Mountainous Angelfood Cupcakes

6 egg whites
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
a pinch of salt
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. butter flavoring
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
zest of one lemon
1 c. flour
Allow egg whites to warm to room temperature. (This helps them beat up ultra-fluffy). Using an electric mixer, whip eggs until soft peaks form. Add cream of tartar, baking powder, and salt then slowly add sugar while beating. The batter should now be a soft, fluffy meringue that with firmish peaks. Add remaining ingredients, slowly incorporating flour while continuing to beat. To keep from over-beating the batter, use your electric mixer just until the flour has disappeared into a pillowy batter, then spoon into prepared cupcake pans, filling 3/4 full. Bake in an oven preheated to 325 degrees for 16-18 minutes, or just until the center of the cupcakes bounce back when gently touched. Remove from oven. Allow to cool.
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Burnt-Butter Icing
4 T. butter
1 1/2 c. mini marshmallows
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar
1-3 tsp. milk
In a medium saucepan, bring butter to a boil over extremely high heat. Do not stir. Allow butter to boil just until it takes on a medium brown hue (you want to burn it, not scorch it!). Once browned, immediately add marshmallows to the pan. Remove from heat. Add vanilla, powdered sugar and 1 tsp. of the milk. Now start to whip it with your electric mixer. Just whip and whip (and stop to taste and adore.) Then whip and whip some more. Add milk as needed. The consistency should be thick, but spoonably soft. The flavor of fresh caramel on a vanilla fudge cloud. Place a heaping spoonful atop cooled cupcakes. Top immediately with fresh sugared berries.
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Crystal Sugared Berries
Recipe & Directions can be found here.
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P.S. For cJane's cupcakes, I sugared blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and whole strawberries (cutting them causes them to weep, so be sure you leave them fresh & whole). In doing so, I discovered the indominatable joy that comes when the greens of the strawberry are sugar-crystallized. They become beautifully crisp, with each pointed end standing at attention in it's own divine direction. I highly recommend sugaring those stems & greens.
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Peppermint leaves also stand up well to a light sugaring. Be sure to coat them very lightly with egg white & the lightest sprinkling of sugar to keep them from bending under the weight of it all.
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If you plan to purchase fresh edible flowers to decorate your cupcakes, be sure to purchase them from a package specifically labeling them as food products. I can't bear to think of the stress our nation would endure should the Flower Flu hit our streets. Because most edible flowers are extremely delicate, do not sugar coat their petals lest you like your flowers droopy as an old lady's sportsbra.
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Finally, the great cJane cupcake is...well...glorious. However, when recreating these cupcakes in your own kitchen, I would consider a simplified version of her majesty's treats. A head full of berries is quite a heavy load for a young cupcake to tote around, so plan on sticking with a capful of lightweight berries, leaves and petals if you like your cupcake's show-off worthy. Happy Baking!