Persimmon Cupcakes

Persimmons and I aren't friends. We've never really liked each other, their delicate flavor and baby food consistency have never really grown on me, and I'm sure they're not happy with me giggling loudly when I throw one towards a hard surface. Seriously, you should try it, they make one almighty big mess, especially good in food fights.

There's a couple of perks to living in a house previously owned by migrant Italians. Dodgy home electrical work and massive fruit trees. You might think that the first point is not a perk, but it always a laugh when you call in a trades person and tell them there is a real possibility they may die while working in our house. Back to perk 2, one of the massive fruit trees in our backyard happens to be a persimmon tree.

Despite my attempts to neglect it, the tree seems to revel and produces tonnes fruit. My brother loves persimmons, but there are only so many he can eat. I tried giving them away to my mum, she has two small trees of her own, she ended up passing my persimmon onto some friends of hers. I’ve tried giving them away to friends, but yet I still remain in a glut of squishy soft flesh! I had a bright idea one day and filled an enormous box, plonked it outside my front gate with a sign reading “free persimmons – please take”. I even put out plastic bags so passerby's could happily put their free fruit in a carry bag. 20 minutes later I checked on my experiment, the persimmons were gone, along with the box! I was left with a sign and all of the original plastic bags. I’m still left with loads of fruit, but now my box is gone, I have no means of transporting fruit from the backyard to the doorstep. I thought about putting them in buckets, but I’m afraid the buckets will disappear too. I’m not running the risk of having nowhere to wash my small and delicates.

So I’m left with only one option, eat them. Sigh. I didn’t want it to come to this, but the time has come. I was perusing the internet, as one does from time to time and noticed that Rianna from Cherry Blossom Cupcakes had made Precious Persimmon Cupcakes. I was instantly curious. They sounded divine, even though they contained persimmon. So I shot off and email and asked if she would kindly share her recipe with me. And luckily she said yes!!

I made Rianna’s original recipe, with orange zest buttercream frosting. They tasted exactly like gingerbread, but in cupcake form. The flavour of persimmon is very subtle, the cake is moist and fluffy with loads of brown sugar flavour to boot.

The first batch of cupcakes

I like my cupcakes low on sugar, that way I can eat more of them and not feel so guilty, that reasoning works for me! So after Daz asked me to make them again, I decided to tweak the recipe a bit - I cut the amount of brown sugar in half and decreased the castor sugar by 15 grams. The result is a cupcake with more persimmon flavour, which was what I was hoping for. I topped them with orange zest cream cheese frosting and a sprinkle of pistachios. The second batch disappeared just as fast as the first, and now I’m planning my third batch. I never thought I would actually enjoy persimmons in something. Now I worry about not having a big enough supply of persimmon.

Thanks Rianna for the great recipe!

Persimmon Spice Cupcakes
Should make 18 standard sized cupcakes

Ingredients

260g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
225 g unsalted butter
165 g caster sugar
165 g brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup pureed persimmon pulp
2 tbsp orange juice


1. Preheat oven to 175 celcius

2. Sift together flour and spices and set aside

3. Cream softened butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.

4. Add egg and beat well.

5. Add 1/3 of flour mixture and mix in lightly, then 1/2 of persimmon pulp and orange juice mixing lightly. Add another 1/3 flour mixture and mix, remaining 1/2 of persimmon pulp and mix and then remaining flour and mix through lightly.

6. Spoon batter into cupcake cases to around 2/3 full (I use an ice cream scoop to measure)

7. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops spring back to touch.

8. Cool 5 minutes in the trays and then on a wire rack.

Cupcake Fun!

The traditional thing to stalk - is a famous person or an ex partner, but I'm not traditional at all.....I love to stalk cupcakes and cupcake paraphernalia. To be honest, I don't know who is seeking out whom anymore. I think cupcake "stuff" finds me. I constantly find myself squealing......"oh! cupcake" which is usually followed by Daz quickly disappearing. I once had a conscious and didn't want people noticing me taking happy snaps of the item on my mobile phone, nowadays I just take pictures sometimes with sales assistants standing right next to the item. So in this installment, I bring you the biggest, most cupcake packed Cupcake Fun! there has been to date. Strap your seat belts on and grab yourself a cupcake for sustenance...you'll need it!

First we have a selection of cupcake aprons. Cupcake aprons have become very popular of late. A decade ago the fake boobs on aprons was extremely popular, now its the humble cupcake.

This is the matching apron to my cupcake mitten sent to me by Arwen from Hoglet K

This one has cute little frills at the bottom, so you can feel girly in your cupcake apron and mittens

Next we have cupcake clothing. I'm a true believe in starting things at a young age, and why not start your child's addiction to the sweet frosted ones straight after birth. I think that if I had a child and bought this outfit, every time I changed their nappy it would be followed by some cupcake gorging. I wouldn't be a hot mamma, I'd be a cupcake saddle bags mamma!

Imagine - You're trying to have a romantic night, the mood is right, the wine is flowing. You decided you want to get the lighting just right, so you light your cupcake candles. That's perfect, now the dozen cookies and cream cupcakes and I can have a real intimate time together.

