These cupcakes were inspired by Mr. P’s lamington challenge. Mr. P happens to come from Cardiff and I was making cupcakes for coworkers from Cardiff! It was kismet really. I had to do it.

Lamingtons are Australian and are a cube of cake coated in chocolate and rolled in coconut. What I am presenting here are indeed not lamingtons, but cupcakes inspired by them. I made two versions of these cupcakes, both with cream, but one with vanilla sea salt and one with blackberry jam. I did this mostly because I wanted to present both bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate frosted cupcakes. It’s easy enough to change up the fillings with whatever you have. I happened to have Welsh vanilla sea salt…

I also opted for a denser cupcake recipe as I wanted a slight dome given I was only glazing the cupcake. In the end I wasn’t super excited by the cupcakes and here is why. I like a lot of frosting. A thin coating of chocolate just doesn’t cut it for me. A cupcake really isn’t a cupcake without 2 inches of delicious frosting piled on top. The next recipe I do will have just that…

Vanilla Cupcakes from Martha Stewart
24 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; scrape down bowl, and beat in vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
4. Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners, about three-quarters full each. Bake until golden and tops spring back to touch, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer pans to wire rack; cool completely.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar

1. Whisk cream until soft peaks form.
2. Add sugar and whisk until combined.

White and Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze

6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
3.5 ounce bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3.5 ounce white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Divide the butter in half (two 3 tablespoon portions).
2. Put the chopped chocolates in two bowls. White in one and bittersweet in the other.
3. Put about half of the half portion of butter into each bowl (~1.5 tablespoons in each bowl).
4. Place the bowls over a pan of simmering water (I did one at a time) and let rest for 30 seconds.
5. Mix the chocolate and butter until melted and smooth.
6. Add the reminaing butter from the 3 tablespoon portion, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and mix to combine.
7. Let cool 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to spread. Repeat with the other chocolate

Assemble

1/2 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup blackberry jam
~ 2 teaspoons vanilla sea salt, purchased or made with sea salt and vanilla bean

1. Fill the cupcakes with cream using the cone method. This post has step by step photos of the method. I fill half with cream and a pinch of vanilla sea salt and half with cream and blackberry jam.
2. Top the vanilla sea salt and cream filled ones with bittersweet chocolate and sprinkle with coconut.
3. Top the blackberry jam and cream filled ones with white chocolate and sprinkle with coconut.

I closed out 2009 with some major procrastination… I am just now getting to this belated post.

I made these cupcakes for a party where I knew there would be an abundance of sweet and chocolatey desserts. I thought the tartness of cranberries and lemon would be a nice counterpoint. That was indeed the case. I saw many adults who would normally not be inclined towards a cupcake struggling with their cupcake paper.

The cranberry filling is fairly tart and very forward. The meyer lemon is secondary to the cranberry but definitely present. The cupcake was all around tart and sweet and pleasant to eat.

Here’s to a cupcake filled 2010!

Tart Cranberry Filling

1 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

1. Rinse and pick through cranberries.
2. Add to a medium pan with water and sugar. Bring to a boil stirring to dissolve sugar.
3. Let the mixture boil for ten minutes.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
5. Store in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

Lemon Cupcakes
~28 regular cupcakes / 375 degree oven

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup meyer lemon juice
zest of one meyer lemon

1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, beat to combine.
7. Scoop into cupcake papers about half full.
8. Place cupcakes in the oven and turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
3-4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon meyer lemon juice
zest of one half meyer lemon

1. Beat butter at medium speed until creamy.
2. Add cream cheese and beat until combined.
3. Sift 3 cups of the powdered sugar into the butter and cream cheese. Add the lemon juice and zest. Beat until combined.
4. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. I used 4 cups.

Assemble
1. Fill the cooled cupcakes using the cone method.
2. Frost.
3. Top off with sparkling cranberries (I made a half batch of these) or marshmallow snowpeople.

