Melomakarona-Inspired Honey Orange Walnut Cupcakes

Cakes not being my favorite, I rarely make them unless the kids ask for it as a treat on birthdays and other special holidays. So far, they've preferred the simple hearty flax-bran-loaded muffins or fruit tartlets or mini pies that I offer as desserts anytime they feel like having a sweet treat.

When I do make a few different kinds of sweets on and off, of course, fruit pies turn out to be one of the top favorites, especially during the berry season when we pick berries from local farms, and later in fall when apples and peaches and cherries rain from the sky.

Cupcakes being my daughter's favorite pastime, along with cake pops -- dreaming up the varieties and drooling over pictures of them in books and web -- I end up making a few with her, based on her current choice.

Speaking of cake pops, and birthdays, she made these Shaun and Shirley cake pops along with some oddly crazy chicks for her brother's birthday. As cloying as I find the candy melts for cake pops, it seems like an easy, quick, satisfying treat that kids can make and decorate on their own. Less work for me, and I don't have to eat it anyway. Microwave Mug Cakes are the easiest to make, which can then be used to make the cake pops.

Back to the Honey Orange Walnut cupcakes, this time, it was the Greek delicacy Melamakarona that inspired them. Honey and Citrus. Fresh and sweet for a springtime indulgence.

Drizzling some freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with honey onto the cupcakes before serving make them moist, almost juicy. The cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg add that warmth and sweetness that enhances the sense of indulgence.

Typically, I don't have self-rising flour handy, so, I mix a small batch every time a recipe calls for it: simply mix 1 cup flour, with 1½ tsp baking powder, plus ¼ tsp salt.

Ingredients
Dry:
3/4 cup self-rising flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8th tsp ground cloves
1/8th tsp ground nutmeg
Wet:
5 Tbsp softened unsalted butter
2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
⅓ cup superfine sugar
2 eggs
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp orange zest
Topping:
¼ cup minced/chopped walnut pieces
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Preparation

1. Sift the Dry ingredients into a small bowl
2. Beat the Wet ingredients until light and fluffy
3. Fold in the dry ingredients into the whipped wet ingredients and mix gently till well incorporated
4. Spoon into muffin cups
5. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 20 minutes
6. Remove from oven, allow to cool a bit, then prick the cupcakes with a toothpick so it can hold the drizzled toppings
7. Topping: Stir the honey, cinnamon, and orange juice till well blended, and drizzle spoonfuls on each cupcake; sprinkle minced walnuts and serve warm or chilled

Simple "Marbled" Cupcake

This simple cupcake came about to cheer up the little ones at home who were feeling under the weather... nothing fancy about it, except, my 4¾ year-old helped me make it - beating the eggs with a fork, measuring the flour and sugar, adding baking cases to the muffin pan, stirring and tasting the batter, and of course spreading the frosting.

We've been trying various kids art activities some of which involved simulating the marbling-effect or "colorful swirlies" as she calls it. And so when she added a few drops of purple food color, rather than blend it in uniformly, she decided to swirl it around a bit, just enough to leave streaks of purple in an otherwise plain cupcake batter. When scooped as-is and baked, it formed nice deep swirly patterns all around. Can use multiple colors and swirl them about to form interesting patterns in the batter before baking. (The quantity here made about 8 standard size muffins)

Ingredients
2 eggs
½ cup Smart Balance Omega 3™ butter
1/3 cup sugar
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup flour
food color

Frosting: Light Cream Cheese, (home-made) strawberry jam or plum jam - beaten together till fluffy
Sprinkles optional

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F; Beat the eggs and keep handy
2. Blend the sugar and butter together with an electric mixer till fluffy, about 2 minutes
3. Add the beaten eggs and continue to beat another 30-40 seconds
4. Sift the flour and baking powder together and slowly fold it into the wet ingredients mixture
5. Add a few drops of food color and swirl it around with a ladle
6. Scoop the batter into each of the baking cases in the muffin mold (or, simple spray the muffin mold with vegetable oil) to about 2/3rds full and bake in a 350°F oven for about 20-25 minutes, checking midway and turning the tray around if needed
7. When cool enough, spread some frosting on top, add some sprinkles and enjoy! Or chill in the fridge for a summer time snack

Just-for-fun Cupcakes

This batch of cupcakes came about as I wanted to try something simple and fun for Oggie's half-birthday, not that he cares, but, Ana might enjoy it... and, as usual, I looked in Suzanna Tee's Cupcakes book for inspiration. This is based on her birthday party cupcakes recipe. Rather than fancy frosting, I made a cream cheese frosting that doubled as a spread as well for toast and bagel.

