Tag: cake

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Fresh Blackberry Buttercream

My celebration of blackberry season continues with this fantastic buttercream recipe that highlights this delectable fruit that grows everywhere here in the Seattle area. The picture above features this frosting on a light and fluffy vanilla cupcake, cored and filled with a tart blackberry filling, which is a great contrast to the sweet, sweet buttercream.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, softened
  • 1/2 tsp. Lemon Juice
  • 3/4 cup Fresh Blackberries
  • Approximately 4 cups Powdered Sugar*

*The volume of powdered sugar needed to get this to a good consistency for piping will depend on just how softened your butter is and how juicy your berries are, so follow your instincts.

Directions

  1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend together butter, lemon juice, and blackberries.
  2. DON’T PANIC! The fat in the butter and the juice in the berries will not really combine until you start adding the sugar. Keep calm and carry on!
  3. Add powdered sugar one cup or less at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition, until the mixture is a proper consistency for piping.
  4. Enjoy on your favorite cake, cupcake, or in a graham cracker sandwich for a quick, sweet treat!
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Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

When you have a hankering for lemon meringue pie, but all of your plates and forks are in the dishwasher, this is just the ticket! This robust cupcake perfectly nestles the lemon curd (which is so tart and flavorful it’ll make your tongue curl), and you can go crazy loading these up with a ton of sweet and fluffy meringue. 

Ingredients

Cupcake

  • 1-1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 2 tsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1/2 cup Water

Lemon Curd

  • 6 tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 6 Large Egg Yolks
  • 4 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

Meringue Frosting

  • 1-1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 3/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
  • 1-1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 6 Large Egg Whites

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners.
  3. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. Set aside.
  4. Add the milk, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and egg to a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
  6. Slowly add the water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined.
  7. Beat for an additional two minutes on medium speed.
  8. Fill the cupcake liners evenly and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and transfer to a baking rack to cool.
  10. To make the lemon curd, separate six eggs, reserving the whites for the meringue.
  11. Combine lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, and butter in a double boiler. Heat while gently whisking until mixture thickens and reaches 160 degrees, coating the back of a spoon. (Be patient and vigilant. This takes a while, but just when you think it will never firm up, it goes from soupy to thickened in a heartbeat!)
  12. Pour the lemon curd into a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap pressed against the top of the curd to prevent a film from forming. Refrigerate until completely cool and firm, at least 2 hours. (If you want to speed things up, you can put the bowl in a bath of ice water, too.)
  13. Wait until the curd has cooled to make the meringue frosting.
  14. To make the meringue, combine the sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla extract and egg whites in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water.
  15. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and egg whites are warm, to about 140 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat.
  16. Beat the egg white mixture on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
  17. To assemble, use a cupcake corer to make a hole in the center of each cupcake. (Enjoy snacking on the cupcake middles while you do the rest!)
  18. Pipe the lemon curd into the center of each cupcake.
  19. Pipe the meringue frosting onto the top of the cupcakes.
  20. Toast the meringue lightly with a kitchen torch. (Be careful not to torch the paper cupcake liners! They are surprisingly flammable.)
  21. Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve.
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Chocolate & Caramel Cupcakes

These cupcakes so are rich and decadent, it’s ridiculous! Make sure you eat them with a fork, or have a napkin or two handy… or both. And, to give credit where credit is due, the cake portion of this recipe comes from Self Proclaimed Foodie with just a few tiny little tweaks —  including turning it up to eleven with the filling, frosting, and such.

Ingredients

Cupcake

  • 1/2 cup Hot Coffee
  • 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Filling

  • 1/2 Package Caramel Squares
  • 3 tbsp. Whipping Cream

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup Butter
  • 1/3 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 2-3 cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (for garnish)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. (I like to make only 11, so they’re HUGE, but that’s just me.)
  3. Combine coffee and cocoa. Mix well to dissolve and set aside.
  4. In bowl of stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  5. In a separate bowl, beat egg.
  6. Add milk, oil, and vanilla to egg. Mix well to combine.
  7. Add about half of the milk mixture to the flour and mix on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
  8. Combine the chocolate mixture with the remaining milk mixture and add to the batter.
  9. Mix combined batter on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl intermittently to ensure it is well combined.
  10. Distribute batter evenly into muffin cups.
  11. Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees without opening the oven door. Continue cooking at lower temperature for an additional 14-16 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  12. Remove from the oven and transfer cupcakes to a baking rack as soon as they’re cool enough to be touched.
  13. When cupcakes are cooled, core them and enjoy the treat of eating cupcake middles while you make the filling.
  14. Place caramels and whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes.
  15. Blend together until completely combined and smooth.
  16. Pipe most of the warm caramel into the cored cupcakes. (Save a couple of tablespoons.)
  17. In a large bowl or stand mixer, whip butter until fluffy.
  18. Add cocoa and vanilla and whip until combined.
  19. Gradually add powdered sugar, and whip until it reaches a stiff consistency, suitable for piping.
  20. Pipe frosting on top of the cupcakes. (Don’t overdo it. This is already a very rich dessert and too much frosting on a cupcake is a major faux pas in my book.)
  21. Using a small tip, pipe the remaining caramel on top of the frosting.
  22. Sprinkle each cupcake with a few chopped nuts while the frosting and caramel are still soft.
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