Ziggy Cupcake and the Sprinkles from Mars

The most glamorous cupcake in the world: Ziggy Cupcake and the Sprinkles from Mars.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the theme of this edition of IronCupcake:Earth is music. (IC:E is trying to get attention from "The Ellen DeGeneres Show.")

My sweet contest cupcake has a smutty side, a glamorous, androgynous, hedonistic streak.

Meet my entry: Ziggy Cupcake and the Sprinkles from Mars.

David Bowie's legendary album inspired this baking adventure. It's one of my favorite records, and I thought it would be a playful muse for my original cupcake.

I found myself asking, "What would Bowie do?" while working on the project. For instance, I almost bought less expensive orange-flavored liqueur instead of Cointreau. (I don't buy a lot of liqueur, the price was a wee bit more than I expected.)

As I reached for the cheaper booze, MVH posed the question, "What would Bowie do?"

I paused. And then I stood up.

"There's no doubt that Bowie is top shelf all the way." I bought the Cointreau.

Shiny foil wrappers are reminiscent of Bowie's Ziggy costume.

A similar thing happened as I was making the frosting. Getting frosting a deep color is time consuming. Just when you think you've added enough food coloring gel, you beat the frosting to find that there's almost no change. Gah. Add some more, beat some more. Add some more, beat some more. I don't think this is working, I said.

But then I asked, "What would Bowie do?" And the answer was keep going until it was over the top, and then push it some more.

And I kept going, and the cupcakes were more eye-catching for it.

Ziggy Cupcakes demand lots of color, hence the "glamfetti."

Ziggy Stardust wasn't subtle. Ziggy Stardust didn't hold back. According to the song, "He took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar."

I present cupcakes that don't back off, cupcakes that tease your sweet tooth. Ziggy would approve.

HOW TO VOTE FOR MY CUPCAKE

Please vote for Ziggy Cupcake in the IronCupcake:Earth Music Challenge. Click here to cast your vote! The link will take you to the blog No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner. There is a box with a scrollbar on the right side of the page for voting that says "Choose 3 - IC:E Music." Vote for me by checking "Sie Macht." Pictures of Ziggy Cupcake are pretty deep in the blog post. Voting ends at noon Thursday, Nov. 5. Many, many thanks. You rock.

Banana Glamfetti Cupcakes
A Sie macht original recipe

Makes 12 cuppies.

4 ounces all-purpose flour
4 ounces butter
4 ounces sugar
2 medium over-ripe bananas, smashed
2 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons itty-bitty multicolored nonpareils (the glamfetti!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in yolk and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in bananas. The mix may come apart here, but don't panic.

Frozen bananas thaw in a bowl.

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add flour in increments to wet batter. Scrape bowl frequently.

In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks.

Cake batter falls into the mixing bowl. Be tender mixing the nonpareils into the batter.

Gently mix nonpareils into batter. Fold egg white into batter. It's OK to have white eggy streaks.

Scoop batter into cupcake papers in cupcake/muffin tin. Bake for 10 minutes. Check progress and rotate pan. Bake for another 5 minutes; check progress. Check every two minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cupcake comes out clean. (It took me about 17 minutes to bake the cuppies, but everybody's oven is different.)

Frost cupcakes after they've cooled.

Glamfetti is revealed in a cross section of the cupcake.

Almond-Cointreau Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion" easy buttercream recipe

This makes A LOT of frosting, probably enough for two dozen cupcakes.

5 1/3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/8 teaspoon salt
11 5/8 ounces powdered sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/4 cup Cointreau
Lots of Wilton no-taste red icing color (about 30 generous toothpick dips into the jar)
About 40 drops of yellow food coloring (the kind you buy at the grocery)
Red sprinkles

Beat together butter, shortening, and salt until fluffy. Add about half the powdered sugar and beat lightly until well blended. Add almond extract and about half the Cointreau. Beat until fluffy.

Add the sugar and Cointreau alternately, scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.

Streaks of food coloring gel are added to the frosting. Getting a deep frosting color takes patience.

Add red coloring by dipping a clean toothpick into the jar and wiping the gel on the top of the frosting. Use a clean toothpick each time you dip into the color to prevent contaminating the jar. Beat the frosting. Keep adding coloring to achieve the desired dark orange red. Add yellow coloring drops and beat the frosting. This is a tedious process. When you think the frosting is almost dark enough, put it in the fridge for an hour. The frosting will get darker.

Apply the frosting in any fancy-pants way you please. I used a 1M star frosting tip.

Finish the cupcakes with red sprinkles from Mars.

The nonpareils, I mean glamfetti, make the cupcakes a little pink.

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