RECIPE: Vanilla Cupcakes with Straspberry Filling and Basil-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

CUPCAKES

(from All Occasion Downy Yellow Butter Cake Cupcakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum)





Yields 9 large cupcakes



Ingredients:

· 3 large egg yolks (room temp)

· ½ cup milk (room temp)

· 1 ½ tsp vanilla

· 1 ½ cups sifted cake flour

· ¾ cup sugar

· 2 1/4 tsp baking powder

· ½ tsp salt

· 6 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature/softened)





Directions:

· Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line cupcake tin

· In a medium bowl, lightly combine the yolks and ¼ of the milk and vanilla

· In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend

· Add the butter and remaining milk and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened

· Increase to medium speed and beat for 1 ½ minutes

· Scrape down the sides

· Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition

· Scrape down the sides

· Fill paper-lined cupcake tins two-thirds full and bake 20-25 minutes or until cupcakes test done

· Let cupcakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove and let cool completely on a rack before filling and frosting



*Note, this recipe made nine very large, somewhat overflowing cupcakes with big tops. If you would like to make smaller cupcakes, just make more with the same amount of batter.



STRASPBERRY FILLING



Ingredients:

· 1 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned and chopped

· 1 cup fresh raspberries, cleaned and chopped

· 3/4 cup water

· Slightly less than 1/2 cup sugar (you may need to add more if the mixture is not thickening up)

· Dash of black pepper, to taste

· Dash of salt, to taste

· Fresh lime juice from 1 lime



Directions:

· Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan

· Place on high heat and bring to a boil

· Once mixture is boiling, lower heat to medium and cook mixture, stirring until it has reduced to a thick filling

· Once mixture has reached desired thickness, remove pan from heat and transfer filling to a bowl to cool

· Let cool completely before filling cupcakes



BASIL-LIME CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

(adapted from Wilton)





Ingredients:

· 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

· 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

· 2-3 tbsp fresh lime juice, to taste

· 1-2 tbsp minced fresh basil, to taste

· 4 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar (or more or less depending on desired consistency)



Directions:

· Combine softened cream cheese, softened butter, lime juice, and basil in large bowl or bowl of mixer

· Beat mixture until light and fluffy

· Add sugar, one cup at a time, mixing in between

· May use between four to five cups of sugar for this recipe, depending on the consistency you want

· If it is too thin, add more sugar slowly to the mixture

· Chill frosting before piping on cupcakes



TO ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES

· Use a small round cookie/biscuit cutter (or just use a spoon) to cut out the center of the cooled cupcakes

· Fill cupcakes with about 1 tbsp filling, or enough to fill the hole you created

· Pipe swirls of frosting over the filled hole and over the entire cupcake

· Garnish with fresh strawberries and raspberries if desired

Iron Cupcake: June 09 Summer Berries, Entry 2

My second entry for Iron Cupcake summer berries is a Vanilla Cupcake with Blackberry Filling and Sweet Corn Buttercream Frosting. This entry was supposed to be the more "out there" one with the whole adding of corn to the frosting. Brad actually liked this one better than the straspberry. I was surprised - but, I had previously made him sweet corn ice cream with blackberry sauce (he loved), which is where the inspiration for this cupcake came from.



I swear that I had tasted something like a sweet corn ice cream at Jeni's in Columbus, Ohio (awesome and unique ice cream!) and sampled it with a blueberry or blackberry ice cream. But now I think that I might have made it up? At any rate, I felt the need to try this combo of sweet corn and blackberry. In my head it sounded good and I guess I was right, because the cupcakes were pretty darn good.

You might think a sweet corn frosting sounds gross, but since its sweet it just adds to the flavor of the frosting. It's not an over-powering strong corn taste. You do get lil bits of corn kernel is some bites, but it gives the frosting a nice texture.

The huge, fresh blackberries I got at Stanley's for an insanely low price made the filling SO GOOD! I again added black pepper and some lime juice to contrast with the sweet berries. Yum.

I used the same vanilla cupcakes as the previous post.

OK, so hope you like these pictures and descriptions - now vote for me starting June 28 at 8 p.m. :).

I think this is hard because you can't TASTE the cupcakes - so how do you decide who to vote for? Best pic? Best descrip? (Btw just saw "Spring Breakdown" a direct-to-DVD movie with Parker Posey, Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler - if you've seen, you'll get the aforementioned reference.)

Happy Cupcake!


Voting details:

• Starts Sunday, June 28 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/
• Open through Monday, July 6 at 12 p.m.

Required Iron Cupcake info:
I'm competing to win the following prizes from the following prize providers and sponsors.

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• a sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• a groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
• PLUS, IronCupcake: Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

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/

Iron Cupcake: June 09 Summer Berries, Entry 1

My first entry ever for Iron Cupcake is a Vanilla Cupcake with Straspberry Filling and Basil-Lime Cream Cheese Frosting. The ingredient theme for June was summer berries, so I combined sweet strawberries and raspberries (i.e., "straspberry") with a light and buttery vanilla cupcake.



I wanted to do something "different" but also something not so "out there" - so the end cupcake would still be appetizing. I tried a few recipes, some including berries in the actual batter, but found that adding the fruit in that way really changed the texture of the cupcake. Those actually ended up tasting more like muffins than cupcakes.


Strawberry and basil is a fairly common pairing, so I figured that would be a natural selection for a lot of people. But, I still wanted to try this route - again, the not so out there route. So, I tried to change things up a little bit by using the basil in the frosting with the lime juice and cream cheese. Also, the filling has a little black pepper and lime juice for a spicy/tangy kick. The vanilla cupcake was the perfect complement to hold up against the flavors of the straspberry filling and fresh, tangy frosting. If you want my recipes, please ask and I'll email them.