Two super foods in one tasty cupcake? Why not. In this creation the green tea actually takes a back seat to the pomegranate whose tart flavor takes center stage. I revisited an earlier green tea cupcake recipe and mixed in some pomegranate seeds at the end. But where the pomegranate flavor really shines is in the frosting (and the many pomegranates I topped each cupcake with)…

I wanted to celebrate the pomegranate’s tartness and ended up with what I will describe as a pomegranate foam. The texture may be off-putting to some, but the end result was indeed a not-overly-sweet, tart “frosting” as envisioned.

Covering the whole cupcake with seeds had its pros and cons. On the good side, it covers up the frosting which isn’t so pleasing to the eye and makes for a gorgeous cupcake. On the not-so-good side, pomegranate seeds in abundance are odd from a texture standpoint, but you could take a cue from my daughter and pick each one off and eat them before tearing into the cupcake itself.

I definitely think these cupcakes could make an awesome holiday display!

Pomegranate Green Tea Cupcakes
12 cupcakes / 350 degree oven

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 tablespoons green tea (matcha) powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add egg/egg yolk one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and matcha in a bowl.
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Fold in pomegranate seeds.
7. Scoop into cupcake cups about 2/3s full. Bake for 22-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Note: Normally I would get fresh, whole pomegranates and deal with the messiness of removing the seeds. Recently both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s started carrying fresh pomegranate seeds. I find them to be reliable sources of pomegranate seeds and recommend that route when you need them in bulk.

Pomegranate Foam

1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon sugar (plus more to taste)
3 egg whites

1. Heat pomegranate juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is boiling. Reduce to a simmer.
2. Simmer mixture until its reduced by half about 5-8 minutes.
3. Beat egg whites in the bowl of your electric mixer with the whisk attachment until foamy, about 3 minutes.
4. Slowly pour the very hot, reduced pomegranate juice into the egg whites while whisking at medium speed.
5. Continue to beat on medium-high speed until the mixture cools, about 5 to 10 minutes more.

Assembly
1. Top each cooled cupcake with pomegranate foam. A pastry bag with a large tip simplifies this.
2. Cover each frosted cupcake with pomegranate seeds. The more the merrier.

This recipe is clearly inspired by the colors and flavors of the season. To be honest, on a day filled with candy and chocolate, pumpkin cupcakes are almost too much. So while these were inspired by and for Halloween, I would skip it and try them for Thanksgiving instead.

I used a rich chocolate recipe to stand up to the heavy pumpkin recipe. I was half hoping the layers would stay fairly even, but somewhat expected that they wouldn’t. It looked like the chocolate batter was desperately trying to rise to the top with the pumpkin doing its best to keep it down. What resulted was evidence of the struggle with a wave pattern along the side of the cupcake and just a touch of chocolate poking through the top. The pumpkin batter (adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe) is nicely spicy with a pleasant moistness. It was a nice partner to the chocolate and the overall result has a spicy outcome. The frosting provides some added sweetness and visual interest.

These recipes work well for doing a two layered cupcake. One is mixed with an electric mixer and the other by hand. I can’t stress enough that you should pre-measure all ingredients and have them ready to go. Yes, you will dirty up a bunch of little bowls or plates, but it’s really the only way to ensure success. I measured out everything for both cupcake recipes and set them aside in order of use. I then mixed up the chocolate cupcake batter as it takes the longest. The pumpkin batter takes no time at all once everything is measured out. Just whisk together dry, whisk together wet, and whisk it all together. And don’t forget to preheat your oven to 375!

Chocolate Cupcakes

100 gram bar of Valrhona 61% cacao (or any bittersweet chocolate)
1-1/2 sticks butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Chop chocolate and transfer into the bowl of a standing mixer.
2. Add butter to the chocolate and place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate melts and butter is combined.
3. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
4. Beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes.
5. Add one egg at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each
6. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into the mixture, return to the electric mixer, and mix until blended.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, eggs, and pumpkin puree.
3. Add dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until smooth.

