Sweet Potato Cupcakes with a Maple Bourbon Cream Cheese icing!

So everyone has that one cake that got away. I have always had this love of dense cakes, there is nothing better than that friend's carrot cake with cream cheese icing or a hummingbird cake (I recently had a hummingbird cheesecake which was phenomenal! I am also on the hunt for the elusive pavlova cheesecake!).

This recipe came about when I volunteered for the cake duty for my sisters birthday barbecue. My sister and I have always loved baking and I knew that I would have to pull off something amazing for this occasion. Now birthdays in our family always have homemade cakes (usually myself or my sister bake) and because she is so talented herself, I decided that I would do something a little different. This recipe is a compilation of a few separate recipes that my darling husband put together for her (the brief being- something different, maybe like a carrot cake except better?). The hubby pulled through with a sweet potato cake and topped it off with a maple bourbon cream cheese icing, it was destiny....

The cake turned out to be the most delicious, dense and unique cake that we have had recently. The sweet potato gives a rich and sweet flavour, and the maple cream cheese icing is perfectly finished with that dash of bourbon. I decided that it had to be made again for the Biggest Morning Tea! This time I made the recipe into cupcakes to take into work for a great cause.

Sweet Potato Cupcakes
Ingredients:

• 1 cup of butter, softened
• 2 cups of castor sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 cups of plain flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 2 cups of sweet potato

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 180'C. Grease a couple of muffin tins and line with paper cases (this mixture will make about 36 cupcake sized cakes (it is brought down from a full sized cake).

In a large saucepan, boil and mash the sweet potato. Let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until the mixture becomes lighter and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into a large bowl and mix until combined.

Starting and ending with the flour mixture, mix the flour and mashed sweet potato in alternating batches into the butter and sugar mixture. Beat until just combined- the mixture will be stiff.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans.

Bake the cakes for 20-22 minutes, checking with a skewer. They will be ready when the tester comes out clean. Turn out the cakes and cool.

Maple Bourbon Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

• 500g of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon of bourbon
• 1/2 cup of icing sugar, sifted

Procedure:

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the maple syrup and bourbon and mix until well combined. Slowly add the sifted sugar and beat until smooth. (The icing will be thick).

Use the icing to decorate the cakes and garnish as desired. (We used fried sweet potato chips to give it a beautiful look!).

Fried Sweet Potato Chips

Heat vegetable oil in a deep saucepan (about 2cm of oil), using a vegetable peeler, shave thin slices of peeled sweet potato into a bowl of iced water. When soaked, dry the sweet potato chips into the hot oil and fry until a lovely golden brown colour (DO NOT SKIP THE DRYING OF THE CHIPS- ADDING WATER TO HOT OIL WILL CAUSE IT TO SPIT AND POTENTIALLY BURN SKIN). Dry the fried sweet potato chips on paper towel to remove any excess oil. After the chips have cooled, dust with sifted icing sugar for a sweet caramel style topper.

Additional notes:

• The cake will come out as a dark caramel colour- don't be disheartened, this is perfect.
• Using a deep bundt tin, this cake will need to be baked for 50-60 minutes or until the tester comes out clean.
• Using a 22cm deep round tin, the cake will need to be baked for ~60 minutes.

Devilish Devil's Food Cupcakes

Has your ganache cracked? Don't stress!

Ganache is a tricky icing that can be super easy, but it can crack very easily. Ganache should look smooth and shiny but sometimes the mixture cracks and looks greasy and appears like the early stages of burnt chocolate. Don't PANIC! There is a SUPER easy fix. When the ganache cracks, gradually add in teaspoon amounts of milk and keep mixing until the ganache comes back to that lovely shiny look.

Today, I am going to share with you my secret weapon. This is a devils food cake that is aptly named because it has to be sinful to indulge in something so amazing! I came across this recipe a little while ago and it was originally a full sized cake, but I brought it down to individual cakes to save myself from overconsumption...

If you hadn't noticed by now, I am a bit obsessed with chocolate!

