I had request for cupcakes this weekend. They had to be good for breakfast (muffins) and have banana in them. I didn’t want to make a muffin, so I stuck with a cupcake recipe and planned to go light on the frosting. I made two attempts (two full attempts, but a total of three different recipes) and I am not 100% happy with any of them. I will print the best of the recipe bases, but the base recipe needs work. The cupcakes tasted yummy, but the texture was too dense, hence why it needs work.

The combination most appropriate for breakfast is the pecan-cinnamon. The yummiest (in my book anyway) was the macadamia-white chocolate. I didn’t like the pistachio so much. I don’t blame it on the pistachio, but on the recipe…

Mise En Place for Fillings
I made a few flavor combinations – toasted pecan and cinnamon, macadamia nut and white chocolate, and pistachio and cardamom.

1/3 cup pecans, toasted 5 minutes at 350 degrees, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/4 cup white chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup pistachios, shelled & chopped
1 teaspoon cardamom

1. Prepare all the fillings and set aside.

Banana Cupcakes
makes 22-24 cupcakes / 350 degree oven

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 medium bananas
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. With a blender or food processor, blend banana and buttermilk until the banana is broken up.
3. In another bowl, combine banana/buttermilk, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla.
4. Fold dry mixture into the wet mixture.
5. Divide batter into three bowls. In one bowl, fold in toasted pecans and cinnamon. In the second bowl, fold in macadamia nuts and white chocolate. In the third bowl, fold in pistachios and cardamom.
6. Scoop out into cupcake papers.
7. Bake at 350 degree oven for ~20-22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (start checking after 20 minutes).

baked cupcakes

Thick Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces or 3/4 package of Philly cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4-5 cups sifted powdered sugar

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 cheese at medium speed until creamy.
4. Add half of the sugar. Beat until combined.
5. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like. For this recipe, I was going for a very thick frosting.

scooping frosting

Assembly
1. Scoop a bit of frosting on to each cooled cupcake.
2. Smooth frosting into a thin layer.
3. Top with caramelized banana disks, white chocolate dipped macadamia nuts, whatever you please…

I don’t have many pictures as I had a guest over while I was baking. My guest was a fellow baking enthusiast who I met through the blog. She is a caterer and cooking instructor in the bay area. She is mid-remodel and wanted to see what I had done. She brought delicious Vietnamese sandwiches. It was great to share tips. I am going to try some out in the weeks to come.

I normally don’t feel very inspired to make themed cupcakes for holidays. I consider it dangerous territory into which I don’t dare tread. I never say never, though, that’s for sure. And this past week I was indeed inspired by the colorful caramel robin’s eggs that were for sale at Peet’s Coffee. The vibrant blue of the egg was screaming for something orange…

These cupcakes ended up quite delicious – very moist cake with a touch of spice, creamy frosting, and candied orange peel that provides a nice burst of orange flavor and a chewy, crunchy texture. The egg is yummy on it’s own.

Cupcakes
makes 30 cupcakes / 350 degree oven

1 cup pecans
2-3 medium oranges
1 pound carrots
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch of allspice
pinch of ground nutmeg

1. Toast pecans in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the oven, let them cool, then chop coarsely.
3. Peel oranges and puree in a blender or food processor. Measure out 1/2 cup of the liquidy pulp.
4. Peel, rinse, then grate carrots coarsely.
5. In a large bowl, combine orange pulp, carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, and vegetable oil.
6. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
7. Fold flour mixture into the carrot mixture.
8. Fold in pecans.
9. Scoop out into cupcake papers.
10. Bake at 350 degree oven for ~20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting with a Hint of Orange

16 ounces or 2 packages of Philly cream cheese
3/4 stick butter
5-7 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

1. Bring cheese and 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 cheese at medium speed until creamy.
4. Add half of the sugar and the orange juice. Beat until combined.
5. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.

Candied Orange Peel Nests

Why reinvent the wheel? Nic over at the Baking Sheet has already gone and posted a recipe for candied orange peel. I researched a handful of methods and I liked the sound of this one over the others.

I cut the recipe in half. The only other change I made was to cut peel of the orange with a vegetable peeler then cut it into strips before soaking over night. Other then that change, I basically followed the recipe in her post.

cutting the orange peel

orange peel strips

candied orange peel

Assembly
1. Pipe some frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.
2. Top off each frosted cupcake with some candied orange strips and a caramel egg.

caramel eggs

I warn you, do not eat these cupcakes without a tall glass of milk nearby. They are crazy rich.

I made these peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes for my aunt. She is going to a ladies-only sleepover party down in Cupertino. While I have not been to one these parties, the way my aunt describes the backyard with the lit up plant life, the fire pit, and the red wine-induced revelry through the wee hours… I knew that whatever she brought had to be rich and completely decadent.

