Case Study 37: "The David Bowie"

"Don't let me hear you say life's taking you nowhere, angel. Come get up my baby.  Look at that sky, life's begun, nights are warm and the days are young." - David Bowie

Ziggy Stardust Bowie.  Labyrinth Bowie.  Freaky dream Bowie.   Heteropoda DavidBowie. A man of innovation, sheer glamour, and reinvention, Bowie reminded us to dream, while never losing sight of who we really were.  
 
"The David Bowie" is a fun-kyfetti vanilla cupcake filled with jimmies and topped flaming red vanilla buttercream, glam rocks, stardust and a spider from Mars. Half imagination, half bizarre, it's a cake oddity of Bowie mysticism in a Weird and Gilly confection.

This Halloween, I'll don my best silver lame', Aladdin Sane face, and whip out air guitar windmill riffs.  Like a cat from Japan, I'll rebel rebel and find modern love.  And I'll do it like Bowie did best...with striking visuals and in search of my very own golden years.

"The David Bowie Cupcake"
Makes approximately 14 cupcakes

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup flat rainbow jimmies

1. Preheat the oven to 325°, fill a 1 dozen cupcake pans with liners.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.

3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Mix in half of the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, then the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients.

5. Fold in the jimmies. 

6. Divide the batter into the prepared cupcake pans and bake for about 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes completely before frosting.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream

2 sticks butter, softened

2 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup milk 

4-6 cups confectioner's sugar

20 drops red food coloring

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

2. Add 1 cup confectioner’s sugar and mix until combined. Mix in ¼ cup milk. Mix in food coloring, about 20 drops, to reach your desired color.

3. Mix in remaining cups of confectioner’s sugar, and additional milk depending on consistency and preference.

4. Frost cupcakes, and glitter as glamourously as desired. No Bowie cupcake is rock n' roll suicide.  

5. Put on a funky funky eye patch.  
6. Rock out.