Why Does Cantaloupe Taste Like Corn?

"Thanks for the corn muffins!"
"These are awesome corn muffins!"

I'd be flattered if these were comments made after I served people corn muffins. In this case, I served cantaloupe cupcakes containing zero corn. I would be offended, only I had to agree that they tasted just like corn muffins! (My other recent cupcake, which also tasted like a corn muffin, at least contained corn meal.)

I happen to have two friends who are allergic to corn. This cupcake would be perfect for them or anyone else reading this who likes the taste of corn but suffers from corn allergies.

I can't begin to tell you why cantaloupe tastes like corn. Maybe it's the gritty texture and the mild sweetness? If you've got an idea, please let me know in the comments.

Cantaloupe Cupcake Recipe (AKA Fake Corn Muffins)


Makes about 13 cupcakes

• 2 C flour
  
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
  
• 3/4 C unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 C sour cream or Greek yogurt
  
• 2/3 C cantaloupe soup (see my post on cantaloupe soup) or pureed cantaloupe with 1/2 t ground ginger and 1 t lemon juice
  

1. Whisk flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl for 1 minute, until light and fluffy.
3. Beat eggs and sour cream into the butter/sugar mixture until blended.
4. Alternately fold in flour mixture and 2/3 cup cantaloupe soup in three additions, beginning and ending with flour.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
   
6. Bake at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out of cupcake clean.

The Frosting

Everyone's favorite part of these cupcakes was the lemon ginger whipped cream that I frosted them with. I used the cream whipper to make the whipped cream, but you could also make it with a regular mixer.

• 1 C heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 C powdered sugar
• 1/2 t ground ginger
• 1/2 t lemon extract

1. Whip heavy whipping cream until it looks like whipped cream.
2. Mix in everything else.

For extra fun, I topped some of the cupcakes with ginger-flavored pearl sugar. Flavored pearl sugars are a great alternative to sprinkles. Sadly, these gems are hard to come by. I found them at a local store that no longer sells them. The only place I've been able to find them online is a French site (it looks like they do ship to the US, but it's pretty pricey - lucky European readers).

Chilled Cantaloupe Soup with Lemon and Ginger

Why did gazpacho (which in my opinion is simply salsa disguised as a soup) become *the* chilled soup? The other day while attending the Saucy Soiree (an event by the St. Louis food magazine that Jonathan freelances for), I made a new friend - chilled cantaloupe soup. The chilled cantaloupe soup was prepared by Highway 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen. It was sweet enough to be served as dessert, especially since it was topped with pieces of praline. However, it would also work as a great appetizer. I decided I'd have to try to make this refreshing summer treat myself.

After browsing an array of cantaloupe soup recipes, I came accross one that stood out on Organic Valley's website - cantaloupe soup with lemon and ginger. The ginger added a little kick to the soup and the lemon made it extra fresh and summery.

Here is the recipe, with some slight modifications:

Serves 8

• 2 T butter
• 2 T honey
• 1 T finely grated fresh ginger root
• 1 heaping T finely grated lemon peel
• 6-7 C coarsely chopped, fully ripe cantaloupe (For me, this was one medium-sized cantaloupe. You might want to buy two just to be safe.)
  
• 1 1/2-2 C milk (I used 2%)
• 8 sprigs fresh mint (I used basil instead since we had some fresh in our garden)

1. Place butter, honey, ginger root and lemon peel in a small bowl.
2. Microwave until butter is fully melted, about 45 seconds.
   
3. Stir to blend mixture.
4. Use a rubber spatula to scrape mixture into a food processor or blender.
   
5. Add melon chunks and puree until as smooth as possible.
6. Stir in milk.
   
7. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill thoroughly (4 or more hours).
8. Garnish each serving with a mint or basil sprig. (Serving in a hollowed out cantaloupe is a nice effect, but obviously optional.)
   
9. Don't eat it all because you can use some to make cantaloupe cupcakes - recipe coming soon!