Blondie and I went to Williams Sonoma on Sunday to take my mom for coffee on her break and to look around for a wedding gift. And I might need some help on figuring out what exactly we should buy. I hate buying strictly from a registry. In fact, for close friends I skip the registry and just buy a nice gift. I like to think that I am good at gift-giving.
Anyways, we were wandering through the store and we walked by the pizza stones. I stopped, picked up a small one and told Blondie that I thought that I needed to get one.
He asked me what the point was.
I guess this shouldn’t suprise me. This is the same boy who said that all you really need is a 1/4 cup measuring cup. (I think this is because he has melted or snapped the handles off of the 99¢ set that he got when he moved into his first apartment).
I explained the science behind it to him, and a woman who was working right there said I sounded just like my mother.
Apparently, I am that age. You know, the age where you turn into your mother. You realize you say the same kind of things and you share hobbies and that for the first time in your life you aren’t fighting the inevitable.
I think it also was the first time in forever that I walked out of that store without a new pan or spice blend for my kitchen in ages. Or a gift. We ended up not buying the gift just yet.
Oh well.
I decided that I wanted vanilla cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting last night. And then I remembered that this month’s Ratio Rally is white or yellow cake. And if I baked those, I would have to wait a whole week to share them. And I couldn’t leave you hanging that long.
So last night, I invented these cupcakes. The method is similar to the way I made my gluten free chai cupcakes and results in the perfect cake texture.
I swear I have more imagination than this. But I really love strawberries and chocolate. Together.
| Strawberry Cupcakes with Ganache |
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- 110 grams (1 cup) tapioca starch
- 140 grams (1 cup) sweet white sorghum flour
- 80 grams (1/2 cup) brown rice flour
- 20 grams (3 tablespoons) flax meal
- pinch of salt
- 350 grams (1 3/4 cups) sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, very soft, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk (I used coconut milk)
- 1/4 cup strawberry jam
- 2 tablespoons strawberry liqueur
- pink food coloring (optional)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 75 grams (3/4 cup) cocoa
- 85 grams (3/4 cup) powdered sugar
- 1 stick soft butter
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
- 2 tablespoons strawberry liqueur
- 200 grams (1 3/4 cup) powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
- Combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the strawberry liqueur and jam to a small bowl with the milk and whisk together.
- With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. At this point you can add some pink food coloring if you want. Otherwise the cake will be just slightly pink.
- Using an ice cream scoop for even cupcakes, divide batter among liners, filling about two-thirds full.
- Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process with remaining batter.
- While cupcakes are cooling, make the ganache. Sift together the cocoa and the 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer, fit with the whisk attachment. Bring milk to a simmer and add it to the bowl of the mixer. Beat together until smooth. Scrape down the sides and beat until incorporated. Let cool to room temperature. Cube the butter & whisk it in. Add the strawberry liqueur and jam, mix until combined. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it has reached the desired consistency.
If you prefer more of a frosting, double everything in the ganache except for the 2nd powdered sugar. You will need to triple or quadruple it.This way you can top your cupcakes with a fluffy dome of frosting.