Mmmmmmm!

My first try at Red Velvet Cupcakes.

With cream-cheese buttercream frosting.




Delish!

Recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook.



...now if only I could really perfect the swirl...

Shipping Cupcakes...the arrival

I was hopefully optimistic that this method of shipping cupcakes would yield an intact cupcake upon arrival.

After all, I did ship it PRIORITY mail.

2-3 days.

Uh-uh.

More like, 5 days. Thanks USPS!

On to the aftermath of pictures. It's an ugly sight, people. If the carnage of cupcakes frightens you, then go no further.




Exhibit A.
The delivery box.

Note the nice dent.





Exhibit B.
All wrapped up. Resembles some ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls.




Exhibit C.
Side shot. Clearly, they had a traumatic journey.




Clearly.




Exhibit D.
Poor, sweet, innocent cupcakes. They had no idea their demise lie ahead.




On a positive note, to quote the receiver:

"Sorry my dear. They smell awesome and I have no shame in scraping the best part from the lid to sample it. :)"



So, there you have it. This cupcake shipping experiment gets a



big,



fat

Shipping Cupcakes...the Experiment!

I'm on a quest to find a way to ship cupcakes...intact! Here is my trial method. I picked it up somewhere on the web but for the life of me I can't find the site now. I can't even remember how they turned out.

So, here it goes!

Step one.

Get a plastic bakery muffin or cupcake box. I saved one from a previous muffin purchase, but I've also purchased them from the bakery counter at our local grocery store.

Step two.

Make your cupcakes. Decorate. For this experiment I've iced 2 cupcakes in a shortening-based buttercream, and 2 with a thin layer of buttercream and topped with rolled fondant.

Step three.

Cut out cardboard discs the size of where the cupcake will sit. Take candy coating/chocolate, melt, and spoon onto the bottom of each disc, place into the plastic box as shown:





Repeat for all cupcakes, pressing down each disc.



Step four.

Dab melted chocolate on top of all discs. Place cupcake and carefully push it down to glue it to the melted chocolate. I sort of give it a little "twist" as I push down.



There. All cupcakes nicely nestled in their spot.



Step five.

Take a pointed skewer.



Place it down the center of the cupcake. Push it down, so it goes through the cardboard. You will hear a little "pop" when it goes through.



Then take some cutters and cut each one just above the top of the cupcake. Make sure no splinters find their way onto the cupcakes!




Step six.
Close container.



For extra protection I double-wrapped with saran wrap.



Into the shipping box they go! I've padded it up with plastic shopping bags.



Filled it up with more plastic bags and closed it up.

Today they will start their journey to my friend's house, and we will see how this experiment turns out!