One Bowl Pine Nut Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

I go crazy with elaborate projects sometimes (see my Homemade Lucky Charms for a prime example).  But, it's always nice to have a few one bowl recipes on hand to quickly whip together.  Despite the gourmet sound of a pine nut cupcake, these pine nut cupcakes fall into the dump and mix category of cupcakes.  Remember, easy doesn't mean any less tasty!

These pine nut cupcakes taste nutty and familiar, yet unexpected (pine nut is hardly a staple cupcake flavor). They have an occasional crunch from the whole pine nuts mixed into the batter and the tart, sweet finish of raspberry cream cheese frosting.  

If you don't want to splurge on pine nuts, you can make this recipe using any nuts and nut butter.

Sophisticated Yet Homey Pine Nut Raspberry Bars

Peanut butter and jelly is such an iconic American duo that before my three year old had even tried it, he was singing PB&J songs in his parent/child music class.  But really, people, must we stick with peanut butter?  Give other nuts a chance!  I suggest pine nuts.

Parmesan Sour Cream Cupcakes with Raspberry Whipped Cream Frosting

Cross a cheese biscuit with angel food cake and you get Parmesan sour cream cupcakes.  They're buttery, airy, sticky and sugary on the edges, and they have a tang from Parmesan that works in a cupcake so much better than you would ever expect.  If you like the combination of sweet and salty, this is a cupcake for you. 

The Parmesan sour cream cake recipe came from Susan at LunaCafe.  She was inspired to develop the recipe after trying Parmesan pound cake at Metrovino in Portland, Oregon.  Susan had the following to say about her version of the Parmesan cake:

This is one of the most delectable butter cakes in my repertoire. It’s unlikely that anyone will detect the parmesan if not told in advance of its presence. It adds an extra something though that is irresistible (umami), and yes, possibly addictive.

After reading her description of the Parmesan cake, I had to turn it into cupcakes and share the recipe with you! 

Hemp Tarts - Cupcake Style

When it comes to crust, graham is good, Oreo is outstanding, and hemp is hearty and homey.  What?  You've never had a hemp crust?  I only feign surprise.  Most people haven't tried hemp crust or a hemp milk custard like the one that fills my hemp tarts in cupcake wrappers.  The reason why stems back to a misunderstanding about hemp that I addressed in my post on hemp seeds. 

These hemp cupcakes will not get you high.

Stefani P's on the back up

Drug free, so put the crack up

No need for speed

I'm the anti D-R-U-G-G-I-E my

Body is healthy

My cupcakes make me wealthy (not quite)

And J. Pollack Photo helps me

To bring you cupcakes with no intoxication

Come on feel the vibration

(If you don't get this reference, see the bottom of this post for the video of the song I spoofed)

 

What Do Hemp Tarts Taste Like?

Raspberry, Oatmeal, and Hemp Seed Cobbler

While cupcakes require precise care (each small cake treated individually, coddled like a tiny babe in a bonnet of frosting), cobbler is a grandpa who still uses an old typewriter and gardens with a rusty shovel that shows its age.  Cobbler doesn't try to impress and doesn't take special care to prepare, but the wisdom of its simplicity wins the hearts of all who encounter it.

Tart raspberries, sweet brown sugar, the rustic appeal of oats, and the unique and earthy surprise of hemp seeds (if you've never baked with hemp seeds, read about baking with hemp seeds to learn more) makes this the cobbler to try as fresh berries make their first appearance at this summer's farmers' markets. 

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.

Raspberry Cupcakes with Lemon and Chocolate: A Vere Inspired Cupcake

Raspberry cupcakes with lemon and chocolate wrap up Vere week. Start back on Part I to read all of the Vere week posts.

The details of the raspberry cupcakes are after the break.

The Raspberry Cupcake Inspiration

The raspberry cupcake was based off of Vere's raspberry lemon organic dark chocolate bar. When Kathy first sent me the sample bar, I could barely taste the raspberries. However, when she sent me the full-sized bar, I could taste the berries and I was in love. First, you taste the chocolate, then the raspberries, and then it finishes with the lemon. The flavor combination was incredible.

I wanted a cupcake that would do the same thing!

Choosing the Raspberry Cupcake Recipe

Bon Appetit recently featured a lemon raspberry cupcake. It looked great, but it used raspberry jam. I wanted to use fresh raspberries.

I ended up turning to the now-retired-from-blogging but still ever useful Chockylit. She had a recipe for raspberry ricotta almond cupcakes that sounded amazing. Of course, modifications would need to be made - most notably, I used no ricotta and I added lemon extract and chocolate. I'm sure my cupcake tasted nothing like hers, however I must give credit where credit is due. Her recipe got me going in the right direction.

