Last week my friend Cherrie and I attended a cooking class – yes, yet another cooking class. We’re seriously Phillis Carey fans. And it’s the rare recipe that we don’t just l-o-v-e. And this class was no exception. I’ll be sharing some of the recipes in coming days or weeks. I’m going to make every single recipe, and will wait until I do to post the recipes.
The dessert – these cupcakes – though, needed just a little bit of help. Cherrie and I both liked the flavors very much, but the cupcake was dry. Too dry. Now, I suppose, the kitchen staff may have over baked them. We saw a few set aside that had some fairly major cracks in the top. So perhaps they were. Or, they were baked at a higher temp than they should have. But knowing that a cake texture can be improved, I set about trying to fix the recipe.
First I went to Ratio, the book by Michael Ruhlman, that synthesizes almost all baking things to a simple ratio and preparation or cooking method. This was my first opportunity to put some of the tenets in this book to use. These are the rules that every trained chef knows by heart. They can recite them at a moment’s notice.
POUND CAKE:
1 part butter + 1 part sugar: 1 part egg: 1 part flour
So here’s your cooking lesson for today. We’ll talk about the difference between a pound cake and a sponge cake. In this instance I adapted Phillis’ recipe to make it more sponge-like than pound cake-like. It wasn’t hard.
Note that there are plus signs ( +) and colons ( : ) . That means that you combine 1 part butter with 1 part sugar and mix. Then you add 1 part egg and mix. Then add 1 part flour and mix. That a pound cake makes.
SPONGE CAKE:
1 part egg: 1 part sugar : 1 part flour : 1 part butter
Here you’ll see the MEASUREMENTS are the same – identical – but the method of mixing them is different. You start with egg, then add sugar, then flour, then butter. And that a sponge cake makes.
In the instructions in Ruhlman’s book he suggests that to get a more spongy, lighter or taller cake, add more eggs, more baking powder, and/or cake flour. So, that’s exactly what I did. And I changed the mixing method as well to the sponge cake type.
So just a little bit more info about the cupcakes themselves. Great Fall flavors – with ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Some molasses too and dark brown sugar. Then the batter is tempered with sour cream (which becomes a liquid in the chemistry of baking). The cream cheese icing is very straightforward, but has the addition of lemon zest and lemon juice. So even though the frosting is sweet, it has a lemony tang to it. Delicious. Our older grandkids would love these if they were around to try them.
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Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe: Adapted a little from a cooking class with Phillis Carey
Servings: 12
NOTES : You can also bake this in a 9×9 pan (greased). It will likely take longer to bake, but check with a toothpick in the center to make sure it’s fully baked through. Be sure to have all ingredients ready to mix – the longer it takes from bowl to oven, the less light texture you’ll get, as the eggs start to deflate.
CUPCAKES:
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons molasses
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 3/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup unsalted butter — melted
1 cup sour cream
FROSTING:
8 ounces cream cheese — softened 2 hours
6 tablespoons unsalted butter — softened
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and spray with nonstick spray. Get all the ingredients ready before you begin the cake batter.
2. In a mixing bowl add the eggs. Beat the eggs for several minutes until they have nearly tripled in quantity.
3. In another bowl combine the cake flour and all the other spices. Stir with a fork or whisk to blend them.
4. In another bowl combine the sour cream, brown sugar and molasses and stir to combine so there are no streaks of dark or light.
5. To the eggs add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, mix gently, then add half of the sour cream mixture. Follow with another third flour, remaining sour cream mix, ending with flour. Mix until there are no streaks, then pour in the melted butter. Continue to mix just long enough to blend them well.
6. Using a scoop or measuring cup, pour batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling almost to the top of the papers.
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes, JUST until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
8. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 minutes, then remove to a rack (do not let them sit as they’ll steam and cook some more). Allow cupcakes to cool completely.
9. FROSTING: In a mixer on medium speed beat the cream cheese, butter and lemon zest. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until it’s a creamy consistency. Frost cupcakes and allow to set for an hour or so. You may a also put them in the refrigerator for an hour to “set” the frosting.
Per Serving: 435 Calories; 22g Fat (45.0% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 55g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 126mg Cholesterol; 264mg Sodium.
A year ago: Salishan Lodge (a resort hotel in Oregon)
Two years ago: Tuscan Chicken Soup (not a chicken soup, but beef, and yes, that’s what it’s called)
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