Chris Colfer Celebration Cloud Cakes

Ok, yes I over did it with the alliteration in the title, but alliteration is fun! Anyways, for those of you who smiled as soon as you read the name “Chris Colfer” and automatically thought of Glee, these cupcakes should make you smile even more. For those of you who are going “Eh? Who the heck is that?” I will tell you. Chris Colfer plays Kurt Hummel on a TV series called Glee, and today is Chris Colfer’s 21^st birthday! Yay birthdays! (Hence the “Celebration” part of the title.)

My sister is so obsessed with this show, and Chris Colfer and his co-star Darren Criss (who happens to play Blain, Kurt’s boyfriend). I personally like the show as well and Chris/Kurt is in the top 3 characters that I adore on the show. My sister, on the other hand, basically has a panic/excitement attack whenever anything/one is in any way associated with the show or even if she sees a picture that reminds her of the show. She has even memorized Kurt’s wardrobe! Someone save me from the insanity (just kidding, I love my little sister).

Now, Chris Colfer seems like a real sweetie in real life and he is all cheery and just all around happy, and that is why I chose to make Angle Food cupcakes on honor of his birthday and him because he is so delicate, like an Angle Food Cake and his hair, oh my his hair. I am jealous of his lovely, dark, thick mane. That is why I chose the frosting that I did, which you will read about in like 30 seconds.

I found the cupcake recipe on Skinny Taste. I’ve made a couple of her recipes before and they aren’t too bad, so I decided to try one of her cake recipes. Well I had the idea of only making a couple of cupcakes because I didn’t want the typical dozen that most cupcake recipes yield, so I cut the recipe in half and after many conversions (because I don’t have cake flour I had to do some math to figure out how much corn starch to add to the flour) I finally got the recipe cut in half, only it wasn’t half. I still got 12 cupcakes! I know it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it kinda is, because if these cupcakes only turned out to be so-so, then I would be stuck with 8 more cupcakes and I can’t give them to my neighbors because I’m sure one hates me for no other reason that I could think of except that I go to school with him. The other neighbor, I don’t really know and the other’s, heck I don’t even know their names! (Don’t move to the west, unless you really like your privacy and don’t mind not knowing your neighbors.) I decided to keep the cupcakes anyway and let them cool and then I made the most marvelous icing!

I am not usually a fan of frosting/icing because whenever I make it at home, it tastes like straight powdered sugar, no matter what I do to it and I just can’t take that. With that in mind, I decided to make a different kind of frosting; a toasted marshmallow frosting! I was a little hesitant about making it because it involved egg whites and then cooking them over simmering water, but I eventually got the hang of it and it turned into marvelous marshmallow topping. The only thing is that I didn’t get it to be as stiff as I would have liked, but that’s ok because the taste was so good it reminded me of s’mores and summer vacation (which I am now officially on).

All around, the cake was ok next to the frosting. I don’t think I cooked the cake all the way through, but it was still pretty good, maybe if I had added a little more flavoring, the cake would stand out more. And I don’t need to tell you twice that the frosting is my new best friend and I love it.

Mmm, toasted little cake. I was actually stunned by the powers of the broiler!

Close-up. I think this is one of the best pictures I've ever taken.

Time to unwrap the little gem and inside is a soft and fluffy cake, just waiting to be gobbled up by yours truely.

Cloud Cupcakes
slightly adapted from Skinny Taste
the recipe bellow makes 12 cupcakes

*Note: These cupcakes are best eaten the day they are made if you use the marshmallow meringue. The cupcake still tasted just as good as the day before, the meringue just doesn't taste as fresh and putting it in the micrwave doesn't do much help.

Ingredients
¼ cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup (minus 2 tsp) flour
2 tsp cornstarch
-or-
1/3 cup cake flour
1/8 tsp salt
4 egg white, room temp.
1 oz water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 paper liners and set aside until later.
2. If you are making your own cake flour you will need to sift together the flour and the cornstarch about 3-4 times.Then sift the flour mixture along with the powdered sugar and the salt If you are using regular cake flour, sift together the powdered sugar, cake flour, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites, water and cream of tartar on medium-low to medium speed until foamy. Add in the granulated sugar slowly and once peaks start to form add in the vanilla and mix on high for a minute or two. Only mix until soft, floppy peaks form and the batter is somewhat glossy.
4. Sift the flour mixture into the egg white mixture in two stages and gently fold to incorporate the ingredients.
5. Scoop batter into the cupcake tins until the liners have reached full capacity (they will not rise very much). Bake for 18-20 minutes. Set on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes and then transfer cakes out of the pan and back onto the cooling rack for further cooling.

Marshmallow Meringue
recipe cut down from The Urban Baker

Ingredients
2 egg whites
½ cup sugar
small pinch cream of tartar
½ tsp vanilla extract
Directions

1. Put a small sauce pan with about an inch worth of water onto the stove and bring to a simmer
2. Combine the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar into the bowl on a electric mixer and place ontop of the pan to creat a double boiler. Whisk constantly until the sugar has disolved and the mixture has reached 145 degrees F. This will take some time.
3. Remove from heat and attach bowl onto the electric mixer and with the whisk attachment, whisk on medium until the egg whites start to foam. Add in the vanilla extract. Beat on high until stiff peaks form and meringue is glossy.
4. Pipe into a bag and frost cupcakes.
5. If you want a toasted marshmallow topping, place an oven rack on the highest position and set the oven to broil. Place the cupcakes onto the rack and broil for no more than 10-20 seconds.

Nutrition Facts
serving size: 1 cupcake
Calories 77.6 Total Fat 0.0 g Saturated Fat 0.0 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g Cholesterol 0.0 mg Sodium 51.9 mg Potassium 15.6 mg Total Carbohydrate 17.4 g Dietary Fiber 0.1 g Sugars 14.6 g Protein 4.3 g