Meringue Frosting

5 egg whites
1-1/4 cups sugar

1. Combine egg whites and sugar into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer and set over a bain marie (water bath)
2. Whisk by hand for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved or preferably until the mixture reaches 110 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Transfer bowl to electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 10 minutes
4. Beat on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form, about 5 to 10 minutes more.

Baking and Assembly
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Scoop chocolate batter to fill cupcake cups 1/3 full.
3. Cover with the pumpkin batter up to 2/3 full.
4. Transfer to the oven, turn the oven down to 350 F, and bake for ~22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a baking rack.
6. Once fully cooled, frost with meringue frosting and toast with a blow torch. Toasting is optional.
7. Top with candy corn, candy pumpkin, or whatever you wish.

Quinoa is some kind of wonder food (at least according to my daughter’s pediatrician) as it’s a unique complete protein and is gluten-free. My husband eats it often as a part of his generally healthy diet. It was his birthday this week so I thought to incorporate one of his current favorite foods into a cupcake.

I wanted this recipe to have quinoa in it, but I didn’t want it to taste healthy. It is a cupcake after all. So I started with a basic cake recipe, swapped some flour for cooked quinoa, and called it a day. The resulting cake was moist and tasty with a nice crunch/chew from the quinoa. It did however not rise up so much and shrunk a bit after cooling.

But that didn’t bother me in the least. What was to be fig filling became a fig layer and it all worked out great. I cooked up some figs with vanilla and sugar (they weren’t super ripe), layered some of the cooled mixture on each cupcake, and topped that with a dollop of cream cheese frosting. All together a tasty treat that everyone enjoyed.

As a final note, I used black quinoa I bought at Whole Foods. I tried the black as I thought it would look more interesting than the plain. Having tried both, it’s also a bit crunchier (in a good way) and nuttier. There is also red quinoa which would likely work just as well.

Quinoa Cupcakes
26 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

3/4 cup quinoa
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Rinse the quinoa well in a fine sieve under a stream of cool water. This will remove a natural coating that tends to make quinoa bitter.
2. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Remove lid and cook off any remaining liquid. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
4. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
6. Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
7. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.
8. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
9. Fold in the cooked quinoa.
10. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 3/4’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Note: These cupcakes won’t rise up very much due to the weight of the quinoa and will contract some with cooling.

Fig Filling

16 ounces figs, chopped
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons sugar

1. Add figs and water to a medium saucepan.
2. Add the vanilla and stir in the sugar and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.
4. After 10 minutes mash the figs in the pot with a potato masher.
5. Taste and adjust with more sugar if needed.
6. Cover and refrigerate until cool about 2 hours.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, room temperature
1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
3-4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat butter at medium speed until creamy.
2. Add cream cheese and beat until combined.
3. Sift 3 cups of the powdered sugar into the butter and cream cheese. Beat until combined.
4. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. I used 4 cups.

Assemble
1. Top the cooled cupcakes with a layer of fig filling.
2. Frost with a dollop of frosting.
3. Top off with a slice of fig.

I have tried my hand at bacon cupcakes before and some of my coworkers were huge fans. I was planning some celebratory cupcakes for work and I decided on bringing back the bacon. I was tentative with my inclusion of bacon last time around and I was looking for a chance to push it a bit more.

The frosting is subtle enough that it works on both cupcakes. But to be frank, if I do the sweet corn version again, I want to find a way to nicely push the maple flavor. I am thinking maple candy chunks in the frosting. The sweet corn version is great though. The corn was super juicy and the bacon flavor just enough. I also really liked the chocolate version. It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate and toffee anyway, but the salty, smokiness of the bacon took it to another level.