Ingredients
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup superfine sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp canola oil - optional - adjust quantity so the batter is the right consistency - just a little thicker than pancake batter
some colorful confetti and stars - I use the Betty Crocker cake decoration items

frosting: plain cream cheese, home-made raspberry jam

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350°F; place paper baking cases in a muffin pan handy; this makes about 12 regular size cupcakes
2. Combine the cupcake ingredients and beat with an electric whisk till smooth and uniform
3. Spoon into the paper baking cases evenly to get about 12 cupcakes; bake for about 15-20 minutes till golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean
4. Frosting: start with half a cup of cream cheese and quarter of a cup of jam and beat with an electric whisk till smooth and a little stiff; add more jam or cream cheese to preferred taste and consistency as needed
5. Allow the cupcakes to cool, apply frosting on top before serving; top with some confetti/stars/sprinkles if desired

Queen Cupcakes

This recipe, again, is based on the one in Cupcakes book by Susanna Tee. This time, I had a reason for baking them: for my parents' wedding anniversary!

After 3 years, my parents are here with me again to help with my newborn and I wanted to celebrate by baking them some simple cupcakes. I baked this as a surprise in the middle of the night between feedings and had it set up in the morning on the table so that when my dad wakes up at 5 a.m for his morning coffee, he would see it :)

Ingredients
½ cup sugar
8 Tbsp butter
2 large eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1¼ cup self-rising flour
2-4 Tbsp milk, if needed
chopped dried fruits, walnuts as desired
(I used store-bought multicolored chopped fruits)

frosting is optional - I used store-bought frosting leftover from baking a cake for Ana.

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 375°F; prepare a muffin pan or place paper baking cases on a cookie sheet
2. Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy; then beat in the eggs and lemon juice; then add the flour a little at a time and fold it in till well incorporated; add a little milk if needed to make the batter into dropping consistency
3. Spoon the batter into the prepared paper baking cases or muffin pan and bake in 375°F oven for about 15 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
4. frosting is optional - I just decided to add a free-hand touch of frosting to these:)

apple streusel cupcake

After a long time I decided to make cupcakes, for no particular reason.

I was looking for a way to use up the unsweetened applesauce I had bought for Ana about 2 months ago. The large 47oz jar of tart organic applesauce was such a welcome addiction when we bought it but gradually Ana got tired of it and wouldn't even look at anything resembling applesauce...

There was just about 2½ cups left and rather than gulping it down myself as I do with all of Ana's leftovers, I thought I should make a simple treat of some sort using it. I know... I know... I should be working hard to lose the pregnancy weight but I was off sweets and was on a strict low-carb diet during my third trimester that I feel I deserve a little something once in a while :)

This recipe is based on the one in Cupcakes book by Susanna Tee. As usual, I didn't follow the recipe closely but it turned out alright, so am writing this down. The quantity here makes 12 large cupcakes.

Ingredients

wet: 1½ cups applesauce (unsweetened) 4 Tbsp butter (softened) ½ cup raw brown sugar 1 large egg, lightly beaten

dry: ½ tsp baking soda 1¼ cup self-rising* flour (* or, 1¼ cups all-purpose flour + 1½ tsp baking powder) ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground nutmeg

topping: ¼ cup all purpose flour ¼ cup brown sugar ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp ground nutmeg 2 Tbsp butter

Preparation

1. heat the oven to 350°F ; grease a muffin tin or use 12 paper baking cases on a baking sheet
2. topping: combine all but butter in a bowl, slowly rub in the butter to form crumbs, set aside
3. batter: combine the wet ingredients and beat on low with a mixer till light and fluffy (say 2 minutes); then gradually sift in the dry ingredients and fold them in till well-incorporated
4. spoon the batter into the paper baking cases and sprinkle the topping over each cupcake and press down gently
5. bake in 350°F oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
6. allow to cool a few minutes before serving

Chocolate-bran cupcake with cream cheese frosting

What's Father's Day without pampering the Dad-in-the-house with some pastries, right?

So, I baked a batch of cupcakes inspired by a recipe from the Cupcakes book by Susanna Tee. As usual, I didn't follow the recipe closely and threw in some of my favorite ingredients in an attempt to make it "healthy" and it turned out quite surprisingly good.

I made a batch of mini muffins for the wee one and myself, and a smaller batch of regular-size muffins for the Dad.

