chocolate buttermilk layer cake

chocolate buttermilk layer cake

12 Aug 2024

My next door neighbour, Minnie, recently celebrated a birthday. Now Minnie is the neighbour that doesn't like fruit, so I knew her birthday cake had to be a chocolate cake. As you know, I am not much of a chocolate cake fan, hence the large number of chocolate cakes I've made in an effort to find 'the one'. This time I made a version of Claire Saffitz's chocolate buttermilk cake, which I topped with my own chocolate cream cheese icing.

We've been experiencing a polar blast in Sydney recently, so I had all kinds of trouble making the icing in my unheated flat. The melted chocolate hardened whilst I was whipping the cream cheese; then the remelted chocolate hardened during the mixing process making a kind of chocolate chip version of the cream cheese icing, which though tasty, wasn't my goal. In the end I gave up and went with what I had and iced the cake with it's slightly lumpy icing.

The cake you see had been at room temperature for more than an hour, but it was still pretty firm when I sliced it. Look at those layers though!

Here's the recipe for you adapted from a Claire Saffitz recipe which makes a 3 tier 16cm layer cake. It will also make a 2 layer 17cm cake but it will take a little longer to cook and you won't need all the icing. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Chocolate Buttermilk Layer Cake 
Cake 
150g plain flour 
1 tsp baking powder 
Pinch sea salt flakes
1 tsp bicarb soda
85g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped 
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 60mls water
25g Dutch process cocoa powder 
80g buttermilk at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
85g unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
100g light brown sugar 
30g vegetable oil

1 egg and 1 yolk at room temperature

Icing
115g dark chocolate, broken into pieces 
30g Dutch cocoa powder, sifted
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150g pure icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g cream cheese, at room temperature

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease and flour three 16cm cake tins and line the bases with baking paper, smoothing to eliminate air bubbles. Set the pans aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and bicarb soda and set aside.

In a separate heatproof bowl, combine the chopped chocolate, coffee, and cocoa powder. Set the bowl over a medium saucepan filled with about 1 inch of simmering (not boiling) water and heat, whisking occasionally, until the chocolate is melted, and the mixture is completely smooth. You can also do this step in the microwave oven. Remove from the heat and whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and oil and beat on low speed until smooth. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat, scraping down the sides once or twice, until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the egg, followed by the yolk beating well after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Add about one-third of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the flour has almost disappeared. Add half of the cooled chocolate mixture, mixing just until incorporated, then add the remaining flour in 2 additions, alternating with the remaining chocolate mixture. When the last traces of flour disappear, stop the mixer and remove the bowl. Use a flexible spatula to scrape down the sides and fold the batter several times to make sure it's evenly mixed and no chocolate streaks remain.

Divide the batter among the three pans (if you have a scale, weigh out approximately 255g of batter per pan), smoothing the batter into an even layer. Transfer the pans to the oven, placing the tins onto the centre rack, staggering the pans so there is one at the front and 2 at the rear. Move the position of the tins every 10 minutes, moving the cake at the front to the back and the cake on the left side of the oven to the right to ensure an even bake. 

Bake until the cakes are risen and just starting to pull away from the sides, the top is firm to the touch, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the centres comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool completely in the pans. Use a small offset spatula or paring knife to cut around the sides of the pans to release the cakes, then invert the cakes onto a wire rack and peel off the parchment paper. Be patient here. If the layers are even the least bit warm, the butter in the icing will start to melt as you try to frost them, and the whole cake will slide around.
Level the layers, if necessary, to create a flat top for easier stacking and assembly. If the cakes have just a slight dome, you can leave them as is. While the cakes are cooling, make the chocolate cream cheese icing.

Icing
Place the chopped chocolate into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30-second bursts until melted. Set aside to cool before making the icing. 

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cocoa powder, butter, icing sugar, vanilla, cream cheese and a pinch of fine sea salt and beat on medium-low speed for 10 minutes until light and fluffy. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Pour in the cooled melted chocolate and stir to combine.

