Cranberry and Cheese Danish Cupcakes

When presented with a breakfast tray of pastries, I typically avoid the Danishes.  They are always huge and seem like they will cause a guaranteed food coma within the hour.  Secondly, while cupcakes, muffins, and cookies are still delicious at room temperature, cooled puff pastry always has that guy with too much hair gel feel to me.

Most of us have experienced the joy of hot-out-of-the-fryer donuts (if you haven't - get on it!). Hot-out-of-the-oven Danishes are a less common but equally magical experience. 

I made these single-serving Danish cupcakes with a cranberry cheese filling.  I got a bit carried away with the filling quantity.  I knew that it might cause exploding filling syndrome on some of the Danish cupcakes.  But, like a kid with a bowl full of Halloween candy and a tummy already aching, I couldn't help myself.  I kept overstuffing because I wanted to eat all of that filling!

If anyone refused to eat these hot bundles of buttery, cheesy, sweet, and tart joy because of a little extra filling creeping out the side, well then, more for me!

Homemade Tart Cranberry Jam in Ten Minutes

Homemade Jam Making Myths - Debunked

1. You need fresh fruit to make jam.  Just about everyone I know who makes jam has a garden.  They make jam to squirrel away the summer's bounty in jars for yearlong enjoyment.  I made this cranberry jam because I like jam.  I used frozen cranberries and intend to consume it all this week.
2. Jam making is an all-day event.  I made this cranberry jam in ten minutes.  That's just ten minutes, people! 
3. You need special equipment and sterilized jars to make jam.  Sure, if you plan to eat your jam next year, you'd better be careful about how you package it.  I don't want to hear about anyone dying from botulism because they stuck this jam in their basement in an unsterilized glass jar for two years.  But, if you plan to eat your jam within a week, you don't even need a jar (make only what you need for the week and store the jam in a bowl in your refrigerator).

This SIMPLE cranberry jam was as good as, if not better than, any store-bought jam I've had.  Knowing what I now know about how easy it is to make, I don't know why I'd ever buy it again.  This same technique would work with all different kinds of berries.

Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes for Paula Deen

In addition to writing this blog, I regularly develop cupcake recipes for Paula Deen's website.  This month's recipe is a chocolate sponge cake cupcake filled with cranberry sauce and topped with cranberry cheesecake.  Yes, it is as good as it sounds!  Head over to Paula Deen's site now for the recipe.

Thanksgiving Cupcakes - Turkey, Cranberry, and Maple

 

Everyone expects to see cranberry sauce and turkey at the Thanksgiving meal, but won’t they be surprised to find it back on the table for dessert?  Before you balk at the idea of turkey in a dessert, consider other savory and sweet combinations that work: honey-glazed ham, duck with cherry sauce, and bacon with just about anything.

These cupcakes are baked directly in slices of turkey – no cupcake liners are needed!  When baked, the turkey slices get hard and chewy and become a perfect shell for the small cakes.  The cupcakes themselves are loaded with cranberries and they are topped with a decadent maple buttercream frosting.  For extra maple flavor and an elegant look, the cupcakes may be dusted with maple sugar.

High Tea Cupcakes - Orange Cranberry Scones Baked in Teacups

These high tea cupcakes are really scones, but since I literally baked them in a cup, I decided it was legit to call them cupcakes. It's my blog, so I can do what I want.

I love that scones aren't quite as sweet as most cakes. I used to think that they were less caloric than other baked goods, but I was deceived. They are loaded with butter and cream and worth every single calorie you'll get from them!

These high tea cupcakes are made with dried cranberries and flavored with a hint of orange, but you could just as easily make them with chocolate chips, raisins, or currants. For extra pizazz, they can be topped with some jam and clotted cream.

If you don't have oven-safe teacups, you can bake the same recipe as scones (by putting balls of dough directly onto an oiled cookie sheet) or as traditional cupcakes (in cupcake tins) as shown above.

Either way, they are sure to disappear!

High Tea Cupcake Recipe


I got the recipe for these high tea cupcakes from Barefoot Contessa. I modified her scone recipe to bake in teacups. I also added some orange extract to kick up the orange flavor a bit and decreased the amount of salt (I'm not a big salt fan). Below is my modified version of her recipe.

The number of cupcakes you get depends on the size of your teacups. I only had six tea cups so I made 6 teacups and 16 normal cupcakes.

