Daily Cupcake Recipe

Recipe for Saturday, June 25th, 2011:
White Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Recipe via Love & Olive Oil

Prep time: unknown
Bake time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients [White Chocolate Cupcakes]:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 4 ounces white chocolate, melted
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Ingredients [Raspberry Filling]:

• 8 ounces frozen raspberries
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

Ingredients [White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting]:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/3 cup cream cheese or tofutti cream cheese
• 3 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean, seeded, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon soymilk
• 6 ounces white chocolate, melted
• 12 fresh raspberries

(A conversion table can be found here.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tin with paper liner.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Slowly mix together melted chocolate and oil. Whisk together soy milk, coconut milk, lemon zest, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth.

Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Make filling: Combine frozen raspberries with water, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until raspberries begin to break down. Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixture and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing as much through as possible. Return strained mixture to heat once again. Add another tablespoon of cornstarch mixture, and bring to a simmer. If mixture still seems thin, add more cornstarch as necessary. It will thicken more upon cooling. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Cut out small cones from tops of cupcakes (holes should be approximately 1/2” across and 1/2” deep), saving removed cake. Fill holes with raspberry filling, and replace cake on top.

Make frosting: Beat butter or margarine and cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until creamy. Melt white chocolate as before, and mix in vanilla seeds or extract. Add to frosting and mix well. Add extract and soy milk, and beat until fluffy (add more sugar and/or soymilk if you need it, until you get the right texture).

Generously pipe or spread onto filled cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a single fresh raspberry.

Recipe for Monday, May 22nd, 2011:
Mini Raspberry-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberry Frosting

Recipe via Betty Crocker

Prep time: 1 hour
Bake time: 10-15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Serves: 60 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 box devil’s food cake mix with pudding
• water, vegetable oil, and eggs called for on cake mix box
• 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 1 cup fresh of frozen (thawed) raspberries
• 1 container (12 oz) fluffy white whipped read-to-spread frosting
• 60 fresh raspberries (from three 6-oz containers)

(A conversion table can be found here.)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place mini paper baking cup in each of 60 mini muffin cups.

Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil and eggs. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full (about 1 heaping tablespoon each).

Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

By slowly spinning end of round handle of wooden spoon back and forth, make deep, 1/2-inch-wide indentation in center of top of each cupcake, not quite to bottom (wiggle end of spoon in mini cake to make opening large enough).

Spoon jam into small resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag. Cut 3/8-inch tip off 1 bottom corner of bag. Insert tip of bag into opening in each cupcake; squeeze bag to fill opening.

Prepare frosting: In blender, place 1 cup raspberries. Cover; pulse 20 seconds or until pureed. Press puree through small strainer to remove seeds. Pour 1/4 cup raspberry puree into medium bowl; stir in frosting until well mixed.

Frost cupcakes. Garnish each with 1 raspberry.

Recipe for Sunday, October 25th, 2009:
Basil Cream (or) Mint Cream Filled Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse Frosting

Recipe courtesy of Cupcake Bakeshop.

Prep time: unknown
Inactive prep time: unknown
Cook/bake time: 20-22 minutes

Serves: 12 cupcakes

Ingredients [Cupcakes]:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Ingredients [Basil or Mint Cream]:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 5 ounces basil (or) mint
• 1 cup heavy cream

Ingredients [Raspberry Mousse Frosting]:

• 2 cups fresh raspberries, rinsed
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar

(A conversion table can be found here.)

Directions [cupcakes and cream filling]:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake tins with paper cupcake liners.

Beat butter in an electric mixer on high speed, about 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, for about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time; beat for 30 seconds between each.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl; measure out milk and vanilla in a second bowl. Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine. Add about a third of the milk/vanilla mixture and beat to combine. Repeat, alternating between flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture.

Scoop batter into the prepared cupcake tins, about half to three-quarters full. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

While the cupcakes bake, prepare the filling. Add sugar and water to a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Chop basil or mint and add to the mixture. Boil for three minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, add heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Add the five to six tablespoons of syrup to taste and beat until combined.

Using a small knife, cut off the top of the cupcakes in the shape of a cone. Flip the top over and cut off the cone. Using a small spoon, fill each cavity with a teaspoon of basil or mint cream. Replace the top of the cone.

Directions [frosting]:

Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir mixture until it is basically a liquid. Stir in gelatin, and continue to cook until dissolved. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Refrigerate overnight.

Beat heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form. Add the three tablespoons of sugar and beat until combined. Mix about a third of the whipped cream into the raspberry mixture until well combined. Fold in remaining whipped cream.

Pipe on the raspberry mousse and decorate with fresh herb and/or raspberries.