Cookbook Review: 125 Best Cupcake Recipes

125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson
Published in 2005 by Robert Rose Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-7788-0112-2
List Price: $19.95
189pp

Rating	(1 = Worst,	5 = Best)
Presentation		Illustrations
Depth of Information		Practicality
Value		Permanent Library
Gift Giving		Level of Difficulty	Beginner to Average
Overall

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Boasting 125 recipes, how could you possibly go wrong with this book? The odds of finding at least one that appeals to you are pretty high! I first picked up this book from the library for its French Toast Cupcake recipe to use as the base of my Bacon Cupcakes. I fell in love with it, as well as the Maple Buttercream Frosting recipe it featured. It’s the first buttercream I’ve ever liked! It’s the first I didn’t scrape off before eating because it was too sickening sweet, or because I felt like I was eating a stick of butter! It was even the winning combination for the Best Use of Bacon category at Cupcake Camp! With recipes this good, I had to take a look at the rest of the book while I had it!

Flipping through, I noticed there are not a lot of pictures, just a whole lot of recipes. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I like to see what I’m making! But if the rest of the recipes live up to the French Toast standards, then I can overlook the picture issue. The thing I like the most about this book? Almost every recipe has a side note about variations to the recipe. That means there’s WAY more than just 125 recipes here! If you made just one batch of cupcakes each week from this book, between the original recipes and their variations, you’d be baking for roughly a little over 3 and a half years! Mix and match the frosting combinations, and you’re well over 4. I’d say that’s well worth the $19.95 you’d pay for the book.

The recipes are written clearly and are simple enough for the causal weekend baker to master. I didn’t even have to use my mixer for some of the recipes! A lot are even easy enough to bake with kids! (Some aren’t so kid-friendly to eat though. There’s a whole “Adults Only” chapter.) But fear not average to semi-serious bakers! There’s more than just vanilla and chocolate to keep you baking creative and tasty treats. It may even get your creative juices flowing enough to come up with your own variations for even more fun!

I've made a few things out of this book so far. The French Toast Cupcakes were by far my favorite. I've also made the Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes that I thought came out really well (and everyone at work liked them!), as well as the Pink Lemonade Cupcakes, which I made as a Raspberry Lemonade variation, as well as the Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes, also turned into Raspberry Lemon. Both of these variations on the actual recipes didn't turn out all that great for me. They were just alright, but nothing spectacular. That could have just been my choice of variation though, so don't hold those against the book!

I liked this book, and recommend it to anyone looking for a go-to guide for simple yet creative recipes for anything from a birthday party to a bake sale, and even a dinner party! It may lack in pictures, but it more than makes up for it in content. It might not be the book that will transform you into a professional baker, but it’s got enough variety in it to keep you from getting bored! I’ve already renewed this book at the library once, and it’s due back again as we speak—I just don’t want to give it up! It’ll be one I eventually buy for myself, and maybe others too!

Stand-Out Recipes

• Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
• Lemon Yogurt Cupcakes
• Kahlua Cupcakes
• Cappuccino Cupcakes
• Chocolate Cinnamon Cupcakes
• Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
• Anise Cupcakes
• French Toast Cupcakes