A friend of mine recently sent me this trolley coin. Its absolutely awesome! Instead of using a $2 coin for your trolley you can use this cute little coin. I'm often searching around in my handbag for a coin, now I can simply unhook the cupcake from my keys and insert away....that sounded weird.

Agnes from Off the Spork sent me a happy snap of cupcake lip balm! Then I was surprised with my very own little tub of the stuff. As soon as I got over the wonderment of cupcake lip balm I focused my attention on the red velvet flavouring. Would the cupcake taste like the batter, or the cream cheese frosting? I couldn't stand the curiosity any longer, so the second I got it home I ripped it opened and discovered that the lip balm tasted like the batter. In a way I was actually please, I'm not exactly sure how they would have created an artificial cream cheese flavoring.

Still on the topic of lip balm, next we have Shut your cake hole lip balm in strawberry flavour. Hmmmm.....shut it with cupcakes.

Ever wondered where a good place to store or hide your cupcake is? we'll I have the solution, inside a ceramic dish, shaped like a cupcake! I guarantee that no one will suspect they'll be hiding in there!

Cupcakes have become so in vogue that cookies are even trying to be them! I recently found these cupcake cookie cutters in matchbox. What next, bread in the shape of a cupcake?

You can wash all those cupcake cookies down by enjoying a cup of tea in your cupcake mug. Do they make cupcake flavoured tea?

Once you've made all those cupcake cookies, you can store them in your cupcake clad cookie tin. I'm so glad I refrain from buying any of this stuff.....you've hear of cat ladies, well I'd be the cupcake lady!

Its winter time, and its so easy to catch a case of the sniffles. Well don't worry, you can wipe away your worries with cupcake tissues!! I have a confession, I actually bought these! I was curious to see if they smelt like cupcakes. They were $3.50 for 10 tissues, ripe off! And the answer is no, they don't smell like cupcakes. I want to cry now, where are those tissues!

Behold, the knitted cupcake! They are so darn cute! We recently went to the Grampians for some rest and relaxation. We decided to walk into the visitor center to waste some time and have a look at some of the local offerings. As soon as I walked through the door I was confronted with these fluffy goodies. It seems that even on holiday cupcakes seem to find me! There was a little old lady sitting behind the desk knitting away. I'm assuming that she would be the creator of these works of art. I was going to tell her that she had done a really good job, but thought it would be weird if I said that without buying one. It took a lot of will power to walk out without buying any.

Next we have cupcakes in the movies! Arguably, sex and the city started the cupcake craze back when Carrie was munching on a Magnolia Bakery cupcake. In the new movie, cupcakes make another appearance. I've not seen the movie yet, but found the trailer for the film to be intriguing. Here are a couple of screen grabs from Charlotte in the kitchen with her children.

There's even cupcake stuff stuck on the pin up board!

You can watch the full trailer here

Katy Perry is one crazy girl. Her recent video for California Gurls was a gold mine for cupcake related hilarity. Here are a couple of screen shots...

First we have Snoop Dogg wearing the best suit ever invented, the cupcake suit. I wonder where I can buy one for Daz.

Then we have Katy herself wearing the most supportive cupcake I've ever seen.

You can watch the full music video here. I strongly recommend you watch it, if only to see the gummie bear/ whip cream incident!

Well that's all for this installment of Cupcake Fun! Remember if you happen to be followed by any cupcake related stuff please take a photo and send it to me in an email. thegourmetchallenge {AT} gmail {DOT} com

You can read about other installments here, here, here or even here

Cupcake Fun!

Its time for another installment of Cupcake Fun! Where cupcakes are not just restricted to dessert, but appear in everyday life. They tempt us with their cake bottoms and sweet fluffy frosting's, and now their popping up at any given opportunity. My mission is to expose them for what they are, and make them visible for everyone to see. So without further ado, lets get straight into the cupcake sneakyness!

First we have another appearance of cupcakes in the movies. I was watching Cake, the movie...not a random banana cake, and to my surprise a mini cupcake popped into view. I dont even remember what the scene was about, but I can tell you with certainty it wasnt about cupcakes. I was a little disappointed with the movie....it had absolutely nothing to do with cake, yet another movie that lied to me - Porky's is not about roasting pig!

Next we have cupcake clothing, to be specific cupcake pajamas. Now I'm a little worried about this one. I often think about cupcakes, usually when thinking about cupcakes is inappropriate. For example, sitting in a lab meeting - talking about safety and someone asks how can we improve our safety rating - I think cupcakes. If you really think about it - cupcakes could work!! Anyways, I don't think it would be a good idea to wear cupcakes to bed, for one good reason. Daz may think the pj's are edible and take a chunk out of them in his sleep - he frequently sleep eats.

Next we have cupcake fridge magnets. Yep...their cute.

We've all heard of pasta flour, bread flour and now we have....cupcake flour!! If there's a cupcake printed on the front it means that's what you bake right??

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Next we have cupcakes in the kitchen. The awesome Arwen from Hoglet K recently sent me a cupcake mitten. Isn't it cute!??! As soon as I got it in the mail I had to christen it, so I made a batch of cupcakes!! In my opinion there is no better way to welcome its addition to our family.

