Last week, my mom and I went
to a baking class at the Epicurean
Theatre called Cupcakes & Cocktails.
Chef Beth from Cloud 9 Confections hosted
– demonstrating how to bake three different types of boozy cupcakes. Plus, we enjoyed fancy cocktails prepared by
a bartender from Élevage.
The
theatre is pretty small – about 40 seats – so it’s perfect for cooking
demonstrations. There are big TVs
overhead as well (although it would’ve been helpful if those could have zoomed
in for more detail).
The
first flavor was a Mojito Cupcake with Rum Lime Buttercream – I’ll outline all
the recipes below if you want to try them out yourselves. While she demonstrated, we sipped on
blueberry mojitos (which were very sweet – almost too sweet for me). Throughout the class, she gave great tips –
like using an ice cream scooper to portion batter into cupcake liners to fill
each perfectly. I liked that she didn’t
seem snooty like some chefs – she was very down-to-earth.
The next
kind was a Hummingbird Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Roasted Pineapple
Flowers. This one was my favorite! It tasted like a mix of banana bread and
carrot cake. It was a bit heartier – you
could even just eat them as muffins if you didn’t frost them (although the
frosting was so good!) We drank a cocktail called Barrel of Peaches while she
made this flavor – which was a pretty strong drink, but I liked the flavor a
lot.
Finally,
she explained how to make a Red Wine Red Velvet Cupcake with Red Wine Cream
Cheese Frosting. Even though she is a
professional chef, she used boxed chocolate cake mix as the base for this
recipe. She said that if you’re short on
time, it’s easy to dress up a boxed mix by adding your own twist to it and
making your own fresh frosting. The
cocktail paired with this cupcake was a NY Sour – a layered drink with vodka,
red wine, and egg whites. It was a bit
bitter – but nice to sip on.
After
the demonstrations, we each got to decorate 6 cupcakes of our own to take
home! The cupcakes were already baked,
and the frosting was in pastry bags, so all we really did was ice them and put
garnishes, but it was fun to have an interactive portion of the class. Beth said she even does parties sometimes
themed like the Cupcake Wars TV show – which could be really fun!
If you
want to check out a class at the Epicurean Theatre, Beth is hosting another
class called Bakin’
with Bacon on June 23rd – which will feature Milk Chocolate
Toffee with Candied Spiced Bacon & Roasted Peanuts, along with French Toast
Cupcakes with Maple Frosting and Candied Spiced Bacon.
Here
are the recipes from the class we attended:
Cupcake
Ingredients (makes 12):
- ½ cup buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, you can
put a squirt of lemon juice or white vinegar in regular milk and let it
sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes)
- ½ cup mint leaves, bruised (when you smash the leaves,
it releases oils so you really get the mint aroma & flavor)
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ t baking powder
- ¼ t salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (if you use salted, omit the salt
above)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- Zest and juice of 1½ limes
- 2 T white rum
- ¼ t pure vanilla extract
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1½ cups unsalted butter (you can do half shortening if
you want the frosting to hold better)
- 4½ cups powdered sugar
- 1½ T lime juice
- 3 T white rum
To
Brush on the Cupcakes:
- 2 T white rum
- 2 springs fresh mint
Directions:
1. Combined the buttermilk and the ½ cup
mint leaves in a small saucepan over medium heat. Warm until just starting to steam (do not
simmer), then remove from the heat and cover.
Let steep 15 – 30 minutes. Once
finished, strain the milk into a bowl using a fine mesh sieve. The milk may appear curdled or clumpy, but
don’t worry, it will come back together.
Press any milk solids and mint leaves to extract all the liquid
possible. Give milk a quick stir to
smooth it out and set aside.
2. While mint is steeping in the
milk, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Line a standard muffin tin with liners and set aside (the metal liners
look nicer since the oils don’t seep through like the paper kind).
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together
the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. In an electric mixer on
medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and
fluffy (about 5 minutes).
5.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, mixing
thoroughly after each addition (crack the eggs into a bowl first so you make
sure you don’t get any shells in the batter).
6.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla
extract, and rum. Mix until combined
(the mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will
all come back together, power on!) Reduce
the mixture speed to low. Add the dry
ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two
batches. Mix only until just
incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.
