It’s August! And now only 2 cupcake recipes are left to rework for my Epic Summer Challenge. And I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with how well these recipes are turning out!
This week, my original cinnamon dulce de leche cupcakes were reworked into something much more palatable. The originals were dry and doughy, the dulce de leche was a sticky, gooey mess, and apparently the cinnamon buttercream was the only saving grace. So I knew I needed to fix this recipe stat.
For the rework, the cupcake is a cinnamon brown sugar cake, filled with a dulce de leche whipped cream, topped with a dulce de leche buttercream, drizzled with more dulce de leche, and finished with some cinnamon chips.
I tried the cake solo, and was pleased by the light, springy texture and the light cinnamony goodness. No gross doughy dryness here, thankfully. The whipped cream is light, which keeps this cupcake from being too heavy, and the dulce de leche buttercream … yum.
Also, when making my dulce de leche, I followed Alton Brown’s recipe for making it on the stovetop with whole milk (instead of the sweetened condensed milk in the microwave). What a difference! I highly recommend his recipe and this method. Sure, it’ll take awhile, but at a low simmer you don’t have to be standing over the pot for the entire time. And you deserve delicious, homemade dulce de leche!
So, with one more recipe to rework (and be posted Aug. 16), I have the following flavors to potentially tackle:
Carrot cupcakes
Pina colada cupcakes
Sprite’cakes
Vanilla cupcakes with apricot filling and toasted meringue
What do YOU think my final reworked cupcake recipe for the summer should be?
Ingredients
Directions
Start with the whipped cream so that it can chill while the cupcakes bake (you can also make this 1-2 days before).
Make sure your cream is cold and your mixing bowl is clean. I like to chill my mixing bowl as well (I find it helps the process).
Whip the cream with a whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and whip a bit more until the peaks are a bit stiffer, but not too hard. Add the dulce de leche and whip to combine.
For the cupcakes, heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and position the racks toward the center. Line pans with cupcake papers.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. Set aside.
Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and mix until just combined (the mixture might look a little loose--that's ok). Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine again.
Alternate the flour mixture and milk and beat until combined.
Divide the batter between wrappers in cupcake tins and bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.
For the frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup of sugar, beating until combined.
Add the dulce de leche. Finally, add the remaining sugar gradually and whip until light and fluffy.
To assemble,core the cupcakes. Fill with whipped cream, and top with frosting. Finish with a drizzle of dulce de leche.
August 2, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Do you have any suggestions for coring cupcakes? I’ve done it myself with various things I have around the kitchen, and while it does usually work, it seems a lot messier/less even than cupcakes that I buy at bakeries.
Also, I vote the Sprite cakes for next week.
August 4, 2013 at 9:10 pm
There are several options! Here you go:
1. . This is what I use and I love it. Very easy to use, it doesn’t tear the cupcakes up, and nothing gets all gummed up.
2. Large open star piping tip: Stick it in, give it a twist, and pull out the core. This is what we used at my bakery apprenticeship (until I bought the bakery 2 of the aforementioned cuisipro corers). They made a narrow core, and a mess. But it works in a pinch.
3. Knife. Cut a cone out of the middle. This works fairly well, but definitely takes more time.
And thanks for your vote! I’ll add it to my spread sheet