Daily Cupcake Recipe

Recipe for Friday, June 17th, 2011:
Chocolate Mint Cupcakes (Gluten Free) with Mint Buttercream Frosting

Recipe via Endless Simmer

Prep time: unknown
Bake time: 20-23 minutes

Serves: not specified

Ingredients [Chocolate Mint Cupcakes]:

• 1 cup soymilk
• 1/3 cup canola or other neutral-tasting oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon mint extract
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup white rice flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Ingredients [Mint Buttercream Frosting]:

• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) room temperature butter (or other solid fat)
• 1/4 (4 tablespoons) room temperature vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon mint extract
• 1-2 drops green food coloring

(A conversion table can be found here.)

Directions [Cupcakes]:

Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners, or spray with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until just combined. Add the tapioca flour and flax seed and whisk vigorously for about a minute, until the dry ingredients are emulsified and you no longer see a layer of oil hovering on top of the mixture.

Sift in the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix for at least two minutes on a medium-high speed to get everything incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cups, filling them about three-quarters of the way up. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then de-pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Directions [Frosting]:

In a large, high-sided bowl, mash the butter and shortening together briefly until just combined. Working in half-cup installments, mix in the powdered sugar using the lowest speed on your mixer, stopping when you no longer see just butter and sugar, just a homogeneous paste.

Once you’ve incorporated in a cup and a half of the sugar, stop and take a look at your frosting so far. Lift up the beaters and check the thickness and consistency, taste it to see how sweet it is. You may not need to add any more sugar at this point, but if you decide that you have to, add the vanilla, mint extract, and food coloring and mix again for at least another two minutes, until the frosting is smooth and takes on a satin-like look.

If you feel your frosting needs tweaking, add in some more sugar a quarter of a cup at a time to fluff it up some more, or a teaspoon of milk to loosen it up a bit.

Top cupcakes with mint buttercream frosting. Garnish with shaved dark chocolate, a chiffonade of fresh mint leaves, or an Andes candy broken in half.

Recipe for Saturday, May 7th, 2011:
Dark Chocolate Mint Mini Cupcakes with White Chocolate Mint Frosting

Recipe via Bon Appetit

Prep time: unknown
Bake time: 15 minutes

Serves: 24

Ingredients [Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes]:

• 2 cups walnuts, toasted, cooled
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients [White Chocolate Mint Frosting]:

• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 8 ounces high quality white chocolate, chopped
• 1 tbsp green crème de menthe

(A conversion table can be found here.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter two 12-cup mini muffin pans.

Using on/off turns, blend first 4 ingredients in processor until walnuts are finely chopped. Whisk flour and baking powder in small bowl. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl until very thick, about 4 minutes. Gradually beat in cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in walnut mixture. Stir in flour mixture.

Spoon 1 1/2 tbsp batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Cut around cupcakes to loosen; turn out on work surface.

Make frosting: Bring cream and butter to simmer in heavy small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate; stir until melted. Mix in crème de menthe. Transfer frosting to bowl; let frosting cool at room temperature until firm enough to pipe, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.

Spoon frosting into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe frosting decoratively atop cupcakes.