The b2/m2 project has been unofficially running a little while, but I'm all about rules, so I'm starting fresh, each recipe documented /geek moment.
For American books, cups kind of bother me, I'm quite unhelpfully ocd about being exact with measuring. For the sake of my sanity I use the conversion charts from Waitrose which are very good and also printable! excellent...
Now, on with the baking. This recipe is from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, a book I really hesitated to buy as I've had mixed successes with her magazine recipes. However, the pictures were gorgeous and the layout nice, so yeah, it joined the herd.
I made these cakes for no good reason, except that the sunny weather we've been enjoying had rather clouded and it was a chilly'ish afternoon. They are gorgeous, I love anything with brown butter, it's like nuts, vanilla and love rolled into one. I was really unsure about the sage, but next time I'd use more than I did, it's a really great flavour.
Pumpkin brown butter cupcakes
From Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, Makes 15
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature.
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for tins
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, cut into chiffonade (optional) not optional! use plenty!!
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
Brown Butter Icing (Recipe follows)
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Brush standard muffin tins with butter; dust with flour, tapping out excess. For all recipes that involve turning out a cake I use cake release, Lakeland plastics stock it... it ensures cake happiness
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the sage, if desired, and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown. Skim foam from top, and remove from heat. Pour into a bowl to stop the cooking, leaving any burned sediment behind; let cool.
Actually, browning the butter is not at all tricky, so don't be put off. I neither skim or strain my brown butter, as long as you watch it and take it off the heat before the solids burn then they add great flavour to baked goods.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, both sugars, eggs, and brown-butter mixture. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
3. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Again the ocd comes to the fore, I weigh my mix and the sit my cupcake tin on the scales, each cupcake is equal in size and bake more evenly.
Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
4. To finish, dip top of each cupcake in icing, then turn over quickly and let set. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are glazed, keep at room temperature until ready to serve.
Brown Butter Icing Makes 1 cup
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk, plus more if needed
1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally, until nut-brown in color, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and pour butter into bowl, leaving behind any burned sediment. Again, I didnt strain it, looking at the picture in the book I'm thinking they didn't either! the little brown flecks are butter solids.
2. Add confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk to brown butter, stir until smooth. If necessary, add more milk (up to 2 tablespoons) a little at a time, just until icing is spreadable. Use immediately.
To ice these cupcakes I poured the icing into a pudding bowl and just gently dipped each cake into the glaze. Leave to set on a rack.
