It's day 2 at Kimi's Cupcake Creations (Just FYI, I KNOW I won't be writing a new post EVERY day) and I am still on that elusive hunt for a perfect vanilla cupcake recipe. I love my "starter mix", typically Duncan Hines, to which I add a box of instant vanilla pudding and sour cream (thank you my friend, Janie for YOUR perfect recipe), but I just have this desire to find one TFS (totally from scratch) that tastes just as yummy. So far, no such luck. I did finally find a sour cream recipe that seemed pretty popular (of course, my first taste-testers were 22 year old guys who would probably think shoe leather was pretty tasty. But I will say, one of those 22-year olds was my son, and his comment is one of my all-time favorites, "I want this flavor in my mouth ALL the time!"), so despite that particular accolade, I felt the desire to do additional testing. I started with this sour cream-vanilla cupcakes recipe from
http://www.epicurean.com/ and added some "tweaks" of my own. I must say, I am fairly happy with the results - both in looks and taste. There was a little bit of sinkage in the middle, but nothing drastic, and the taste is very flavorful. Here is a picture of 10 of them. (Unfortunately, I only got 11 out of this particular batch and I ate one already.) If you happen to detect a shine on top, that's the pineapple rum/syrup mix that I added as a glaze. These will be finished off with a filling made with pineapple sundae topping and pineapple rum and then frosted with a pineapple rum butter cream. The pineapple rum is a glorious gift from my mom and dad upon their recent return from a 20-day cruise to the Caribbean (a happy 75th birthday present from daddy to mom)!
Here is what they look like without filling or frosting - a little browner than maybe a typical vanilla cupcake, but I'm sure that's due to the 1/4 cup of brown sugar I used in place of 1/4 cup of the granulated.
And with the pineapple rum topping filling:
Frosted with the pineapple rum butter cream:
And garnished with a cherry on top! (I only had 6.) I would garnish with a fresh pineapple tidbit as well if I had them and if these were going to "real" people. I will probably take a few to share with my hair cut lady this afternoon. She's a real person; these are just "practice" cupcakes!
The original recipe can be found on above-named website. Here is what I did to tweak it:
Pineapple Rum Island Cupcake
2 large eggs
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/2 c. sour cream
Glaze
2 T pineapple rum
2T corn syrup
Stir together and brush on warm cupcake.
Filling
1/2 c. pineapple sundae topping
3T pineapple rum
Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 c. shortening
3-4 T pineapple rum
1 box powdered sugar
Beat butter and shortening until fluffy. Add pineapple rum and blend. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency. Pipe or spread frosting on cupcakes.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 12 standard cupcake cups with paper liners.
In large mixing bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugars for about 2 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the oil and vanilla and mix for about 1 minute or until well blended. Beat in flour on low until blended. Add sour cream and beat until smooth and well blended.
Fill each cup approximately 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes - until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer cupcakes to rack to finish cooling.
Brush on glaze while still somewhat warm.
Core cupcakes (I use an apple corer - works fabulously!) and fill with pineapple filling. I put mine in a small freezer baggie, cut one corner and pour into the cupcake hole.
Frost with pineapple rum frosting and garnish!
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