Cupcake Round-up

This was a request by Chockylit of the Cupcake Bakeshop and Garrett of Vanilla Garlic and the minute I got to know about it I started thinking of local fruits which I could experiment with. Settled with two: a pineapple and a chempedak. The pineapple cupcake needs a bit of fine tuning (so that's still in the oven at the moment) but my chempedak cupcake turned out absolutely delicious! And the aroma...I can't even begin to describe it...but anyone who is a fan of 'chempedak goreng' (deep fried chempedak) can probably imagine the sweet and heady aroma. For those not familiar with the fruit, chempedak (A.Polyphema) is native to Malaysia and is almost everyone's favourite fruit. Used to be seasonal like its cousin, the jackfruit, but nowadays, it's not uncommon to find it available all year round. It's smaller than the jackfruit but the flesh is of a deeper yellow, more aromatic and sweeter. The only thing I hate about it is the sticky sap that clings to your hands and knife when you attempt to cut it open. Although it can quite easily be removed with the help of ordinary cooking oil, it's still a messy procedure.



The cupcake recipe is adapted from a Durian Cake recipe by Rohani Jelani (Malaysian Cakes and Desserts by Rohani Jelani) with a few modifications. I've added chempedak flesh (instead of durian) and substituted the evaporated milk with fresh full cream milk. Plus, I've added some vanilla essence which makes the cupcakes smell even dreamier. So, here's my Chempedak Cupcakes with Tangy Cream Cheese Frosting and Mango Puree Drizzle.



Chempedak Cupcakes (makes about 12-15 standard cupcakes)

Ingredients:
150g butter
150g caster sugar
3 medium sized eggs
150g chempedak flesh, pureed
1 tbsp fresh milk
150g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and creamy.
2. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
3. Add the chempedak puree and vanilla essence and beat until everything is well incorporated.
4. Using a rubber spatula, fold in half of the flour followed by the milk and then, the remaining flour.
5. Spoon the mixture into paper cups (about 2/3 full) and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or until golden brown and the tester comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
57g butter, softened
225g (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
230g icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:
1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.
3. Add the lemon juice and beat until light and fluffy.

Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese and lastly drizzle them with some sweetened mango puree.



Enjoy!