I've checked out some of the other entries though and I think I'm up against some tough competition. Stuff like Sichuan Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes and Blackberry Lemon Polenta Cupcakes.

Jeesh...I might have to up my ante next month. Read the next post for my second cupcake entry! And, I'd love to get your votes, of course. :)



Voting details:

• Starts Sunday, June 28 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, http://www.ironcupcakemilwaukee.com/
• Open through Monday, July 6 at 12 p.m.

Required Iron Cupcake info:

I'm competing to win the following prizes from the following prize providers and sponsors.

Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• a sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• a groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

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/

Iron Cupcake Earth: June 2009 Summer Berries Entry 1

In your post, please be sure mention that you are competing to win the following prizes, be sure to include reference and an active link to our prize providers and sponsors:
Our June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
A groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!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 .

Cali Trip, Red Devil's Graduation Cake and Gum Paste

Just got back from the big family trip (nine adults, one toddler) to Cali. We had a great time - I flew a cake with me for my sister, ate self-serve, soft-serve yogurt at least four times and watched turtle racing (just like on "Rob & Big").

In short (or long kinda) I:

• watched my little sister graduate with her MFA from the TFT department (theater, film & television...I didn't know either) at UCLA where Oliver Stone gave the commencement address - he decided to talk about politics, war and the sad economy instead of give an uplifting congratulatory speech
• ate Giant Cheetos for the first time (amazing)
• saw a taping of "Chelsea Lately" and got called out by the warm up guy (who is also the tour guide in the police station in "The Hangover") - we had to move seats so he saw me and Brad stand up and he yelled, "hey, where'd you two meet...computer class!??" just because we were both wearing thick-rimmed glasses....seriously. it was funny tho - and we are pretty big nerds
• spotted CJ from "Top Chef" taking a smoke break outside his restaurant; saw Tim Meadows at brunch
• drank GIANT margs at least twice; saw my brother get a "talking to" from the rent-a-cop for wearing his sweatshirt hood up in the bar (WTF?) - this was a crappy bar too, not a Brent Bolthouse club or anything
• got to spend quality time with my whole fam!
  

I also decided that I wanted to make my sister a custom, costume designer-themed graduation cake. I wanted her to have an awesome cake and I also wanted to experiment with gum paste so I would know what I'm doing with it when I start making the birthday cakes in a week or so. Gum paste is pretty much like edible sugar play dough - fun times, like a kid again!

In my head it seemed so easy and made complete sense to bake a cake in Chicago and fly with it to LA. And, also take the somewhat delicate gum paste decoration items with me as well. I have to say, everything really worked out the way I wanted and there were absolutely no complications with security or the taking of the cake on board. I googled and you can take cakes and pies on the plane - I printed the TSA Web page that had this info and took it with me to the airport just in case. I was NOT going to dump this amazing red cake in the trash!

Everything arrived in great shape and nothing was broken or smashed - yes, success! I did not make and take frosting though, just ended up buying some at the store. It still tasted good, like that hydrogenated oil taste you just can't get from homemade. ;)

If you are interested in successfully taking a cake (undecorated) with you somewhere on a plane, here's what I did:

• baked cakes two days before departure; let cool completely; wrapped layers in plastic wrap and foil; kept in freezer until morning of departure
• pulled out random, perfectly-sized insulated bag that we happened to have and lined with towels
• removed cake layers morning of departure; separated layers with cake boards to keep them straight; put in insulated bag; put bag with cake into large carry-on (not the rolly kind)
• tucked two large zip top bags in bag
• after going through security, made Brad get zip top bags filled with ice from Starbucks
• put ice bags around cakes and zipped insulated bag
• kept insulated bag in carry-on until on the plane; removed it from carry-on and placed under seat in front of me; put cakes in fridge upon arrival at beach house
• voila!

It was a pretty secure fit under the seat, but I also had my feet there to keep it from jostling around.

If you are interested in more about the actual cake, see below:

I used our family's traditional red devil's cake recipe, upon the graduate's request. Our version of this cake is a little different than ones you've probably had from a bakery - I can't really describe the taste - it just tastes like RED cake! It has buttermilk, coffee, cocoa powder and LOTS of red food coloring. A lot of other recipes don't use coffee and call for vinegar. I think the addition of coffee really enhances the cocoa and buttermilk for a completely unique-tasting cake. It was still moist and delicious even after all the traveling.


Working with gum paste was definitely interesting and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the end result - since I had never used it before. Stay tuned for more gum paste in birthday cake posts.

Iron Cupcake and Denim Diapers

So, I joined a virtual Internet cupcake challenge called Iron Cupcake Earth. Basically, I'll be baking cupcakes each month based on a "secret" ingredient, a la Iron Chef. Except, I won't be on TV, there's no one-hour time limit, no badly dubbed English voice overs and I won't be competing against Morimoto.

The ingredient for June is Summer Berries - Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, Blueberries. I've already been busy "creating" and will post info and pics soon.

Now I've got to pawn these babies off on people. I already sent a batch with Brad for his team - sans some of my Tupperware - I have bad luck with Tupperware getting stolen from offices. I know, it can't get much worse...well, maybe...if I'm ever caught wearing denim diapers, that's definitely worse.

You've heard of jorts (jean shorts) and short jorts, but I overheard someone talking about denim diapers at a bar and I immediately fell in love with the term. You know you've seen these at the store - or if you're me - on someone in public with cheek showing. How is this OK??? I'll be sure to post pics of any DD sightings while we are in LA.

Anyway, stay tuned for some amazing cupcakes and photos - I only have like a thou shots to choose from since I'm now an amateur photographer. Hah. Oh, and Iron Cupcake winners are based on votes, so I'll be pimping you vote for me starting June 28!