No Cupcake Pan? No Problem

So you want to make cupcakes because everyone else loves baking, decorating, and eating cupcakes. Right? So you go and reach for the cupcake pan – but you don’t have one. :( Here’s the solution. Just make this sheet cake, and follow along as I tell you a trick.

Just as a reminder as a few of the ingredients need to be either room temperature or softened; set out eggs for an hour for room temp and butter for an hour for softened (or 12 seconds in the microwave). For this recipe the butter needs to be really soft if you don't have a mixer (which I didn't). Also, if you don't want to buy a big bag of flour, they sell small bags too.

Chocolate ‘Cupcakes’ with Coffee Icing

Makes: ±20 cupcakes     Cake prep time: 35 min.     Bake time: 17-22 min.
Icing prep time: 25 min.       Assembly time: 30 min.     Total overall time: about 2 hours

Utensils needed: measuring cups and spoons, small, medium, and large bowls, spatula, whisk, jelly roll/sheet cake pan, butter knife, cup/rounded object, plastic bag, plates/containers

The Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour                    12 T. unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup cocoa powder                         1 ¾ cups sugar
2 t. instant coffee                                 4 large eggs, room temp.
1 ½ t. baking soda                               2 t. vanilla extract
½ t. salt                                                   1 ½ cups whole milk, room temp.

Set the oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter or spray with vegetable oil a jelly roll pan. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl and set aside.

Completely mixed batter

Cut the butter into chunks and make sure it is very soft, if not microwave for a few seconds. Hand beat (using a whisk) the butter and sugar together in large bowl until light and fluffy for 3 minutes with a mixer or until well mixed if by hand. If you get the butter coated in sugar it is easier to beat without getting the whisk clogged up. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. Then beat in the vanilla.

Throughout the recipe, periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl and clean out the inside of the whisk.

Slowly beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture and follow with ½ of milk. Mix in ½ of the remaining flour mixture, beat in remaining milk, and finally mix remaining flour mixture.

Finished cake, cooling

Using the spatula mix the batter to make sure all is mixed in completely. Pour the batter into the jelly roll plan and evenly smooth. Bake until a toothpick to the center comes out clean, that is with no batter clinging to the toothpick; 17-22 minutes. 19 minutes was perfect for me.

Cool for 1 hour, or until pan is no longer warm.

The Icing:

2 T. heavy cream                               pinch of salt
1 t. vanilla extract                              2 ½ sticks of butter, softened
4 t. instant coffee                               2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

See the peak it holds

Stir the cream, vanilla, instant coffee, and salt together in small bowl until coffee and salt dissolves; the coffee might not dissolve right away but give it a minute and it will. In a large bowl, hand beat the soft butter with a whisk for 2 minutes until smooth, or if you have an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 30-60 seconds. While stirring (if you can), or with the mixer on medium-low, slowly add ½ cup of the confectioners’ sugar and partially mix, then slowly add in 1 cup of sugar to mix completely. Slowly add the last cup and beat until smooth. Stir the cream mixture and then slowly beat into the butter/sugar mixture. Quickly beat until the frosting holds a peak. If you want a thicker frosting add a touch more sugar, and if you want a thinner frosting add a touch more cream – remember, a little goes a long way in frosting. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

The Assembly:
Now that the cake is cooled and the icing is made, let’s get everything ready. Get out either, parchment paper, paper towels, plates – something to set cut cake onto. Make either 1 sheet or have 2 plates; on to prep on and the other to keep it in. Take a cup or round object that is about the size of cupcake that you want and clean the edge of it; my cup had a 2” diameter and worked really well. Warning: there will be crumbs and leftover scraps. :)

Now set the edge of the lip to the corner of the cake (we want to get the most out of the cake, try to leave no gaps) and press down hard enough to make an impression. Follow the lines with the knife by making small up and down cuts. Pop the cake out by sliding the knife underneath. The first is a little difficult but it’s simple once you get the hang of it.

Press down

See the impression

Pop cake out

Cut the edge

I won’t tell you how to fail, but my original idea was an epic fail, I just had to let you know that there was trial and error at work here.

Get out a plastic bag and fill it with the icing. Cut the corner tip to create a piping bag. You can do the icing without a bag but it is so much easier with a bag. This frosting likes to separate (the butter from the other ingredients) in the bag so cut all the cakes out and then ice all at once with dolloping motions. Put on as much as you want.

This is a great idea to do with friends, it would probably be quicker; I did it all by myself and so the assembly took a little bit of time. And for a fun touch, place the 'cupcakes' in normal cupcake liners to take to parties and such.

Extra cake

When you can get to a point where you want to stop cutting out circles but have extra cake, cut the scraps from the clean side and do with the scraps as you please. Then put the remaining frosting on top and spread out for an even layer.

Finished 'cupcakes'

And there you go, 'cupcakes' without a cupcake pan. Please comment if you have a recipe that you want me to try or a problem you have that you need help with.

Until I bake next, I'm Sarah
Peace