Cupcakes 101: Lurpak® Visits Butter Lane Bakery for a Crash Course in Frosting
Butter Lane bakery, one of the sweetest spots in New York, knows that frosting is key to a great cupcake. That’s why the bakery offers just three kinds of cupcakes—chocolate, vanilla, and banana—but you can choose between 15 different frostings! From Sea Salted Chocolate to Honey Cinnamon to Strawberry, Butter Lane’s creations take basic cupcakes to the next level. To learn their frosting secrets, Lurpak® attended a “Cupcakes 101” class, where we found lots of great tips for the home baker!
The class of about 15 students was divided into three groups, each armed with a standing mixer. Following Butter Lane’s recipes, each group made one of three simple frostings: chocolate, vanilla, and cream cheese. Then we divided each bowl of frosting in half, and by mixing in a few simple ingredients, turned three frostings into six. Vanilla became raspberry, cream cheese became cinnamon, and chocolate became chocolate peanut butter. Suddenly we had an array of frostings to mix and match with Butter Lane’s cupcakes!
Our instructor showed us how to frost like a pro and create the Butter Lane signature swirl. However, it’s harder than it looks: after dabbing on a ball of frosting, you need to rotate the cupcake in one hand while tapping the top with a frosting spatula. We definitely need to keep practicing at home! Of course, that means making some more cupcakes, maybe some of these Lurpak® Chocolate Buttermilk cupcakes…yum!
Here are some of the great baking tips that Lurpak® picked up at Cupcakes 101:
1. Get it all out. When baking, be sure to scrape all your bowls clean, leaving no ingredient behind. Recipes list exact quantities, so when you don’t add everything, the proportions become skewed.
2. The beat goes on. You have to be careful not to overbeat cake batter or you will develop gluten, which leads to a tougher cake. But because there is no flour in frosting, you can keep beating as long as you like. In fact, the more you beat, the fluffier your frosting will become!
3. Better butter, better batter. This bakery loves butter—there’s a reason it’s in the bakeshop’s name! Butter Lane knows that it is important not to skimp on high quality ingredients. A great tasting butter makes a difference in all baked goods, but it will be especially noticeable in a recipe like frosting, which requires only a few ingredients. When you can taste each ingredient, quality counts! Lurpak® is the perfect choice for making gourmet frostings with a luscious texture and full flavor. Give it a try next time you make cupcakes!
4. Add a splash of cream cheese. One of Butter Lane’s secrets is to incorporate a small amount of cream cheese into all their buttercreams, not just the cream cheese frosting. The extra cream cheese adds smoothness and tang, and it keeps the frosting from getting too sweet.
Baking may be all about chemistry and proportions, but at Butter Lane, we learned that frosting is where you can let your imagination take over. Mix in coffee, peanut butter, your favorite jam—whatever you love—and add it in small amounts until the frosting tastes just right. After Cupcakes 101, Lurpak® knows that the secret to making fabulous cupcakes is making them just the way you want them!
Want to see the Lurpak® commercial with Butter Lane bakery? See below: Lurpak® and Butter Lane.
