Fun Lost Cupcakes

Normally, I like to watch Lost at home alone or just with Brad - so I can turn the TV up to level 30 so I don't miss anything (I still ask Brad, "what did they say?"). Maybe I'm going deaf...but, we live in a loft and the el is close, so I blame that. Oh, and we have an abusive couple (so far I think only verbally) living above us that like to fight at all hours of the day and night.

But, I was invited to a Lost season finale party. I didn't accept right away - then Brad was going to the Cubs game, I was itching to make some fun cupcakes and, oh yeah, I wanted to hang out with my friends - so I decided to go.

1) I think the cupcakes were pretty fun to look at 2) I had fun making them 3) I think people at the party thought they were too fun to eat...until I just made them dig in and told them not to eat the plastic rock/island parts. A choking might have put a damper on the party mood.

Anyway, I've established that they were "fun" and I tried to put my own twist on the decoration. I mean, I'm not the first person to make Lost-themed cupcakes. I googled...there's some tough competition.

I hadn't seen the hieroglyphics on any of the cupcakes I found, so I definitely wanted to do those.

I wanted to make the desert islands with pretzel rod palm trees because they had pretzel rod palm trees!


(Side pretzel note, when I was little and we'd go to the pool in the summer my mom would only let us have pretzel rods and licorice from the snack bar. Why? Because they weren't messy like melted candy bars? Or, because we already looked chunky in our little bathing suits and didn't need the chocolate that we really wanted? Hmm...I'll ask her.

Speaking of moms and licorice, Brad's mom would only let him have exactly three pieces of licorice at a time. She told him that any more than that would cause XXX [insert something gross that requires the use of Pepto]. What?! I'm pretty sure I lived off licorice and cereal in college and never once bought a bottle of Pepto for, ahem...too much licorice. Hilarious.)

Sorry, back to Lost cupcakes. I searched a couple of stores for small plastic planes so I could make it look like they were crashing into the cupcakes, but I didn't find any. So, I got crafty and molded my own little plane out of some stiff icing. Take that Ace of Cakes! Haha.

The actual cupcake was Ginger-Lime with Vanilla Buttercream. Yum. And, something "different" with a tropical island nod? Yes.

Here's the recipe, adapted from FoodNetwork.com.

Ingredients: my adapted recipe made 14 regular-sized cupcakes and 9 mini-sized. The original recipe said 12-14 regular.

Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 heaping teaspoon grated lime zest
• 1/4 teaspoon grated ginger root (next time I would probably increase this to 1/2 or 1 tsp to taste the ginger a little more)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup light sour cream

Frosting (from Billy's Vanilla Buttercream on MarthaStewart.com.)

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 to 8 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or clear vanilla flavor for a whiter base that's easier for making other colors)
• Assorted food coloring, icing gels/pastes

*This is supposed to make enough for 30 cupcakes; I made the whole recipe so I would have enough for all the colors and piping I wanted to do. I have leftovers.

Instructions for Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes
• With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition
• Add the vanilla extract, lime zest, lime juice and ginger and mix well
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a fork or whisk; then sift the entire dry mixture together
• In 5 parts total, alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry; mix until just combined
• Line a muffin pan with liners and fill each liner almost to the top with batter (a 1/4 cup measuring cup or ice cream scoop works well and ensures they're all the same size)
• Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops begin to brown and a toothpick comes out clean
• Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely before frosting

Instructions for Frosting:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes
• With mixer on low speed, alternately add 6 cups sugar, milk and vanilla; mix until light and fluffy
• If necessary, gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar to reach desired consistency (i.e., if the frosting still looks "grainy" add more sugar)
• Divide into bowls and make crazy frosting colors, or just leave it plain if you're boring and not fun! ;)

*Note, when adding food coloring to frosting it will make it look "wetter" and "grainier." Just add more powdered sugar until you get a smoother consistency.

One more photo, I couldn't resist. Also, I'll stop taking picture on my cooling racks...how lame.