Who You Callin' Cupcake - Michelle Garcia [18]
Cupcakes 1 Prepare and bake the Vanilla Bean Cupcakes according to the recipe directions. 2 Heavily soak the cupcakes in the lemongrass simple syrup while they’re still hot.
Frosting 1 Once the cupcakes are soaked with the lemongrass simple syrup, keep the remaining syrup simmering on the stove for another hour to reduce more liquid. You’ll be left with something of a honey-like consistency. 2 Prepare the Vanilla American Buttercream according to the recipe directions. 3 Fold the thickened lemongrass syrup into the buttercream. Keep leftover syrup to add to mixed drinks.
Put It All Together 1 Frost the cupcakes with the lemongrass buttercream. 2 Top each one with a piece of candied lemongrass from the pot of syrup.
THAI SPICE
I’ve seen so many people’s eyes light up when they take a bite of this one. Someone ordered this flavor for their wedding but forgot to tell Grandma....I tried to catch her before she took a bite, but she ate the whole thing!
Cupcakes
4 tablespoons curry
2 tablespoons minced jalapeno
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 cup finely diced mango
1 recipe Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
Put It All Together
2 cups Mango Curd (page 39)
fresh cilantro, for garnish
Frosting
1 cup Mango Curd (page 39)
1 recipe Vanilla American Buttercream
(page 27)
HOW TO MAKE IT
Cupcakes 1 Prepare the Vanilla Bean Cupcake batter according to the recipe directions. 2 Mix the curry into the batter, then fold in the jalapeno, mint, cilantro, and mango. 3 Bake the cupcakes according to the recipe directions, and then allow them to cool.
Frosting 1 Prepare the mango curd according to the recipe directions. 2 Fold the mango curd into the Vanilla American Buttercream.
Put It All Together 1 With your index finger, poke holes in each cupcake and fill the holes with mango curd. 2 Frost the cupcakes with the mango buttercream. 3 Top each one with a sprig of fresh cilantro.
BLUE PLATE SPECIAL
WHITE TRASH
I’m adopted, and I know very little about my family except that they were from Joliet, Illinois, and a bit unsavory. I naturally sway toward trailer parks and NASCAR, love mullets and handlebar mustaches, and put mayo on everything. So this one goes out to my folks—I may not know you but, really, I feel like I do.
Cupcakes
½ recipe Marshmallow (page 42), chopped
into ½-inch squares
1 cup (¼ recipe) All-Purpose Caramel
(page 34)
1 recipe Devil’s Food Cupcakes (page 19;
it’s the closest I get to boxed-mix flavor)
1 cup chopped salted pretzel sticks
1 cup chopped pecans
Frosting
1 recipe Vanilla American Buttercream (page 27)
Put It All Together
1 recipe Chocolate Sauce (page 38)
1 cup (¼ recipe) All-Purpose Caramel
(page 34)
HOW TO MAKE IT
Cupcakes 1 Prepare the marshmallow according to the recipe directions. 2 Prepare the caramel according to the recipe directions. 3 Prepare the Devil’s Food Cupcake batter according to the recipe directions. 4 Combine the pretzels, pecans, and marshmallow pieces in a bowl. Set aside half of the mixture. 5 Fold the caramel and the remaining pretzels, pecans, and marshmallows into the batter. 6 Bake the cupcakes according to the recipe directions.
Frosting 1 Prepare the Vanilla American Buttercream according to the recipe directions.
Put It All Together 1 Prepare the chocolate sauce according to the recipe directions. 2 Frost the cooled cupcakes with the buttercream. 3 Decorate the cupcake tops with a big heaps of the leftover pretzels, pecans, and marshmallows, then drizzle them with caramel and chocolate sauce.
BACON PEANUT BUTTER
I was vegan for many years, and I was able to sway myself away from most meat, but bacon was one of those things that I continued to crave. I found it very hard to resist because it seems to lend itself well to so many applications and flavor combinations. The bacon-cupcake