Ssshhhh.... Close your eyes. Now, think of the most decadent food you've ever eaten. Keep your eyes closed and remember what the food tasted like, feel it in your mouth, smell it, remember the entire experience. Now, throw that old, sad memory out the window. Because what I've got here is just incomparable!
Tonight I made almond fennel rosewater cupcakes filled with plum jam, topped with cardamom creme fraiche frosting; a slight adjustment from the recipe referenced in Fatty Friday Issue #3. Sounds decadent, doesn't it? It is - and so, so sexy. I'll try my best to describe it in the least pornographic way possible:
First bite: Yum! Sweet creme fraiche frosting blends well with cardamom - mm-spicy! But, wait! What's this? A nutty, citrusy, aromatic cake that's not too sugary and perfectly moist? I'm getting tingly...
Second bite: Umm, this frosting is crazy. And the cake...oh...my! The plum filling - ooh - is sweet with a satisfying texture. I need to sit down...
Third bite: Similar to the second bite, but this time I need to open a window because I'm sweating.
Fourth bite: Now I've got to close the window because I might sound inappropriate to my neighbors who, for some reason, know that I'm home alone tonight.
Seriously, the entire time I was eating this cupcake it sounded like an Herbal Essences commercial. If I've ever come across a "date dessert" - the kind you lure someone back to your apartment for as a seductive measure - this is it. This is the REAL DEAL! I practically seduced myself!
Wanna make these cupcakes yourself? You know you do, grrr!
Start with the "Great Yellow Cake" recipe from "The New Basics" (Rosso, Julee and Sheila Lukins, Workman Publishing, NY, 1989), p. 669. The following recipe is adapted from the book, along with influences from this recipe (also referenced below).
Ingredients:
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup veg. oil
1/3 c. milk
3 tbsp. rosewater (until you can smell it)
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup ground almonds and fennel seeds
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat sugar and eggs on high with electric mixer. Add oil, flour, salt, baking powder, almond/fennel mixture, rosewater, and vanilla (add more milk, oil or rosewater - depending on your taste - if batter gets too thick).
Pour into lined muffin tins and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Remove from heat after they are browned and let cool.
Stuff pastry bag with plum jam (or any jam of your choice. Maybe rose hip? That could be really sexy...). To fill cupcakes, poke the head of the pastry bag into the bottom of each cupcake and gently squeeze out the jam. Don't squeeze too hard or else the jam will burst through the top of the cupcake.
Once each cake is filled, prepare the frosting. Which I found in this recipe.
Ingredients:
one 8 oz tub of creme fraiche
about 1 tablespoon of ground cardamom
about 1/2 to 3/4 of a box of powdered sugar
Beat all ingredients with an electric mixer until the sugar is blended in and the frosting forms peaks. Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool, then generously spread the frosting on each one. Enjoy alone with a glass of milk or share with someone you like seeing naked.
i'm such a dessert slut. you had me at creme fraiche.
ReplyDeleteseriously, creme fraiche is out of control. But good job on the descpription. my mouth began to water when i was reading about your "bites"!
ReplyDeleteyou should make that a staple for every food you try!
thanks for the great recipe too!
You had me at Kathleen Turner.
ReplyDeletei think it'd be sexxxxxier if the rose hips did pop through the top. please say you have extras.
ReplyDeleteI do have extras! And I'll be making more with fig jam soon - a request from a buddy o' mine.
ReplyDelete