Cupcakes! Nine New Cupcakes From My Personal Cooking Challenge

Oh man, it's been a while since I've updated you on my personal cooking challenge.  I've baked 9 new flavors from the Robicelli's Cupcake book!  That's 33 of 50 cupcake recipes so far, and I'm really pumped to tell you all about "El Melocoton de la Muerte" because it's definitely my favorite so far.  

Let's get this show on the road!

 Red Wine and Peaches - Peach Cake, Mascarpone Buttercream and Peaches soaked in red wine.

The Rue McClanahan - Peach Cake, Cheesecake Buttercream, Peach Compote

So, I wasn't blown away by either of these cupcakes.  They were good not great.  I didn't feel like the peach flavor really came through in cupcakes.  The soaked peaches in red wine were pretty good on their own, and the peach compote was really nice.  I added slivered almonds to The Rue McClanahan because I felt like it needed something.

 The Estelle Getty - Amaretto Cake, Cheesecake Buttercream, Amaretti Cookies

It's worth making this recipe just to have extra amaretti cookies around your house.  Super delicious, and if you happen to have any gluten-free friends these cookies will delight them beyond belief.  Serious, make this cupcake.   I added some amaretto to the buttercream as well just because I like my cupcakes extra boozy.

The North Fork - Chocolate Cabernet Cake, Blackberry Cabernet Buttercream, Blackberry Cabernet Compote

My husband says these are the best "fridge to mouth" cupcakes so far.  In other words you can take one of these bad boys right out of the refrigerator and it tastes perfect.  I typically like to let my cupcakes come to room temperature before eating them, but these were perfection whether cold or room temp.  I pureed the Blackberry Cabernet Compote and added it into the cake batter, and found it was easier to use in the frosting and as a syrup in that form.  

Butterbrew - Vanilla Cake, Butterscotch Bourbon Buttercream, Butterscotch Bourbon Sauce (added sea salt, more bourbon)

YUMMMY!  Did you know the difference between butterscotch and caramel is brown sugar vs white sugar?  Yup, it's true.  I added a bit more salt, and bourbon to the butterscotch.  I also topped the final product with some extra salt. 

The Julia - Pear Cake, Brown Butter Buttercream, Brandy Snaps

This is another recipe that's worth making if only for the Brandy Snap cookies.  Man, those are good.  I had so much leftover that we just crumbled it up and ate it by the handful.  This is a fairly refreshing cupcake, light, buttery and not too sweet.

The Duckwalk - Vanilla Cake, Blueberry Port Mascarpone Buttercream

The blueberries from this recipe were sooooo good after being soaked/cooked in port.  I actually used the remainder blueberries to make some faux butter cream for a vegan cupcake later in the week.  I pureed the blueberries and whipped them in with the faux-cream.  I added a bit of uncooked port to the frosting for an extra boozy finish. 

 The Laurenzano - Fig Cake, Goat Cheese Buttercream, Fig Balsamic Gastrique and Proscuitto

I seriously just finished baking these bad boys an hour ago.  The cake is super moist and delicate.  This is definitely a more savory cupcake but still hits the spot.  Forget having a cheese plate, this is the way to go for my next party.  I ended up having to strain out some big clumps of fig jam from my gastrique (syrup/sauce) as the jam just wouldn't finish dissolving.

El Melocoton de la Muerte - Peach-Ghost Chile Cake, Peach-Ghost Chile Compote Buttercream

I waited and waited for peach season just to make this cupcake!  My husband and I love spice!  The more spice the better.  We already had ghost chiles at the house, and the ghost chile powder so we knew this recipe was going to be right up our alley.  The compote is to die for!  I made an extra large batch and we ended up using it as a marinade for pork chops, soooo yummy.  I followed the directions to the letter on this recipe because I didn't want to burn anyone's face off.  It was the perfect amount of spice.  Everyone who tried it loved it!  BEST CUPCAKE EVER!!!!!  I'm going to make more of the compote and freeze it so I can continue to enjoy it's fiery awesomeness.

Whew, now we're all caught up!  I plan on making two different kinds of cupcakes this next weekend so keep your eyes peeled for deliciousness!


:)M

The "Apple Maple Crisp," "Maltz," and "Coquito" cupcakes.

I was a really busy girl this last week.  As of today I've made three more cupcakes from the Robicelli's cupcake book.  I'm gaining headway with my personal cooking challenge.  I started the week off with the:

Apple Maple Crisp Cupcake

OMG, this cupcake was amazingly moist and delicious.  Even though it's one of the easier recipes it was a bit time consuming because of all the components.  I made my own apple butter and oatmeal crumble this cupcake.  I bought 5 pounds of Pink Lady apples to make my apple butter, and to shred to put in the cupcakes.  (Pink Ladies are my go-to baking apples.)  I had to plan in advance on this recipe because the apple butter takes 9-12 hours.  I threw in a little extra cinnamon because nobody hates that.  The cupcakes turned out great, sweet but not too sweet and the apple butter was absolutely amazing.  The best part is that the cupcake is "finished" with Maple syrup.  Soooo delicious.

 The Maltz

Then I made "The Maltz" for our friend's "House Concert."  (It's a really San Francisco thing to do.  They opened up their home to a couple of musicians and had a little potluck and concert in the living room.)  One of these friends really likes bourbon and bacon so The Maltz was the obvious choice as it's a chocolate coffee bourbon cupcakes with chocolate bourbon buttercream and topped with candied bacon.  I added about a shot worth of extra bourbon to the frosting and instead of brown sugar I used maple syrup to candy the bacon.  It was heavenly.  I have noticed that all the chocolate cupcakes seem to be more dense and dry than the other cupcakes - I'll have to compare the recipes side by side to figure this out.

The Coquito

And lastly, today I made "The Coquito."  It's a coconut rum cupcake with coconut lime buttercream and topped with toasted coconut.  There's also a coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk "bath," for the cupcakes.  After the cupcakes came out of the oven I stabbed them a couple of times with a fork and then poured the "bath" over the top of them and let it soak in - it's the perfect amount of sweet.  I think I'd consider adding more rum in the future, and maybe some actual lime juice in the buttercream, but they're really good.

Overall it has been a successful cupcake week.

:)M