Intensely Thai Cupcakes

There is nothing mild about these Thai-inspired cupcakes.  As soon as you are within grabbing length of these cupcakes, the unexpected aroma of fish sauce caramel buttercream hits you.  Once you place the scent, let it take you to your last Thai meal.  You'll recognize the smells from the tom kha soup you or your neighbor enjoyed.  A peel of the wrapper reinforces the setting.  The cake practically breathes coconut milk, lemon grass, and kaffir lime.  

Dulce De Leche Frosting - How to Fix a Cupcake Mishap

After perfecting a cupcake recipe, don't top it with this dulce de leche buttercream frosting.  Your tasters will be so frosting-focused that they won't notice the cake you worked so hard on.  Save this sweet, salty, smooth dulce de leche buttercream frosting to top a cupcake gone bad - one that's too dry, ugly looking, or one where the batter overflowed in the oven.  With a simple swirl, your cupcake will be redeemed.  Isn't cupcake magic fun?

Dulce de Leche Buttercream Frosting Recipe

The Secret to Perfect Honey Buttercream Frosting

I've tackled honey buttercream frosting before and I have always been disappointed.  I'm a honey-holic and I really want the honey flavor to shine. In the past, when I added powdered sugar to the frosting (needed to make the frosting stiff and pipe-able), the frosting would always reach a unpalatable level of sweetness.  Today, I discovered the secret to making honey buttercream frosting!  Honey buttercream frosting has finally met my honeyed desires and I'm considering adding it to my list of favorite frostings.

The Secret To Perfect Honey Buttercream Frosting

Pink Frosting Without Food Coloring

Pink frosting makes me think of a giant (Jack and the Bean Stalk sized) princess popping bubble gum, smashing it in her face, collecting it in a bowl, and storing it for later.  My pink frosting, however, is not bubble gum-flavored and it does does not have a giant's cooties on it.  Better yet, I didn't use any artificial food coloring to make pink frosting.  I didn't use any berries, either!

So, how did I do it?

Jasmine Cupcakes with Raspberry and Honey

The smell of these jasmine cupcakes greets you first - somewhat formally. You feel like giving them a small bow.  Instead, you inhale deeply and are transported to an intimate tea house on a carefree day.  Your first bite begins with the jasmine flavor that you were smelling.  Only after the bite is swallowed do you start to notice the slight hint of raspberry and sweet honey.  You go in for a second bite and continue nibbling at the slow pace that the tea demands until the cupcake is gone and you are left only with a memory and a desire to revisit the tea house tomorrow.

Basil Infused Olive Oil Cupcakes with White Wine

Sometimes I get tired of my star tip (the one I use to pipe big cupcake swirls). So, I pick a random tip from my set and see what I can come up with. For these cupcakes, I used Wilton tip 352 and piped a loose spiral with lots of lines criss-crossing over it. I think it's a keeper!

Note: If you click the link to my tip set above, you'll see that it doesn't have 352 in it. I have no idea how I got 352, but it must have gotten mixed in with the others.

Let's Talk About the Cupcake

These cupcakes are not my first ones made using olive oil and I wouldn't even say that they are the best (my olive oil cupcakes with lemon, thyme, and balsamic whipped cream are some of my favorite cupcakes ever). However, this is the first time that I used olive oil in the frosting. I made a basic buttercream frosting and used olive oil instead of milk. The olive oil makes you pucker just a little bit (especially if you use a bold, fruity olive oil). If you like the taste of olive oil, you'll enjoy the effect, although you may wish that it were even stronger (remedy this by drizzling some olive oil over the frosted cupcakes).

I Thought You Said We Were Going to Talk About the Cupcake, Not the Frosting

Ah, yes. The cupcakes. These cupcakes are also not my first cupcakes made with basil (I made vegan chocolate basil cupcakes). However, without the chocolate flavor to serve as a distraction, the basil flavor truly shines here. The basil makes the cupcakes feel light and Springy (as opposed to all the snow we've been getting here in St. Louis), but I will warn you that the cake is quite dense.

My neighbor tasted tasted these for me. She said that she didn't like the first bite because it was too unexpected, but that she enjoyed each subsequent bite more and more and was in love with the cupcake by the last bite.

