Spiced Cupcakes w/ Ginger Root Buttercream Frosting & Crystalised Ginger Chip (UK)

I've been waiting ages to make these!  I love the flavor and heat of fresh ginger so much, I wanted to pull this into a cupcake.  I used Hummingbird Bakery's vanilla cupcake recipe as a base, and made a few spicy changes.

Yield: 10 cupcakes

You will need:
120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
tiny pinch of salt
1/4 tsp powdered ginger
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

40g unsalted butter
120ml whole milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
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500g icing/powdered sugar
200g unsalted butter
3 Tbsp fresh finely grated ginger
A sprinkling of powdered ginger
1-2 Tbsp whole milk
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10 thin coins of fresh cut ginger
60ml water
80g caster sugar (+sugar for dusting)
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I also came up with an egg-free version of this recipe, which removes the 1 egg, and changes the baking powder to just a pinch under 3 tsps.

For the cake:

1.In a bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon.

2. With a fork (pastry blender, or electric mixer) combine butter with the dry ingredients until there are no remaining large bits of butter.

3. In a separate (small) bowl, combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla.

4. Add wet ingredients to the large bowl and mix until almost smooth.

5. Place cupcake wrappers in 10 of the 12 slots in a cupcake baking tray and pour mix until each cup is 2/3 full.

6. Bake at 170C for 14-16 minutes.

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For the ginger chips:

1. Cut 10 thin coins of ginger from a fresh ginger root.

2. In a small saucepan/milk pan add sugar and water.

3. Bring to a gentle boil and add ginger coins.

4. Boil gently for 15 minutes.  Keep an eye on it so that all of the water does not evaporate out by the end.

5. While this cooks, dust a sheet of wax paper/greased parchment with caster sugar.

6. After 15 minutes, remove the ginger chips and drop onto the sugared part of the paper. Sprinkle more sugar over the top and wait for them to cool.

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For the frosting:

1. Cream the butter with an electric mixer.

2. Add milk and ginger.  Mix.

3. Gradually add icing sugar until desired taste/consistency is reached.

4. Add a dusting of powdered ginger to the top and mix in.

5. Frost your cooled cupcakes and top them with a crystalised ginger chip!

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Google Analyitics, you crazy!

June 25th set a record of 1727 visits to Whimsical Cookery.  No seriously, what the glitch was going on that day?  I average < 100 per day, usually.

Most of the visitors found themselves staring at Vanilla Chai Tea cupcakes... yummy!

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Breakfast Cinnamon Twists with Icing Dip

Late night baking for a breakfast surprise!  I wanted to make cinnamon twists, but have found myself without puff pastry and without time to deal with yeast rising issues.  Therefore I have improvised this quite satisfactory recipe for no-yeast cinnamon twists!

You will need:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter (or margarine works fine) + butter for spreading
1/4 cup granulated sugar + sugar for sprinkling
Dark brown or Muscovado sugar for sprinkling
Ground cinnamon for sprinkling

For the icing:
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup icing/powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp of milk (low/fat free fine)

1. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder in a medium bowl.

2. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut butter/margarine into the dry mixture.

3. Add milk and stir.

4. Using your hands, mix and knead until combined (do not overdo it!).

5. Press dough into a rectangle and roll out to approximately 1/2 inch thickness.

6. Butter the surface of the rectangle.

7. Sprinkle surface heavily with cinnamon.

8. Sprinkle surface lightly, first with granulated sugar then dark brown sugar.

9. Press palms firmly over surface (to compact the sugars into the butter).

10. Cut dough into strips.

11. Gently twist each strip as pictured and place onto a greased baking tray.

12. Bake 8-9 minutes at 175 C/350 F.  Under-bake by a minute or two if you enjoy the gooey center of a cinnabon.

13. For the icing, simply combine all of the stated ingredients in a small bowl using a whisk.

Serve warm.  Yield approx: 10

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Cupcake Quandary

 I love these!  By Ashliedesire' flickr

Trying to think of new things to turn into cupcakes, besides actual cake. These are the thoughts that keep me up at night! 

Okay not really.

Okay maybe a little bit.

Fried doughnut cupcake?

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Meringue Cupcakes

 
After looking at several recipes for lemon meringue cupcakes, I decided that the whole 'cupcake' should be meringue.  I suppose this would technically be considered a cupcake-shaped meringue.  These delightful little desserts can be topped with sweetened whipped cream and drizzled with a tangy mixed berry syrup before serving.

You will need:
6 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
3 tsp lemon juice OR 1 tsp white vinegar
2 cups sugar (add 1/4 cup at a time to avoid deflating meringue)

1. Grease a 12-cup muffin/cupcake tray.  Be sure to grease the top of the tray, not just the cups, incase sugar bubbles over. (If sugar cooks to the tray, it is not fun to wash off.)  Line cups with 12 cupcake holders and spray with cooking spray.

2. Separate the whites of 6 eggs from the yolks.  Discard the yolks (or use in another recipe).

3. Add vanilla extract, salt, and lemon juice OR white vinegar.

5. Whip using an electric whisk (or extreme woman/man power) until mixture begins to thicken, add sugar 1/4 cup at a time to avoid deflating meringue.  Meringue is ready when you pull whisk out and the meringue stays peaked.  There's also that old trick about holding the bowl upside down....

6.  Spoon meringue into cupcake holders, even with the top.

7. Heat oven to 220 F/ 100 C and bake meringues for 3 1/2 hours.  Turn off heat and allow meringues to remain in the oven for another half an hour.

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The berry sauce can be made in several ways.  If using fresh berries, it may be a good idea to give them a spin in a food processor/blender, if tinned just immediately add to saucepan.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly and add sugar to taste.  It should be noted that tinned berries may already be packaged in a sweet syrup. When syrup is of desired taste/consistency either allow to cool, or press through a sieve to remove bits.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream and berry sauce.

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