pip's stuff

From Love and Olive Oil….

Cherry-Filled Almond Cupcakes

ingredients

Cupcakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only) or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Cherry Filling:
1 cup frozen sweet cherries
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cranberry or pomegranate juice, or water
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Almond Buttercream:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, room temperature
2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only) or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
food coloring (optional)
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or soy creamer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together oil, coconut milk, vanilla bean, and almond extract. Add sugar and mix until incorporated. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth (batter will be slightly lumpy). Fill cupcake liners with 3 tablespoons of batter (papers should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make filling, add frozen cherries to medium saucepan along with sugar and juice. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally and slightly mashing some of the whole cherries. Meanwhile, mix 1 tablespoon cool water with cornstarch in a small dish and set aside. When cherry mixture starts bubbling, add cornstarch mixture and stir until filling is thickened and is no longer milky. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. Move to refrigerator and chill until ready to use.

For frosting, cream butter in electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Slowly add confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until mixture is smooth. Add vanilla bean, almond extract, and food coloring and mix until combined. Add creamer and mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add more creamer and/or confectioners’ sugar as necessary to achieve proper consistency.

To assemble, cut a cone-shaped piece out of the tops of cooled cupcakes, approximately 3/4″ in diameter and set aside. Fill cavities with cherry mixture, and replace tops of cupcakes. Pipe on frosting, covering the seams. Top with a marzipan cherry, if desired.

is the official wedding planner, best (wo)man, wedding cake baker, mischief generator and 4th string flower girl for the Y2 wedding (>.<) v