This week's cupcake was devised as an accolade to my where about's this time last year, New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA)! I begin with a lesson in pop culture for those of you unfamiliar with the "Who Dat" adage. An English expression that originated in NOLA, "Who Dat" can be traced back over a century and is said to have been first referenced in poetry. The phrase became a common dialogue element between the performers and crowd at traveling minstrel shows and vaudeville acts in the region, and was taken up by jazz and big band performers in the 1920s and 30s. The phrase is currently considered a cornerstone chant for the famed New Orleans Saints NFL team: "Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gon beat dem Saints?". This week's treat brings about a few flavours that the fine culinary city is known for: a caramel pecan cupcake filled with a caramel bourbon cream and dusted with powdered/confectioners/icing sugar, served up with a pecan praline.
Toasted Pecans (this can be used for toasting any nut variety)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Bourbon
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a bowl combine sugar, bourbon and cinnamon. Stir in the pecans. Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with foil in a single layer, and bake for approximately 8 minutes or until lightly toasted.
Caramel Pecan Cupcake
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup caramel sauce (left from Sushi Cupcake recipe)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (homemade)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup Toasted Pecans (from above)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease pan(s). (I ran out of spray so this didn't happen this week).
In a large bowl combine butter and sugar until fluffy (~2 minutes). Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing in between. Mix in the caramel sauce. In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt and vanilla extract; set aside. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture in thirds alternating with the yogurt/vanilla mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients until combined. Fold in the toasted pecans. Pour into pan(s). The recipe yielded 12 regular and 6 mini sized cupcakes, baked for 18 and 10 minutes respectively.
Caramel Bourbon Filling
1 tbsp Bourbon
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup caramel sauce (left from Sushi Cupcake recipe)
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Transfer to a ziploc for easy pipping. Place in refrigerator to allow to harden slightly.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, carefully remove the tops and set them aside. Create a crater in the center of each cake (I did so using the large end of a frosting tip). Pour the Caramel Bourbon Filling into the center of each cake and top the edges in order to provide a little extra adhesive for the replaced tops.
To finish off the cakes, I created a stencil for my intended shape and, placing it over each cupcake, dusted powder/confectioner/icing sugar over each to achieve the desired effect. To complete the NOLA concept, I served each cupcake with pecan praline on the side:
Pecan Pralines
(modified from Joy of Cooking)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/3 stick butter
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
Combine the sugars, cream, butter, baking soda and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Maintaining medium heat, stop stirring and the mixture will begin to boil; add a candy thermometer in order to monitor the temperature of the mixture until it reached ~240 degree F or "soft ball" stage. Once this temperature has been reached, remove the mixture from the heat source and immediately stir in the vanilla and pecans. Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes, it will begin to thicken and become creamy. Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture onto parchment paper and allow the pralines to cool.
The Panel
This week's cupcake definitely brought about a variety of comments. Most positive comments were aimed at the Caramel Bourbon filling, which seemed to strongly express the bourbon flavour and paired well with the spice cake both in essence and as the creamy element of the treat since the frosting was (gratefully) lacking. The texture of the cupcake was mostly well received with a general admiration for the pecans, though one comment was made that there may have been a few too many in the batter. While it was served up as a side, the panel seemed split 50/50 on the pralines, those that could do without finding it a little too sweet, which is completely fathomable. The cake itself, however, was implied to be at a perfect level of sweetness; a couple reviewers commented that they weren't able to isolate the caramel flavour. The jury was unanimous in concluding that the presentation was creative, expressing adoration for the hand crafted stencil and uniqueness of the concept.
Sweet Tooth: "I loved the caramel bourbon cream in the middle of thecupcake. It was so creamy. I hope this is not an insult, but it reminded me of a Donkin Donuts Boston Cream donut."
Diana: "Freaking awesome! Favorite by far."
Sugar Princess: "The initial bite was a new experience...far from ordinary flavors."
My comments
To ensure that there were tops to remove and allow for a deeper filling well I poured a little more batter into the individual baking cups which in the end required a longer baking time, in turn causing a slight dryness of the cakes. Though, as they baked, they took on a nice caramel tone which I think accentuated the flavour profile. The caramel flavour definitely came through in the batter and I personally felt that it was still palatable in the final product. I didn't find the overall taste to be too sweet and felt that the flavour of the bourbon came through with this cream (finally).though I think it could have used a little more cream filling. I would consider a slightly thicker filling nearer to a frosting in the future, applying it similarly and ornamenting the pile of frosting with the cake topper to embellish the presentation. Speaking of which, and I knew this was going to happen, powdering the cakes the night before was a bad idea as the moisture from the cakes was absorbed by the sugar leaving more of a glazed fleur de lis in the morning, I had to re-powder of course. This addition of course was more for show as I don't find it really added to the overall flavour.
This week's cupcake definitely brought about a variety of comments. Most positive comments were aimed at the Caramel Bourbon filling, which seemed to strongly express the bourbon flavour and paired well with the spice cake both in essence and as the creamy element of the treat since the frosting was (gratefully) lacking. The texture of the cupcake was mostly well received with a general admiration for the pecans, though one comment was made that there may have been a few too many in the batter. While it was served up as a side, the panel seemed split 50/50 on the pralines, those that could do without finding it a little too sweet, which is completely fathomable. The cake itself, however, was implied to be at a perfect level of sweetness; a couple reviewers commented that they weren't able to isolate the caramel flavour. The jury was unanimous in concluding that the presentation was creative, expressing adoration for the hand crafted stencil and uniqueness of the concept.
Sweet Tooth: "I loved the caramel bourbon cream in the middle of thecupcake. It was so creamy. I hope this is not an insult, but it reminded me of a Donkin Donuts Boston Cream donut."
Diana: "Freaking awesome! Favorite by far."
Sugar Princess: "The initial bite was a new experience...far from ordinary flavors."
My comments
To ensure that there were tops to remove and allow for a deeper filling well I poured a little more batter into the individual baking cups which in the end required a longer baking time, in turn causing a slight dryness of the cakes. Though, as they baked, they took on a nice caramel tone which I think accentuated the flavour profile. The caramel flavour definitely came through in the batter and I personally felt that it was still palatable in the final product. I didn't find the overall taste to be too sweet and felt that the flavour of the bourbon came through with this cream (finally).though I think it could have used a little more cream filling. I would consider a slightly thicker filling nearer to a frosting in the future, applying it similarly and ornamenting the pile of frosting with the cake topper to embellish the presentation. Speaking of which, and I knew this was going to happen, powdering the cakes the night before was a bad idea as the moisture from the cakes was absorbed by the sugar leaving more of a glazed fleur de lis in the morning, I had to re-powder of course. This addition of course was more for show as I don't find it really added to the overall flavour.
Quick note, there will be no cupcake the week of October 3rd as I will be in Paris (France, not Ontario). But don't fret, Kizmet Cupcakes will resume it's weekly deliveries/postings post Columbus Day weekend.