Clowning around !!!

Kids usually tend to love the sugary frosting on the cake than the cake itself. My daughter is no exception... she will lick every bit of frosting before eating the cake. She and her friends had a blast on her birthday, clowning around and munching down clown cupcakes. Of course, it would not have been possible without Jo-Ann (http://www.joann.com/) and Wilton (http://www.wilton.com/).

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes

Butter - 250 gms (2 sticks + 2 tbsp)

Confectioner's Sugar (powdered sugar) - 250 gms (2 cups + 1 tbsp)

Large Eggs - 4

Vanilla Essence -2 tsp

All purpose Flour - 250 gms (2 cups + 1 tbsp)

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Milk - 1/2 cup

Chocolate chips - 1 cup

For Frosting

Butter - 1/2 cup

Vegetable Shortening - 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Confectioner's Sugar (powdered sugar) - 5 cups

Milk - 1 tbsp

Edible Yellow color

Edible Green color

Ready-to-use Red Icing Tube

Clown Head Sets (Wilton brand) - 2 packs (of 6 each)

Method:

For Cupcakes

Preheat oven at 350F. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners.

Double sift flour and baking powder and keep aside.

Cream butter and sugar to a light consistency. Add eggs one by one, beating well each time, to make sure the egg is well incorporated.

Add the vanilla essence and beat well.

Add the sifted flour, alternating with milk, mixing each time with a spatula.

Add chocolate chips and make sure they are spread evenly in the cake mixture.

Fill each cupcake liner with this cake batter. Make sure to fill only 3/4 of the cupcake liner.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted, comes out clean.

Cool completely before frosting.

Tip: Instead of chocolate chips, add zest of one lemon along with vanilla. Makes a moist lemony cake. Drizzle some glaze on top for a simple finish.

For Frosting (can be made ahead of time)
Cream butter and shortening with an electric mixer till smooth. Incorporate the vanilla essence.
Add sugar one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Keep scraping sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the sugar is all mixed in.
Add milk and beat until light and fluffy. Tranfer to an air-tight container and store in refrigerator.
Note: More sugar creates a stiffer consistency and more milk creates a thinner consistency. So, adjust accordingly. For making a clown, a stiff consistency is required.
Once the cupcakes are cool, they can be frosted. Take half of the frosting and add 6 drops of yellow color and whip until fluffy. This creates a pastel shade. More drops can be added for a darker color. The same can be done for green colored icing.
Transfer to an icing tube or a decorating bag, both fitted with a star tip.
To make the body of the clown, squeeze the tube to create an upright base. Pipe the legs out at an angle starting from the base of the body. Pipe the arms starting from the top of the body to the side of the body. Insert the clown head on the top of the body. Pipe small red blobs, using the ready-to-use red icing, at the end of the arms and legs to create hands and feet. The clown is ready :) (adapted from Wilton - http://www.wilton.com/technique/Circus-Clown)