Gwyneth Paltrow’s (Granny Helen) Makes Great Cupcakes

I love getting GOOP ~ each Thursday Gwyneth Paltrow sends out interesting bits from her life to thousands of interested readers.

Today Gwyn features a number of cool recipes from Treat Street ~ an “underground” bakery that some of her friends operate.  One of the ideas from the favorites are these cool Eyeball Cupcakes.  The decoration is the super fun part, but the recipe that Gwyn offers (below) looks really great too.  It’s her Granny Helen’s special recipe.

• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup red food coloring, plus more for the frosting
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• plenty of vanilla buttercream frosting (use your favorite recipe or buy it prepared)
• red food coloring
• 24 Gummy Lifesavers (or any round candy with a hole in it)
• 24 black jellybeans
Preheat oven to 350°. Line two 12-cupcake tins with white paper liners.
Cream shortening and sugar together by hand or in an electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and blend well. In a small bowl, make a paste of food coloring and cocoa and add to the shortening mixture. Sift flour and salt together into this mixture. Add the buttermilk and stir until incorporated, then stir in the water and the vanilla. In a small bowl, mix the vinegar with the baking soda. Fold this mixture into the cake batter, making sure it’s incorporated but being sure not to overmix it.

Pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cakes spring back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn the cupcakes out of pans and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

When they’re cool, cover the cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Tint your extra frosting with red food coloring. Using a pastry bag and a small round tip, pipe the red frosting on the tops of the cupcakes to resemble bloodshot veins. Place one jellybean into the hole of each round candy. Now you have irises and pupils. Place one in the center of each cupcake. Serve in pairs. Eeeek!

Tagged as: baking, cake, cupcakes, desserts, halloween, sweets