Valentine's Day Dessert: Clementine Burst Cupcakes
My boyfriend is in love with clementines, so for his Valentine's Day dessert, I made him a clementine in cupcake form: Clementine Burst Cupcakes. These sweeties are fluffy, moist, citrus-scented white cake stuffed to the brim with clementine curd, topped with smooth cream cheese frosting, and adorned with a shimmering slice of candied clementine peel.
They were labor-intensive, but I split it into two days: curd and candied peel on day one, cupcakes and assembling on day two. One of the best parts is the tub of delicious leftover clementine curd sitting in my freezer! :)
Clementine Burst Cupcakes
Recipe by: The Way the Cookie Crumbles (white cake, adapted to cupcakes), Paula Deen (frosting)
Yields: about 19 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces)
1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature (can replace some of this with coconut milk for a nice flavor)
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 inch vanilla bean seeds)
1½ cups + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (11.35 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened but still cool
zest of one clementine
Clementine curd (see recipe below)
Candied clementine peel (see recipe on Willow Bird Baking)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
Set oven rack in middle position. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cupcake pans with nonstick cooking spray or line with cupcake papers.
Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
Divide batter evenly in cupcake pans and smooth tops of cupcakes. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-16 minutes.
Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Transfer to wire rack for cooling completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
When cool, fill with clementine curd. Core the middle of the cupcake using something like the cone method (not easy with such a moist cake, but no worries -- your frosting will cover any mess you make). Pipe or spoon in as much mango curd as you can fit. Replace your cupcake "cone" and frost.
To make frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy. Pipe on with a large star tip, and garnish with candied clementine peel.
Clementine Curd
Recipe by: Jaime Oliver via Butterflyfood, adapted to use Fine Cooking's method
Yields: about 850 grams of curd
Ingredients:
6 clementines
2 lemons (or about 4 tablespoons lemon juice)
350 g caster sugar (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 eggs, beaten
2 egg yolks, beaten
100 g unsalted butter (about 7 tablespoons)
Directions:
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 minute. Mix in the clementine and lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.
Place over medium heat. Cook, constantly stirring, until the curd is thick and coats the back of the spoon (this took a long time for me -- about 20-30 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in zest of fruits. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.
To read all about these citrusy treats, see more sunshiny photos, or get the recipe for candied clementine peel decorations, head over to my baking blog, Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to food_porn, bakebakebake, curiouscupcakes, and cooking
They were labor-intensive, but I split it into two days: curd and candied peel on day one, cupcakes and assembling on day two. One of the best parts is the tub of delicious leftover clementine curd sitting in my freezer! :)
Clementine Burst Cupcakes
Recipe by: The Way the Cookie Crumbles (white cake, adapted to cupcakes), Paula Deen (frosting)
Yields: about 19 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups cake flour (9 ounces)
1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature (can replace some of this with coconut milk for a nice flavor)
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 inch vanilla bean seeds)
1½ cups + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (11.35 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened but still cool
zest of one clementine
Clementine curd (see recipe below)
Candied clementine peel (see recipe on Willow Bird Baking)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
Set oven rack in middle position. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cupcake pans with nonstick cooking spray or line with cupcake papers.
Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
Divide batter evenly in cupcake pans and smooth tops of cupcakes. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15-16 minutes.
Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Transfer to wire rack for cooling completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
When cool, fill with clementine curd. Core the middle of the cupcake using something like the cone method (not easy with such a moist cake, but no worries -- your frosting will cover any mess you make). Pipe or spoon in as much mango curd as you can fit. Replace your cupcake "cone" and frost.
To make frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy. Pipe on with a large star tip, and garnish with candied clementine peel.
Clementine Curd
Recipe by: Jaime Oliver via Butterflyfood, adapted to use Fine Cooking's method
Yields: about 850 grams of curd
Ingredients:
6 clementines
2 lemons (or about 4 tablespoons lemon juice)
350 g caster sugar (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 eggs, beaten
2 egg yolks, beaten
100 g unsalted butter (about 7 tablespoons)
Directions:
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 minute. Mix in the clementine and lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.
Place over medium heat. Cook, constantly stirring, until the curd is thick and coats the back of the spoon (this took a long time for me -- about 20-30 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in zest of fruits. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.
To read all about these citrusy treats, see more sunshiny photos, or get the recipe for candied clementine peel decorations, head over to my baking blog, Willow Bird Baking!
x-posted to food_porn, bakebakebake, curiouscupcakes, and cooking