• 4 C all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C sugar
• 2 T baking powder
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1 T grated orange zest
• 3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 C cold heavy cream
• 1/4 t orange extract
• 1 C dried cranberries

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
2. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas.
   
3. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, heavy cream, and orange extract.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour the wet mixture into the flour and butter mixture.
   
5. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy!
   
6. Mix the cranberries into the batter.
7. Using your hands (it's more fun this way), make balls of dough that will fill your teacups about 3/4 full. (Make sure the teacups are oven safe!)
   
8. Drop the balls of dough in the cups.
9. Place cups on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes or until the tops are slightly browned.
   

Special Thanks


Special thanks to Lori and Rob for loaning me the teacups (don't tell ... they are actually espresso cups, but close enough).

High Tea Treats

I'm excited to enter these cupcakes in Meeta's Monthly Mingle. The theme this month is High Tea Treats.

Cranberry Orange Cupcakes

These cranberry orange cupcakes were a complete multi-sensory experience. The moment I open the Tupperware containing the cranberry orange cupcakes, the aroma of orange fills the air and makes me feel like I'm back in the orange packing plant that I got to tour last week in California. Can I just say that an orange packing plant is such a happy smelling place to be?

As I move the cupcake closer to my mouth to take a bite, the more subtle smell of the ring of cranberry (it looks kind of like a ring of fire, but I keep resisting calling it that because that just isn't a good thing) tickles my nose. I can't help but take a quick lick before biting into the cupcake. Once I bite in, the texture of the nuts and cranberries in the cupcake provides a nice crunch sound and I struggle to not eat the whole thing in one big bite!

The Cranberry Orange Cupcake Recipe

I used Cranberry Orange Tango from Nutorious in this recipe. I'm giving some away this week and it's not too late to enter. However, if you can't get your hands on some, you can just as easily make the recipe using any chopped nuts and some dried cranberries.

makes 18-20 cupcakes

• 2/3 C sugar
• finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 1 C orange juice concentrate
• 1/2 C sugar (for the orange syrup)
• 2 C flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 3/4 C butter, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 C plain yogurt
  
• 4 oz of Cranberry Orange Tango or 2 oz chopped nuts of your choice and 2 oz dried cranberries

1. A few hours before you are ready to bake, combine the orange zest and the sugar in a bowl. This will let the orange flavor infuse into the sugar.
2. While you are waiting, prepare an orange syrup by bringing the orange juice concentrate and sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Stir continuously until it is thoroughly combined and gets slightly thicker (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and return to room temperature.
3. With a fork, whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl.
4. Beat butter and the sugar with grated orange zest in a large bowl for 1 minute, until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in eggs and yogurt until blended.
6. Alternately fold in flour mixture and 2/3 cup of the orange syrup (that should be pretty much all of the syrup) in three additions, beginning and ending with flour.
7. Fold in the Cranberry Orange Tango or nuts and dried cranberries.
   
8. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
   
9. Bake at 350 F for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the cupcake clean.

Cranberry Brown Sugar Frosting Recipe

The cranberry brown sugar frosting recipe did not taste very cranberry-esque, but it was the perfect compliment to the cupcake.

• 1/4 C jellied cranberry sauce (This is the kind that you may be subjected to on Turkey day that isn't nearly as good as the homemade stuff, but somehow works on a cupcake. You'll use up the rest of the can if you pipe the ring of cranberry like I did.)
• 1/4 C butter
• 3/4 C brown sugar
• 2 T milk
• 1 C powdered sugar, sifted

1. In a saucepan, melt the butter.
2. Add the cranberry sauce and brown sugar.
3. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium low and continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
5. Cool to lukewarm.
6. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar. I would highly recommend sifting this powdered sugar. It's such a pain to sift, but it ensures that the frosting will be extra smooth.
7. Beat until thick enough to spread. If too thick, add a little hot water.

Putting It Together

Spread the frosting onto the cupcakes and let it harden just a bit. Then, pipe a ring of cranberry sauce around the edge of the cupcake and sprinkle on some orange zest for some added color.

Other Options

If you like the idea of a cranberry orange cupcake, you may also like:

• taking this cupcake and frosting it with orange buttercream instead.
• making mimosa cupcakes.
• making muffins instead. For those who may wonder what the difference between a cranberry orange cupcake and a cranberry orange muffin looks like, it just so happens (quite coincidentally) that How to Eat A Cupcake posted some yummy looking cranberry orange muffins yesterday.