Strawberry-Jam Tea Cakes

Here's what I've learned about the filled and layered section of Martha's cookbook. The cupcakes in it take some work. Granted, I'm only on the second cupcake of the section, but these first two have not been walks in the park. That said, I find them to be more fun because they are a bit of a challenge. I like these strawberry-jam tea cakes in particular because of the little surprise they have inside.

The actual cake part of these cupcakes was very similar to the cake in the boston cream pie cupcakes that I made last week. It may have been identical, but I didn't compare the recipes word for word, so I'm not sure. But, the batter was just as thick and difficult to work with as the last time, and folding in the egg whites made it much easier to work with. Again, just like last time. The only difference was this time, I layered the cupcake batter and filling before the cupcakes went into the oven instead of putting everything together afterward.

When the cupcake batter was done, I put 2 tablespoons of batter into each cupcake pan, then layered 1 tablespoon of strawberry preserves on top of that. The recipe said I could use jam or preserves, I chose preserves just as a personal preference. On top of the layer of preserves, I put 2 more tablespoons of batter. After all the layering was done my only concern was that the cupcakes were too full. They were filled right to the top. I followed the directions as they were written, but I think I could have used a little less batter. Or maybe, my tablespoons were just a little too big. The cupcakes turned out fine in the end, they were just a little larger than they probably should have been, and I only got 14 cupcakes instead of 16.

The other issue I came across was being able to create an indent in the first 2 tablespoons of batter to create a little spot for the preserves to go. The batter was so sticky that I had trouble getting the indentation to stay once I lifted the spoon out of it. The batter just stuck to the spoon. So, when I put the preserves into the layers of batter I pushed it down with the spoon to make the indentation as best as I could.

I baked the cupcakes for 30 total minutes, turning them halfway through the baking time. 30 minutes was enough, but some of the preserves oozed out of the cupcakes and was visible through the sides of some of the cupcakes when I removed them from the pan. The cupcakes came out easily (I had floured and buttered the pans beforehand). I removed them as soon as they came out of the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack. When the cupcakes were completely cooled I stored them overnight in a plastic container and made the citrus glaze the following day.

The citrus glaze is very easy to make. I've done it before, but last time I made it I used lime, this time the recipe called for oranges. I didn't have to add any extra confectioner's sugar or orange juice for consistency purposes. The amount the recipe called for was perfect. I spooned about a tablespoon of glaze over each of the cupcakes and then let the glaze set for 30 minutes.

I enjoyed the cupcakes, though they were a little thick, as in, it was a lot of cupcake. I think that's partly because I made them too big. Next time I would use less batter, maybe 1 1/2 tablespoons for each layer of batter instead of 2. I also think these cupcakes would be quite good warmed up in the microwave for a couple seconds. I may just have to try that for a not-so-healthy breakfast one day this week.

Blackberry-Cornmeal Cupcakes

Your computer isn't playing tricks on you... I'm back! October is knocking on the door and I couldn't let the entire month of September go by without posting something. I could endlessly apologize for my not-so-brief absence, but truthfully, I'm not sorry (but I do feel a little guilty). After all, I was getting married and honeymooning in Maui. There wasn't a lot of time for baking. But, we've been back for almost 2 weeks now and I can happily proclaim that baking has resumed. I picked up right where I left off in the cookbook. Blackberry-cornmeal cupcakes... you're up.

Since I'm just getting my baking groove back I was happy that this recipe was easy and straightforward.   Not including baking time, I think all the work was done in less than 20 minutes. There was also very little mess to clean up which is always nice, and just 2 ingredients I had to buy that I didn't already have on hand. I normally bake the cupcakes on the weekends after I've worked in the morning. When the recipes and ingredients needed for them are low maintenance it helps motivate me to want to make them. Although this week I did watch the early football games (go Bills) and take a little nap before I started baking. Getting up at 3am and working a full day is tiring.

The first thing I did to prepare the ingredients was rinse the blackberries. They tell me all fresh fruit should be washed before used/eaten. I also cut some in half to make them smaller since some of them were quite large. The recipe also says you need 12 oz. of blackberries, but I probably could have gotten away with just 6. I had about half leftover. But, I suppose that could have been because some of the blackberries were extra large.

Once I was done prepping the blackberries I started to combine the dry ingredients before I realized that I should have started to melt the butter so it could cool. I stopped with the dry ingredients and melted the butter. While the butter was melting and then cooling I combined the rest of the ingredients. I completed a couple of kitchen tasks, like washing my dishes from lunch, while I waited for the melted butter to cool. When I started to become impatient, and couldn't wait any longer, I whisked together the wet ingredients, and then combined both the wet and dry ingredients together.

I used my quarter-cup measuring cup to pour the batter into the cupcake liners because that's what Martha told me to do. The liners ended up being filled about three-quarters full. I filled 12 cupcake liners and had a very small amount of batter left over. Such a small amount that I didn't deem it enough to save and make a second batch. I baked the cupcakes for 25 total minutes with a turn halfway through the baking time. In my opinion they turned out perfectly, just the right size and they tasted good as well. I loved how the berries looked in the cupcakes. The pop of color was really pretty. All in all, the first recipe back was a complete success. I was even able to take them to work and get rid of them so I wouldn't eat them. I'm not shedding for the wedding anymore, but that doesn't mean I should be packing on the pounds to get ready for winter either.

Now that I'm back from my honeymoon and just another married lady with no more weddings to plan, I promise to do my best to keep up with my pre-wedding normal weekly posting pace. I may even throw one or two real-life posts in the mix. Don't you want to know how the wedding went, and whether or not my dog still stinks after getting sprayed by a skunk this weekend? I thought so.