all make poor decisions around New Year's; mine just involved frosting instead of alcohol.

My hand got caught up in the blades. And when I say caught up, I mean there were sparks flying, fingers snapping and plenty of screaming. Tim called 911, and the firemen had to cut my hand out of the mixer. It was really severe. Thankfully, there were no broken bones or torn ligaments. Just some deep cuts and lots of swelling. God was gracious, and the doctors were shocked I didn't lose at least one finger.

So learn a lesson from me. Don't touch the mixer. My father also gently reminded me not to stick a screwdriver in a wall plug or to jump in front of a moving vehicle. He always knows just what to say.

Back to the cupcakes. They are light, airy and almost angelic. You can obviously use any color for the frosting that you'd like; I chose pink. But I won't tell you what to do. We're all consenting adults here.

Cake Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
  • 2/3 cup cake flour, sifted
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 egg whites from large egg whites
    • This comes out to 1 cup of egg whites, if you're using a container.
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • Silver mini cupcake liners
    • You obviously don't have to use silver, but I think that it accents the pearls nicely
  • Edible pearls (see below for further details)
Frosting Ingredients:
  • 1 cup milk
  • 5 tablespoons flour
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions:


Go ahead and put the egg whites, water, vanilla extract and cream of tartar in a bowl and mix on low until foamy.


Add sugar slowly over the course of 3-4 minutes, continuing to mix on a medium setting.


When it's done, it should peak and be nice and foamy.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and fold with a large spoon. Don't mix this. This is the step that can make or break the cupcakes. By folding them, you keep the mixture nice and airy.


Place your mini cupcake liners in the pan and fill 2/3 of the way full.


Bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.


Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Now, for the frosting...


Combine the milk and flour in pan.


Whisk continually for about 7 minutes over medium heat. This could take less than 7 minutes depending on the pan and the stove top.


When it get nice and thick, it's time to turn the heat off.


Add the vanilla, combine and let it cool completely.


Using a mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until it's well-combined and creamy.

So, I don't have anymore pictures of the frosting being made, because right as I began to mix this, disaster struck.


Here's a picture of the steel whisks after the firefighters cut them off my hand. It hurt. Still does. So, I cheated and bought the frosting. But I'll still give you the rest of the frosting directions, because this is the fluffiest, most delicious frosting.

Once the butter and sugar are creamed and the flour/milk mixture is completely cooled, combine the two and mix until combined. It should resemble whipped cream. Add any food coloring you desire and make sure it is completely cooled before topping cupcakes. 


Grab your pearls. You can buy these at Walmart for $1.68. They also have gold and silver flakes for the exact same price. Too cute to pass up.


Gently place edible pearls on the cupcakes over frosting.


I cheated and tried one without the frosting. So sue me.

I hope you enjoy these! And if it makes you feel better, the cupcakes have fewer calories than a normal cupcake because of the egg whites. Plus, they're so dainty, you can't help but love 'em!

Love and angel fluff,


Content Copyright © 2009 by Rachael Wadsworth and All Kinds of Yumm. All rights reserved. Click here to read our Privacy Policy. Click here to read our Cookies Policy.