Olive Oil Cupcake Recipe

Yield: 10 cupcakes

• 1 C extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 oz fresh sweet basil leaves
• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 C sweet white wine
  

1. Soak basil leaves in the olive oil for at least an hour. You can also muddle them to help release the basil's natural oils.
   
2. Pour oil through a sieve to remove the basil. Squeeze out as much oil as you can. No matter how hard you try, some will remain on the leaves. It's OK. You only need to end up with 2/3 cup of oil.
   
3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and olive oil and mix on high speed until completely combined.
5. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
   
6. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix on slow speed.
7. Add half of the wine and continue mixing.
8. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the wine and the remaining flour mixture and beat until combined between each addition.
9. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
10. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until they bounce back when touched.

Olive Oil Buttercream Recipe

• 1 1/2 C confectioners' sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
• 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 T olive oil

1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy.
2. Add olive oil and continue to beat for another minute.
   
3. Add more confectioners' sugar to make the frosting stiffer, if desired.

Cupcake Hero

I made these cupcakes for February's Cupcake Hero! I'm looking forward to seeing all of the other olive oil entries!

Sour Cream Frosting

Sour cream frosting is the obvious choice for sour cream cupcakes. This sour cream frosting is based on a basic vanilla bean buttercream frosting. However, instead of using milk in the frosting, the sour cream frosting uses sour cream.

Even if you are not a fan of sour cream, you still may enioy the sour cream frosting. The sour cream flavor is subtle. It adds a pleasant tang which helps to counteract the sweetness of the buttercream. Try it and let me know what you think!

• 1 1/2 C confectioners' sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
• 1/2 C unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 t vanilla bean paste (add more to taste)
• 2 T sour cream
  

1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy.
   
2. Add vanilla bean paste and sour cream and continue to beat for another minute.
   
3. If desired, add more vanilla bean paste to taste, or more confectioners' sugar to make it stiffer.

Blueberry Almond Cupcakes with Blueberry Buttercream Frosting

These blueberry almond cupcakes were inspired by the blueberry almond custard that I made for Taste & Create. In fact, not only were the blueberry almond cupcakes inspired by the custard, but each cupcake contained a little custard surprise inside.

The blueberry almond cupcakes were a hit with all of my tasters. They loved that it was rich, that a strong blueberry flavor came through, and of course they loved the surprise inside. The only one who wasn't a big fan of these cupcakes was me. I think I didn't love them purely because of the buttercream frosting. I know that I don't like buttercream, but periodically I decide to give it another shot. "Maybe with blueberries I'll like it better," I think to myself. But, nope, it's still buttercream.

Before You Begin

Before you begin making the blueberry almond cupcakes, you'll need two things:

1. Blueberry almond custard (assuming you want to fill them, which I highly recommend). Check out my blueberry almond custard recipe.
2. Blueberry syrup. You'll need the syrup for both the cupcakes and frosting. Smash up 11oz of blueberries either by hand or in a food processor or blender. In a heavy-bottomed pot, bring the blueberries and 1/2 C sugar to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes.
   

Blueberry Almond Cupcake Recipe

makes 16 cupcakes

• 1 C almond flour
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 3/4 C butter
• 2/3 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 C plain yogurt
  
• 2/3 C blueberry syrup

1. Whisk almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs and yogurt.
4. Alternately fold in the flour mixture and blueberry syrup in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
6. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
7. After cupcakes cool, using a small paring knife, cut a cone out of the cupcake, fill with custard, and replace the top.
   

Blueberry Buttercream Frosting

When I frosted the blueberry almond cupcakes, I used half blueberry buttercream and half plain vanilla buttercream to make the swirl that you see in the photo at the top of this post. You could also opt to make the frosting all blueberry buttercream.

• 3 C confectioners' sugar, sifted (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
• 1 C butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 3 T blueberry syrup (or 6 T if you want all blueberry instead of half)
  

1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy.
2. Add vanilla bean extract and milk and continue to beat for another minute. If desired, add more confectioners' sugar to make it stiffer.
3. Put half the frosting in a separate bowl and stir the blueberry syrup into it (or you can put the blueberry syrup in all of it if you prefer).
   
4. Line half of a piping bag with the blueberry frosting and half with the vanilla and pipe away!
5. For added fun, top each cupcake with some almond slivers, blueberries, and sprinkles.
   

