Monday, October 18, 2010

Halloween Cupcakes and a Bonus


 Cupcakes made from a box mix...revolutionary I know.  That Betty chick knows what she's doing, what can I say.  But mostly I made the cupcakes as a vehicle for the cute liners and I wanted to try what I saw touted as "The Best Frosting I Ever Had" on Tasty Kitchen. 

As I started making it I realized..."Hey, I'm making a roux!"  Fortunately it turns out tasting way more like frosting than gravy.

Best ever?  I'm not sure about that. It's definitely got a light fluffy thing going on.  Light and fluffy has it's place from time to time, but for me nothing beats a good old buttercream. 



Here's the recipe from Tasty Kitchen if you're interested.


 5 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Butter
1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

 In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (If I’m in a hurry, I place the saucepan over ice in the sink for about 10 minutes or so until the mixture cools.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.

While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don’t want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat the living daylights out of it. If it looks separated, you haven’t beaten it enough! Beat it until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.


Now the bonus...

I'm not sure if I've told you lately, but I really love you guys.  And I also really love notepads.  I just can't get enough of 'em.  Do I ever remember to use them when I need paper?  Not a lot, but I love them just the same.  So I was in The Dollar Tree some high dollar paper product store the other day admiring their selection of notepads.  And somehow my love for you and my love for notepads just made sense.  It all came together like some cosmic truth.  Okay, I'm stopping now.   So here's the loot....



Just a few little notepads, pens, some napkins that might  be nice to line your bread basket, and some holiday themed cooking magazines.  I'll leave this giveaway open through midnight this Friday night (the 22nd).  US only please, since I'm cheap.  To let me know you're interested just leave the codeword "zombie" somewhere in your comment.

31 comments:

Jamie said...

I tried that frosting a few months ago, I thought it was really good!! I love the pumpkin cupcake liners, zombies would have been cute too. ;)

Cristine said...

Cute Halloween liners!

And what a sweet giveaway! Even a zombie would appreciate some new notepads! :)

Michel-lee said...

Zombies...Monsters...OH MY! I'm planning on making some cupcakes for my kid's classrooms for Halloween. I need to get some cute liners. I've tried making frosting w/ flour and it didn't turn out right. I plan to try a different recipe.

theUngourmet said...

I really want to give this frosting a try. Way cute liners! I have been wanting to take some cupcakes over to our new neighbors, the Zombienees, to welcome them to the neighborhood. I've had trouble finding a good time to get over there though. They work strange hours. ;D

The JR said...

LOL...I hope I never see a Zombie!

Betty is my go to girl for cupcakes.

Leslie said...

Betty Crocker is a ZOMBIE!!! lol
I have seen that frosting a bunch of times and it gets mixed reviews. Let us know if you do find the perfect frosting recipe!

Leslie said...

I dream of zombie!

I'm the same way...love love love cute notepads and pens but never use them when I should :)

Anonymous said...

I love the liners and your frosting actually looks really good to me. I like buttercream too but I'd like to try that frosting. It looks so darn fluffy and yummy!

My Little Space said...

Sounds like you're having so much fun in creaming adventure! hehe... Thank you for sharing. Hope you're having a wonderful day.
Kristy

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I hate when I write a "good" comment and the zombie blogger computer boots it!!!
~ingrid

btw, thanks for the scoop on the frosting.

Meghan said...

Only a ZOMBIE would refuse such awesome cupcakes!! (and loot!)

Monet said...

It does sound like a roux...my grandparents are cajun so we've made quite a few! These cupcakes look delicious, and I'm always eager to try new frosting recipes. I will be excited to give this a try. Thank you for sharing...and I'm going to drink a cup of coffee now because I'm a complete "zombie"

Kim said...

I can see why this frosting got your attention. I don't think I've ever seen a frosting made with flour before. Makes you kind of curious, right?

They look delicious. I could put them away like a zombie.

Jessie said...

I frequent the same high end paper store! But I've never seen a zombie shopping there. Fun giveaway!

♥peachkins♥ said...

great giveaways..I wish i could join..

MaryRC said...

oh that frosting looks divine!! cute loot too.. hope youre well..

Faith said...

That frosting does look really fluffy and light! Love the cute liners too. Thanks for the giveaway -- you don't have to be a zombie to appreciate the cute loot! :)

Elaine said...

Zombies need love too!

Mimi said...

Cute cupakes. I haven't tried that frosying in years, I need to give it another shot.
Zombie is such an interesting word, it makes wonder about the person that coined it.
Mimi

The Blonde Duck said...

Cupcakes and a gift? You're so cute!

Krystal said...

haha, I love it! I'm a butter cream person myself as well, and the other zombies in my house who just eat whatever i throw at them! :D

-Krystal @ recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous) said...

I have never made frosting this way. It looks really good though. I will have to give it a try.

Alexis AKA MOM said...

OMGoodness I would eat just the frosting I'm a nutty Zombie like that. You know us dead walking people that can bust out in a dance love our sugar :) ... hehe

Joanne said...

I've heard about this flour frosting business but haven't given it a go yet. You've certainly intrigued me though. What cute little cupcakes!

Reeni said...

I've been hearing so much about this frosting! I don't think I'm going to try it after hearing your opinion - one I trust! I might not like it and then it would turn me into a zombie...!

La Bella Cooks said...

You can't beat buttercream and I adore your little liners. Too cute!

Joie de vivre said...

Julie, my zombie friend, I am sorry that the frosting wasn't the best ever, but your cupcakes were certainly cute! I too have bought some cute cupcake liners that I need to use before the big night. I just used my Easter liners with the eggs on them about two weeks ago so I need to get on it!

gardengirl505 said...

Since having a baby last month I've been a zombie. These cupcakes are so cute and look easy to make.

Monica H said...

I made a similar recipe once and all it said was cook til thick. I didn't cook it long enough- it was thick like gravy, but they meant thick like mashed potatoes. Anyway, it was a MESS! The taste was okay, nothing I feel compelled to make again.

Your cupcake liners are super cute though!

Pick me! Pick me! I'm dressing like a zombie for Halloween!

Unknown said...

Zombie! Zombie! Zombie! And great cupcakes too. I have a philosophy that there is no shame in using a box cake mix. :)

Karen said...

I made this frosting a while back thinking it was going to be 'the best I ever had'. I thought it was yucky - too much like mashed potatoes and not smooth at all. Did you know that zombies love mashed potatoes? :)