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Posts tagged ‘iron cupcake’

Nov 14

12 Comments

Apple Cupcakes

It astounds me when I see all the different varieties of apples that there are in the store.  My favorite for eating is usually Pink Ladies, and my least favorite is Red Delicious.  For baking though, there’s usually one main choice, Granny Smith apples.  These apples are what I used in my entry for Iron Cupcake: Earth; the challenge ingredient this month is apples.

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This is just your average apple cupcake, baked with chopped apples inside, a filling of dulce de leche for a rich caramel taste, and cream cheese frosting.  A pecan sits on top. Read more

Oct 7

44 Comments

Zombie Halloween Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago I was leisurely browsing through Bake It Pretty, in particular the Halloween decorations.  When I saw the zombie hand cupcake toppers, I knew I had to order them and make a batch of Halloween cupcakes.  I have never made a Halloween cupcake before; the closest I’ve came were these pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, but they weren’t exactly scary!

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But these are!  This is what I created with Martha Stewart’s awesome Halloween cupcake liners, Bake It Pretty’s zombie hand toppers and a couple of Oreo cookies. Read more

Jun 20

16 Comments

Matcha Strawberry Cupcakes

This is my third and final entry into Iron Cupcake: Earth this month.  This is also my favorite entry, matcha strawberry cupcakes.

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I loved this cupcake!  It is one of the best I’ve made in ages.  The cake is a basic vanilla cake, borrowed from Billy’s Bakery, flavored with matcha, or green tea, powder.  Inside the cupcake is a filling of strawberry preserves, for a big strawberry taste.  Swirled on top is fresh strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream, which is really lovely.  It also does actually taste like strawberries, unlike my first strawberry cupcake entry, which used heaps of strawberry puree but did not taste like strawberry.

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This cupcake, however, did taste like strawberries and matcha.  With one bite you will first taste the strawberry.  After that bite is swallowed, the flavor of the matcha hits.  I really really love this cupcake, but I think I’ve already said that!

I used Billy’s vanilla cupcake recipe because this is my favorite vanilla cupcake recipe.  They always come out moist and soft and were perfect for the addition of matcha – I just added the powder to the dry ingredients.

The buttercream comes from Martha Stewart.  It takes a lot of mixing to make this particular buttercream, so a stand mixer is a necessity.  The buttercream came out perfectly and the softness of it matched well with the moist cake.

I divided both of these recipes in half, which is why some of the ingredient amounts in the recipe may look a bit funny.

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS; HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson; JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Here are the recipes I used to make these cupcakes…

Matcha Cupcakes
Adapted from Billy’s Bakery & Martha Stewart
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cake flour, not self-rising
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh matcha powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Strawberry jam or preserves

Method
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and matcha powder; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until the cubes of butter are peanut-sized or a little smaller.

In a large glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes have cooled completely, using the cone method, fill cupcakes with strawberry jam or preserves.

Strawberry Buttercream
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup fresh strawberries, pureed

Method
Place whites and sugar in a heatproof mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat, and attach bowl to a mixer. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 6 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and add butter, 1 piece at a time, whisking well after each addition.

Switch to a paddle attachment. With mixer on low, add strawberry puree, and beat until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes. Use immediately, or cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.  Bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using.

Because of the egg whites and jam in these cupcakes, it is best to store them in the refrigerator.  Let them return to room temperature again before enjoying.

Jun 15

3 Comments

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

This is my first ever second entry into Iron Cupcake Earth!  How could a person only make one summer berry-themed cupcake?  For my second entry, I made a chocolate raspberry cupcake.

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It is a chocolate cake made with raspberry jam, filled with raspberry whipped cream and frosted with chocolate ganache.

I’m not so sure about that purple liner, but that’s what I decided to use for these cupcakes!

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I based the recipe on Nigella Lawson’s chocolate cherry cupcakes.  I’ve always loved those cupcakes, and thought that I could easily substitute raspberry jam for the cherry jam in this recipe.  I personally don’t think the raspberry taste was quite as noticeable as the cherry taste in the original recipe, but they’re still quite nice.

They’re quite sweet as well, so if you decide to make these, you may want to cut back a little on the amount of sugar, because the jam will have plenty of sugary goodness to make up for it.

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS; HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson; JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Here are the recipes I used to make these cupcakes.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Nigella Lawson
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
125g soft unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
300g raspberry jam, seedless if desired
150g caster sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs, beaten
150g self-raising flour

Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.