I also had to use the same chocolate recipe, this time without cherries, because I am just loving it. It is officially my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe – at least for now.

Chocolate Cupcakes
24 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

5.4 ounces dark chocolate or 3/4 of a 200 gram bar of Valrhona 61% cocao
22 tablespoons butter (yes, nearly three sticks of butter!)
1-3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
4-1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

1. Melt chocolate and butter over a water bath.
2. Add sugar and stir, let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
3. Beat in an electric mixer for 3 minutes.
4. Add one egg at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each
5. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt into the mixture and mix until blended.
6. Scoop into cupcake cups and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

chopping chocolate

Peanut Butter Filling

4 ounces or 1/2 package of Philly cream cheese
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

1. Beat cream cheese and peanut butter until combined.
2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until combined.
3. Add the milk and beat until combined.

Note: This makes a pretty stiff mixture, like the center of a peanut butter cup. If you want something pipe-able, you could add more milk. I wanted to retain the strong peanut butter flavor, so I kept the milk to a minimum.

Update: I think that the filling was too thick. As I was eating a cupcake (I managed to resist them until late last night) the peanut butter filling fell out onto the plate. It wasn’t too terribly hard to stick back on the cupcake, but if I were to do these again, I would add more milk to the filling.

peanut butter filling

Chocolate Ganache

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
5 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Chop chocolates and transfer into a heat proof bowl.
2. Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream over the chocolate.
3. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.
4. Add butter and vanilla and stir until combined.
5. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixture and let cool for 10 minutes.
6. Sift powdered sugar into the mixture and beat until combined.
7. Continue to beat with an electric mixer until lighter in color and creamy.

mid-assembly

Assemble
1. Using a small pairing knife, cut off the top of the cupcake in the shape of a cone. Flip the top over and cut off the cone.
2. Fill the cavity with a teaspoon or so of peanut butter filling.
3. Replace top.
4. Frost with ganache.
5. Decorate as you wish. I topped the cupcakes with fondant and peanut butter flowers.

Fondant and Peanut Butter Flowers

There are very few things I use in my recipes that are pre-prepared. There is often an abundance of chemicals, copious quantities of solid vegetable shortening, and lots of other things in these time-saving products that I would rather not consume. I make one exception, however, and that is for fondant.

Fondant in my opinion is gross. The smell of it alone turns me off. This is one of the main reasons I don’t do cakes and why I especially don’t do wedding cakes, as it is very difficult to get the look of a wedding cake without making extensive use of fondant. (You could use robes of white chocolate, but all my attempts at that tricky task have failed… ) So, the rare times I actually use fondant, it is only for small decorative additions. I must admit, sometimes small decorative additions are *nice*.

I purchase some pre-made white fondant at Sugar N’ Spice in Daly City ages ago. Lucky for me, it will last in it’s plastic container for a year. Yes, you should be suspicious of anything with that kind of shelf life. I grabbed a handful out of the container, shaped it into a disk and got to rolling.

Cornstarch is a must for rolling out fondant. Powdered sugar doesn’t cut it, it will still stick.

I like simple shapes. I got these cutters in Japantown a long while back.

The fondant is soft compared to gumpaste. So, you should be careful when cutting the shapes. Its best if you can bring the piece out with the cutter then let it drop out onto your hand. Avoid touching the top of it until the pieces have dried some.

I topped each cupcake with a dried fondant shape. I rolled a little peanut butter filling into a ball to top each shape. The result, a cute flower, that you should recommed your guests promptly remove and set aside before eating the cupcake ;)

I saw an opera cake recipe on the epicurious homepage a couple of weeks ago that inspired the latest cupcake recipe. I took the recipe from the site and made some changes. Overall the cupcake was fine, due to two of the three components being extremely tasty. I was not happy with the almond cupcake recipe though, which I found to be too eggy tasting. I recommend substituting the almond-based recipe with just about any recipe that goes well with coffee and chocolate that you like.

I was visiting my parents in the east coast for the holidays. It’s always tricky working in an unfamiliar kitchen, but they have a great setup so it all went well. Taking pictures proved difficult though as it was an overcast, rainy and dreary day – perfect for cupcake baking but not for available light photography.