Buttercream Frosting Recipe - Orange Frosting

This buttercream frosting recipe for orange buttercream frosting is sweet and tangy. I love how the little orange bits look in the buttercream frosting swirl. Orange buttercream frosting would be a great way to fancy up a plain vanilla cupcake. I sort of did that on my next cupcake, but with a surprising twist - stay tuned!

Orange buttercream frosting would also be great on mimosa cupcakes or with any clove cupcake.

Orange Buttercream Frosting Recipe

The orange buttercream frosting is a Cupcake Project original recipe.

• 1/2 C (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 3 oz (about 1/3 C) orange marmalade (try to find one with orange bits in it)
• 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
• 1 T heavy cream
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 1/2 t orange extract

1. Beat butter until creamy.
2. Beat in marmalade.
3. Beat in powdered sugar.
4. Add heavy cream and extracts.
5. Taste and smile. It should frost about 12 cupcakes, depending on how much you use.

Kentucky Derby Pie Cupcakes: Place Your Bets on Chocolate, Walnuts, and Bourbon

In 2004, I went to the Kentucky Derby for my birthday. There were no Kentucky Derby cupcakes there, just a lot of rain. It rained so hard that they had to shut down the betting systems due to flooding. Jonathan and I had to walk in puddles of floating cigarette butts, beer bottles, and other things I choose not to think about.

We were in the infield. For those not in the know, the infield is not the dressed up fancy hat Derby that you see on TV. In fact, you can't really see the races from the infield except on a big screen. However, it's a big party atmosphere and being there was a blast, especially since I won my bet!

This year's Derby is on Saturday! My Kentucky Derby Pie cupcakes dreamed that they were in the Derby:

It was a photo finish!

What is Derby Pie?

As described on Wikipedia, "The pie is a chocolate and walnut tart in a pie shell usually with a pastry dough crust. It is also commonly made with pecans, chocolate chips and Kentucky Bourbon. Popular additions are butterscotch, caramel, and other types of nuts."

What is a Derby Pie Cupcake?

My Derby Pie cupcakes are chocolate cupcakes with Derby Pie filling mixed in. They are topped with a bourbon buttercream mixed with more Derby Pie filling.

The Derby Pie Cupcake Recipe: The Chocolate Cake

For the chocolate cake, I used chockylit's recipe that I featured in my Better than Sex Chocolate Cupcakes.

Makes 16 regular cupcakes.

• 1/2 C (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 C sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 C flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 t vanilla

1. Beat butter until softened.
2. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
4. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small bowl and whisk to combine.
5. In another small bowl, measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
6. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine.
7. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine.
8. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.

The Derby Pie Cupcake Recipe: The Derby Pie Filling

The second part of the Derby Pie cupcake recipe is a Derby Pie filling recipe that I got from Allrecipes. I made it with walnuts instead of pecans. However, either nut would be good.

• 1 C white sugar
• 1 C light corn syrup
• 1/2 C butter
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 C bourbon (I used a cheap - $6.95 - store brand bottle of Kentucky Bourbon. A higher quality bourbon might have been better, but I can't report back on that.)
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 C semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 C chopped pecans

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves.
3. Cool slightly.
4. In a large bowl, combine eggs, bourbon, vanilla, and salt. Mix well.
5. Slowly pour the sugar mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.

Kentucky Derby Pie Baking Instructions

1. Set aside half of the pie filling.
2. Fold 3/4 of one of the halves into the chocolate cupcake batter. You don't need to mix it well, just give it a nice stir.
3. Fill 24 cupcake liners about half way.
4. Use up the remaining 1/4 of the first half by putting an additional spoonful or two of the pie filling on top of each cupcake being careful not to fill them more than 3/4.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the second half of the pie filling onto the baking sheet. This is going to be used in the frosting.
6. Bake both the cupcakes and the filling on the baking sheet for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. I baked mine at the same time on different shelves.

Bourbon Buttercream Frosting with Kentucky Derby Pie Filling

• 1 C (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 4 C powdered sugar
• 3 T bourbon
• 1 t vanilla
• Baked and cooled pie filling (see above for directions)

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add bourbon and vanilla.
3. Stir in baked and cooled pie filling.

