Today I thought I would share this quick little tutorial for an alternative to traditional cupcake frosting. I love to bake cupcakes, but I rarely frost them because making my own buttercream is a pain in the neck, and the store bought frosting in a tub isn't very good.
I have seen the tip from Real Simple tip of melting a marshmallow over the top of a cupcake in lieu of frosting, and I have also seen the many failed attempts floating around pinterest:
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| Image Source: Craft Fail |
The problem with it is that Real Simple doesn't give you decent tutorial on exactly HOW to do it, so today I thought I would share the nitty gritty details. It CAN be done, if you know the secrets:
You really do only need 3 things:
1. Cupcakes.. still in the oven
2. Marshmallows
3. A bowl of water
This is one of those tips that isn't shared very often. If you dampen one side of the marshmallow, they will stick to the cupcake and not slide off when they begin to melt.
When you have 3-5 minutes left of baking time on your cupcakes, stick the dampened marshmallows to the top of them (I pull the oven rack out, put the marshmallows on and push it back in.. instead of taking the cupcakes all the way out)
At first they will puff up a little:
Then you will see them slowly start to melt.
At the stage where they are just beginning to melt, but aren't running all over (usually about 4 minutes depending on baking temperature), remove them from the oven, and use the back of a spoon or a spatula to squish the marshmallow so the top of the marshmallow is spread evenly over the top of the cupcake:
The frosting is pretty sticky (like the melted marshmallow that you find in the center of a s'more) but still spreadable. You DON'T want to see any browning. That will give you a crusty, unspreadable marshmallow.
You want to take them out of the muffin tin as soon as you have the marshmallow spread where you want it. If you leave it in the pan, the residual heat will cause it to continue to melt and run down the side of your cupcake.
You can use the broiler or a torch to brown up the spread marshmallow (the same way you would treat a meringue) but I prefer mine un-toasted.
Cupcakes are definitely better with frosting, and frosting is best when it is easy!
Sharing at these parties.
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