Recipe for a high-altitude environment of approximately 5,000 ft
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- I'm not sure if Morning Fresh Dairy Root Beer Milk is available at Whole Foods outside of Denver. If you cannot find root beer milk, feel free to make your own using canned or bottled root beer (I recommend Henry Weinhard's Root Beer) and mixing it with whole milk or half-and-half (depending on how indulgent you're feeling). I don't really have any recommendations for what the ratio of root beer to milk should be, so feel free to experiment and figure out what flavor you like best! I will say that Morning Fresh Dairy's root beer milk tends to be creamier and only has a mild root beer taste, but if you would prefer a stronger root beer taste, by all means, go for it.
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- All spoon measurements are level and unsifted, unless otherwise specified. To level the ingredients, take the back of a knife and run it across the top of the measuring cup until the excess ingredients are scraped off.
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- Liquid and dry measuring cups are different; please make sure you use the appropriate measuring cup for each ingredient.
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- After adding the milk and egg mixture to the flour, don't overbeat the resulting mixture as this will overwork the flour and make the cake dense -- simply beat or stir until the flour is just incorporated. In my opinion, making sure you don't overbeat the batter is one of the hardest parts about baking.
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- Don't open your oven until at least the minimum time recommended has passed. Too much cold air coming from a frequently opened oven door causes irregular oven temperatures that affect the baking process.
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- When the first recommended bake time has passed, test the cupcakes by inserting a toothpick or wooden skewer into the center of a cupcake. The skewer should come out clean. Unfortunately, the regular Hummingbird Bakery test of readiness (that is, cupcake tops that bounce back when touched) does not work for these cupcakes, as the root beer milk makes the cake crumb far denser and heavier than regular Hummingbird cupcakes.
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- The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. I recommend beating the frosting for at least five minutes on medium-high speed.
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- Frost your cupcakes immediately after you have made the frosting. If you let the frosting sit out too long, it will start to crust and harden and you will have a hard time frosting your cupcakes. However, make sure your cupcakes are completely cooled before doing so, otherwise they will get soggy.
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- Similarly, add any extra decorations you might want immediately after frosting the cupcake. If you wait to decorate the cupcake, the frosting will harden and the decorations will bounce right off the frosting.
- These cupcakes are especially perishable. I don't think root beer milk keeps well out of the fridge. I recommend eating these within 1-2 days, at most.