Place the first cake layer on a cake round, serving plate, or cake stand upside down (also cut-side down if you levelled the layers) and slide several strips of baking paper partially underneath and all around the cake to cover and protect the plate or stand during icing. 

Using a small offset spatula, spread ⅓ cup of the chocolate icing over the cake in an even layer all the way to the edges, then top with another upside-down cake layer and cover with another ⅓ cup of the icing. Place the third layer on top, upside down, and cover the top and sides of the entire cake in a very thin, even layer of icing. This is the "crumb coat," which is just a base layer of frosting, so don't worry if the cake shows through in several places. Refrigerate the cake until the icing has hardened, 10 to 15 minutes, then cover the top and sides with the remaining icing. (Originally I'd planned on making a naked cake, hence the generous top layer of icing, then I changed my mind. Next time I'd go with the naked version). Slide the paper strips out from underneath the cake before cutting into slices. 

Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving. I cut the cake with a thin bladed knife, which I placed in hot water, then wiped clean between each cut.

I took a few slices of cake next door and Minnie said it was the best chocolate cake ever. I took the leftovers into work and I'm pleased to report that in our superheated work environment, the cream cheese icing softened to a delicious consistency. The cake is super rich, so I'd recommend seving it in small slices.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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claire saffitz strawberry cornmeal layer cake

claire saffitz strawberry cornmeal layer cake

11 Aug 2024

I've had my eye on this Claire Saffitz Strawberry Cornmeal Layer Cake recipe ever since her first book, Dessert Person came out. I looked through my copy a few weeks ago and reminded myself how many recipes I'd bookmarked but hadn't yet made. As strawberries are in abundance, the time had finally come to make the cake so I assembled all the ingredients and set to work.

Claire's recipes are so well written I knew the cake would turn out, but a few people mentioned the cake wasn't very sweet so I added a little extra sugar to the batter. The batter also seemed a little thick so I added a little extra buttermilk to the mixture, about 2 tablespoons.

Here’s the recipe for you which makes a 17 cm layer cake, adapted from here. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Claire Saffitz Strawberry Cornmeal Layer Cake
Ingredients
40g yellow cornmeal/polenta 
125g room temperature buttermilk 
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g plain flour 
1½ tsp baking powder 
¼ tsp bicarb soda
pinch salt
100g caster sugar 
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
75g room temperature unsalted butter
1 large egg

Assembly
300g strawberries, hulled 
30g sugar 
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup (250mls) thickened cream 

Method
Grease and line the base of a 17 cm springform pan and set to one side. Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional.

Soak the cornmeal in the buttermilk for 20 minutes to allow it to soften, then mix in the vanilla extract. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and salt into a large bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the sugar and lemon rind and massage the rind into the sugar with your fingers, until the sugar is fragrant. Add the butter and mix on low speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix until fully incorporated. Add the flour in thirds followed by half the cornmeal mixture and mix to combine. Give it a final mix with a spatula before pouring into the prepared tin smoothing the top of the cake with an offset spatula.

Place the tin on the centre rack and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden and the cake tests cooked with a skewer. Place on a rack and cool completely.

While the cake is baking, prepare the filling. Reserve 5 large strawberries and trim until they’re of equal height and slice the rest. Place the sliced strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and set to one side to macerate. Gently whip the cream until it forms soft peaks, and it holds its shape.

Unmould the cake and slice horizontally into 2 even layers using a bread knife. Place one layer on a serving plate and using a pastry brush dab some of the strawberry syrup over the cake. Place the reserved whole strawberries around the cake and one in the centre to act as supports, then layer half the strawberries over the cake followed by half the cream. Gently place the reserved cake layer on top, then dollop with the remaining whipped cream followed by the strawberries. Drizzle the remaining syrup over the cake. To serve, cut with a serrated knife.