Because of the nuts, this is a spreadable frosting rather than a piped one. It won't look as pretty as some other frostings, however it is still sure to be a winner at your Kentucky Derby party!

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting Recipe

This vanilla bean buttercream frosting recipe is so much better than your everyday vanilla frosting. Regular readers may know that I don't typically like buttercream frosting. I typically make cream cheese frostings, mascarpone frostings, or glazes. However, this vanilla bean buttercream frosting is an exception. It tastes just like melted vanilla ice cream. In fact, I used it on top of my pumpkin cup-pies (mini pumpkin pies) instead of ice cream.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

 
Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (add more until it reaches your preferred consistency)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (add more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon milk
  

Directions

1. Mix together sugar and butter until they are blended and creamy.
   
2. Add vanilla bean paste and milk and continue to beat for another minute.
   
3. If desired, add more vanilla bean paste to taste, or more confectioners' sugar to make it stiffer.
   

How About Chocolate Frosting Instead?
Check out my favorite chocolate frosting

Saffron Cupcakes: Golden Threads Make a Treasure

Saffron cupcakes are well worth every expensive bite. I've baked cupcakes with all kinds of unusual flavors - beer, avocado, ricotta cheese. Some work better than others. Saffron cupcakes work. The saffron's flavor comes through in every bite and fills the air with a sweet, soft aroma.

Why Saffron Cupcakes?

This is my second time participating in Taste & Create, an event where food bloggers get paired up to try each other's creations. Last time, I was paired with What's Cooking and made pumpkin abuelita cupcakes. This time, I was paired with Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity. Back in May, she made a Vanilla-Infused Golden Saffron Cake. As soon as I saw it, I knew that was going to be the recipe I would try - in cupcake form, of course.

But wait - there's more

When Dolores made her saffron cake, she did it as part of the Taste of Yellow, a food event in honor of Livestrong Day featuring yellow food. Guess what event is going on right now? The same one. It must be destiny (at least that's what my mom would say). I am submitting these saffron cupcakes to this year's Taste of Yellow event.

Livestrong Day is "the Lance Armstrong Foundation's grassroots advocacy initiative to unify people affected by cancer and to raise awareness about cancer survivorship issues on a national level and in local communities across the country."

Dolores described why she participated so eloquently that I have to share her words:

"I've written before about how cancer has touched my life. John's grandfather. His father and mine. Too many of our friends. Breast cancer. Lung cancer. Lymphoma, prostate cancer, bladder cancer. As their bodies betrayed them, these everyday heroes faced their mortality head-on -- and learned something about living in the process. Even more amazing, through their examples they shared those lessons with all who love them. Whether or not they overcame the diseases they faced -- they lived proudly, joyfully, with honor and dignity -- and taught me the importance of doing the same. As a small expression of my gratitude and my love, today I bake for each of them."

Dolores: I am dedicating these cupcakes to the people mentioned above. Even though I have never met them, they sound like incredible people.

Groom 2.0: I know you are questioning why all of my cupcakes are not being made for you.
a) Do you really think you should come first over cancer victims? I didn't think so.
b) You want plain chocolate cupcakes. I need to work up to that. It's just too boring.

Did Everyone Like the Saffron Cupcake as Much as I Did?

Not everyone liked the saffron cupcakes as much as I did. If you love saffron, you'll likely love it. Not everyone loves saffron. Some (Bride and Groom 2.0), thought the cupcakes were too dry. Others thought the icing was too sweet. I recommend using small quantities of the icing. It nicely compliments the cupcake. If there is too much icing, it can be overpowering.

Why is Saffron So Expensive?

I've already had one out of town friend say she would never make these cupcakes because saffron is too expensive. Saffron is the most expensive spice. However, there is good reason. It is made from the yellow-orange stigmas from a small purple saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). As explained on What's Cooking America:

"Each flower provides only three red stigmas, and it takes approximately 14,000 of these tiny threads for each ounce of saffron. One ounce of saffron equals the stigmas from approximately 5,000 crocuses. It takes an acre of flowers to produce a pound. The tiny red threads of saffron must be handpicked from the center of the crocus flower. They leave behind the yellow stamens which have no taste."