D sort of protests when I bake anything with sugar and butter in it: he does love them so, and thinks if he kicks up a fuss none of the fat calories will stick to him ;-)

Ingredients:
for cupcake:
6 Tbsp softened butter
½ cup sugar
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 Tbsp evaporated milk
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ cup wheat bran
2 Tbsp Hershey's Special Dark™ Cocoa powder
2 Tbsp Chocolate Ovaltine®

for frosting:
½ cup light cream cheese
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp cinnamon powder

Preparation

heat the oven to 400°F; either grease the muffin tins or place paper baking cases; I greased the mini muffin pan, and put baking cases in the regular muffin pan

combine all the cupcake ingredients in a bowl and beat till light and fluffy

spoon into muffin pans and bake in 400°F oven for about 15-20 mins, or until well risen and springy to the touch - insert a toothpick when in doubt - it should come out clean

allow to cool on a rack and get the frosting ready; simply beat the frosting ingredients together; keep chilled till ready to frost; if not serving the cupcake right away, chill in the fridge

walnut orange butterfly cupcakes

This walnut orange butterfly cupcake is inspired by Susanna Tee's Cupcakes book. However, I merged two recipes from the book that caught my fancy to come up with this amalgam - viz., moist walnut cupcake and lemon butterfly cupcake.

I rarely follow any recipe closely (tut-tut, indeed!), but I draw a lot of inspiration from interesting recipes and, usually, I look at recipes as a guideline/technique which I can adapt: I didn't have lemon handy, but had quite a few oranges, plus, we usually have a bag of walnuts in the freezer to throw in salads and such, and so, when I had the compelling urge to try another recipe from the book, I decided to work with what I have handy and this hybrid turned out quite tasty :)

Ingredients
3/4 cup walnuts
4 Tbsp softened butter
½ cup sugar
3 Tbsp orange zest (or lemon zest)
2 eggs
½ cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder

for the frosting:
4 Tbsp butter softened
1/2 cup powdered/confectioners' sugar
3 Tbsp orange (or lemon) zest
1 tsp orange (or lemon) juice

Preparation

heat the oven to 375°F ; place about 12 paper baking cases in a regular muffin pan, or, just spray a mini muffin pan with some baking spray, or a combination of both - I made a few regular size and the rest mini size

pulse the walnut in food processor to break it down to a fine powder, but not overgrind as it will get oily

combine the walnut, flour, sugar, baking powder, butter, eggs, orange zest and blend into a smooth batter using a hand whisk or food processor

spoon the batter into the muffin pan and bake for about 20 minutes until well-risen and golden brown, cooked through on the inside; then, allow to cool a little on the wire rack before frosting

frosting: beat the butter in a bowl until fluffy; sift in confectioners' sugar, add orange zest and juice and mix well

when cupcakes are cool enough, slice a thin circular layer off the top to make a flat-top cupcake; cut the sliced piece in half, keep handy; spread a layer of frosting on the cupcake and press the the two cut pieces on top at an angle to suggest butterfly wings (or, kitty ears, or horns as D kept teasing me about it)

I love the bright citrus flavor from the orange zest and the nutty walnut flavor.

molten chocolate cupcake

I am not really a cupcake fan, but, this one was asking to be made...

I found a used copy of Cupcakes by Susanna Tee - just exclusively cupcakes - at my local bookstore pleading, "Take me home, please", and I had to :)

Of course, as with music CDs, I rarely find one book with only the recipes I like and want. Same with this cupcake book. But, there were enough good recipes in there (plus it was under $5) that I decided to get it a week before my baby's birthday: I was planning to make mini cupcakes of various sorts for her birthday, but, decided to make teddy bear cakes instead.

Anyway, the molten center of the cupcake made this appealing. Simply place a little bit of your favorite chocolate into the center of the cupcake batter before baking; bake as usual; and serve warm. The chocolate inside is perfectly melted and just oozes out. I was a bit conservative as seen in picture above, but next time I think I will add more chocolate to the center ;)

And what was more appealing to me was that this was one of the recipes in the book that made up a small batch - just 6 regular cupcakes. Usually, if I try to halve the proportions of the ingredients of a standard baking recipe they don't turn out right.

Of course, as always, I could not help meddling - the recipe here is slightly different from the one in the book :) But it turned out alright...

Ingredients

4 Tbsp butter
½ cup baker's sugar
1 large egg
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder^**
1 Tbsp Hersheys Special Dark™ cocoa powder^*
2 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate
powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

^*or any other cocoa powder you like
^**my baking powder is old, so, if using fresh baking powder, reduce the amount a little

Preparation

Heat the oven to 375°F; place 6 paper baking cases in a muffin pan, or double layered paper cases on a baking sheet

combine all ingredients, (except the chocolate and sugar for dusting), and beat with electric whisk till just smooth, no need to over beat

spoon some batter into the paper case, just half way, add the chocolate, spoon more batter to fill the paper case

bake for about 20 minutes or until risen and springy to the touch

Remove from oven and let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.