This cake is best assembled just before serving. The cornmeal cake can be baked the day before and stored in an airtight tin.

My neighbours loved the cake as did my workmates but I found the cornmeal flavour a bit too pronounced for my taste. I have a raspberry and cream filled Victoria Sponge on my to-do list which I suspect might be right up my alley.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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double apple crumble cake

double apple crumble cake

23 May 2024

I bought a copy of Claire Saffitz's recipe book, Dessert Person, in 2021 and I've been meaning to make the Double Apple Crumble Cake from the book ever since. The sticking point was the apple butter, which I've never seen in the shops. I came home from Brisbane to find some very manky apples in my fridge, tracked down a recipe for apple butter and made a small batch. With apple butter at hand I had no excuse any more and set to making the cake.

I changed things a little as is my wont. Claire suggests using unsweetened and unspiced apple butter in the cake batter but I'd already made my apple butter before reading the recipe so I went with what I had. 

I have a really nice crumble recipe so decided to use my recipe instead of Claire's. I also had half a green apple left over, so sliced it thinly and topped the cake with the slices, then glazed the slices with some warmed apricot jam. Please don't feel you have to do this; I just didn't want the apple to go to waste.

Here's the recipe for you, adapted from here, which makes a 17cm cake. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. If you'd like to make a larger cake, refer to the original recipe.

Small Double Apple Crumble Cake – adapted from Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz
Crumble
50g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
60g raw sugar
2 heaped tbsp rolled oats
pinch of cinnamon 

Cake
25g unsalted butter
400g Pink Lady or Granny smith apples, peeled, halved, cored, cut into 5mm slices
130g plain flour
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarb soda
¼ tsp salt
110g apple butter (from specialty stores or recipe below)
110g caster sugar
60g sour cream
30g vegetable oil
1 large egg 
1 tsp vanilla extract

Crumble
Make the crumble by rubbing the flour and butter together, and stirring in the sugar, oats and cinnamon to make large crumbs. Place in the fridge until needed.

Cake
In a medium frypan, heat butter over medium heat. When it starts to foam, add the apples and cook, tossing, until slices have begun to soften and turn slightly translucent, 10-15 minutes (it’s okay if some start to brown, which could happen when using drier, cold-storage apples). Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease base and sides of a 17-cm springform pan and line the base and sides with baking paper. Arrange an oven rack in the centre position.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarb soda, and salt to combine. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the apple butter, sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and pour in the apple butter mixture. Whisking from the centre of the bowl outward, incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet just until you have an evenly mixed batter. Using a large flexible spatula, fold the cooled apples into the batter, leaving any liquid behind in the pan and mixing thoroughly to distribute the apples evenly.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Sprinkle crumble evenly over the batter, breaking up any pieces larger than a marble. Bake until crumble is browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake slides easily through the apple slices and comes out clean, 1 hour 20 minutes - 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Cut around the cake with a knife, then remove the ring. Use a serrated knife to cut the cake into slices.

Apple butter, adapted from here.
750g mixed apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (reserve the cores)
½ cup apple juice 
1 tbs lemon juice
55g brown sugar
1 cinnamon quill, 1 star anise and 4 cloves placed in a small spice bag
pinch sea salt

Method
Place apple pieces and cores, apple juice and lemon juice in a large microwave safe bowl. Lightly cover and cook on high for 12-15 minutes or until apples begin to soften and fall apart. Remove from the microwave and discard cores. Blend softened apples in a food processor or use a stick blender and process until smooth. You should have about 2 cups of apple puree.