Cupcakes
12 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven

2 eggs, room temp
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons flour
2 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1. Beat 2 eggs for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add almond meal and flour. Sift in powdered sugar and flour.
3. Beat until combined.
4. In another bowl, beat egg whites with the whisk attachment until foamy.
5. Add cream of tarter and salt and whisk until soft peaks form.
6. Gradually add sugar and whisk on high until stiff peaks form.
7. Stir in one third of the egg whites into the batter mixture.
8. Fold the batter mixture gently into the egg whites. Then fold in butter.
9. Scoop into cupcake papers about half full (we don’t want the cupcakes to come out over the top as we want to pour ganache into them).
10. Bake for 12-15 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

ready for baking

Coffee Buttercream from Epicurious

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (available at whole foods)
1/4 cup plus one tablespoon water
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and softened

1. Stir together espresso powder and 1 tablespoon water until powder is dissolved.
2. Bring sugar and remaining 1/4 cup water to a boil in a very small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
3. Boil, without stirring, washing down any sugar crystals on side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water, until syrup registers 238°F on thermometer (soft-ball stage)
4. While syrup boils, beat yolks in a large bowl with cleaned beaters at medium speed 1 minute.
5. Add hot syrup to yolks in a slow stream (try to avoid beaters and side of bowl), beating, then add coffee mixture and beat until completely cool, 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Beat in butter, 1 piece at a time, and beat until thickened and smooth.

coffee buttercream

Valrhona Ganache

6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 3.5 ounce packages of 71% cacao valrhona chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Melt the chocolate and half the butter over a double boiler.
2. Remove from heat and stir in remaining butter and vanilla.
3. Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Watch it though, as the ganache will start to thicken and you want to pour it before that point.

Assemble
1. Fill cooled cupcakes with coffee buttercream.
2. Pour ganache over the cupcake to the top of the paper. If you are using regular cupcake papers, put the cupcakes back in their pans before pouring in the ganache.
3. Decorate as you wish. I had planned to top the cupcakes with a marizpan star (rolled out marzipan cut with star shaped cutter) dusted with silver dust. But I left those things behind in San Francisco.

I make my husband German Chocolate Cake every year for his birthday. It was his favorite growing up and his grandmother still bakes him a German Chocolate Cake whenever we go to visit. This year I made a cupcake version.

Researching for the recipe, I looked closely at the Better Homes & Garden version and the Magnolia version. The ingredients were almost identical and the proportions very similar (the BH&G recipe had slightly more chocolate and slightly less butter). The main difference between the recipes, however, was the number of steps involved. The BH&G recipe had 5 simple steps. The Magnolia recipe had 10 relatively simple steps, but it also had the unfortunate requirement of my having to wash out my one Kitchen Aid bowl in between two steps. I fully intended to do both versions, half recipes of each, and do a side by side comparison of the two. I wanted to know if twice the number of steps made a difference. I am sad to say that I didn’t manage this side-by-side comparison, we got home much too late from birthday present shopping. For the sake of time, I ended up whipping out the BH&G version and added milk chocolate glaze.

The result: The cupcakes were disappointing looking; they shrunk up, pulled away from the papers, and had an insipid, grey color. The texture was fine – I expected them to be too dense, but they were fluffy. The flavor? Boring, but salvaged by the milk chocolate glaze and coconut-pecan topping. Next year I am definitely trying the Magnolia version…

Cupcakes
(from Better Homes & Garden’s New Cook Book, Meredith edition, 1989)
makes 24 cupcakes / 350 degree oven

4 ounces German Sweet Chocolate (Baker’s brand, available at most grocery stores)
1/3 cup water
1-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs

preheat oven to 350°F
1. in a small saucepan, melt chocolate and water over low heat. remove from heat and let cool.
2. add flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of the electric mixer, stir to combine
3. add chocolate mixture, buttermilk, butter, and vanilla to the bowl, mix on low to combine, then beat on high speed for 2 minutes
4. add eggs, beat on high speed for 2 more minutes
5. scoop into cupcake tins, bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes

Milk Chocolate Glaze

4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. place chocolate in a bowl
2. heat cream in a saucepan until bubbles form around the edge
3. pour hot cream over chocolate and stir until smooth
4. add vanilla and stir until combined
5. refrigerate to cool

Coconut-Pecan Topping

1 egg
1 5 ounce can of evaporated milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1-1/3 cups shredded, sweet coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. crack the egg into a small saucepan and beat lightly to break up
2. add milk, sugar, and butter. cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until thick, bubbly, and golden, about 15 minutes
3. remove from heat, add coconut and pecans, stir to combine
4. refrigerate to cool

Assembly

1. drizzle a teaspoon of glaze on each cooled cupcake
2. top with a teaspoon of coconut-pecan topping

I made these ricotta raspberry almond cupcakes for “ladies night”. My aunt was having a bunch of overnight guests and I wanted to make an adult-tasting dessert that matched the Italianesque meal of roasted chicken. I also wanted the cupcakes to be fun, as I knew we wouldn’t be digging into them until after many martinis.