What's Happening On Top of Those Raspberry Cupcakes?

To accentuate the lemon flavor on the raspberry cupcakes, I baked some lemon cookie dough (well, it's not really cookie dough as you'll see later, but close enough) on top of some of the cupcakes. I made the cupcakes three ways:

1. With cookies in cookie shape. Unlike the cookie on the snickerdoodle cupcakes, this one kept its shape and did not meld into the cupcake. It has a completely different taste and texture from the cupcake. It almost looks like I just put the cookie on top of the cupcake, but it's actually baked on. It was topped with a small swirl of chocolate whipped cream and a fresh raspberry.
2. Crumbles of cookie dough on top. This cupcake kind was also topped with the chocolate whipped cream and raspberry combo.
3. No cookie dough. I simply covered the top with lots of chocolate whipped cream and of course the fresh raspberry.

How'd the Raspberry Cupcakes Taste?

I was excited that the raspberry cupcakes left me with a similar experience to the chocolate bar. I could taste all three flavors (raspberry, lemon, and chocolate) at different times, but also the wonderful combination of them together. The cupcakes were extraordinarily moist, but not so much as to be messy.

Check back for additional tasting notes and Bride and Groom 2.0's thoughts. Things have been vere busy and they haven't been able to taste the cupcakes yet.

Update: People raved and drooled over these cupcakes. They were a huge hit! Everyone loved their moistness and complex flavor. One friend and frequent taster even said that if it were his wedding, he would choose these!

Everyone, however, does not include Bride and Groom 2.0 and the friend that tasted with them. Bride and Groom 2.0 thought they were too dense and not moist enough. I will not judge their comments, but note my comments above about everyone else and moisture. Bride and Groom 2.0 also didn't like the texture of the raspberry seeds. That's definitely understandable. It's not for everyone. Groom 2.0 was, however, excited about the chocolate bits in the cake: "Oooh - chocolate bits!" Lastly, Bride and Groom 2.0 both enjoyed the frosting.

The Raspberry Cupcake Recipe

As I noted earlier, the raspberry cupcake recipe was an extreme modification of a recipe by Chockylit:

Makes about 18 cupcakes

• 1 C almond flour
• 1 C sugar
• 1/4 C plain yogurt
• 1/4 C sour cream
• 1/2 C (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 t lemon extract
• 2/3 C flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 C finely chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
• 1 C raspberries

1. Mix almond flour and sugar.
2. Slowly add yogurt and sour cream.
3. Add butter, one tablespoon at a time.
4. Gradually add the eggs.
5. Add lemon extract.
6. In a separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder.
7. Fold in the flour mixture.
8. Fold in the chocolate and raspberries.
9. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. These cupcakes will not rise very much. If you want them to be taller, you can fill them ever higher.
10. If you are not putting the lemon cookie topping on the cupcakes, bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until the top bounces back when touched. If you are putting the lemon cookie topping on the cupcakes, don't put them in the oven yet! After you put the cookie topping on, follow the same baking instructions.

The Lemon Cookie Dough Recipe

The recipe that I used for the lemon cookie dough is actually tart dough from A Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent Price. I've used this recipe as a pie crust for apple pies since I was a kid. It's a lousy pie crust in that it doesn't roll well at all, but it tastes so good that I just don't care. One of my favorite parts of preparing this recipe is that everything is mixed by hand. Get messy and lick your fingers!

• 1 1/4 C four
• 4 T sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 C) butter, room temperature
• 2 egg yolks
• Grated rind of 1 lemon

1. Put flour on a pastry board or any clean surface.
2. Make a well (basically a hole) in the center of the flour.
3. Put all the other ingredients in the well.
4. Use your hands to work all of the center ingredients into a paste.
5. Knead in the flour.
6. Keep working the dough until you can make it into one big ball.
7. Do with it whatever you want! I made little patties with some of it and laid them directly on the cupcakes before baking. I crumbled some of it over other cupcakes. I still had some left, so I rolled it into little balls and baked them on a cookie sheet at 350 F for 15 minutes.

The Chocolate Whipped Cream Recipe

As you can see from the photos of the cupcakes, on 2/3 of the cupcakes I used vere (will I ever stop spelling it like that?) little frosting. If you want to cover your cupcakes in frosting, be sure to double this recipe.

The picture above is of my frosting staging area. Every time I frost, I use a little test plate to pipe a bit before piping onto my cupcakes. This gives me a chance to play with ideas and get a better feel for the consistency of the frosting.

• 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T cocoa powder

1. Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.
2. Beat in sugar.
3. Beat in cocoa powder.
4. Pipe or spread or just lick the beater.