Archive for the ‘Cakes – Cupcakes’ Category
Refreshing isn’t a word that you often associate with cupcakes, but these Lemon Lime Cupcakes definitely have a refreshing element to them. The cupcakes are bright with both fresh lemon and lime zest, and have a lemon lime buttercream on top. It is sweet, light and surprisingly palate cleansing, for a cupcake. They’re quite different from most cupcakes, as the combination of lemon and lime doesn’t show up that often in cupcake form, and that also makes them a very nice change of pace for those of you getting bored with chocolate and vanilla.
The cake for these cupcakes is very moist and tender, with a soft, tight crumb. The lemon lime flavor comes from fresh zest that is grated into the cupcake batter. Zest – the colored, outer portion of a citrus fruit – is extremely flavorful because that is where all of the intense citrus oils are. . I used one large lemon and one large lime to get enough zest for one batch of cupcakes, but you might want to have an extra lime on hand in case yours turn out to be a bit small. A microplane is the perfect tool for easily zesting your fruit. Don’t skimp on the zest when making these to get the best lemon-lime flavor in the finished cakes – and if you have to cut back, you can boost the flavor with some lemon or lime oil, which you can buy bottled.
The cupcakes are topped with a lemon lime buttercream, where I used the juice from the fruits I zested for the cake to give the frosting a bright citrus flavor. The lemon and lime juice blend well together, and this frosting is one that you could easily use to make a batch of yellow or vanilla cupcakes more exciting. If you find that you don’t have quite enough juice from your zested lemon and lime, and you don’t have any more fruit on hand, you can add a little bit of water to the frosting to make up the difference.
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Chocolate and strawberries make an excellent pair – especially when you’re talking about chocolate covered strawberries. I switched around the chocolate and strawberries to make these Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream. They’re rich chocolate cupcakes topped off with a creamy frosting made with fresh strawberries that are just starting to come into season.
The chocolate cake is one of my favorite cupcake recipes. The cakes are very moist and tender, with a tight crumb that gives them a velvety mouthfeel. And, of course, they pack in a lot of chocolate flavor. That chocolate flavor comes from a large amount of cocoa powder in the cake, so don’t be alarmed by the large amount of sugar required in the recipe, as it is needed to balance out that unsweetened cocoa. The cupcakes need to be baked and cooled before they can be filled. I always use the cone method for filling cupcakes, where you have to cut a small cone of cake out of each cupcake to create a large cavity that can hold a lot of filling.
For the strawberry buttercream, I simply pureed a bunch of fresh, hulled strawberries in the food processor until the mixture was very smooth. I added it to butter and confectioners’ sugar and beat it until the frosting was thick and fluffy. If you get ripe, flavorful strawberries, you’ll get a dark pink frosting with a great strawberry flavor. You can add a few drops of food coloring to make the color of your frosting a little more distinct, if you prefer. It is used as the filling and the frosting of these cupcakes, adding a bright berry flavor to every bite of chocolate cake.
These are great summertime cupcakes, with great flavor. Serve them plain or garnished with a fresh strawberry. When making the puree for the frosting, be sure to puree some extra berries and you can use that as a base for daiquiris, margaritas or other summery cocktails to serve along with the cake!
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Yuzu is a citrus fruit that is similar to a lemon, but with a flavor that is both very zesty and very floral. Like other citrus fruits, yuzu is a wonderful addition to many different types of baked goods and these cupcakes are a simple way to showcase the flavor. The cupcakes are light and fluffy, with a generous amount of yuzu zest in them to give them a bright flavor. They’re topped with a yuzu vanilla buttercream frosting.
I only used the zest from the yuzu in these cupcakes because it really infuses a lot of flavor, saving the juice for use in the frosting. The cakes are made with cake flour, which produces a very light texture that is a good match for the yuzu. I also coconut milk in these cupcakes instead of regular milk. It helps to produce a tender crumb and also adds a slight coconut flavor, which is a nice compliment to the yuzu. You can use full fat or light coconut milk (I used light coconut milk) in these, as well. The coconut milk itself has a fairly mild flavor, so coconut extract could be added to enhance it a bit if you want to emphasize the coconut.
If you can’t find yuzu, which is more widely available at farmers markets and asian markets than it is at most grocery stores, regular lemons and meyer lemons can be great substitutes and will both produce deliciously zesty cupcakes. Since it is less common, it might not make it into your regular baking rotation, but it is worth trying the next time you spot some in the market.
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These Midnight Chocolate Cupcakes are the perfect recipe to make if you’re in the mood for a very dark, chocolate cupcake. They get their name from the fact that they’re almost pitch black in color. They’re based on a much loved Betty Crocker recipe for Black Midnight Cake (which has been in dozens of Betty Crocker cookbooks over the past several decades). The cupcakes deliver as much chocolate as they promise with their dark coloring. They are moist, fluffy and pack a lot of flavor into every single bite.
The recipe has slightly more sugar than many other cupcake recipes, but that sugar helps to keep the cupcakes moist and tender, and also adds much needed sweetness to the very large amount of cocoa powder in the batter. I typically add a small amount of instant coffee to highlight the darker notes of the cocoa powder, but that can be omitted if you prefer not to have a hint of coffee in your cake. The finished cupcakes are not too sweet, even when generously spread with chocolate buttercream frosting.
These cupcakes are also made with shortening, rather than butter. Shortening is also used in the old BC recipe (in my 1950s-era cookbooks) for this type of cake. The shortening, like vegetable oil, helps the cakes to retain moisture and stay fresh and soft for several days after baking. Since it doesn’t add any flavor of it’s own to the cake, unlike butter, the chocolate flavor also seems a little more pronounced than it does in some other recipes. All that said, you can substitute butter back into this recipe with no problems whatsoever and still end up with a great chocolate cupcake.
I topped my cupcakes off with a simple chocolate buttercream and a square of star-spangled chocolate. The buttercream also has a rich chocolate flavor, even if it isn’t as dark in color as the cake. I used a chocolate transfer sheet – a sheet of acetate with a colored cocoa butter design printed on it – to make my starry night garnish. A few chocolate sprinkles would also make a lovely way to finish these off.
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Red velvet cupcakes are one of the most festive treats you can make around the holidays. It’s not because red velvet is a holiday flavor, but because the vibrant red cake topped with snowy white icing looks perfect for winter. And a red velvet cupcake can be even more seasonal if you give it a little boost of holiday flavor by turning plain cupcakes into Eggnog Red Velvet Cupcakes.
Traditional red velvet cake is made with buttermilk and has a slight hint of cocoa flavor to it, as well as a fairly generous amount of red food coloring. This Christmas rendition uses prepared eggnog in place of the buttermilk, includes freshly ground nutmeg and extra vanilla. They are soft and very moist, with a light, tender crumb. You can taste the faintest hint of cocoa, but the nutmeg and vanilla that really define eggnog are what stand out here.
Cream cheese frosting is usually used to top red velvet cakes and that is no exception here. This cream cheese frosting is flavored with nutmeg and vanilla, tying it in with the flavors in cupcake. The frosting can be spread on top of the cupcakes or piped on using a piping bag if you want to create some decorative swirls.
I actually don’t recommend spiking these cupcakes with rum or rum extract because it hides some of the red velvet and eggnog nuances of the cake. If you want to incorporate a little rum, add a tablespoon or so into the frosting in place of one tablespoon of the milk, that way you get a kick without compromising the eggnog flavor of the cupcakes.
These are always a big hit when they’re put out – and an even bigger one when people take their first bites. Whether you’re serving kids or adults, these are definitely a treat to put on the “must make” list for your next holiday party.
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