Place the puree plus brown sugar to taste, along with spices and salt  in a small saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Gently simmer, stirring regularly to avoid spattering, until apple butter is deep caramel in colour and thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon, about an hour. Remove the spice bag and transfer the apple butter to a jar or airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

As you'd expect from one of Claire's recipes it was absolutely delicious and just perfect for an autumn or winter dessert.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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browned butter pecan frangipane tart

browned butter pecan frangipane tart

20 Nov 2023

 

My household is a small one so a 23cm tart is way too big, even when I share it with my neighbours and workmates. I've long wanted a shallow 15.5cm tart tin as its exactly half the dimensions of a 23 cm tin. When I was in Paris I made a beeline to A. Simon and purchased a De Buyer perforated tart tin, which is impossible to find in Sydney. Since my return, I've been looking for a reason to use the tin, then suddenly realised that Thanksgiving is upon us. 

Thanksgiving isn't a thing in Australia but I used to write a food column for a US based blog so got into the habit of making pies and tarts for Thanksgiving. This tart was 100% inspired by Claire Saffitz's Thanksgiving menu which I found on the NYT Cooking youtube channel.

I love frangipane tarts so I used Claire's tart as inspiration but adapted my own recipe to come up with this browned butter pecan frangipane tart. I thought the filling might be a bit overwhelming if it was made entirely from pecans so I used half almond meal and half toasted pecan meal. I toasted the pecans for about 8 minutes in a 190°C, conventional oven, then ground them in my mini food processor.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 15.5 cm tart. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. If you'd like to make a 23cm tart, the quantity of pastry in the recipe is sufficient to make a 23cm shell. For the filling, use a whole egg, and double the rest of the filling ingredients. The bake time will stay the same.

Browned butter pecan frangipane tart – makes a 15.5 cm tart 

Pastry

60g cold unsalted butter

1 cup plain flour

pinch of salt

2 tbs cold water

Frangipane

65g unsalted butter

50g raw caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 egg yolk

50g almond or toasted pecan meal or a mixture of both

pinch salt

2 tsp flour

1½ tsp rum 

Topping

75g whole pecans

1 tbs maple syrup

flaky sea salt

To serve

cream

candied rosemary leaves (optional)

Pastry

You’ll only need about half of the pastry dough to make a 15.5 cm tart. The pastry freezes well so just wrap the remaining pastry in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. 

Combine the butter, flour and salt in a food processor and process a few times until the butter is coarsely chopped. Add sufficient water and process just until a dough starts to form around the blade. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate the pastry for an hour before rolling out thinly - 3mm thick - on a floured benchtop. Line a greased 15.5 cm flan tin with the pastry then return to the fridge for another 30 minutes while making the filling. Trim excess pastry.

Frangipane

Chop the butter and place in a microwave safe bowl. Cover and cook on high for about 4 minutes until the butter has browned and smells nutty. Set aside to cool. You can also do this step in a small saucepan on the stove. You will need 50g of the cooled brown butter for this recipe.

In a small bowl, mix together the still liquid browned butter, the sugar and vanilla. Add the egg yolk followed by the nut meal, salt, flour and rum. You should end up with a very soft paste. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm the mixture.

Tart

Preheat the oven to 190°C, conventional. Fill the pastry shell with the frangipane mixture stopping about ½ cm from the top, then level the surface with a knife. Arrange the pecans decoratively over the frangipane. Brush the maple syrup over the pecans then sprinkle with a few sea salt flakes. 

Bake the tart on the centre rack of the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes or until the frangipane filling has puffed and is golden brown. Remove from the oven, place on a rack and let the tart cool completely before serving. 

If you'd like your tart shiny, then glaze again with maple syrup just before serving. Serve with cream.

I decided to gild the lily a little and topped the tart with a sprig of candied rosemary left over from another project. Just a warning, this is not a very sweet dessert, in fact it's almost savoury, so you might want to increase the sugar in the filling to 75g.

The finished tart looks pretty impressive but it's easy to make. 

Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers and see you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen. 

Bye for now, 

 Jillian

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chocolate easter egg tart with a tim tam crust

chocolate easter egg tart with a tim tam crust

3 Apr 2023

Easter is just around the corner so I decided to make a no-bake chocolate easter egg tart. Last year I saw Elizabeth Hewson make a Hot Chocolate Tart on an episode of The Cook Up. The base was made from Tim Tams, my all-time favourite chocolate biscuit.

