Cupcakes Week 23

I have never worked with lychees, so this was totally new to me.


Lychee Rose Cupcakes

Ingredients 
(makes 24)
 1.5 cups self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1/4 cup ground almonds
250g butter, softened
2 cups sugar (i only used 1.5 cups)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
60ml rose syrup water (2 parts water to 1 part syrup)
1 tsp rosewater essence
24 pcs canned lychees

 Directions : 
1. combine flours and ground almonds in a bowl. in another bowl, beat butter & sugar until light and fluffy, then add in eggs one at a time and whisk until combined.
2. add in flours in 3 additions, alternating between milk and rose syrup water. do not overmix. fold in batter until just combined.
3. spoon 1/2 mixture into cupcake liners, top with a lychee and pour in another 1/2 batter (total height should come up to 3/4 of liner).
4. bake in preheated oven of 170C for 20 mins or until skewer inserted comes out clean. * for the **raspberry cream cheese frosting, i combined cream cheese, butter, raspberry puree & sifted icing sugar according to taste.

Another break from the cupcakes...

If you guys haven't heard about Pinterest, you should hop on over there and sign up. Seriously so addictive. It's like a virtual pin board of all your ideas, recipes, crafts, vacations, and more! Whenever I'm bored I always jump on and find stuff to do or new recipes to try.

Well that is what happened with tonight's dinner. I seriously haven't made a dinner where my husband has licked the plate clean, like he did tonight.

These 2 recipes went so well together.

I want to make sure to give the original blogger and website get props, so here are links for you.

Grilled Balsamic Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Mustard Roasted Potatoes

Cupcakes Week 22

Good morning! If you can't have a mimosa in the morning, you can always have a Bellini :)

Bellini Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cake Ingredients:
3 large egg whites, room temperature
1 cup champagne
1 ½ cups cake flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

Cake Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In small bowl, mix egg whites and champagne. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Mix butter into dry ingredients until it resembles moist crumbs.
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until fully combined.
Divide evenly between twelve cupcake liners. Bake for 20 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched.

Filling and Frosting Ingredients:
15 oz can sliced peaches
½ cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
White sanding sugar for topping

Filling and Frosting Directions:
Melt two tablespoons of butter in a medium-sized skillet on medium heat.
Drain and discard liquid from peach can.
Use a towel to pat dry the peach slices, removing excess moisture.
Place the peaches in a single layer in the hot skillet.
Cook for about three minutes or until the bottom side is browned, then flip.
Repeat until all sides of the peaches are browned.
Remove peaches from skillet and cool.
Use a food processor or immersion blender to puree the peaches.
Use a small paring knife or cupcake corer to remove a piece of cake from the center of each cooled cupcake.
Fill each hole with approximately two teaspoons of the peach puree.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed for five minutes.
Slowly mix in the powdered sugar and beat for another five minutes.
Mix in vanilla extract, salt, and ¼ cup of peach puree and beat for two minutes.
Pipe onto cupcakes using Wilton tip 4B.
Sprinkle cupcakes with white sanding sugar.

Cupcakes Week 21

A little slice of summer before it ends...

Key Lime Cupcakes

Cupcakes

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons key lime zest
3 large eggs
1/4 fresh Key lime juice
3 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Key Lime Filling

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup key lime juice
3/4 cup whipping cream

Key Lime Whipped Cream

2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. key lime juice
1/2 Tbsp. key lime zest
1 Tbsp. key lime filling
*Adjust amounts to taste

Key Lime Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 24 cupcake liners in muffin tins.
In a large bowl beat butter, sugar, and lime zest at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in juice until combined.
In a medium bowl, combine cake flour and baking soda; sift.

Gradually add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Pour evenly into prepared cupcake tins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Key Lime Filling
Mix together the sweetened condensed milk, whipping cream, and lime juice.

Two Filling Methods:
(1) Poke several holes into the cupcakes with the back of a mixing spoon. Use a pastry bag to pipe filling into each hole.

(2) Use a butter knife to cut a hole in the center of each cupcake. Fill with filling. Cover with cut out cupcake piece.

Refrigerate cupcakes for about an hour.

Key Lime Whipped Cream
Use a stand mixer to combine 2 cups heavy whipping cream and 3/4 cup powdered sugar. When stiff peaks form, add juice, zest, and filling to taste.

Pipe frosting onto cupcakes after they come out of refrigerator. Garnish with a slice of lime

Cupcakes Week 20

What's better than pink lemonade on a hot summer day? That-in cupcake form ;)

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Pinch salt
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 egg whites
1/3 c. thawed frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate
1/4 c. buttermilk
2 or more drops red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin pan with liners.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg whites and lemonade concentrate. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of buttermilk, beating until just smooth. Add just enough food coloring to turn the batter a light shade of pink.

Scoop batter into liners (fill about three-fourths full). Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on rack. Top cooled cupcakes with frosting (see below).

Lemonade Buttercream:
3 c. + 3 Tbsp. confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. pink lemonade concentrate
Red food coloring

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, lemon juice, and a few drops of food coloring to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the buttercream is fluffy and uniformly pink. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.