Amarena Cupcakes

The cupcakes I have made for you today, are a real treat. Amarena cherries are very popular in Germany, especially the amarena ice-cream sundae is a favorite flavor in gelaterias. Here I combined the cherries with almonds, as those two really complement each other, since Amarena cherries are soaked in Amaretto, an almond liquor. The topping is made with heavy cream instead of buttercream, which makes it a little bit lighter. These cherries can be bought either in the supermarket, or you can make them yourselves, when cherries are in season.

Ispahan Cupcakes (Lychee-Raspberry-Rose)

Ispahan is a strain of pink rose named after the Iranian city of Isfahan. This flower was made famous in the patisseries' world by Pierre Herme, with his renowned Ispahan macaron. This floral-themed treat has two other ingredients: raspberry and lychee.

I have come across a number of recipes that puts these flavors in the settings of cupcakes. Even though I am a big fan of cupcakes, I often find the typical butter cream a little too heavy for my liking. In a number of occasions I substituted butter cream with a topping based on mascapone. Mixed with a fruit puree, it also stands very well, and can be piped in pretty swirls.

The cupcakes are not overly sweet, and the topping has a refreshing note due to the fresh raspberry puree. These are a real elegant treat for a fancy tea time.

By the way, I will be going to Hong Kong for holidays in a few days, so I will be signing off for the next couple weeks. This will be my first time there, and I definitely look forward to sampling local food, though I don't guarantee it will all be cakes and desserts. So until next time, I wish you are enjoying reading this, and making your own little creations in the mean time.

Triple Coconut Cupcakes

I have been noticing that coconut cupcakes seem to be awfully popular around Easter. I don't know why, but I guess it's probably because coconut shavings make very cute Easter egg nests. So I am going to give this idea a try.

I call this Triple Coconut Cupcakes, because they are not only coconut cupcakes with coconut buttercream, they also hold a little surprise inside. I put some Raffaellos inside each of them, those really addictive coconut confections.

You can decorate them for Easter with some jelly eggs with matching cupcake liners, or just with coconut shaving all year round. They are very rich and a real treat for coconut lovers, like my husband.

Carrot Cake and Carrot Cupcakes from Miette cookbook

Last fall I was in San Francisco for a short visit. San Francisco is a place which will always be in my heart, since I lived there for a while. It is such a great place, with wonderful people and awesome food. I try to go there as often as I can, so I was very happy when we managed to stay a week in San Francisco on the way to our honeymoon in Hawaii.

One of the places I always wanted to visit in San Francisco is the Ferry building, since I have never been to its indoor market. It is not as big as the Pike Place Market in Seattle or Granville Island in Vancouver, but it has some great shops and a very good selection. The prices are pretty steep, but it is also at a premium location.

The place I was most curious about was the famous pastry shop Miette. It is renowned for his charming interior design and beautiful pastries. I really loved that store, the wallpaper, the cake stands the set-up; it's just totally cute. We were having some cupcakes, and they were equally delicious. If I would open a pastry store I would want it to look like this one.

So, as soon as I got home I got the Miette cookbook. It fits perfectly to the shop design in color and layout. There are many recipes I would like to try, but after all the Christmas baking it took me until now to make something out of the book. The first thing I made is the carrot cake plus some carrot cupcakes. I have some carrot cupcakes posted before, but these ones were even better. I really liked the addition of coconut. Since I only had my small muffin tin available I also made a small mini cake.

Red Currant Meringue Cupcakes

Red currants are usually not everybody's favorite berry. A lot of people probably find them too sour. I am not a big fan of eating them raw myself, but they are very versatile for baking and desserts. You should try making a sorbet, or sprinkle a few of them over your müsli. I also like to make red currant curd and jelly. The black variety has a stronger almost bitter taste and is best known to make Cassis.

These cupcakes I made here have just a slight tartness to them. The meringue topping balances the sweet and sour delicately. A hint of ginger added an interesting taste. Everyone who tried them did not even think it was ginger; they were just wondering why it tasted so good.

Amaretti-Apricot Cupcakes

If you like boozy baked goods, this cupcake is for you. They have a good amount of amaretto in it, combined with crunchy amarettini. Since those two ingredients are almond-based, they pair perfectly with apricots, which are also in the dough and the frosting. Of course you can use apricot juice instead of the amaretto.

I haven't made cupcakes for a while, since I often find the frosting too heavy. This one is made with mascarpone, which is by no means light, but the fruit puree gives it a bit of an airy taste.