Put the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan on the heat to melt. When nearly completely melted, stir in the chocolate. Leave for a moment to begin softening, then take the pan off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter and chocolate are smooth and melted. Now add the raspberry jam, sugar, salt and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon and when all is pretty well amalgamated stir in the flour.

Scrape and pour into the muffin papers in their tin and bake for 25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before turning out.

Cool cupcakes completely.  Fill cupcakes with raspberry whipped cream using the cone method.

Raspberry Whipped Cream
Adapted from Joy of Baking
Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients
1/2 cup ultra-pasteurized heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/4 cup lightly sweetened raspberry puree, strained if desired

Method
In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, beat only until soft peaks form. Add the sweetened raspberry puree a little at a time, and beat just until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised. Taste and fold in more sugar or puree, if required.

If you have any leftover, use it as a topping for a cup of hot cocoa or mocha!

Ganache Frosting
Adapted from Nigella Lawson
Makes enough to lightly frost 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
100g dark chocolate
100ml double cream
12 fresh raspberries, optional

Method
Break the chocolate for the icing into little pieces and add them to the cream in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and then whisk – by hand or electrically – till thick and smooth. Ice the cupcakes, smoothing the tops with the back of a spoon, and stand a raspberry in the centre of each.

Jun 13

4 Comments

Strawberry Pie Cupcakes

After two months of being MIA from Iron Cupcake: Earth I’m glad to get back on schedule.  When I saw this month’s ingredient, summer berries, I knew I had to come up with something.

This is my first entry this month, the strawberry pie cupcake.

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A graham cracker base was baked into the bottom of the cupcake liners, then they were filled with strawberry cake.  Once they were done baking, a teaspoon or so of strawberry syrup was drizzled on top of the cake, then they were frosted with strawberry whipped cream.  On the very top is a sprinkling of graham cracker crumbs and another teaspoon or so of strawberry syrup, along with a sliced strawberry.

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Now, sure it might look great, but I’m totally puzzled.  Despite all the strawberries in these cupcakes, they do not taste like strawberries! What did I do wrong?  The only thing I can think of describe the taste is just that they taste sweet.  Any suggestions?

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS; HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson; JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM.  Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Here are the recipes I used to make these cupcakes…

Strawberry Cupcakes
Adapted from Sprinkles, Trophy Cupcakes & Martha Stewart
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
4 whole graham crackers, finely crushed
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature

Method
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Stir crushed graham crackers and melted butter together in a bowl until well combined. Place 1 tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. Use the bottom of a small glass to pack crumbs into the bottom of each cupcake liner.

Transfer muffin tins to oven and bake until the edges of the graham cracker mixture is golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and fill each muffin cup three-quarters full with cake batter – keep reading for instructions for cake batter.

Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 20-22 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, poke several holes on top of each cupcake with a toothpick and pour 1-2 teaspoons of strawberry syrup (recipe below) on top of each cupcake. Let cool cupcakes cool for 10 minutes, remove from tin and then cool completely before frosting.

Strawberry Syrup
Adapted from Taste of Home
Makes about 1 3/4 cups

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup mashed unsweetened strawberries

Method
In a saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Gradually add strawberries; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I took the mashed strawberries out of the syrup (set aside) and just used 1-2 teaspoons of the syrup to pour on top of the cupcakes after baking (I poked holes in the cupcakes first with a toothpick first so it could soak in better). With the rest of the syrup, I put it back on the stove and stirred in 2 teaspoons of cornstarch so it would be thicker to pour on the very top of the cupcakes. I returned the syrup to a boil, for one minute, then let it cool off completely before topping the cupcakes with it.

You will definitely have leftovers – use it on pancakes or waffles intead of maple syrup! Put the mashed strawberries that you took out earlier back into the syrup, if desired.

Strawberry Whipped Cream
Adapted from Joy of Baking
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients
1 cup ultra-pasteurized heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/2 cup lightly sweetened strawberry puree

Method
In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and beaters in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, beat only until soft peaks form. Add the sweetened strawberry puree a little at a time, and beat just until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised. Taste and fold in more sugar or puree, if required.

If you have any leftover, use it as a topping for a cup of hot cocoa or mocha!