How to Buy Saffron

Saffron comes either powdered or in threads (the whole stigmas). For the saffron cupcakes I used the threads. If you do not have access to saffron threads, you can use the powder. If you are using the powder, be sure that it is pure saffron. Sometimes saffron is diluted with turmeric or other additives.

According to The Cooking Inn, "as a general rule, use half the amount of powder as you would threads."

How to Cook with Saffron

Heat releases the flavor from saffron threads. They need to be steeped in liquid in order to let the true flavor shine. Unlike many other herbs and spices, you can't just throw some saffron in cake or frosting and expect its flavor to come through.

In the saffron cupcakes, the saffron is heated with milk before adding it to the batter. In the saffron buttercream frosting, saffron infused butter is used.

Saffron Tip: Do not use a wooden spoon when working with saffron as the spoon will absorb some of the saffron flavor. You do not want to waste any of it.

How to Make Saffron-Infused Butter

The night before you make the cupcakes, you will need to prepare the saffron-infused butter for the frosting.

Melt 1 stick of butter (1/2 C) and mix in two large pinches of saffron threads. The saffron will not fully dissolve in the butter (you will still be able to see the thread). However, make sure that it is well integrated. The butter should turn a nice bright yellow color.

Let the butter sit out overnight. It may separate a bit overnight. Give it a good stir to reintegrate any liquids.

This butter is fantastic in the frosting. However, it would also be a delicious spread on bread with a Mediterranean or Indian meal.

The Saffron Cupcake Recipe

I adapted the recipe from Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity to cupcake form. Makes 12 cupcakes.

• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1-1/3 cups cake flour
• 1-3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 large whole egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla, divided
• 1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and baking soda) with a whisk. Set aside. Stir saffron threads into two tablespoons milk in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool. In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup milk, egg, and one teaspoon vanilla. Add cooled saffron mixture and whisk well to incorporate. [Do not spill on clothes. Saffron stains. I may or may not know this from personal experience.] Marvel over brilliant yellow color. Pour the wet mixture over the flour mixture and whisk gently to combine. Resist over-mixing -- whisk only until ingredients are well-incorporated. Pour into cupcake wrappers and bake for 20 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool for 15 minutes. While the cupcakes cool, stir water and remaining 3/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in remaining teaspoon vanilla. Poke holes evenly in the cupcakes with a wooden skewer. Spoon the vanilla syrup over the top of the cupcakes. Let cool to room temperature.

The Saffron Frosting Recipe

Dolores' recipe did not have any frosting. Cupcakes need frosting, so I went in search of an appropriate match. I found a recipe for saffron buttercream on A Tasty Pedia.

• 1.5 cups confectioners' sugar (add more until preferred consistency)
• 1/2 cup saffron-infused butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon organic skim milk

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.
Add vanilla and milk and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream/sugar if needed for spreading consistency.

The Livestrong Wristband

I'm all for the Livestrong cause. However, I never understood the fascination with the yellow Livestrong wristbands. My whole body would be covered in plastic if I wore a band for every cause I cared about. I'm picturing a green hula hoop-sized band around my waist because I support the environment and a white headband in my hair because I support brain research. I'm not even going to go into the band I would wear where the sun don't shine to show my opinions on abortion.

Luckily, my cupcake didn't complain about donning its Livestrong wrist/cupcake band that I borrowed from a friend.

What do you think of the Livestrong wristband phenomenon? What about all the other wristbands that people wear for every imaginable cause? Do you like to show support for your charities on your wrist? Let me know in the comments.

White Chocolate Caviar Cheesecake Cupcakes: Eww?

I made this week's cupcakes as part of the blog event "They Go Really Well Together," hosted this month by Chadzilla.

Each month, participants are asked to create a dish featuring two different flavors that you might not have thought of combining. The two flavors, however, are not chosen randomly. According to the creator of the event at blog.khymos.com, "If two (or more) foods have one or more volatile compounds in common, chances are good that they might taste well together." You see, it's all based on a science called molecular gastronomy. "The molecule shown in the logo is of 2-methylfuran-3-thiol, a very potent aroma chemical found in coffee, chicken, meat, fish and popcorn - to mention a few."

While I am no scientist, I do enjoy reading about what these cutting-edge science based chefs come up with. I was excited and a bit nervous to participate in this month's event: white chocolate and caviar.


