Crazy for Cupcakes

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  I love making cupcakes instead of big cakes, you can have so many different varieties of cake flavors, fillings and frosting's you can go with.  It is endless. Not that you cant do this with traditional cakes it is just a lot easier to do it with cupcakes and it is so much easier to serve.
   I have been asked to do cupcakes a lot lately and have had the opportunity to play with some new flavors.  I have been using Pinterest for inspiration.  This particular one caught my eye, it is a Key Lime Blackberry Cupcake, I never really thought to put these flavors together so I toyed with my vanilla cake recipe a little and added Key lime Juice and zest.  The batter was divine.  I would just eat the batter.
    I wanted to do a blackberry filling so I used 1/2 frozen blackberries and 1/2 fresh put them all in a fine mesh colander and let the defrost over a bowl with a little sugar sprinkled on them.  When the were soft enough I pushed them through the strainer to get rid of any seeds.  Placed the berries in a pot and added some cornstarch and cooked until they were a thick sauce.
  The frosting I used was adapted from my basic Butter Cream recipe.  I whipped it up as usual and then added 1 cup or so of my Blackberry filling and a little lemon juice to brighten it up.

  So assembly is pretty simple, I used a melon Baller to take out some of the middle of the cooked cupcake as to make room for the amazing tart but sweet filling. Then poured my filling into a ziploc bag and cut off the corner and filled the middle of each cupcake.  Remember that your cupcakes NEED to be completely cool before you fill them of the filling will just melt into the cupcake and you will end up with a halo middle.  NO GOOD!!

  While I waited for my cupcakes to cool I went ahead and started making one of the garnishes for the top of the cake. I had decided that the garnish they had on pinterest was not enough and wanted to add a Candied Lime wedge.  In a small sauce pan add 1/2 cup water and 1 cup sugar and bring to a simmer for a minute or two then take off heat and dip your lime in and take it out and allow to dry on parchment when dry , it will still be a little tacky, you dip them in sugar and set aside.

                                                                                                                 

  You can candy almost anything to add as a garnish.  I have done pansies, oranges, cherries, strawberries, mint, you name it, I have candied it. However when you are candying please use edible products.  I have a rule of thumb, Don't garnish with something that is not in the food.  So if there is not mint in the cupcake don't garnish with mint.  You get the idea.  It is so much fun to play with your food and come up with some fantastic garnishes to decorate and display your tasty creation.  For the last thing I frosted the cupcakes and added a fresh blackberry and the candied Lime wedge.  Beautiful!!  I love them.  And they were very tasty!    
                         

                        
 Key Lime Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting
recipe from Baked Perfection

makes 30 cupcakes

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons key lime juice
zest of two limes
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease or paper-line 30 baking cups.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla, key lime juice and lime zest; mix well. Add the flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream (batter will be thick). Fill muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost as desired.

Blackberry Filling
recipe from Baked Perfection

1 32oz container frozen blackberries
3 tablespoons sugar
Juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch of salt

Place blackberries in a small bowl and sprinkle with sugar, let thaw. Drain blackberries, reserving liquid. Squish the blackberries and push through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds, set aside. Add enough water to the blackberry liquid to equal 1 cup. In a large saucepan, combine the blackberry liquid, lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt. Heat and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Cool completely.  Refrigerate until ready to use. (This can be made several days in advance and any leftovers works well on toast, on pancakes, or mixed in plain Greek Yogurt.)

Blackberry Butter cream
recipe from Baked Perfection

2 sticks butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup blackberry filling (seedless blackberry jam or preserves can be substituted)
pinch of salt
6 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk

Beat butter and vanilla until creamy. Mix in blackberry filling and salt. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until combined. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency.