thoughts on recipes + a recipe
Thoughts on recipes…I tend to bake using senses, rather than measurements, weights or precise instructions. There are enough pinches of salt and squeezes of lemon when the sweetness is dulled down just right. The butter is done creaming when it makes a certain slapping sound. The caramel is done cooking when it starts to faintly smell of burnt sugar and is a beautiful dark amber color. There’s enough liquid in the batter when the spatula slides through it with ease. I probably drive my assistant nuts when she asks me how much butter to add to the ginger graham curst and I shrug my shoulders and say something silly like, “when it starts to look like barely wet sand”. So I admit when Style Me Pretty requested a fall recipe for their newsletter (along with other yummy recipes from Amy Atlas & Vanilla Bake Shop), I was a little challenged. I wanted to provide a recipe for something I didn’t really have a formal recipe for. I had made cranberry orange filling for the cupcakes the week prior, but it came about from me “experimenting” and adding a scoop of “this”, a cup of “that” & a pour of “something else”. So, I got out my measuring cups & spoons and re-created the filling like a real chef would do, jotting down measurements and watching the clock for approximate times.
Cranberry Orange Cupcake Filling by ENJOY CUPCAKES From the Style Me Pretty Newsletter
1 ½ pounds fresh cranberries
1 ½ cups sugar
1/8 cup orange liquor (Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or Triple Sec)
¼ cup orange juice
Zest of 3 oranges
1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat
2. Stir until all sugar is combined and dissolved
3. Increase heat to medium high for about 8 minutes, stirring periodically. As you are stirring, crush / mash the cranberries to release the juices (don’t worry if they don’t all crush)
4. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 4 minutes
5. Remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes
6. Transfer cranberry mixture to food processor or blender and process / blend until smooth
7. Let cool completely and transfer the mixture to a pastry bag or Ziploc bag (only fill up about ½ way at a time)
8. Cut off the tip of the pastry bag or cut off a corner of a Ziploc bag and squeeze into already baked & cored cupcakes
The filling is also great on top of ice-cream, spread on turkey sandwiches, on top of apple pies, mixed in with vanilla yogurt, or poured on pancakes.
Friday, December 3, 2010 at 12:21PM
Reader Comments (4)
i want to make this, i have a dumb question .. sorry. how do i core the cupcake?
I love your description of how you create/bake. This is pure poetry + sounds like the mark of a true genius! :) Thanks for recreating it for the rest of us less skilled apprentices out there. Wish we lived closer so we could taste your creations weekly (although I am certain our waist lines would suffer) I love reading your updates and looking at your pictures!!! :) Hope we will get to make a detour on our next trip to Southern California!
hi wedding chicks...to core the cupcakes, use a small pairing knife to cut part of the top of the cupcakes in the shape of a cone and remove the cupcake "guts" :)
alisa, it's great to hear from you. i hope you and tim are well & enjoying newlywed life!
I just wanted to say that I was visiting relatives in Lompoc this summer and had the priviledge of stopping by your store on our way. Your cupcakes are an experience! So delicious and most pleasing of all, you offered flavors I had never seen before. My favorite was the Chocolate Blackberry Syrah. I can't wait to try this recipe!