Pink Lagoon Cakes

Vanilla cake topped with marshmallow frosting and sprinkles

The Lagoon Nebula, also known as M8, is located about 5,000 light years away in the constellation Sagittarius. Interestingly enough, pink is not a naturally occurring color. The color pink does not exist in the color spectrum and it has no attributed wavelength to it. There is not a single atom that produces the color pink. The human brain perceives wavelengths of light as color and it constructs the color pink as a means to bridge the gap between red and violet.

Oh gravity, thou art a heartless bitch.

I sprained my ankle tonight. Although this may sound like "no big deal" to most, I have managed to go my entire life without even the slightest injury. I also happen to be an extremely clumsy person with several close calls with danger.

Before you ask yourself what this has to do with pink cupcakes, it is because of the cupcakes that I injured myself. Well, they are at least partially to blame. I suppose my un-cat like reflexes are to blame as well... I was bringing my neighbor some cupcakes and it was dark outside which resulted in me under-calculating the staircase and falling down the last two stairs. To top it all off the cupcakes landed frosting side down!! There is a sad imprint of pink frosting a star sprinkles on the pavement still.

The cupcakes were pretty magical though. The marshmallow fluff frosting paired with the delicate vanilla cake was truly out of this world. Marshmallows make everything better, even a sprained ankle.

Vanilla Cake:
(Recipe adapted from all recipes; makes 12)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Marshmallow Fluff Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
16 ounces marshmallow fluff

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; line a cupcake tin with liners.
2. In a medium bowl cream together butter and sugar; beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Alternate mixing in flour mixture and milk to batter and beat until well mixed.
5. Divide batter evenly among cups and bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. Let cool then frost.

Frosting:
Beat butter and sugar together until creamy; add marshmallow fluff and beat until blended.

Neapolitan Nebula

Chocolate Strawberry and Vanilla cake topped with the trio of frosting, marshmallows, and melted fudge

This image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, is of the Key Hole Nebula which is part of the Great Nebula of Carina. Nebulae are interstellar clouds of dust and gas formed as a result of a gravitational collapse in the interstellar medium or from the demise of a star. There seems to be a beautiful harmony within all of the chaos in this particular nebula.

Am I in the mood for chocolate? Perhaps strawberry? Vanilla is always a classic. This is quite the conundrum... or is it?
Neapolitan, you say? Its only the most harmonious combination of all three of your favorite flavors made all the better by the addition of mini marshmallows and fudge melted atop.

I've also never been the type of person who enjoys foods straight from the refrigerator that are typically served warm. Pizza, wings (although I don't eat meat), soup, etc. These cupcakes however break that personal law of mine. In my opinion they are even better when served chilled its reminiscent of ice cream cake. Thats not to say that they didn't fly like hotcakes once I was done sprinkling them with marshmallows.

Marbled Buttercake:
(Makes 12, Recipe adapted from Cupcakes by Pamela Clark)
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon fresh strawberry puree
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons milk, extra

Butter Cream Frosting:
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon fresh strawberry puree
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons milk, extra
mini marshmallows

The final product sans the fudge. I was in a hurry when I was putting the final touches on them and the bag of hot fudge exploded all over my arm and one unfortunate cupcake. Those things always seem to happen when your running late for something. If only I had a dollar each time fudge exploded on my arm...

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 hole cupcake pan with baking cups.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer; add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Stir in sifted flour and milk, in two batches.
4. Divide mixture evenly among three bowls. Add strawberry puree to one mixture. Blend sifted cocoa powder with extra milk in a cup; stir into another mixture. Leave third mixture plain.
5. Drop alternate spoonfuls of the three mixtures into baking cups. Pull a skewer backwards and forwards through mixture for a marbled effect; smooth surface.
6. Bake cakes for about 20 minutes. Turn cakes onto a wire rack to cool.
7. Make butter cream.
8. Swirl cakes with the three flavors of frosting and top with mini marshmallows.
9. Drizzle melted fudge on top for an additional treat.

Frosting:
Beat butter in the bowl 0f an electric mixer until as white as possible; beat in sifted powdered sugar and milk in two batches. Divide mixture evenly among three bowls. Add strawberry puree to one. Blend sifted cocoa with extra milk in a cup; stir into another mixture. Leave the third mixture plain.

This is a poor picture taken from my camera phone of a previous batch that included fudge

Vanilla Sky

Vanilla bean cake with mystical swirls of vanilla bean frosting

I had originally set out to make comet cupcakes in honor of Comet McNaught which is gracing our night sky near the constellation Perseus. The atmosphere around the coma of the comet is actually bigger than the planet Jupiter! However, I was craving vanilla bean cupcakes and I couldn't bring myself to name them comet cakes since I envisioned the perfect embodiment of a comet-esq cupcake complete with a coma and tail, which these were not. I still do plan to make the comet cakes in the near future, I've just been preoccupied enjoying the summer time and much needed break from school. Besides that my apartment is unbelievably hot during the summer months. I like to think of it as a brick oven preheating all day and retaining all of that heat at night making baking a bit of a daunting task. In fact as I'm typing this I have two fans blowing on me simultaneously... I'm one step away from placing a tray of ice in front of said fans.

The vanilla bean cupcakes that I did manage to bake in my very hot apartment were very delicious. I packed them on a recent trip to the mountains that I went on with some friends to view Comet McNaught (the irony!!) and stargaze. I decided it be fitting that these scrumptious vanilla cupcakes be named after one of my favorite movies of all time, Vanilla Sky.

I altered the recipe using Earth Balance which is a healthier alternative to butter that has no cholesterol or hydrogenated oils. I've been experimenting with swapping out ingredients in favor of healthier alternatives... Soon I plan to venture into making completely vegan cupcakes for my vegan friend Paul. Enjoy!

Vanilla Bean Cake:
(makes about 18, adapted from Good Things Catered)
1 1/2 c cake flour, sifted
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature (try Earth Balance instead)
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 c whole milk
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 tsp vanilla extract

Vanilla Bean Frosting:
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
3 tbsp milk
1/2 vanilla bean
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with baking cups
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and whisk together to combine thoroughly, set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
4. Add sugar and beat on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition.
6. Add innards of the vanilla bean and extract.
7. Turn mixer to low and alternatively add milk and flour mixture until fully incorporated.
8. Divide batter among baking cups (fill about 3/4 full).

Look at those luscious vanilla bean flakes!

9. Bake for about 20 minutes
10. Remove from over and let cool completely prior to frosting.

I swear I let the cupcakes cool completely prior to frosting... I blame my hot apartment for the frosting meltage.


I used the cutest all natural sprinkles to decorate with :o)

Frosting:
Beat the butter in a medium sized bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; add vanilla bean innards and salt. Beat in powdered sugar and milk in two batches. If the frosting is too thin, add additional powdered sugar.

To illustrate the explosion of flavor these cupcakes pack


The Vanilla Sky soundtrack made for some laid back baking vibes