Mushroom Cupcakes - A Candy Cap Mushroom Dessert Recipe

I was surprised to find that while my avocado cupcakes were a hard sell, everyone wanted to try the candy cap mushroom cupcakes.

No one seemed bothered by the mushroom on top of the cupcake or the surprise one inside (after all - the candy cap mushrooms taste like maple syrup!).

Madeleine Recipe with An Unexpected Twist

Madeleines are simple sponge cake-like cookies - so simple that you probably have all of the typical madeleine recipe ingredients in your house right now: eggs, salt, sugar, flour and butter.  The only thing that you may not have is a madeleine pan.

Isn't the madeleine a snotty cookie to require her own pan?  But, like a little girl in blue jeans and ratty T-shirt who puts on a princess hat and becomes royalty, the madeleine pan makes this simple cookie regal (more importantly, you can't make madeleines without it).  Get one (make sure it's non-stick - it makes it so easy) for the baker on your Christmas list.

What's the Unexpected Twist in My Madeleine Recipe?

Potato, Mushroom, and Apple Soup

Before I baked with my candy cap mushrooms (read my post on candy cap mushrooms for the back story), I wanted to try using them in a more traditional way.  I put them in a soup - something a normal person does with mushrooms.

My thick potato, mushroom, and apple soup would be a treat for a cool evening no matter what mushroom you use, but the candy caps made the soup extra special and provided more of a nutty, maple flavor than your average mushroom.  They were far less mapley in the soup than I would have guessed from their scent, but in this case, that was probably a good thing.

Because of the addition of  balsamic vinegar and honey, the soup has a soothing sweetness, but the appearance of paprika gives it just a bit of kick.  Keep a spoon near your pot and taste periodically - add more of any of the spices to make the flavor just how you like it.

Candy Cap Mushrooms - The Dessert Mushroom

Candy cap mushrooms cannot be found in the Halloween candy aisle of your grocery store. Candy cap mushrooms do not contain artificial sweeteners or additives of any kind; they have one ingredient: mushroom.  Why the name?  Candy cap mushrooms are sweet, making them one of the only mushroom varieties recommended for use in desserts.

The Best Thing About Candy Cap Mushrooms

The best thing about candy cap mushrooms is that they smell like this: