Saturday, December 13, 2008

Candy Cane Cupcakes

I feel like I've been making cookies all week, so I decided to take it easy today and make some cupcakes.


Here they are; candy cane cupcakes!
I'm not going to post the recipe because these were really simple. I took a vanilla cupcake recipe (makes 36 cupcakes) and crushed about a dozen candy canes and added it to the batter along with 1/2 tsp peppermint flavouring. I crushed the candy canes by putting them in a ziplock bag and hammering them with the bottom of a wine bottle for about three minutes before deciding that the food processor would be easier (which it was!).


The frosting is a plain, white buttercream with peppermint extract instead of vanilla. To get the red and green swirls, I 'striped' a disposable icing bag. Just use a small paint brush to paint a stripe of icing colours up the inside of the bag. I did one green stripe and one red stripe opposite the green. The only downside to using this method is that you have to use a new bag every time you need to refill. The last touch was to use cupcake cups with candy cane coloured stripes. They're made by Wilton.


Here's a picture of the inside of the cupcakes. The candy canes melted while the cupcake baked, leaving little flecks of colour and a mild minty flavor.


I think the trick with these is to make sure the mint is present but not overpowering. I think I managed a pretty good balance with a mildly minty cake and a stronger flavour (but not toothpaste strong!) in the frosting.

Yum!

4 comments:

Dominique said...

Those cupcakes looks yummy! Funny enough, I made candy cane cupcakes too. I didn't put crushed candy canes in the batter though. Instead I made a vanilla cupcake with peppermint extract and then filled it with a candy cane chocolate ganache and topped it off with a fluffy white frosting that had crushed candy canes mixed in. Then I topped it with more crushed candy canes.

Jacki said...

Hi Domifc!

This is truly my favorite thing about cooking!

We both had the same idea and interpreted it in two different ways and I think your version sounds absolutely delectable! When I was planning these cupcakes, I went through several options in my mind, some of which included chocolate, but it definitely never occured to me to use a chocolate candy cane ganache filling. I love it! I love that their are so many ways to do the same thing and that more than one way can turn out brilliant. Thank you for sharing!

Unknown said...

I was actually planning on making candy cane cupcakes for the boys in public sector...But I never got around to it. They look yummy!

Jacki said...

Hi Jennifer!

It's not too late to make them cupcakes :)

What kind of Christmas baking are you doing this year?