Iron Cupcake Earth: Cranberry

I was really excited about Cranberry for this month's ICE challenge! My mom's made a cranberry cake (my aunt's recipe) for years, that is a basic yellow cake with cranberries served with a caramel sauce. I tried to adapt the same idea to cupcake form: a sour cream cupcake with cranberry sauce, caramel sauce and topped with swiss meringue buttercream. The cranberry sauce and buttercream can be made ahead, though the caramel needs to be made just before icing.

Sour Cream Cupcakes based on Rose Levy Beranbaum's Sour Cream Butter Cake
4 egg yolks
2/3 c sour cream
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 c cake flour
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
10 TB unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine yolks, half of sour cream and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Add butter and remaining half of sour cream. Mix on low til moistened, then beat for 1 1/2 minutes on med. Add the egg mixture in three batches, beating til combined after each. Transfer to cupcake tin. Bake 15-18 minutes.


Cranberry Sauce
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Combine all in saucepan, and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer over medium heat til cranberries are cooked through but still intact and reduce til liquid just covers base of saucepan.

Caramel Icing
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup half and half
4 TB butter
Combine sugar, half and half, and butter. Cook over med-low heat until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage. Transfer to your mixer bowl and mix until thickened. This happens quickly, about 1-2 minutes. Have cupcakes halved and drizzle caramel sauce over.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 egg white
3 sticks butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
Cook egg whites and sugar over water til reaches 160 degrees. Transfer to a mixer and beat til it reaches stiff peaks. Add the butter in chunks and beat til of frosting consistency (the meringue will drop and look curdled first) and then add vanilla.


Voting starts Nov. 30 at
http://mkecupcakequeen.blogspot.com

Our November ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• LOLLIPOP WORKSHOP
  
• COOKIE SUNSHINE
• as well as a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
• CAKESPY
• a delicious apron complements of SWEET CUPPIN CAKES BAKERY AND CUPCAKERY SUPPLY

Don’t forget our corporate prize providers:
HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS
HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
JESSIE STEELE APRONS
the CUPCAKE COURIER
TASTE OF HOME books
Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Rice Pudding and Two-fer

I missed the rice pudding, and we'll be traveling for the Two-fer. So I'll be catching up with the Tuesdays with Dorie selections in Dec. Check out the other TWD bakers!

Nov 11: Kugelhopf

Kugelhopf's a new one for me. I don't think I've ever heard of kugelhopf before. It felt like the most involved recipe so far. Not that it was especially difficult, I'm just not used to allowing for the rising times. It was a very rich dough. Very moist, but it felt like it was missing something flavor wise. I used a silicone bundt pan. I'd only used it once before (unsuccessfully) so I was a little nervous. The dough rose to the top of the pan, and though it's not as pretty as that from a kugelhopf pan, it browned nicely, and I think it turned out ok. I think I'd like to try it with out the butter and sugar after the baking.

Thanks to Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl for this week's selection!

Nov 4: Rugelach

This is one of the recipes I probably would not have tried on my own. I've had rugelach before, but kind of like Dorie's experience, this was not the rugelach I'd had before. It was rich and tender. For all, I used apricot jam and I used raw sugar after the egg wash (you can see I didn't do the egg wash very evenly - oops!). I tried one half of the batch with 1/4 cup walnuts, and the second half with 1/4 cup pecans. The pecans were really good warm. I don't know that I'll be making these much, but they've definitely changed my opinion of rugelach!