Every year I go to the Peak City Pigfest where my Stoke & Smoke friends take part
in the barbecue competition. The tradition is that I bring dessert for the post
competition eating fest – plenty of pulled pork, brisket, ribs and chicken.
This year I wanted to make something light and fruity to both complement and
contrast with the sweetness of their homemade barbecue sauce. What I came up
with was creamsicle cupcakes. The fruity orange butter cream frosting melts in
your mouth mixing with the smooth vanilla cream center nestled in a moist
cupcake, reminiscent of a creamsicle bar.
Makes 12 cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients
1 ½ C
All-Purpose Flour
1 ¼ tsp
Baking Powder
¼ tsp
Table Salt
1 C
Granulated Sugar
1 stick
(1/2 C or 4 oz.) Unsalted Butter (Room Temp)
1 Lg Egg
+ 2 Egg Yolks
¾ tsp
Vanilla Extract
½ C + 2
TBS Whole Milk
Pudding Ingredients
1 3.4 oz
box French Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 ½ C
Whole Milk
Icing Ingredients
1 stick
(1/2 C or 4 oz.) Unsalted European Style Butter*
1 ¾ C Confectioners’
Sugar
1 pinch
Table Salt
2 tsp
Orange Zest
1 TBS
Orange Juice
1 TBS
Light Corn Syrup
½ tsp
Vanilla Extract
½ tsp
Orange Extract
1-2
drops Orange Food Coloring (Yellow +Red =
Orange)
Mellon
Baller
Preheat
oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with cupcake liners.
In a
medium bowl mix together the all-purpose flour, baking powder and ¼ teaspoon
table salt.
Using an
electric mixer, beat 1 cup granulated sugar, and 1 stick of unsalted butter at
room temperature until light and fluffy (~3 -4 minutes). Add the egg, vanilla and
orange extracts and beat until smooth. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and beat
until combined. Add the milk (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) & beat until
combined. Add the remaining flour mixture until combined then beat for one more
minute. Fill each cupcake cup 2/3 full.
Bake for
20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in
pan for 10 minutes then place on a cooling rack until completely cool.
In a
small bowl mix the instant pudding and 1 ½ C milk with a whisk until smooth.
Place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
Prepare
the frosting by placing all of the frosting ingredients into the bowl of an
electric mixer. Beat on high until light and creamy. Place in the refrigerator
for 1 hour prior to frosting the cupcakes.
Using
the small end of a melon baller, scoop out a hole in the middle of each
cupcake. Place the pudding into a quart zipper bag with the corner cut off (see
photo). Pipe the pudding into the holes you have just cut out.
NOTE: You will have extra pudding, just mix it with
the cake holes you just dug out and eat it quickly.
Place
the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Starting on the
outside, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes mounding in the center. Refrigerate
the cupcakes until served.
Pronto
Substitutes
European Style
Butter – European butter has a
higher fat content and give better mouth feel to the icing, however you can
substitute regular unsalted butter in its place.
This afternoon I had the privilege to give a cooking class to a wonderful group of seniors at Carolina House in Wake Forest NC. We started off with Rigatoni with Sausage, Asparagus, And Artichokes fro Giada De Laurentis’ Everyday Pasta cookbook which was fantastic. Then came the dessert. I made a ricotta cake that was a cheese cake surrounded by a yellow cake. It just melted in your mouth and brought a smile to my face. The creamy ricotta filling was surrounded by light moist yellow cake studded with chocolate chips and a hint of lemon – and it was easy to make.
2 lb Whole Milk Ricotta
Grease and flour a 13-by-9-inch cake pan or a 9 inch round cake pan.
