Dial C For Cupcake

Sometimes I wonder why I never named my blog after cupcakes, after all I'm crazy about them and lately they are all I've been making. I never make cupcakes for myself anymore, there’s no need to when I make enough for others. I’ve unwittingly become the cupcake request line, and this entire “dial-a-cupcake” affair started with these Happy Birthday Cupcakes I made earlier this year. The cupcake hotline escalated not long after that and a trillion cupcakes later here I am.

* * * * *

It was a friend’s son’s eighth birthday party and I made Billy’s Vanilla-Vanilla and Chockylit's Devil's Food Cupcakes for the kiddies to munch on. Mum requested there be no icing on the cakes as that she didn’t want sugar-crazed children going berserk in her house. But being the naughty Aunt that I was, I ignored this request and made icing anyway, but placed only kiddie-sized dollops on each cake. The cake-stack pictured below was taken before temptation got the better of me. However, eight broken plates later this did not matter, the cupcakes were a smashing hit! What's a party without some broken crockery anyway? In some cultures it wouldn't be a party without broken plates. However, I digress. Back to the cupcakes.

So after the vanilla-vanilla and choc cupcakes, there was the request for cinnamon cupcakes, and then there were the Short Black Cupcakes made to keep G awake during his long stints out in the cold. Just call me the Cupcake Santa.

The latest issue of Donna Hay Magazine contains a feature on Cupcake Couture, I adapted these Pear and Cinnamon Cupcakes from a recipe in it for Apple Pie Cupcakes. They turned out beautifully and I do hate to boast but, they really did. The cake is quite thick and moist and not overly sweet. Use Beurre Bosc or Peckham Pears as that they are in season right now and are ideal for baking. Also cinnamon is a great compliment for pears and for these cupcakes their union bode well . Here is the recipe.

Pear and Cinnamon Cupcakes
(makes 24 medium cupcakes)

250g unsalted butter, softened
1¼ cup golden caster sugar
4 eggs
3 Beurre Bosc pears, peeled, cored and grated
2 cups plain all-purpose flour
2¼ tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
¾ cup buttermilk

Caramelised Pears
25g butter
¼ cup golden caster sugar
1 Bosc pear, peeled, halved, cored, and thinly sliced

To make the caramelised pears, melt the butter and caster sugar in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the sliced pears and cook for 5-8 minutes until caramelised. Remove the apples from the pan and allow to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. Sift over flour, baking powder and cinnamon and beat until combined. Fold through the milk and then slowly fold through the grated pears. Spoon the mixture into a muffin tray lined with paper cases. Top with a slice or two of caramelised pears and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
Top with a dollop of whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon sugar.

waiting to be topped with caramelised pears...