At first, I was thinking of making normal vanilla cupcakes and just adding caviar to the frosting, but somehow that felt like cheating. The caviar needed to be throughout the cupcake for it to count. A normal cakey cupcake just didn't seem like it would work. I, of course, did not do a molecular analysis. I went with my gut. My gut told me to go for a white chocolate caviar cheesecake cupcake.

Disclaimer
I know some of you think cheesecakes in cupcake wrappers are not cupcakes. We've been through this before. However, I figure white chocolate is clearly not chocolate and people have been letting that slide forever, so just work with me here.


The Tasters
My first taster, as always, was my husband: "There is nothing I like about this cupcake." He has never had such a strong negative reaction to a cupcake before.


I was worried, but I thought it was tasty. The flavors did, in fact, go well together. I love sweet and salty and this was no exception. The only thing that wasn't so pleasing was the slightly fishy aftertaste.




I decided to brave it and bring the cupcakes to a family event. The first taster there was my mother-in-law. "Mmmm," she said with a smile. "Yes!" I thought, she didn't spit it out. It turns out that she loves caviar and loves white chocolate and consequently loved these cupcakes. I won't tell you how many she ended up eating (to protect the innocent).


I proceeded to nonchalantly observe (I tried not to stare people down) as others tried the cupcakes. "Not bad." "Pretty good." "Really good." People actually liked them. Only one person complained about the fishy aftertaste. One guest commented on how the sweet and salty combo made her think of the salted caramels that are so popular now.


Will I Be Making Them Again?
I don't plan on making them again. They were good but not "wow" good. However, if you like white chocolate and caviar, give them a try or try some of the other white chocolate and caviar combinations once the TGRWT #8 is completed.

The Recipe
I used a white chocolate cheesecake recipe from allrecipes, and simply mixed in some caviar.
Makes about 15 cupcakes.

• 4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tsp caviar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in a mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape bowl.
Melt 4 ounces of the white chocolate. With an electric mixer on low speed, mix melted white chocolate into cream cheese mixture. Keeping electric mixer on low, slowly beat in the vanilla and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Blend well. Mix in caviar. Pour in cupcake wrapper.

Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for about 20 minutes, or until center of the cheesecake is just firm. Cool at room temperature for 30 min. Refrigerate until set prior to frosting.



The Frosting
I topped the cupcakes with a white chocolate caviar butter cream frosting. I adapted the recipe from Food and Wine.

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
• 12 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 t caviar

Directions
In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Beat in the melted white chocolate. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat at low speed, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy. Mix in caviar.

Note: I had trouble piping this frosting because the white chocolate either a) solidified really quickly and gunked up the tip or b) was not fully melted in the first place. I ended up just spreading it and using a toothpick to swirl the caviar around.

Additional Reading
This article from The Guardian about white chocolate and caviar is definitely worth reading.

Also check out this new site on Food Pairings. It doesn't include white chocolate and caviar, but it may give you some really interesting ideas on how to combine flavors which you may not have thought of.

Naga Bar Cupcakes: The Gestalt Cupcake

I've never been one to really enjoy eating chocolate. I know others of my gender have huge chocolate cravings on a regular basis, but it's just never excited me that much. I've even been to Belgium and tried some of the world's finest, but eh, no big deal. This was the case, until I discovered Vosges chocolates. These chocolate bars (found at Whole Foods for those in STL) are sensational. They come in a variety of creative flavors and tend to mix sweet with spicy. They even come with specific instructions on how to eat them so that you get the full sensory experience. When my husband and I open a bar, we each limit ourselves to one square a day to stretch out the enjoyment of it as long as we can. Anyway, just try one.

My favorite bar is the Naga bar. It contains sweet Indian curry powder, coconut flakes, and deep milk chocolate. Imagine my excitement when I happened upon a cupcake recipe based upon the Naga bar. I decided right then that that had to be the cupcake of the week.

The Naga bar recipe was found on one of my favorite food blogs, Vanilla Garlic.

It sounded fantabulous, however, it had pumpkin in it. My beloved Naga bar does not feature pumpkin. I decided to come up with my own cupcake version of the Naga bar. Don't worry pumpkin lovers, it's nothing personal against pumpkin. You may recall I already made the pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes and there will surely be more adventures in pumpkin to come.

