Blueberry & Lemon Cupcakes

I never intended today to be another bake day.  My intention was to make blueberry curd, and I did do that.  When I finished I realised I had three egg whites sat in a bowl looking all forgotten and abandoned, so I needed to use them.

First, the blueberry curd.  I decided to try this because I found a curd recipe that looked simple but that didn't use the whole egg, and when I pop into the supermarket on my way home there are often plenty of reduced blueberries that are crying out to be taken home.  I also needed to keep myself busy at home while I waited for my car to be repaired :/

So the recipe I used is here, and yes I did make a couple of additions.  The first was a splash of lemon juice just to lift the flavour a little.  The second was a sprinkling of cinnamon.  An odd combination, you might think, but thanks to my wonderful new Flavour Thesaurus I was encouraged to try it.  The book assured me that it's a lovely little match, and it is!  The recipe suggests the curd will end up very firm, but mine is just what you'd expect from any decent jar you buy in the shops.

The result is a smooth, not at all eggy, rich blueberry curd that was simple to make and bloody delicious to eat.

For the egg whites I found an American recipe for 'white cakes', so-called I guess because they only use the whites of the eggs and are a much paler colour than a usual sponge.  This recipe uses cake flour, which I've never heard of before today let alone seen in the shops, but I found an suitable substitute courtesy of Nigella right here.

The cakes were expected to be more dense than a regular sponge, but in this recipe I like it.  Sometimes cake doesn't have to be all about the light and fluffy.  Sometimes it's okay to go a bit heavier.  The truth is, it has a lovely flavour and it's not all claggy in your mouth.  I really like it, and it's a fab way of using up the egg whites without making meringues (again)!

So there I had cupcakes and blueberry curd.  It was obvious I would put them together, but the cakes needed icing too.  Now, I'm not usually one for butter icing but it seemed perfect for these cakes.  So I made a standard butter icing but with less icing sugar to cut the sweetness a little, and I mixed in some of the leftover lemon curd from the St Clements cake last week, again cutting into the sweetness.

Blueberry & Lemon Cupcake

So the result is tangy, fruity mouthfuls of delight.  A completely unexpected end to the day, but one that I'm incredibly happy with; I deem this spontaneous experiment an absolute hit!

Now please excuse me while I go and bury my face in the cakes and make myself sick.

Chocolate Chili Cupcakes & Orange Curd

Today was never intended to be a bake-off day.  I only meant to make orange curd.  No, really.  But then I realised I had the ingredients in already to test a recipe a friend sent to me, and I couldn't help myself.

But first, Orange Curd.

The recipe I used is here, and although it's nice it's not quite to my taste.  It's just a bit too eggy for me.  I'm reserving proper judgment until after it's been cooled and stored, since the flavour should develop a bit more, but of course you know I didn't stick to the recipe.  I added:

• Two extra teaspoons of orange zest (before cooking)
• The zest of one lemon (just before putting into jars)

I wasn't going to add any lemon, but it just needed more zing.  I believe if you're going to make something that's meant to have a distinctive, strong flavour, you should just go for it.  It can always be tamed down, but it's more difficult to jazz it up.  I think so, anyway.

So here they are:

Orange Curd

I also sieved it right at the end because I was sure I'd seen a couple of little white bits in the mix (solid egg white).  I was right, there were a few but not many.  It also meant about half of the orange zest didn't make it into the jars, which was another good reason to add a bit of lemon.

You know I already have plans for one of these jars, and you know I'm not going to tell you what.  Stop looking at me like that!

Right, next up: Chocolate Chili Cupcakes

These are not disappointing in the slightest.  Oh no, no no.  I used a chocolate cake recipe that a friend sent me, and although it's a huge faff (seriously, I ran out of bowls!), it's absolutely delicious.  It uses real chocolate, separated eggs, and more steps than Whitby Abbey!

Chocolate Chili Cupcakes with cream cheese icing

The effort put into these cakes gives an incredibly light, moist sponge, but I think in future I'll reserve it for special occasions.  It's just so much work, and I'm used to the simplest all-in-one method that never fails.

The icing, rather than going for an ultra rich ganache, is cream cheese lightly sweetened with icing sugar.  I tried first with a mix of cream cheese, icing sugar and sweet chili dipping sauce, but it was just too zingy for the cake and overpowered it completely.  For a special occasion cake I think this icing would work well as a sandwich filling, with ganache to cover it, but for these I really do like them just the way they are.

But maybe it would work with a lime icing too... hmmm...

Oh, I just thought of a cruel little game.  Spike one cupcake with extra hot chili and play cake russian roulette!  I just know I'd be the one to end up with the extra chili  :/