The Tim Tam crust was something I wanted to try and it seemed the perfect vehicle for a smooth chocolate ganache filling I spied on Claire Saffitz's YouTube channel. I made the tart, then topped it with unsweetened whipped cream, a few crumbled Easter eggs and a dusting of Tim Tam crumbs to make this Easter themed no-bake tart. I don't think I've ever made a no-bake tart before and I was a bit worried it would fall apart, but once chilled I could cut a neat slice.

Here's the recipe for you which makes a 4 cm deep 17cm tart. For all my recipes, I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C. 

Chocolate Easter Egg Tart with a Tim Tam crust - the tart can be made up to two days ahead. Keep, covered, in the fridge and decorate the tart with cream, biscuit crumbs and cocoa just before serving.

Base
1 x 200g packet Tim Tam biscuits
30 g unsalted butter, melted
Pinch sea salt flakes

Filling
150g finely chopped dark chocolate (64-70%)
Pinch sea salt flakes
250mls cold thickened cream, divided
50g melted unsalted butter

To serve
125mls thickened cream, softly whipped
2-3 small Easter eggs
Cocoa powder

Method
Grease and line a 17 cm flan tin with baking paper. Process the biscuits in a food processor until finely crushed. Reserve a tablespoon for decoration then transfer the remaining crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter and the salt flakes, then press the mixture over base and up sides of prepared the tin. Refrigerate while making filling.

Filling
In a large heatproof bowl, combine the chopped chocolate and a generous pinch of salt and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat 150mls of the cream over medium heat just until you see gentle bubbling around the sides. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside for 30 seconds to cool slightly, then pour it over the chocolate. Cut butter into 1 cm pieces and add to the bowl. Let the chocolate mixture sit undisturbed for about 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Whisk the ganache gently, starting in the centre of the bowl and working outward, until the mixture is completely smooth. Set the bowl aside while you whip the cream.

In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer, whip the remaining 100mls cream on low speed then gradually increase the speed to medium-high as it thickens, until you have medium peaks. Set the bowl aside.

Beat the ganache with the hand mixer (no need to wash after whipping the cream) on low speed and gradually increase the speed to medium-high until the ganache thickens and holds the marks of the whisk, about 4 minutes. Add the whipped cream and gently fold through the ganache until the mixture is streak-free. Spoon the whipped ganache into the tart shell then using an offset spatula, smooth the surface working it to the sides in an even layer. Set the tart aside uncovered at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, then refrigerate until serving time.

To serve, place the tart on a serving plate. Decorate the tart with dollops of cream and a few crumbled Easter eggs. Dust with sifted cocoa powder and the Tim Tam crumbs.

I took this into work and shared it with my chocolate mad workmates. It was declared an absolute hit with it's smooth creamy filling and intriguing salt flecked crust.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Wishing you all a Happy Easter.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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crystallised lemon bundt cake

crystallised lemon bundt cake

20 Feb 2023

I saw Claire Saffitz make a crystallised Meyer lemon bundt cake on her YouTube channel a few weeks ago. I decided to make a version using regular lemons because a bit like key limes, I've never seen Meyer lemons for sale in my fruit shop. In the end, although I made a crystallised lemon bundt cake, I didn't end up using Claire's recipe. Here's what happened.

The cake component didn't look terribly different from my go to lemon cake, so at the last minute I used Aran Goyoaga's lemon yoghurt and olive oil cake recipe for the base, because well, it's just perfect. I've made the cake at least 5 times now and it's never failed me. I also read a few comments complaining that the sugar crystals in Claire's recipe dissolved in the glaze, so instead I used a crunchy lemon glaze from a David Lebovitz recipe.

