FLUFFY FROSTED CUPCAKES - FLUFFY MARSHMALLOW LIKE FROSTING IS FUN!

It's funny, creativity will come out in the darnedest ways. When I'm not in the mood to write, direct or produce another theatrical show, I stare at my Kitchen Aid mixer and ask for inspiration. I don't know what has gotten into me lately but suddenly finding the perfect cupcake recipe has become my obsession. I don't know how this started but I'm so loving this new journey and hobby.

I made these cupcakes on Friday night (9/25/09) the next morning there were only 7 left. This cupcake is a super low cholesterol recipe. No butter, no egg yolks, just egg whites and I used only a 1/2 cup of 1% low fat milk.

The frosting, when it's first made is soft and pliable. Very easy to spread and you don't have to be a cake decorator because it creates a natural swirl when you put it on. When it sits in the air for a while, it turns into a marshmallow consistency. The kids will love this texture. It's funny to bite into. Sprinkles will stick and stay easily. Most decorations will sit well on this frosting.

For the cake I used a white cake recipe. Wasn't wowed by the cake recipe from the Kitchen Aid recipe booklet. But it could be that I need to test my oven's temperature. I left the cake in for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and it was too dry. Maybe I need to bring it down to 325 instead. So I won't share the cake recipe because it's still a work in progress, but I will share the FLUFFY FROSTING which is also known as 7 minute frosting or Marshmallow-like Frosting.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 salt
1/2 cup of water
1 1/2 tablespoon of light corn syrup
2 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla ( I used Madagascar Vanilla and a teaspoon of Orange extract)

Place sugar, cream of tartar, salt and water, and corn syrup in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved, forming a syrup. This doesn't take long to happen. Maybe 1-2 minutes.

Place egg whites in mixer bowl. Use a wire whisk to whip. Whip super fast for about 45 seconds (I used the Kitchen Aid mixer and instructions and quite honestly the whipping took more than a minute for me.) or until whites begin to hold shape. Continue mixing and pour in hot syrup into the egg whites in a fine stream and whip for another 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. (This took longer for me as well). I added a hint of orange gel food coloring to give it a cool light orange sheen. You can't see it in the picture but in person it looks like a like a cool silvery orange. Add vanilla (I added a teaspoon of orange extract as well) and whip about 5 minutes longer or until frosting loses its gloss and stands in stiff peaks. Frost cake immediately.

Oh yes, the sprinkles I bought at Marshalls.

The recipe says that it yields 12-16 servings. Not true. I not only frosted 24 cupcakes but I had enough frosting leftover to frost 12 more cupcakes if not more. I froze the remaining frosting and I have no idea if it's going to keep.

Have fun decorating. For me this was the best part! Well, the taste is cool too. It will make you feel like a kid again! It can get a little sticky so make sure you have a enough wet napkins around.

Per serving: About 109 calories. 27 g of carbs. 0 g of fat. o mg chol (yay!) and 101 mg sodium.