"Snake Bite" Cupcake with Harp and Wyder's Pear Cider Recipe!

For the cupcakes: (Makes 15-17 cupcakes)
Ingredients

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Harp
1/4 cup Wydmer's Pear Cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside. in a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup champagne and 1/2 cup sour cream (mixture will fizz and bubble a little). Add flour and champagne mixture alternately. Scrape bottom and sides of the bowl and mix until batter is well combined (do not overmix)

"Snake Bite" Pastry Creme Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
1/4 cup Harp
1/4 cup Wydmer's Pear Cider
1/4 cup pear puree (to make puree, use canned pears or pears from a jar and blend until pureed, then strain with sieve)
2 tbsp cornstarch
5 tbsp granulated sugar
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla

In a medium bowl, whisk cornstarch in 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Combine the remaining heavy cream, sugar and 1/2 cup beer and cider mixture in a saucepan; bring to a boil then remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg and egg yolks into the cornstarch/heavy cream mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling champagne mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not cook. Return the remaining beer/cider/heavy cream mixture to a boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla. Allow mixture to cool fully.

Cut a hole into the top of each cupcake and fill with pastry cream. Trim the cut-out cake pieces flat to make a "lid" and place on top.

Pear Frosting:

1 cup plus 2-3 Tbsp pear cider (depending on consistency)
2 sticks of butter softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup pear puree

Place 1 cup of pear cider in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Transfer to a small bowl or condiment cup and allow to cool.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream softened butter and powdered sugar together. Once the frosting is thick and fluffy, pour in the reduced 2 tbsp. pear cider plus 2 tbsp from the bottle and mix well. Add a few drops of green and yellow food coloring and decorate as desired.

Source: http://pixiecrust.blogspot.com/2011/03/snake-bite-cupcake-with-harp-and-wyders.html

Shirley Temple Cupcake Recipe!

For the Cupcakes:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 tsp lime zest
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
6 large egg whites
3 cups sifted cake flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract or paste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees* (I baked my cupcakes at 325 degrees because my oven gets crazy hot, but just as a tip, I generally find that baking cakes at slightly under 350 degrees makes for better results)

Cream together the sugar and butter, beating with paddle attachment for at least 3-4 minutes.

In the meantime, sift the cake flour with the baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Add in the vanilla, zests, and juice.

Combine sour cream, water, and egg whites in bowl and lightly whisk.

Add in the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream and egg white mixture. Mix after each addition, but do not over mix. Scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and bottom to be sure that the sugar and butter is all incorporated.

Divide batter evenly into cupcake liners and bake in oven for 20-25 minutes, alternating halfway through. The cupcakes are done when they spring back to the touch.

PS: I added pink food coloring to my cake batter, hence you may notice the cupcakes are not "white" like a true white cake. I wasn't that happy with the color after they baked, so I recommend not adding any additional coloring to the cake.

For the Pomegranate curd
1 1/2 cups POM pomegranate juice
Juice from 3 limes
1 1/2 Tsp lime zest
1 1/4 cups sugar
7 egg yolks
1/2 stick up butter, cut into pieces
5 drops red or dark pink food coloring

Combine pomegranate juice, lime juice and zest, sugar, and egg yolks in a medium sauce pan set over low-medium heat. Continually whisk and gradually increase heat to medium. Cook until mixture has thickened enough to coat back of a spoon. Turn heat off. Add butter and stir until fully melted. Add food coloring. Pour mixture through fine mesh sieve and place plastic wrap directly on top of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours before use. Mixture will thicken more as it chills.

NOTE: The curd will turn brown without food coloring due to the color of the POM juice and how its effected by being cooked with egg yolk, so the coloring is purely for aesthetics.

For the Shirley Temple Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

4 egg whites
2/3 cups sugar
3 sticks butter, unsalted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup grenadine (you may need to add more to taste- I kept adding until it tasted like a Shirley Temple)
3 tbsp sprite
1 tsp lime zest
4-5 drops Americolor Deep Pink food coloring

Combine egg whites and sugar in a heat proof mixing bowl and place over saucepan of simmering water. Continually whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer. Place mixing bowl on a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and continually whisk until mixture is thick and fully cooled. Add butter, piece by piece, mixing well after each addition. Switch to a paddle attachment and beat for another 2-3 minutes. Add grenadine, sprite and lime zest.

To assemble:
Core each cupcake using a small paring knife. Use a pastry bag to pipe curd inside cupcake, or use a small spoon. Once each cupcake is filled, pipe frosting on the top of each and place a maraschino cherry on top (be sure to pat them down on a paper towel before use so they don't drip juice on the frosting).

Source: http://pixiecrust.blogspot.com/2011/05/shirley-temple-cupcakes.html

Dole Whip Cupcakes Recipe!

For the Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups whole milk

For Pineapple Glaze:
One can pineapple

Sift all of the dry ingredients together. Set aside. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add 2/3 flour mixture to wet ingredients and mix just until almost combined. Add in the milk. Add in the remaining flour mixture and mix until combined.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until cupcakes spring back to the touch.

For the Pineapple Puree:

Place 3-4 cups of fresh pineapple in blender with two tablespoons of water. Set blender to puree setting and puree until fully smooth. Pour through a sieve before using.

For the Pineapple Curd:
-1 cup fresh pineapple puree
-2 egg yolks
-1/3 cup granulated sugar
-2 tsp corn starch
-2 tbsp unsalted butter

Combine puree, yolks, sugar, and corn starch in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk continually until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add butter. Whisk until combined. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve and place in fridge to cool.

For the French Buttercream
-1 cup sugar
-1/3 cup water
-2 eggs
-3 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 cup pineapple puree

Place eggs in mixer and mix with whisk attachment until foamy. Meanwhile, place water and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring. Continue boiling until mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Pour hot syrup into eggs as mixer is running. Make sure to pour slowly and aim for the center of the bowl. Continue whipping until mixture is fully cooled. Add butter a piece at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once butter is all added, switch to a paddle attachment and beat for another 2 minutes or so.

To Assemble:
Once cupcakes are cooled, core out the center of each one.
Next, brush a light coating of pineapple juice from canned pineapple onto the top of each cupcake. Or, if you have more time, you can create a simple syrup from fresh juice and sugar. Using a pastry bag, fill the center of each cupcake with pineapple curd. Once all cupcakes are filled, frost each one with pineapple buttercream using a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Garnish with a maraschino cherry umbrella spear.


Source: http://pixiecrust.blogspot.com/2011/06/dole-whip-cupcakes.html