So, here's the recipe for my crystallised lemon bundt cake, inspired by a Claire Saffitz recipe. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Crystallised lemon bundt cake – adapted from an Aran Goyaga recipe
Cake
100g (⅔ cup) plain flour

2 tsp baking powder
pinch table salt
65g (⅔ cup) almond meal, any lumps broken up
135g caster sugar
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 eggs
100mls (80g) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
2 tsp vanilla extract
125mls (½ cup) whole-milk yoghurt

Glaze - adapted from a David Lebovitz recipe
40 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
30g granulated or raw sugar
75g (½) cup icing sugar
1 tsp olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Grease and flour a 5 cup bundt tin and place in the fridge until needed.

Sift the flour, the baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Stir through the almond meal and set to one side. In a large bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon zest until fragrant. Add the eggs to the bowl and stir to combine. Drizzle in the oil and the vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Add the flour in batches alternating with the yoghurt and stir until a smooth batter has formed.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt tin and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes. While the cake is cooling, make the glaze by whisking together the lemon juice, the granulated sugar, icing sugar and olive oil. Add more lemon juice if needed to make a pouring consistency.

Unmould the cake onto a wire rack set over a foil lined tray. Brush with the glaze; you can also brush on any glaze that drops into the pan beneath the cake. Let the cake cool completely before serving.

I used my favourite bundt tin because, touch wood, the cake always unmoulds perfectly.

I cut into the cake while it was still a little warm and despite that, the crumb was still perfect. 

I'm taking this cake into work for a farewell morning tea, so it hasn't been shared yet, but I have a feeling it will be an absolute winner. I'll let you know next week.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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coconut cupcakes with passionfruit cream cheese icing

coconut cupcakes with passionfruit cream cheese icing

31 Jul 2022

As you know I'm a Claire Saffitz fan and a subscriber to her Youtube channel. A few weeks ago she adapted her coconut layer cake recipe from Dessert Person into a cupcake recipe. I had everything in the cupboard that I needed so I whipped up a batch of coconut cupcakes. As passionfruit goes so well with coconut I decided to top the cupcakes with some passionfruit flavoured cream cheese icing. 

 

I decided to halve the original recipe and managed to make 10 cupcakes from the batter. If  you'd like to make 12 cupcakes you'll need to increase the batter recipe by 50% but you should have enough icing and coconut for 12 cupcakes.

 

Here's the recipe for you. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

 

Coconut Cupcakes with passionfruit cream cheese icing – adapted from Claire Saffitz Dessert Person. 

Ingredients
165g plain flour
15g cornflour
1½ tsp baking powder
pinch salt
114g unsalted butter, at room temperature
20g olive oil or virgin coconut oil, at room temperature
175g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, at room temperature
½ cup unsweetened full-fat coconut milk, well shaken

Icing
30g unsalted butter at room temperature
60g cream cheese, at room temperature
Pinch salt
150g sifted icing sugar
2 tsp passionfruit pulp

To finish
2 tbs toasted shredded coconut

Method
Preheat the oven to 180⁰C, conventional. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners then set to one side.

Sift the dry ingredients into a small bowl and set to one side. Combine the butter, oil, sugar and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed for 5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl in the thirds, alternating with the coconut milk until you have a nice smooth batter.

Spoon ¼ cup of the batter into one of the cupcake liners – you should be able to make 10 cupcakes. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown. Remove the tray to a wire cooling rack and allow to completely cool before decorating.

Passionfruit cream cheese icing
Combine the butter, cream cheese, salt and icing sugar in a small bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture for a few minutes until you form a light and fluffy icing. Using a spoon or spatula, gently stir in the passionfruit pulp, trying to maintain some of the whole pulp.

Top each cupcake with 1-2 tbs of the icing then sprinkle over some toasted coconut threads. Allow the icing to set before serving. Keep the decorated cupcakes in an airtight container and serve at room temperature.

I rarely make cupcakes but as these were so light, fluffy and delicious, I might have to change my ways.

See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian

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