The cupcakes were what I hoped. Moist, sweet, and subtle almond flavor, balanced with the tartness of the raspberry. The ricotta gave it moistness and heartiness that I liked. The addition of the burnt butter almonds lended a crunchy texture, but I would say that they are definitely optional. The meringue frosting had a touch of citrus and was fairly sweet. At the end of it, many of us ended up with sticky pink frosting clinging to our faces.

Cupcakes
~18 cupcakes / 350 degree oven

7 ounces almond paste (not marzipan)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 stick butter, unsalted/room temp
4 eggs, large/room temp
2/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup raspberries

1. beat almond paste at low speed to loosen up, about 30 seconds
2. gradually add sugar while beating at low speed
3. continue to beat at low speed for 1 minute or so
4. add the ricotta and beat to combine
5. while beating at low speed, add a tablespoon of butter at a time, waiting for the butter to incorporate until adding the next pat
6. stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, beat at medium for about 2 minutes until fluffy
7. crack eggs into a bowl and break up with a fork
8. at low speed gradually add eggs about a tablespoon at a time, waiting for the eggs to incorporate until adding the next bit
9. beat again at medium speed for about 2 minutes
10. measure out flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl and whisk to combine
11. with a rubber spatula, fold flour mixture into the cake batter until combined
12. fold in raspberries
13. scoop batter into cupcake liners, fill about 1/2 inch from the top (3/4 full)
14. bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean

[optional] Burnt Butter Almonds

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 cup almond slices

1. toast almond slices on a cookie sheet in a 350 degrees oven for about 10 minutes or until brown, stir almonds around occasionally, remove from oven and let cool
2. add butter to a skillet over medium heat
3. melt butter, let foam subside
4. add brown sugar and stir to combine
5. let mixture cook for about 3-5 minutes, it should be thick and sticky looking
6. add toasted almond slices and stir to coat

Citrus Meringue Frosting

1 cup egg whites (from approximately 7-8 eggs)
2 cups sugar
3 drops orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest, finely chopped

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. add orange juice, zest, and a drop of red gel food coloring
5. beat on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form, about 2 to 5 minutes more

Assembly
1. spoon some almonds onto each cooled cupcake
2. dollop a heaping tablespoon of meringue on top of that
3. using your finger pull the meringue down to cover the top of the cupcake, the frosting is very sticky and you want it to basically attach itself to the cupcake liner
4. using your finger poke the top of frosting to make a nice shape and some interesting peaks
5. using a blow torch, brown the meringue.

If I was feeling especially ambitious, which I wasn’t because I was out all day and got home kind of late, I would have made homemade almond paste and homemade ricotta cheese. I would expect that substituting homemade ingredients would provide a more delicate outcome.

I actually forgot an ingredient in the cupcake recipe (!), the baking soda… Regardless, the result was a rich, cocoa flavored cupcake with subtle banana and peanut butter flavors and a very fine texture. The baking soda would have altered the texture and most likely would have given it more crumb. I think I would have preferred it that way, but my husband insists they were great and kept eating the unfrosted ones before I could get the frosting done. (There was a couple of botched caramel frosting experiments, hence why the cupcakes didn’t get frosted until the next day.)

I am not 100% sold on the cupcake recipe, but I like the flavor combination and want to work on something similar, but perhaps with a fudgey texture. The other components, however, worked out fine.

Peanut Butter Filling
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg

1. mix brown sugar, peanut butter, and egg in a small bowl and set aside

Cupcakes
24 cupcakes / 350 degree oven
11 tablespoons unsalted butter
9 ounces best-quality semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
5 ounces best-quality bitter-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1-1/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
[1/4 teaspoon baking soda]
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup mashed banana (from 1 medium banana)

1. melt butter and semi-sweet chocolate over a bain marie
2. whisk together eggs and sugar
3. add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, mix to combine
4. add melted chocolate/butter mixture, mix to combine
5. stir in mashed banana
6. fill cupcake tins about 1/3 full, drop a teaspoon of peanut butter mixture into each tin, top off with cupcake batter to about 2/3’s full
7. bake for ~20 minutes or until a crust forms on the cupcakes

chopping chocolate

peanut butter filling

Caramel Glaze
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons half and half
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter
2. add milk and brown sugar, stir to combine
3. boil vigorously for 1 minute
4. remove from heat and beat in 1/2 cup powdered sugar
5. cool slightly then and beat in the vanilla and remaining powdered sugar, add more half in half if necessary
6. quickly spoon over cupcakes before glaze sets

drizzling glaze

Caramelized Banana Disks
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium ripe banana, sliced into disks

1. melt butter in a skillet over medium heat
2. carefully add banana disks and let caramelize slowly until brown and crispy (but not burnt)
3. flip with two forks, continue cooking the other side
4. top glazed cupcakes with the banana disks

caramelizing banana disks

finished product

Printable, PDF-version of the recipe.