Sweet Corn and Bacon Cupcakes
~24 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

1-1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup grape seed oil (or any tasteless vegetable oil)
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon maple syrup
5 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 cup corn kernels, fresh, cut off the cob
4 slices cooked bacon cut into chunks

1. Sift flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into the bowl of a standing mixer.
2. In a medium bowl, combine oil, egg yolks, water, and maple syrup. Stir to combine.
3. On a low setting, start to beat the dry mixture and slowly add the wet. Increase the mixer speed to high and beat until ingredients are incorporated.
4. Transfer mixture to another bowl. Wash and dry mixer bowl.
5. Whip egg whites with whip attachment on medium-high speed until foamy. With the mixer on medium speed, add cream of tarter and slowly add sugar. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form.
6. Scoop a cupful of the stiff egg whites into the batter and stir to combine. This will lighten up the batter.
7. Transfer the batter to the egg whites and gently fold until there are no more streaks of egg white.
8. Gently fold in the corn kernels and bacon.
9. Scoop into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Bake at 350 F for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Bacon, Toffee, Chocolate Cupcakes
~20 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup high quality unsweetened cocoa powder like Valrhona brand
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-1/2 slices cooked bacon cut into chunks
1/3 cup chopped chocolate covered toffee, Poco Dolce or other brand

1. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2 Add egg and beat until well combined.
3. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Gently fold in the bacon and toffee chunks.
7. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2-2/3’s full. Bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

2-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
1 stick butter
5-8 cups sifted powdered sugar
~1/4 cup maple syrup

1. Bring butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours.
2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment.
3. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.
4. Add 3 cups of the powdered sugar and maple syrup. Beat until combined.
5. Add more maple syrup and confectioners sugar until you get to the flavor, consistency, and sweetness you like.

Assemble
1. Frost cooled cupcakes.
2. Top with a piece of maple sugar candy or crispy bacon.

I made these cupcakes specifically to celebrate the launch of a product at work — code named “Grape”. That’s all I needed, an excuse to make grape cupcakes. I knew at the outset I didn’t want these to be cloyingly sweet. I also would have preferred to make them in the fall when I could maybe get my hands on some fresh concord grapes. But the timing was such that these were getting done in the spring and I settled with a combination of organic, unsweetened concord grape juice and black seedless grapes. I started with a simple vanilla bean cupcake, filled it with the tart grape filling, and topped it off with a nicely sweet cream cheese frosting spiked with a touch of grape syrup for color and flavor.

It’s a nice combination and was a hit. The filling is quite tart and I am glad I skipped both adding too much sugar or using any kind of thickener in the filling. Even if you aren’t a huge fan of grapes, you might like this recipe.

Am I back? I am not sure. I know that the new site didn’t inspire me to action like I had hoped. I also know that the demands of work, a toddler, and what not make it difficult to come up with recipes on a regular basis. But as I have them, I will post new recipes for your enjoyment.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
26 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2-3/4 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out

1. Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.
3. Measure the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
4. Measure out the milk and vanilla and stir to combine. Scrape out the vanilla bean seeds into the milk.
5. Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.
6. Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 2/3’s full. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake cupcakes for about 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Tart Grape Filling

10 ounces concord grape juice, unsweetened
6 ounces grapes, black and seedless
2 teaspoons sugar

1. Add juice and grapes to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.
3. After 10 minutes mash the grapes in the pot with a potato masher.
4. Continue to simmer until almost all the liquid is reduced about 20 minutes.
5. Cover and refrigerate until cool about 2 hours.

Grape Cream Cheese Frosting

3/4 cup concord grape juice, unsweetened
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
1 package of Philly cream cheese
3-4 cups sifted powdered sugar

1. Bring juice to a boil in a small saucepan. Allow to boil until reduced to a syrup about 15 minutes.
2. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.
3. Sift 3 cups of the powdered sugar into the butter and cream cheese. Add the grape syrup. Beat until combined.
4. Add more sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. I used 4 cups.

Assemble
1. Fill the cooled cupcakes using the cone method.
2. Frost.
3. Top off with a grape, a grape jelly, or whatever decoration you have on hand. Chopped, salted peanuts might also be nice.