Who You Callin' Cupcake - Michelle Garcia [3]
YIELD: 12 cupcakes
KEEPS: Must be used right away, cannot be stored at all
LEMON CUPCAKES
I’ve tried many lemon cakes in my day because lemon is one of my favorite flavors. This French-style cake always stood out as the very best because it uses eggs as the leavener, which adds to the lean lemon flavor. These cupcakes dry out quickly, so you’ll need to use them as soon as they’re baked.
1 cups (1/2 pound) butter
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
2 talbespoons lemon zest
HOW TO MAKE IT
1 Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. 2 Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for a few seconds on high power, then mix it with a rubber spatula and microwave it a little more. Continue to do this until the butter has a mayo consistency but is not totally melted to a liquid. 3 Place the eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer with a whip attachment and slowly whip them at low speed. 4 Slowly pour in the sugar and bring the mixer up to high speed. 5 Whip the eggs with the sugar until a light butter color is achieved and the mixture comes up to the top of the bowl while it’s whipping. 6 Turn the mixer down to low speed and add in the flour. Mix just until incorporated. 7 Take the mixer bowl off of the mixer and fold in the butter and the lemon zest by hand with a rubber spatula. 8 With an ice cream scoop, fill the cups in the cupcake pan about ¾ full and bake for about 15 minutes. The cupcakes will not get a lot of color; they’ll just turn golden.
YIELD: 12 cupcakes
KEEPS: Must be used right away
ITALIAN BUTTERCREAM
I love Italian buttercream. For me, it’s the paragon of what frosting should taste like, but I know it’s not for everyone. It’s much less sweet and way more buttery than traditional grocery-store frostings. When used improperly or eaten too cold, it tastes just like butter, so temperature is key. It colors well, but will change the color slightly since the butter creates a yellow base. Also, it’s very easy to flavor with oils or superconcentrated purées.
¼ cup hot water
1 cup sugar
12 egg whites (fresh, with no yolk, not even
the littlest bit)
2 pounds butter, cubed and soft
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE IT
1 Pour the water and then the sugar into a very clean soup pot (any food remnants will cause the sugar to crystallize) and put it on high heat. You want to cook this sugar quickly so it won’t have time to crystallize. It’s human nature to want to stir this, but don’t—just leave it alone. Sugar does not like to be interrupted. 2 While the sugar is cooking, pour the egg whites into the bowl of the standing mixer and whisk on medium speed to break up the proteins and warm up the whites, about 5 minutes. 3 Go back to the sugar. When it first starts to boil, the bubbles will be little and fast, and when it is done the bubbles will be slow and big. This happens quickly. Traditionally, you’re taught to use a thermometer when boiling sugar, but I don’t trust them—I trust my eyes. The stage you’re looking for is called “soft ball.” Once the sugar comes to a slow boil, turn off the heat. 4 Whip the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form, turn the mixer back to medium speed, and slowly pour the hot sugar carefully into the egg whites. Aim for the small space in between the bowl and the whisk; this way you won’t end up with clumps of sugar in your buttercream. 5 Once the sugar is incorporated, turn the mixer back to high speed and start incorporating cubes of butter one at a time (otherwise they’ll fly back out at you). 6 Once all the butter is incorporated, let the buttercream mix for about 10 minutes or until it’s white in color and very light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla