Letter 'V'! We are getting very close to the end of the alphabet and these cupcakes from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans are a great way to celebrate prematurely. They are comprised of a simple yellow cake batter, covered with a layer of cheesecake and then some crumbly goodness on top--a party in your mouth. With all of their layers there are several steps involved in the cupcakes' baking process, but generally this is a pretty simple recipe to follow. The gold cupcake liners I used are part of my ever growing collection (I CAN'T stop buying them). They give the cakes a very festive look--a glass (or two) of champagne would be a great accompaniment!
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used cake flour because I had a bunch of it)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
Filling:
1 (8oz/250g) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbls fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbls unsalted butter, melted
1) Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 12 extra-large muffin tin cups with large paper cupcake liners. Spray the inside of each liner with nonstick cooking spray.
2) For the cupcake batter, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg and yolk and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream colour, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. Mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter is smooth. Set aside.
3) For the cheesecake filling, in a large bowl using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smoothly blended. Beat in the egg. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Set aside.
4) For the crumb topping, in a medium bowl using a large spoon stir the flour, brown sugar, and salt together. Add the melted butter and continue stirring until crumbs form.
5) Make the cupcakes. Spoon 3 generous tablespoons of the batter into each cupcake liner. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of cream cheese filling into the centre of each; the soft filling will spread slightly over the batter. Sprinkle a generous tablespoon of crumb topping over each.
6) Bake just until the edges brown lightly and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 25 minutes. The cupcakes will rise to the top of the paper liners. Cool the cupcakes for 20 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.
7) Carefully place the wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan. Protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack. Turn the cupcakes top side up to cool completely. If any crumbs fall off, replace them.
8) Dust the cooled cupcakes lightly with powdered sugar before serving. The cupcakes can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
These look yummy :)
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