Apr 13

4 Comments

Iron Cupcake Earth: Cherry 7UP Cupcakes

When voting for the Iron Cupcake: Earth ingredient for April, I voted for herbs & spices!  I wasn’t very interested in a cupcake  made from soda pop.  But since I didn’t enter last month’s competition, I decided I could come up with something for this month.

I chose to do something with the new Cherry 7UP.  I have seen these done before from NZ Cupcake Queen, but she didn’t post her recipe.  Hers are very pretty!

I chose to alter a Mountain Dew cupcake recipe I had found online.  I replaced the Mountain Dew with Cherry 7UP, replaced the lemon extract with maraschino cherry juice and omitted the lemon and lime zest in both the cupcake and buttercream recipe.  I also drizzled the cupcakes with fresh Cherry 7UP after baking, which made the cake very moist.

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Note: It’s cloudy and rainy today – when you rely on natural light to take your pictures inside the house, cloudy days are not good, hence the grayish cast to this photo!

Surprisingly, this cupcake does not taste much of cherry or 7UP (although the drizzling of fresh Cherry 7UP gave it a tiny hint)!  I’m a little disappointed.  But they do make a nice sweet dessert, and they are pretty cute.

Our April ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

Now, the recipes…

Cherry 7UP Cupcakes
Adapted from Quirky Cupcake
Makes 12-14

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup Cherry 7UP
3/4 teaspoons maraschino cherry juice or syrup
1 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Extra Cherry 7UP for drizzling

Method
Preheat oven to 350F.  Line cupcake pan with paper liners.

Beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar; beat on medium-high until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time; scrape the sides of the bowl between each addition.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.  Add to butter mixture.  Mix on low for 5 seconds.

Add Chery 7 UP and cherry juice or syrup.  Mix to combine.

Fill cupcake liners evenly with batter, about 2/3′s full (I actually went about 3/4′s full).

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Immediately after baking, poke deep holes – but not all the way through – each cupcake with toothpick or fork, and slowly drizzle approximately one teaspoon over cupcake.  Let sit to absorb and completely cool before frosting.

Cherry 7UP Buttercream
Adapted from Quirky Cupcake
Frosts 12-14 cupcakes

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
2-2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon Cherry 7UP
1 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice or syrup
Red food coloring gel (optional)

Method
Sift confectioners’ sugar into a bowl or onto parchment paper.

Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy.  Add half of the sugar, mix on low for 5 seconds.

Add Cherry 7UP and cherry juice or syrup.  Beat until combined.

Add food coloring, if desired, for a pinker hue.

Gradually add remaining sugar until a proper consistency and sweetness is reached.

Feb 19

3 Comments

Iron Cupcake Earth: Coffee

This month’s Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge has been pretty hard for me. See, I love coffee and normally have two cups a day. The problem is though, that since becoming pregnant I don’t like coffee anymore! It’s really crazy. Through all my three pregnancies I have had at least one strong food aversion with each one – 1) eggs; 2) pepperoni; 3) coffee.  But since I didn’t enter last month’s Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge, I tried to overcome my coffee aversion to make a hazelnut mocha cupcake.

Hazelnut Mocha Cupcakes

The cupcake is a mocha cupcake, made with strong coffee and a scattering of ground coffee.  It is filled with straight Nutella.  The frosting is my Nutella coffee frosting that has been featured at Cupcakes Take The Cake.  The cupcake is finished off with a hazelnut, dipped in chocolate by my own self.

Do these taste like a hazelnut mocha?  They do.  A very rich hazelnut mocha!  The Nutella filling may have been a bit much.  The coffee taste isn’t very strong in the cupcake, and you cannot feel the crunchiness of the ground coffee.  The strongest coffee taste comes from the frosting, which smells absolutely gorgeous.  The cupcake itself is just a teensy bit dry, but very chocolatey.

Our February ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

As an added bonus for February, SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY will be tossing in a variety of cupcaking supplies, http://www.acupcakery.com/index.html.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS,http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers,http://www.1800flowers.com.

Now, on to the recipes.
View printable PDF recipes

Mocha Cupcakes
makes 12

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup cold brewed coffee
1/2 cup canola oil
3 teaspoons cider vinegar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coffee

Method:
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, coffee, oil, vinegar and vanilla until well blended. In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into coffee mixture until blended.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool.

Nutella Coffee Frosting
makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 tablespoons Nutella
3 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:
In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon milk with 1 teaspoon instant coffee and stir until coffee is dissolved.  It may help to dissolve the coffee if you warm the milk in the microwave, just be sure to cool it off afterwards in the fridge before adding to the frosting.