7.
Divide the batter into muffin cups. Bake
for 20 – 25 minutes, or until just slightly golden and a skewer only shows moist
crumbs attached. Rotate once if
needed.
8.
While the cupcakes are baking, combine the rum and mint sprigs in a small
saucepan and warm over medium heat until rum is heated through (again, do not
let it simmer). Remove the pan from the
heat, cover, and let steep until ready for use.
9.
Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 – 10 minutes and then remove them to a cooling
rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes
with the mint-infused rum. Set the
cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.
10.
To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer
for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to
medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides
of the bowl until all is incorporated.
Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
11.
Add the lime juice and rum and mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and
fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit
too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency
is reached.
12.
Frost the cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with a lime wedge and a fresh sprig
of mint.
Hummingbird Cupcakes with Cream
Cheese Frosting and Roasted Pineapple Flowers (from
Cloud 9 Confections)
Cupcake
Ingredients (makes 18):
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 1 t ground cinnamon
- ½ t salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 t pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)
- 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 cup flaked coconut
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 t vanilla
- 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 1 whole pineapple (for garnishing)
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350
degrees. Line cupcake pan with liners;
set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk
together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer
fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, vanilla, and sugar until
combined, about 2 minutes. Add one egg
at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Meat at a medium speed until mixture is pale
yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together
banana, pineapple, nuts, and coconut.
Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in flour mixture.
4. Divide batter evenly among
liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake,
rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in
the center comes out clean, about 25 – 28 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool
completely.
5. For the frosting, beat the cream
cheese, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until
incorporated. Increase the speed to high
and beat until light and fluffy.
6. For the pineapple flowers, slide
off the top of the pineapple with a large knife. Cut off the ring lengthwise in strips. With a paring knife or measuring spoon, pop
out any of the little eyes or seeds that remain. Don’t worry about dinging the pineapple, the
indentations will give your flowers lacy edges.
7. Slice the pineapple very thinly –
the slices should be almost translucent.
Pat them dry with a paper towel.
Lay the slices on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake at 225 degrees F for about
30 minutes. Remove from oven and flip
the slices over, then pop back in the oven for another 30 minutes. You may have to do this several times –
timing will vary depending on the thickness of the slices.
9. Once the slices have shrunken and
almost completely dried out, transfer them to muffin tins so that the edges
curve upwards in the shape of a flower.
10. Once cupcakes have cooled, frost
the tops and decorate with dried pineapple flowers.
Cupcake
Ingredients (makes 18):
- 1 box chocolate cake mix
- 2 cups red wine (use slightly more than twice the red
wine that the mix says to add water…)
- Remaining ingredients the box calls for
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 t red wine reduction, more as needed
- 4 cups sifted powdered sugar
Directions:
1. Take the 2 cups of red wine and
bring to a boil until reduced by a little more than half. Allow to come back to room temperature.
2. Line standard muffin tins with
baking cups; set aside. Mix the cake
according to the box mix, but using the reduced wine instead of water. Reserve additional red wine for the
frosting.
3. Bake according to instructions on
the package and allow to cool completely.
4. For the frosting, beat the cream
cheese, butter, and wine in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until
incorporated.
5. If frosting is too thick, add
more wine in small increments. Increase
the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy.
6. Frost cupcakes. If desired, you can drizzle with some red
wine reduction mixed with sugar.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz blueberry vodka
- 1 oz blueberry syrup
- ¾ oz lime juice
- 4-6 mint leaves
- ¼ of a lime
Directions:
1. Muddle lime and mint, add vodka,
blueberry syrup, and lime juice, then shake.
Top with club soda.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Cruzan aged rum
- 1 oz peach puree
- ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
- ¼ oz Cointreau
Directions:
1. Add all to shaker with ice, shake,
then strain over fresh ice. Garnish with
an orange peel.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz vodka
- ½ oz simple syrup
- 1 oz egg white
- 1-2 oz red wine
Directions:
1. Add all ingredients but wine to
shaker, shake, then strain to glass over ice.
Slowly float wine over cocktail.
