Sunday, December 18, 2011

Spumoni Cupcakes and Mint Julep

One of my favorite ice cream flavor combinations is Spamoni: Pistachio, Chocolate, and Cherry ice cream!  I love it, so I thought why not try it in a cupcake? So I did, and it turned out wonderful.  I also wanted to serve it at a dinner party we did with friends as the dessert but I needed a fun non-alcholic holiday drink to go along with it, so I thought I would serve Mint Julep.  So here is the recipes.  This is perfect for a simple Christmas party or for the kids table on Christmas eve.

Mint Julep

Garnishes

Directions:

Combine the sugar and water in a 3 quart saucepan. Stir the contents until the sugar is dissolved.Stir in lime and lemonade concentrate next. 

 Continue stirring and bring to boil just below the boiling point (210 degrees.) DO NOT BOIL!

Remove pan from heat and chill. Once chilled, add a ratio of 1 part syrup to 5 parts chilled water.

Transfer beverage to pitcher and enjoy! 

Garnish each serving with mint leaves, lime slice and a maraschino cherry. 

Sorry, the yield is estimated


Spumoni Cupcakes

I started with Annies Eats basic chocolate cupcake recipe found HERE!



Chocolate Cupcakes
Printer-Friendly Version
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon hot water
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2 sticks plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and hot water and whisk until smooth.  In another medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to blend.
Combine the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan set over medium heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and the butter is completely melted.  Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is cool, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Blend in the vanilla and then the cocoa mixture until smooth.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing each addition just until incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Let cool in the pan about 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Pistachio Filling:
1 box Pistachio Jello Pudding1 C. Milk1 C. Cool Whip
Once the cupcakes were in the oven, I mixed one box of pistachio jello pudding with 1 cup of milk. I let it sit up in the fridge for one hour, then added one cup of cool whip to it and folded it in making a fluffy cream filling for the center of the cupcake, you can also do straight pudding if you dont want to add cool whip.  You can also whip fresh Heavy whipping cream and fold it in as well, this is the way I prefer to do it, but sometimes its easier to use cool whip. 
Once the cupcakes are cool and out of the oven, I poked a hole in the middle of the cupcake and filled the cupcakes with the pistachio pudding using a piping bag.
Cherry Frosting:
1 C. Unsalted Butter (room temperature)1 tsp. Cherry extract1 tsp. Marchino Cherry JuicePinch of Salt
4 C. Powder Sugar
3-4 Tbsp. of Heavy Whipping Cream. 

Put your butter in the mixing bowl and mix the two cubes together.  Add your cherry flavoring and salt and mix until it is well incorporated.  Add two cups of powder sugar and 2 tablespoons of whipping cream.  Mix until blended, add the rest of the ingredients and mix until all the sugar is blended in at a medium speed.  Then whip for 3-4 more minutes on a high speed making the frosting fluffy. Check the flavor to see if it needs more flavor, and then pipe on top of cupcakes. Add a fresh marchino cherry to top it off and enjoy!










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