In a separate bowl, combine butter, Nutella, powdered sugar, vanilla, and the 2 tablespoons coffee-milk mixture.  Mix well with electric mixer, adding more milk as needed to make a fluffy spreadable/pipeable frosting.

Updated the next day: I just had one of these cupcakes without the Nutella filling and I enjoyed it much more.  The Nutella filling was just a bit too much for me.  I’d recommend that if you make these to not fill them with Nutella, but ultimately that choice is up to you!  :)

Jan 3

5 Comments

Iron Cupcake: Earth Win!

I am completely over the moon for being the winner of this month’s Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge, Chocolate With A Twist. My entry was my matcha cocoa cupcake, which was very tasty. My favorite part of my entry was the matcha Swiss meringue buttercream!

Check out the official post at No One Puts Cupcake In A Corner to see my winning entry and that amazing list of prizes that I will be receiving!

Thank you to everyone who voted for me! :)

Dec 2

14 Comments

Matcha Cocoa Cupcakes

I made this cupcake intending to enter it into December’s Iron Cupcake Earth challenge Chocolate With A Twist. Then after I made it I thought it wasn’t good enough. It tasted great, but I didn’t think it was the worthiest contender. Then as I keep looking at them sitting there in the kitchen I thought, what the hay, I’ll enter them! Here is the matcha cocoa cupcake.

Matcha Cocoa Cupcake

Yes, I need to work on my piping skills, I know! :)

I call it the matcha cocoa cupcake, because it does taste similar to the matcha hot cocoa recipe I enjoy. The chocolate cake in these cupcakes are very chocolatey, and the matcha is very matcha-y. The cake is dense and heavy and quite filling.

The dark chocolate ganache is a nice touch, and the matcha Swiss meringue buttercream is to die for. This is my second attempt at making SMBC (my first attempt failed) and it went really well. The texture is amazing, almost mousse-like. It pipes really well. The matcha taste in the SMBC is not overpowering and adds an extra light matcha flavor.

Thank you to Cupcakes Take The Cake for posting my matcha cocoa cupcakes on your blog!

Our December ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
* BETTY TURBO
* as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
* PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice -sweet!

As an added bonus for December we have adorable cupcake pincushions complements of SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY.

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: FIESTA PRODUCTS; HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS; the CUPCAKE COURIER; TASTE OF HOME books. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.com.

Recipes:

Chocolate & Matcha Marbled Cupcakes
(adapted from La Tartine Gourmande)
makes 10-12 regular sized cupcakes

Ingredients
8 Tbsp butter, melted (1 stick)
3 oz dark chocolate, melted
3 eggs, large
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 + 2/3 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1.5 tsp sifted unsweetened cocoa, diluted with 2 Tbsp whole milk
1.5 tsp Matcha powder

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter and set aside. Melt the chocolate using a double-boiler.
Beat the eggs with the sugar until blended. Add the melted the butter and vanill extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the butter/egg mixture. Beat until blended, but do not overbeat.

Divide the batter in two halves. In the first half, add the Matcha tea, in the second the chocolate and cocoa diluted in milk. Stir each half until thorougly incorporated.

Spoon chocolate mixture into cupcake liners, and spoon matcha mixture on top of the chocolate. Fill liners about 1/2 – 2/3 full. You can use a toothpick or knife to gently stir the colors together for a marbled effect, or you can leave as is.

Bake in a preheated oven for 20-22 minutes. Test with a toothpick to make sure they are done.

Chocolate ganache

Ingredients
3oz dark chocolate
3oz heavy whipping cream

Method
Heat the whipping cream and chocolate in a small pan over low heat unti melted. Do not boil. Remove from heat and sit aside until cooler. Dip tops of cupcakes into the ganache and sit aside to let ganache harden, or put into the refrigerator to harden it quicker.

Matcha Swiss Meringue Buttercream
(method adapted from How To Eat A Cupcake)

2.4oz egg whites
4.8oz sugar
5.3oz unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 tablespoons matcha (use more or less to suit your taste)

Method
Put egg whites and sugar into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees).

Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add matcha powder and continue beating 2 minutes to eliminate air bubbles.