Still staying in the kitchen, the best way to protect your clothes from wayward cupcake batter is by wearing a cupcake apron. And if your batch doesn't turn out so well you can eat the apron. No promises it will taste any good!

Not only do I frequently come across cupcake stuff in my everyday goings on but now they are arriving in my mail. To celebrate a momentous birthday, recently a friend of mine sent out cupcake invitations. I promise this is not a set up and totally random, she doesn't even know I have a blog!!

Last, and probably my favourite of all, Cupcakes are even art now! On a recent trip to Aldi, Daz and I came across this arts and craft set where you paint your own cupcakes.....why not just bake a batch of cupcakes instead!!

My favourite of all was the warning on the back of the packet. I read it and then wondered what if that warning came with normal cupcakes! Then I read on and almost lost it when I read......"If swallowed, seek medical advice immediately and show container or this label". Imagine what a doctor would say, he takes one look at the packet and says....so your telling me your kid ate cupcakes and is now feeling ill???

Well I hope you've all enjoyed this cupcake exposé, if you happen to come across any cupcakes masquerading as an everyday object - take a photo and drop me a line at thegourmetchallenge{@}gmail.com. For other Cupcake Fun! installments click here, here or here

"This doesnt smell like cupcakes at ALL!!"

Hazelnut Cupcakes with Nutella Swiss Meringue Frosting

Its been so long since I've baked cupcakes. In a way these cupcakes don't even count as being baked by me, so I still haven't baked any cupcakes since the end of last year. These cupcakes were baked by V1 from the dynamic V duo, with me as the baking supervisor. Sadly I didn't get an official supervisor hat - I imagine it would have been in the shape of a cupcake.....one can only dream right? So before hand there was a feverish email exchange as to what flavour cupcakes to bake, we settled on Hazelnut cupcakes due to their moist crumb and nutty flavour, and Nutella Swiss meringue frosting because I had copious amounts of egg whites in my freezer.

V1 did an awesome job. When coming out of the oven the cupcakes all looked identical, a feat I am still yet to master and her piping skills are pretty impressive considering it was her first time. It took her a couple of go's to get the hang of it, but in the end she got it. I was well impressed, her first cupcake looked like a rose! You know what the best thing about having someone over to bake cupcakes? you get all the joy of baking them, but dont have to worry about eating them all yourself! Not that that would be an issue for me, its just that I've become TOO efficient at eating cupcakes!



There are heaps of recipes for swiss meringue frosting on the internet. After making this frosting quite a few times I've come up with a recipe that doesnt use a tonn of butter. Sometimes if I feel inclined I'll add extra butter to give a more creamy finish. Its a little scary to make, it seriously looks like the mixture has split, but then buttery magic happens and it all comes together and become fluffy and just perfect. Just persist and you'll get there. For a step by step and VERY american video, go here. I remember the first time I bought these cupcakes into work, my workmates were eating the frosting as if it was an ice cream! If you're a little worried about the egg-whites and want to refrigerate the cupcakes just make sure to let the cupcakes come back to room temperature before eating - or else the frosting begins to take on the consistency of mock cream - some people like it, I'm not a fan.



Hazelnut, Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients (makes 18)

* 170g unsalted butter, softened
* 100g caster sugar
* 3 eggs
* 250g plain flour
* 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 100g hazelnut meal
* 1 cup (250ml) buttermilk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners

2. Place butter and caster sugar in bowl of electric mixer, beat for 5 minutes until pale and fluffy.

3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda and salt. Add hazelnut meal to flour mixture then fold into egg mixture. Stir in buttermilk, mix to form a smooth batter. Carefully divide evenly into cupcake liners.

4. Cook for 12-14 minutes, or until cupcakes are firm to the touch



Swiss Meringue Frosting

Ingredients

* 200 g egg whites
* 3/4 cups granulated sugar
* 200g (roughly) unsalted butter, cut into 1cm pieces, slightly cool but not at room temperature
* 200g dark chocolate and 1 small jar of Nutella

Method

1. Melt chocolate over a baine marie, put aside and allow to come to room temperature

2. Add sugar to egg whites and whisk together over simmering water until egg-white mixture is hot to touch or a candy thermometer reads 60°C.

3. Pour hot whites into a room-temperature bowl and whip on medium-high speed until doubled in volume.

4. Continue to whip the mixture on low-medium. Add half the butter into the bowl and continue to whisk until all melted. Add the rest of the butter one piece at a time until all butter has been incorporated. Dont worry if the mixture looks sloppy, it will fluff up as the mixture cools and forms an emulsion.

5. Continue beating until the mixture begins to look light and fluffy. Replace whip with a paddle and add melted chocolate, and enough Nutella to make you happy and continue to beat. The chocolate adds colour while the Nutella will add flavour. Before frosting cupcakes, place in the fridge to slightly firm, this helps with pipping onto cupcakes. If the mixture becomes too cool, re-whip and use immediately. Any left over frosting can be stored in the freezer.