Chocolate Handling Gloves
Yep – these are a thing. They’re thin, cotton gloves that keep fingerprints off your chocolate creations when picking them up. They can be purchased online or from bakery supply stores, and they are great for handling chocolate coming out of silicone molds or for adding chocolate toppers to cupcakes without leaving any trace of yer grubby paws.
Cookie Lifter
These small, flat spatulas are great for – you guessed it – lifting cookies on and off a cookie sheet. Always wait until your cookies have cooled two or three minutes before sliding this puppy underneath them and moving them to a cooling rack, otherwise they will be too soft and prone to breaking. If you don’t have a lifter, wait until cookies are completely cooled before lifting them off the cookie sheet with a gentle twist.
Couplers
These are used to hold small piping tips in place in a piping bag. (More on tips later!) The two brands I use most frequently are Wilton and Ateco. But be careful – the Ateco couplers and tips do not “play nice” with the Wilton couplers and tips, so be sure to use tips with the matching brand of coupler. See page 27 for details on how to put together a piping bag with a tip and coupler.
Cupcake Baking Pans
These are usually called “Muffin Tins”, but let’s not fool ourselves - we know what we’re using them for. Use a standard size, and make sure they’re not marked “Jumbo”. Mini sized tins can be used for making miniature versions of all the recipes in this book, but baking times will be shorter – keep an eye out for golden tops and check the centers for doneness with a toothpick. Also keep in mind, dark colored pans cook their contents faster, and lighter pans cook them slower.
Cupcake Corer
This fun little gizmo will make light work of popping the middle out of a cupcake in order to add filling. While it sure is nifty, a thin paring knife will also do the job. Cut a hole two-thirds of the way down into the cupcake and tilt knife upwards to remove the ‘cake plug.’ Be careful not to cut the hole too wide – try and cut it the way you would cut the top off a Halloween pumpkin, keeping uncut cake on all sides
Cupcake Liners
These are available in a variety of colors, from simple white to a jazzy rainbow leopard print number. Any color can be used with any cupcakes; however, color and style recommendations are made with most of all the cupcake recipes in this book.
Disher / Ice Cream Scoop
While both can be used to dole out an equal amount of cake batter into a cupcake pan, color-coded scoops called “dishers” are used for portion control in food preparation and restaurants and can take less trial-and-error than finding the perfect ice cream scoop. My go-tos are a #20 yellow disher for portioning my cupcake batter, and a #40 purple for portioning cake pops. I also use the #20 disher to help determine how much frosting to dye / flavor for a particular number of cupcakes, at one scoop per cupcake.
Edible Ink Pens
Like food dye, but in a handy felt-tip pen applicator. A few companies make them, but by a wide margin, Americolor pens are the best quality and last the longest, and they work on a wide variety of surfaces. Edible ink pens are great for details on cake pops and fondant, or anywhere you need a quick, small application of color. While they come in all colors, I find I use the black 90% of the time, so keep that one in good supply. The black can be purchased in a pack of two on their own online, or in a pack with all the other colors.
Flavoring Oils
When lemon zest alone just won’t cut it, these oils extend your flavor possibilities. Need your cupcakes to taste like cotton candy? No problem! There’s a flavoring oil for that. Add slowly and to taste, keeping in mind that the baking process will remove some of the flavor. That being said, try not to go overboard! I use an eyedropper to add the flavoring from these small vials, ensuring that I don’t just upend the bottle accidentally and put someone into a Cotton Candy Coma™.
Fondant
Fondant is like the modelling clay of the baking world. It is made out of sugar and water, with gelatin and glycerol to make it stretchy and malleable. You can dye it, flavor it, shape it, spread it out thin to cover frosted cakes, and dry it to cut shapes out of it with an X-acto or sharp paring knife. My brand of choice is Wilton, as it dries at a decent speed for cupcake toppers when thin, stays moist enough for shaping when thick, and is dry enough that it doesn’t stick to your fingers like crazy.
Fondant Glue
This simple “glue” is made at home, and is used to stick things to fondant, or to stick fondant to itself. Take a one-inch ball of fondant, and put it in a small, shallow microwavable dish with a teaspoon of water. Microwave on high for about 20 seconds, or longer if required. Stir mixture to create glue texture, adding more drops of water if needed. If glue starts to thicken back up while in use, add a few more drops of water and microwave again until it is the desired consistency.
Gel Food Coloring vs Liquid Food Coloring
There is a big difference between these two types of food coloring. While the liquid coloring you can buy in a grocery store is good for coloring other liquids, they will not do the trick for buttercream or batter as the dye is not concentrated enough. Gel dyes can be purchased online or at specialty baking / crafting stores like Michaels or Bulk Barn. In contrast to liquid dyes, only a tiny amount should be used, and it can be doled out using a toothpick. Be careful not to “double-dip” as that can transfer bacteria to the tub of dye. They last almost forever, but always keep a lid on them, as they will dry out to a rubbery consistency if left open to the air.
Luster/Disco Dust
Luster dust is an edible dust that adds a shimmer to your baked goods, while disco dust is a coarser edible glitter that can be used in the same way. They can be watered down into a paintable paste with a few drops of vodka, or dusted dry on a surface with a large, soft paintbrush. Luster dust can also come in a spray can, which is useful for spraying a metallic sheen onto something wet, like the top of a frosted cupcake. A 24k gold dust can even be purchased and used in very small amounts