Nov 9

12 Comments

Iron Cupcake Earth: Cranberry

I’m going to admit first thing that I do not like the taste of cranberries, so I was a bit apprehensive about creating a cupcake for this particular Iron Cupcake: Earth challenge. It didn’t deter me, however, from my first entry into the cranberry challenge (I will submitting another entry this month); my green tea cupcakes, filled with cranberry cream cheese filling and frosted with cranberry buttercream with a drizzle of white chocolate.

Iron Cupcake Earth: Cranberry

I think the green tea and cranberry is a nice pairing. The overall taste of the cupcake is very sweet; the cranberry taste of the frosting is very subtle, while the strongest cranberry taste comes from the filling. I will also note that I used a small amount of red food coloring in the cranberry parts of the cupcake.

Iron Cupcake Earth: Cranberry

The Iron Cupcake: Earth prizes this month are from Etsy artists Lollipop Workshop, Cookie Sunshine, Lots of Sprinkles and Cakespy. Corporate prizes are from Fiesta Products, Hello, Cupcake, Jessie Steele, Cupcake Courier, and Taste of Home. For this month only we have an added bonus from Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery and Cupcakery Supply.

Iron Cupcake: Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

—

Recipes:

Green Tea Cupcakes
based on Magnolia Bakery’s vanilla cupcake, and the same cupcake recipe I used for my my green tea cupcakes. What I did differently was divide the recipe by thirds; I ended up with eight cupcakes. For the green tea, add 1.5 teaspoons of green tea (matcha) powder to the flour mix.

Cranberry Cream Cheese Filling

Ingredients
* 1.5 ounces cream cheese
* 2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
* pinch of salt
* 6 ounces confectioners’ sugar

Method
Soften cream cheese and cranberry sauce together in medium sized bowl. Add salt. Gradually add sugar, beating with electric mixer until creamy. Add red food coloring, if desired, for a brighter color.

Cranberry Buttercream

Ingredients
* 1/2 cup cranberry juice
* 1/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries
* 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, more if desired for firmer texture
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
In a small saucepan, combine the juice and cranberries. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until softened. Let cool and either strain cranberry juice, pressing the berries until most of the juice is gone, or chop the cranberries finley.

In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in the cranberries. Add more confectioners’ sugar for a firmer texture, if desired. Add red food coloring, if desired, for a brighter color.

White Chocolate Drizzle

Ingredients
* 2-3 squares Ghirardelli White Chocolate

Method
Melt white chocolate in small microwave safe bowl, microwaving in short bursts of 15 seconds, stirring after each 15 seconds. Shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds total. Spoon into sturdy sandwich bag, or piping bag, cut off a small tip of one corner and squeeze white chocolate in a quick sweeping motion on top of frosted cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a fresh cranberry, if desired.

Oct 15

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Iron Cupcake Earth: Cheese

I almost opted out of this month’s Iron Cupcake Earth challenge because of the bizarre ingredient. True, I could have just used cream cheese, but that wouldn’t have been quite so challenging. I wanted a cheese in both the cupcake and frosting, but I knew I didn’t want the average cream cheese… and well, I knew I didn’t want to make a savory cupcake. Hence, this was born…

Iron Cupcake Earth: Cheese

A chocolate cupcake with a cherry ricotta center and frosted with mascarpone frosting. A dusting of cocoa powder sits on top, accompanied by a cherry. I can’t believe that it actually tastes quite nice! It’s the first time I’ve ever eaten a sweet ricotta, as well as the first time I’ve ever tasted mascarpone.

I’m quite proud of this cupcake, much more so than my entry last month for the basil challenge.

This month, the prizes for winning Iron Cupcake Earth are from Etsy artist Art On The Menu, Etsy artist Lots of Sprinkles, Bakelove Bakewear, Fiesta Products, Hello, Cupcake, Jessie Steele Aprons, Cupcake Courier and Taste of Home. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Here are the recipes…

Martha Stewart’s One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
-recipe cut into thirds

Cherry Ricotta Filling

Ingredients
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 heaping tablespoons cherry pie filling (without cherries)
2 heaping tablespoons cherry pie filling cherries, chopped

Preparation
Drain ricotta cheese if watery through a cheesecloth for 30-60 minutes. Mix ricotta, sugar, vanilla, cherry pie filling and cherries with a spoon until combined. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.
When cupcakes are completely cool, fill them with cherry ricotta filling using the cone method.

Mascarpone Frosting

Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
4 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation
Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Then mix in cold mascarpone cheese until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes.

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