An elegant alternative to plain old chocolate cake (not that there's anything wrong with plain old chocolate) is lemon meringue cupcakes. Its gorgoeus white peak also makes for a perfect cupcake tree. The following tried-and-true recipe from Martha is a winner.
Lemon Meringue CupcakesINGREDIENTSMakes 24 * 3 cups all-purpose flour* 1 tablespoon baking powder * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature * 2 cups sugar * 4 large eggs, room temperature * Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (about 3 tablespoons), plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice * 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract * 1 cup buttermilk * Lemon Curd * Frosting |
PROCEDURES
* Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
* With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in zest and vanilla. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk and lemon juice, and beating until just combined after each.
* Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
* To finish, spread 1 tablespoon lemon curd onto middle of each cupcake. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open-star tip (Ateco #828 or Wilton #8B) with frosting. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake, swirling tip slightly and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Hold a small kitchen torch 3 to 4 inches from surface of frosting, and wave it back and forth until frosting is lightly browned all over. Serve immediately.
Wrappers available at http://lisasu.etsy.com
Variety is another reason why I love wedding cupcakes. Rather than picking one or two flavors for your cake and hoping it'll please everyone, you get to pick a variety of flavors for your cakes and experiment with some non-traditional options. In that mix, why not include a banana cake by dorie greenspan (see recipe below) ? Put your cake in sweet yellow wrapper to properly show it off.
Dorie's Banana Cake
INGREDIENTS
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda* 1/4 teaspoon salt* 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature* 1 cup sugar* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract* 1 large egg, at room temperature* 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)* 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt* 3 ounces chopped chocolate, optional
PROCEDURES
1. Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter 12 regular-size muffin cups.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
3. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then the egg, beating for about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the bananas. Finally, mix in half the dry ingredients (don't be disturbed if the batter curdles), all the sour cream and then the rest of the flour mixture. Stir in the chopped chocolate by hand. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
4. Bake the little cakes for about 28 to 32 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. (The cakes will rise above the muffin cups, dome and then spread out and flatten beyond the cups—that's fine.) Transfer the muffin tin to a rack, cool for 3 minutes, then gently turn the little cakes out of the tin. Cool to room temperature on a rack.
Storing: Wrapped airtight, the little cakes will keep at room temperature for 2 or 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Adapted from a recipe by Ellen Einstein in Baking From My Home to Yours, written by Dorie Greenspan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)