I recently made these cupcakes for my work colleagues as an easter treat. Needless to say, I wasn't taking any spare cakes home...

Devil's Food Cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cake:

• 1 cup of boiling water
• 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of whole milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of unsalted butter (250g), softened
• 1 1/4 cups of packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of castor sugar
• 4 large eggs

For the sour cream ganache:

• 2 cups of dark chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups of sour cream
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

Method:

For the cakes:

Preheat the oven to 180'C and line muffin tins with decorative patties. This mixture will make more than 12 cupcakes because it is a full cake recipe~ 24 cupcakes. (If making a cake- grease and line 3x 20cm cake tins with baking paper.)

Whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder in a bowl until smooth, then whisk in the milk and vanilla. Set aside. In another bowl sift the flour, baking soda and salt.

With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar (both brown and castor) until pale and fluffy, the add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In alternating batches, add the flour and cocoa mixtures, starting and ending with the flour mixture. (The batter will look curdled- but this is NORMAL!)

Divide batter into the tins (if making a whole cake use 3x 20cm round tins and smooth the tops). Bake the cupcakes for about 18 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean (20-25 minutes for a cake). Once out of the oven, cool completely.

For the sour cream ganache:

Melt the chocolate using a double boiler, once melted remove the top bowl from the heat and whisk in the sour cream then vanilla. (I find that this can be really tricky to not split, I find that mixing really quickly helps and also making sure that the sour cream is at room temperature makes a big difference). Let the ganache come to room temperature and stir occasionally to ensure it remains that beautiful, shiny appearance.

Assembly:

With a piping bag, pipe the sour cream ganache to the top and decorate the tops to suit your tastes!

Alternative ideas:

• For a bundt cake: bake the cake for 35-40 minutes. Drizzle a ganache over the top.
• Brown Sugar Buttercream:
• http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/brown-sugar-buttercream-104580

Limoncello Cupcakes!

Wow! These cupcakes are a delicious addition to any party table or afternoon tea. I found this recipe on the wonderful world of Pinterest and have made them a number of times as a go to recipe for instant WOW-factor. They cake itself is a dense lemony cake, filled with tart lemon curd and topped with the bitter-sweet limoncello cream cheese icing. They speak for themselves! Mmmmm....

Unfortunately, I got carried away in a baking haze and forgot to take the in-progress photos!

Limoncello Cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 60g of butter at room temperature (1/4 cup)
• 60g of cream cheese (about a quarter of a 250g block)
• 1 cup of castor sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons of limoncello
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon

For the lemon curd:

• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of castor sugar
• 1 whole egg, plus one extra yolk

For the limoncello cream cheese frosting:

• 60g of butter at room temperature (1/4 cup)
• 125g of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon of limoncello
• 2 cups of powdered/icing sugar, sifted

Method:

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 175'C. In a medium size bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt and then set aside. In a mixer bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until the mixture is well combined and has paled to a light and creamy look: about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the limoncello and beat for an additional minute. On low speed, add in the flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating amounts, starting with and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in the lemon juice and zest until just combined (or on a low mixer setting). Divide the mixture into greased muffin tin or into muffin patties. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. The cake tends to be a bit denser than regular cupcakes, and is very moist.

For the Lemon curd:

If short on time, pre-made curd can be used, but as usual homemade is always better. In a medium saucepan, stir together the zest, juice and sugar and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Whisk the egg and egg yolk together, when they are combined, slowly whisk in the lemon mixture before adding the combined mixture back into the saucepan. Once back on the heat keep whisking until the lemon curd thickens (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool. (It needs to be completely cool before assembling the cupcakes).

For the frosting:

Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until light and creamy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the limoncello and beat for a further minute. Reduce the mixer to a slow speed and gradually add the sifted icing sugar and beat until smooth and fully mixed.

Assembly:

Cut a small hole in the top of each cupcake using a melon baller or a knife. Add a small spoonful of lemon curd into each whole before piping the cream cheese icing over the top. Decorate as desired!

Enjoy these cupcakes with iced tea and cream!

xx