Daily Cupcake Recipe

Recipe for Saturday, April 30th, 2011:
Sunken Chocolate-Orange Cupcakes

Recipe via Bon Appetit

Prep time: unknown
Bake time: 16-22 minutes

Serves: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup blanched almonds
• 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 cup cugar, divided
• 2 tsp finely grated orange peel

(A conversion table can be found here.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Place almonds in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until nuts are coarsely ground. Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl on high 30 seconds; stir. Microwave until almost melted, about 30 seconds longer. Stir to combine. Cool chocolate mixture until barely lukewarm but still liquid, about 5 minutes.

Whisk egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl until blended. Mix in orange peel, ground almonds, and chocolate mixture.

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in another large bowl until mixture is thick and glossy and peaks form. Fold egg-white mixture into chocolate mixture in 3 additions.

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (about 1/3 cup batter in each). Bake until edges are firm and tops are cracked all over, about 16 minutes for very soft cake or about 22 minutes for firmer cake.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Recipe for Monday, October 12th, 2009:
Orange Chiffon Cupcakes with Meringue Buttercream

Recipe courtesy of Kelley Madey from Quakertown, PA.
(via Food Network)

Prep time: 40 minutes
Inactive prep time: 1 hour and 5 minutes (65 minutes)
Cook/bake time: 18 minutes

Serves: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients [Orange Chiffon Cupcakes]:

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups sifted cake flour (sift before measuring)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vanilla infused sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

Ingredients [Meringue Buttercream]:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup vanilla infused sugar
• 1/2 cup egg whites (about 6 large egg whites) at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, at room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
• additional coarsely grated orange zest, for garnish (optional)

(A conversion table can be found here.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line 24 standard cupcake cups with paper liners. Set aside.

In a medium grease free bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks with an electric mixer. Slowly add 1/3 cup of sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with same mixer (no need to wash beaters) until combined (about 1 minute). Fold egg whites into the batter being careful not to deflate the egg whites. Spoon mixture, a little over half full, into each cupcake cup liner. Bake for approximately 18 minutes or until skewer inserted comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in pan for about 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make Buttercream: Place water and sugars in a small saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to cook for approximately 5 minutes. Sugar will be dissolved. Whip egg whites in a stand mixer (make sure bowl is grease free) to stiff peaks. Slowly add hot sugar syrup to egg whites and continue beating on high speed until bowl is cool to the touch about 10 to 15 minutes. Add butter a piece at a time and mix completely before adding the next piece of butter. Repeat until all butter has been used. Add confectioners’ sugar. Mix to combine. Add orange liqueur and 2 teaspoons of zest. Mix to combine. Frosting will be smooth and creamy.

Generously frost cupcakes with a piping bag or spatula and top with coarsely grated orange zest.

(Images via This, that, and a whole lot of food…)