Cupcake chemistry

It has been a very long time since I've posted - just over 2 months. I really don't know where the time has gone. I have still been baking but haven't had the time to sort through and edit photos. Is it the responsibilities of having a house now versus the condo? Is it that I've been working hard on my Master's thesis? Perhaps a little of both. 

I made these Breaking Bad themed cupcakes mid-June for a university graduate. The Breaking Bad theme worked well for the graduate's favourite show and an Honours Bachelor of Science degree. 

The 'elements' spell out "Yo, Michael - HBSc. You Cooked It!" Where possible, I used the correct atomic numbers for the elements. For made up elements, I tried to use atomic numbers most closely resembling the letters used.

The round bottom flask and Erlenmeyer flask with funnel are from Walter and Jesse's mobile meth lab. I used petal dust to make them look well used.

The gloves are heavy duty for Breaking Bad meth-making. I don't ever recall using such large gloves for chemistry labs in university. The respirator is representative of the equipment Walter and Jesse used in their fancy 'laundry' lab. 

While the majority of the meth in the show appeared to be consumed via smoking, I believe that when Jesse and his girlfriend were getting high together, they used the above drug paraphernalia. 

For the crystal meth, I originally made some blue candy. It was my first time making hard candy and I was so excited that it actually worked. The next day, I was cleaning my candy thermometer and noticed that the glass thermometer tip was broken. I had not noticed any broken glass anywhere on the kitchen counters and had already washed the pot that I used. I could only assume that the glass somehow ended up in my batch of blue candy. Alas, I had to throw my first candy attempt in the garbage. Not having the time to make another batch of candy, I resorted to using ready made rock candy. It worked quite well as it was super easy to break into little pieces, but unfortunately I don't get bragging rights for actually making the 'meth'. 

What set of Breaking Bad cupcakes would be complete without Walter Whites tighty-whities - the lab attire of choice when you're cooking meth in a mobile home in the desert. 

And last, but certainly not least, Mr. Heisenberg himself, with his signature hat and goatee. I actually really hate that hat. 

While baking is slightly less lucrative than cooking meth, I think the chemistry is much more rewarding. 

These cupcakes were coffee flavoured using quite a generous amount of espresso powder. The frosting was amaretto and contained an also equally generous amount of Disarrono Amaretto Liqueur. 

While I will be taking a bit of a cake-ation for the month of August, I will be trying to catch up on posting some pictures of recent projects as time permits. 

Nothing says the holidays like liquor-infused baked goods!

So much for a baking break. 'Tis the season of potlucks. I always struggle with whether to bring something cooked and savoury rather than a sweet treat, but the struggle is always short lived and out comes the butter, milk, eggs, sugar and flour.

This week: 2 potlucks in 3 days. With all of the business of the season and planning desserts and cakes for family Christmas dinners and an upcoming birthday, there isn't a lot of time for making anything elaborately decorated. I decided to compensate with alcohol.

Hello amaretto.

For my first potluck, I decided to make the Chocolate Amaretto Bundt Cake from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook. I haven't done a lot of baking of desserts that don't end up being covered in icing or fondant. How you make a bundt cake pretty? I used the Heritage Bundt Cake pan from Williams Sonoma. The pan creates a beautiful swirl design. I've made one bundt cake before - it was the recipe that came with the pan. I found it on the dry side and it needed to be a la mode to improve the moistness and palatability. This chocolate amaretto cake promised to be delightfully moist.

I've read about dusting a lightly greased pan for a chocolate cake with cocoa powder rather than flour in order to avoid remnants of white flour on a dark cake. I attempted this with little success - the cocoa powder stuck in clumps to the greased pan and it dissolved slightly. I brushed the excess cocoa powder out with a pastry brush and dusted the pan (easily) with flour. I had no issues with white residue on the cake, despite using flour. I (not so) lightly dusted the cake with icing sugar - just like a light dusting of snow. 

The cake was, as promised, quite moist with a nice, strong amaretto flavour which comes from using good amounts of both almond extract and amaretto liqueur. I still think the cake might be improved with some sort of chocolate glaze although I would use a different pan in that case because I feel that a glaze would detract from the simple beauty of the swirl design.