I'm going to be making a small tiered cake for the bride and groom to cut, and cupcakes to serve to the guests. My bride friend has requested banana cake, hence the banana overload. I have my super duper, fail-safe, totally fantastic banana cake recipe ready to go, but I also sort of felt compelled to test out other ones. Just to make sure that the one I have is REALLY the one I want to use. And guess what? It is!
I'll be posting more about what I end up doing for wedding, but for now, let's get into this curry business.
I've made this recipe a bunch of times before, and each time it turns out a little different. This is my favorite incarnation though, so I'll try to be as accurate as possible in the instructions. The base of this cupcake is from Martha. Her recipe, of course, doesn't include any curry. But the recipe is a winner, no matter how they're spiced. Whisked by hand, they go together in a snap; no mixer required. Best of all, every time I make them, I get an entire batch of perfect cupcakes....tender, moist, and perfectly risen.
What I do to make them different is replace all of the traditional pumpkin spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) with a whole tablespoon of curry powder. Pumpkin and curry are a natural match, of course, showing up together in dishes from many cuisines. The cake stays sweet, and at first the curry isn't noticeable. But after you're past the first bite, it's obvious that this is no ordinary pumpkin cake. The curry perfumes the entire thing, and brings an exotic warmth that is a perfect fit for the familiar pumpkin cake.
When I've made these before, I've topped them with a dark chocolate ganache, which is very nice. (If you've never had chocolate and pumpkin together, I'd recommend that you remedy that situation. It's goooood.) But for these, I wanted peanut butter. Again, peanut and curry is a familiar combination, and many pumpkin curry dishes also have peanuts, so I knew everything would work together. I added a teaspoon of curry to the frosting, and I can't say that I would definitely do that again. It was delicious, seriously delicious, actually.....but the next day the curry flavor had gotten REALLY strong, almost to the point of being overpowering. Also, the peanut frosting was starting to get that yellowish curry color to it, which is great for chicken, not so great for a cupcake.
I topped these with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar, although what I really wanted were some chopped honey roasted peanuts. I ransacked the cupboards, sure that I had some, but came up empty handed. Oh well, you can use your imagination. OR, you could dig out that jar of curry that's going to waste and the can of pumpkin you bought last fall, and put them to (very) good use.
Pumpkin Curry Cupcakes
Adapted from Marthastewart.com
Makes 24
Preheat oven to 350º
In a medium bowl, whisk together:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp curry powder (I used Penzey's Maharajah Curry Powder)
In a large bowl, whisk together:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs
Add dry ingredients to wet, and whisk until smooth.
Whisk in:
15 ounces pumpkin puree
Divide batter evenly among prepared liners. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 - 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Peanut Butter Curry Frosting
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat until fluffy:
10 ounces cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
Gradually add, one cup at a time:
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Add, if desired:
1 tsp curry (I used Penzey's Sweet Curry Powder)
Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
Add and beat until thoroughly blended:
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (not natural-style)
No comments:
Post a Comment