I decided to use a basic coconut cupcake as the base for my cupcake. This was again found on Vanilla Garlic.

I then debated about the frosting. I thought about making a chocolate frosting directly out of the Naga bars. How bad could that be? I even wrote a comment on the Vanilla Garlic blog asking what he thought of the idea. The response brought me back to earth. The reason he hadn't done that was because the bars are $7 each. Did I fail to mention that fact before? Minor detail. You should still try one.

I opted instead for a coconut frosting from chockylit's blog.

But what about the chocolate? I decided to put the chocolate and curry powder into the cupcake itself. However, rather than putting it in the whole cupcake, I wanted to have layers. The top part would be just the coconut cupcake and the bottom would be the coconut cupcake plus chocolate and curry. I had no idea how this would work. Would the two layers just meld together or would I have a distinct line?

Turns out, it worked perfectly. There was a clear line between chocolate and not. The line wasn't smooth, but that's only because I didn't smooth out the chocolate layer before putting the other layer on top of it.

The cupcake cake was as a friend of mine would say a gestalt experience.

Gestalt: A collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic entities that creates a unified concept, configuration or pattern which is greater than the sum of its parts.

There were 3 different distinct flavors, the coconut cupcake, the chocolate coconut curry cupcake, and the coconut frosting. Each on it's own was good, but together it was mmm mmm great.

Another interesting thing to note is that it seems to be getting better by the day as the buttery coconut frosting seeps into the top layer of cupcake.

Not sure what to compare the ultimate flavor to, it didn't quite taste like a Naga bar, more like a particularly good marble pound cake topped with coconut and not as buttery.

More detailed baking notes:

• I opted not to put any coconut flakes in the batter. I just put them in the icing. This was partly because I wanted a smooth texture and partly because I wanted my husband to be able to enjoy the cupcakes and he doesn't like coconut flakes.


• In the chocolate half of the batter, I put 1/8 cup of cocoa powder and 1 t of curry powder. I didn't want it to be two chocolatey. I'd had my fill of really rich chocolate the week before.


• The coconut flakes in the icing were actually unsweetened rather than sweetened. That was all they sold at whole foods. It worked fine.


• The chocolate shavings on top of the cupcakes are from none other than a Naga Bar. :)

Margarita Cupcakes: Can a Cupcake be Dangerous?

Margarita cupcakes, like margaritas themselves, go down smooth, leaving you with just a small tickle in your mouth from the salted rim (yes, the rim of the margarita cupcakes has salt, but it's mostly sugar).  The margarita cupcakes won't get you drunk, but they are boozey.  There's tequila in both the margarita cupcake batter and the margarita frosting.  

The Margarita Cupcake Back Story

I was invited to a Memorial Day game of wiffle ball (a game I hadn't played in years - and as it turns out still haven't). The last two parties that were hosted by the wiffle ball couple involved margaritas in some way so I felt that this one should, too.

Although we were were sitting on picnic tables in a shady St. Louis park, the cupcakes transported us to a glistening island shoreline.  There was no alcohol allowed in the park, but who would suspect that the margarita cupcakes I brought contained tequila?


Margarita Cupcake Recipe

I found a recipe for margarita cupcakes on Baking Bites, one of my favorite blogs.  The margarita cupcake recipe originally came from a Vegan cupcake cookbook called Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I'm not a vegan, but one nice feature of this cupcake was that the party's host, who is lactose intolerant, was able to eat them (he put up with the small amount of butter in the frosting).


Yield: 12 cupcakes

• 1/4 C lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp lime zest (1 lime)
• 1 C plain or vanilla soy milk (Regular 2% milk would also work.)
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 2 tsp tequila
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 C sugar
• 1 1/3 C all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, soy milk, oil , tequila, vanilla and sugar.
2. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
3. Add the dry ingredients to the lime mixture and stir until just combined. 
4. Divide evenly among 12 cupcake liners.
5. Bake at 350 F  for 20-24 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed.

Margarita Frosting Recipe

While the flavor was spot on, I found the original frosting recipe to be a bit too clumpy. Here is my modified version.  You may also consider cutting this recipe in half.  I ended up with a lot more than I needed.

