Who You Callin' Cupcake - Michelle Garcia [35]
Cupcakes
1 pound canned crushed pineapple
11/3 cups sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup sunflower oil
4 eggs
4 cups grated carrot
Frosting
1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting (page 28)
HOW TO MAKE IT
Cupcakes Strain the pineapple. Set up the strainer so the juice goes into the sink (or you can save the liquid to drink, but just make sure to set up a bowl under the strainer first). Place the crushed pineapple into the strainer. Let it strain the entire time you’re measuring and mixing the batter so enough liquid will be gone that it won’t weigh the batter down. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Place the sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in the mixing bowl and mix together with a whisk. Add the oil, eggs, pineapple, and carrots while mixing with a spoon or rubber spatula. This batter will be pretty stiff. With the ice cream scoop, fill the cups in the cupcake pan about ¾ full and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. The tops will feel spongy and will spring back when they’re done.
Frosting Prepare the Cream Cheese Frosting according to the recipe directions.
Put It All Together Using a piping bag with a star tip, frost the cooled cupcakes with the frosting.
NOTE: If you don’t use this cupcake batter right away, it’ll become more liquidy, but don’t worry about it. Just make sure that if you store it, you mix it again before baking or your cupcakes will be inconsistent.
GERMAN CHOCOLATE
This cupcake is super delicious and seems to sell best in the wintertime, for obvious reasons. It’s pretty classic, but has stayed on the menu for good reason. Sometimes you just need comfort—and this is comfort.
Cupcakes
1 recipe Chocolate Sponge Cupcakes (page 22)
Frosting
1 recipe Ganache (page 30)
German Chocolate Filling
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup butter
½ teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
2 cups desiccated (dried and shredded, no
sugar added) coconut
HOW TO MAKE IT
Frosting Start the day before—Prepare the ganache according to the recipe directions.
German Chocolate Filling In a medium-sized, thick-bottomed soup or saucepan over medium heat, combine the half-and-half, brown sugar, butter, salt, and egg yolks. Stir the mixture until it comes to a boil. Let the mixture boil for about 2 minutes, then strain it through a sieve and into a mixing bowl. Stir the pecans and coconut into the filling mixture and allow it to cool.
Cupcakes Prepare and bake the Chocolate Sponge Cupcakes according to the recipe directions.
Put It All Together With your index finger, poke a hole through each cupcake and fill the holes with the German Chocolate Filling. Frost each cupcake with the ganache and a little extra dollop of the filling.
LEMON MERINGUE
Really, it couldn’t get more classic than this, and when it’s done right, it’s fabulous. The texture of the meringue needs to be perfect and you’ll rock any party with these cupcakes.
Cupcakes
1 recipe Lemon Cupcakes (page 23)
½ cup lemon juice
1 recipe Simple Syrup (page 44)
Put It All Together
1 recipe Lemon Curd (page 39)
Frosting
1 recipe French Meringue (page 32)
HOW TO MAKE IT
Cupcakes Prepare and bake the Lemon Cupcakes according to the recipe directions. Add the lemon juice to the Simple Syrup. When the cupcakes are hot from the oven, brush the tops with the syrup.
Frosting Prepare the French meringue according to the recipe directions.
Put It All Together Prepare the lemon curd according to the recipe directions. Poke holes through the centers of the cupcakes with your index finger. Fill the holes with lemon curd. Top the cupcakes with big dollops of meringue. If you have a crème brûlée torch, you can slightly burn the meringue—it adds great flavor.
TIRAMISU
Obviously, tiramisu is as classic and delicious as it gets, but since I don’t own an Italian