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.