• 1/4 C butter or nonhydrogenated shortening, melted
• 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream or soymilk
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp tequila
• 2+ C confectioners’ sugar
• coarse colored sugar and salt for “rims”
• Umbrella toppers (optional)

1. Cream together butter/nonhydrogenated shortening (depending on whether you want the frosting vegan or not), heavy whipping cream or soymilk, lime juice, tequila, and confectioners’ sugar.
2. Add in more sugar as needed to make the frosting smooth and spreadable. 
3. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes.
4. Combine colored sugar and salt in a small bowl.
5. Roll the edge of each cupcake in the sugar/salt mixture.
6. Top with umbrellas.

Other Margarita Cupcake Anecdotes

1. Margarita cupcakes are not dangerous because of the alcohol. They are dangerous because one of my cupcake tasters cut the roof of his mouth with the coarse salt. We're talking blood and all. I call that user error.
2. Margarita is clearly not a winter kind of flavor, so I didn't expect it to be a wedding contender at all. I just made it because it seemed like a perfect wiffle ball summer thing. However, I've been informed that a family member of bride to be said, "I don't know what a blog is, but I know a great cupcake when I eat it." Apparently, he tried to convince the couple to adjust their wedding theme so that this cupcake could make an appearance. We'll have to make sure he gets to taste some of the future flavors. I like fans!

Update

The margarita cupcake was chosen for the wedding! The others that were selected were Soda Fountain Cupcakes and Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes.

Gingerbread Cupcakes: Could they be Perfect?

Gingerbread cupcakes are perfect for the holidays. Upon tasting the gingerbread cupcakes, Groom 1.0 stated that he thought they would be perfect for their wedding and even though he hadn't tried the many cupcakes that were still to come these gingerbread cupcakes would likely make the cut.

The only complaint that everyone had was that I didn't put enough icing on each gingerbread cupcake. They looked cute, but more icing was needed.

Gingerbread Cupcake Recipe

I found a recipe for gingerbread cupcakes on allrecipes and decided to give it a go. This was only a four star recipe but the reason everyone gave for 4 and not 5 stars was that the icing wasn't good. I ditched their icing and decided to make a variation on the icing I made for the chocolate chai spice cupcakes.

Makes 12 cupcakes

• 5 T unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 C white sugar
• 1/2 C unsulfured molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 t ground ginger
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t ground allspice
• 1/2 t ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 C hot milk
  

1. Cream 5 tablespoons of the butter with the white sugar.
   
2. Add the molasses and the egg and egg yolk.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt.
   
4. Dissolve the baking soda in the hot milk.
   
5. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until just combined.
   
6. Stir in the hot milk mixture.
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
8. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when touched.

Gingerbread Frosting

As I said above this recipe came from modifying the frosting recipe Chockylit used in her chocolate chai cupcakes.

• 1/2 t cocoa powder
• 1/2 t allspice
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t cinnamon, ground
• 1/4 t ginger, ground
• 1 C (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
  
• 4-5 C powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 C milk
• 2 t minced fresh ginger

1. Mix the spices in a small bowl.
   
2. Beat butter until creamy, scrape bowl.
3. Add 4 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, spice mix, and ginger. Beat until combined.
4. Add more powdered sugar as needed to get piping consistency.

The Gingerbread Man Sprinkle

On top of the frosting I placed a solitary gingerbread man sprinkle. I was really excited to find these online at Shop Bakers Nook.

Chocolate Chai Spice: The First Cupcakes

First things first, to begin the project I went out and bought some supplies. I decided I would make 24 cupcakes in each test batch so I would need to buy a second muffin tin. I also was definitely going to want to play with piping icing so I needed a pastry bag. I ended up finding some disposable ones at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The less cleanup the better. I'll assume they work as well as non disposable ones unless someone tells me otherwise.

Then to pick the first recipe. I could tell this was going to be the fun part of the project. There are so many recipes out there to choose from. I had a blast exploring.

I decided to start with chocolate chai spice cupcakes from a cupcake blog that a friend had told me about. This woman makes some amazing stuff and it all looks so pretty.

They turned out great! Phew. I feared that if my first cupcake was a flop, I might lose my job. :) They had just the right amount of kick to compliment the chocolateness. Having virtually no experience with piping icing, I was also very surprised at how easy that went.