Girls’ Night In with Food Network All-Star Ady Abreu

Ady Abreu does cupcakes. Some are plain Jane: classic vanillas with perfectly prim buttercreams. Others, are on the edgy side like Chocolate Stout Beer with Salted Caramel or Evil Cherry and Pomegranate-Ginger and it was master mixes that, quite literally, took the cake as Abreu won the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars last May.

Champing Cupcake Wars is a milestone for any baker. No match for the meek, the contest’s final round requires 1,000 cupcakes in two hours; a feat that left the Dominican Republic native and Ady Cakes owner exhausted, but unphased.

“Cupcake Wars was the validation I needed from top people in the industry,” says Abreu, who is known for clever creations like pistachio-date-cardamom and her flagship store’s signature pink champagne cake.

“I’m always in creative mode,” says Abreu, “I find inspiration in the most uncommon places and products – even a ray of light on the pavement triggers a concept for a cake design.”

Flower in her hair, bakers’ flour in hand, Abreu can credit her success to raw talent and a deep love for creating pieces of edible art. Her style is quirky, experimental; filled with whimsies like fresh candied orange peel and citrus crèmes atop strawberry-mimosa infusions. With training like classical ballet, painting lessons and acting classes (“you name it!”), she has always been involved in the arts. With that, her West Reading, Pennsylvania bakery works more like a creative studio than just a kitchen.

While Abreu's business was a solo venture for the past five years, winning Cupcake Wars allowed her to acquire some helping hands. Still, Ady’s independent spirit shines through: “I took my life savings and left a secure job to pursue my dream business, but I always had great faith in what I do,” says the former industrial engineer. “My success is not an accident or happened by chance, it is the fruit of many years of labor.”

Perfect for a Girls’ Night In, the femme-power enthusiast shares with us below some expert baking tips – plus one of her faves: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream. 

Ady’s Be-Bold Baking Tips:

1. Find a great recipe. You are not going to know how much you like a recipe until you try it, but a quick search on a fabulous site such as The Latin Kitchen can land you on a great dish. Research ingredients and flavor combinations that appeal to you. I know whether I would like a cupcake flavor by just reading the list of ingredients. If it doesn’t sound good, it probably isn’t – but be open-minded!

2. Get organized: Once you find a recipe make sure you have all the ingredients on hand. It's not much fun when you discover that you don’t have any baking powder when you have already started mixing! Plus, a good electric mixer and an oven thermometer are vital to successful baking.

3. Oven temperature. Test yours! Baked dishes can be easily ruined if the oven is too low or too high.

4. Follow instructions! Remember, baking is science – you must respect its nature.

5. Let it be. You simply can’t rush the baking process; and cranking up the oven temperature to rush a batch of cupcakes will most likely result in over-baked products.

6. Icing a warm cupcake is never a good idea.

7. It’s all about presentation: No matter how great a dish is, if the display is sloppy; your guests will not be as tempted to try it. After you spend time in the kitchen preparing a dish – make sure it’s presented with dignity.

8. Enjoy! Take the time to savor your creations. Have you ever baked something amazing and been so busy with your guests that you don’t even take a moment to eat it!? Don’t do that to yourself.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 teaspoons pumpkin spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk

Get the full recipe and ingredient list.