Crème Fraîche Cupcakes- Part Quinze

More cupcakes. Who would have guessed?

This week I have a bit of a confession. I'm not a food scientist. "What?" I hear you say. It's true. Having gone through seven years of art school (culminating in my MFA) didn't exactly prepare me to be a chocolatier. Don't get me wrong... Eclipse, especially in it's unique culinary POV, is very much the result of this unconventional upbringing.

But, honestly, I don't even like to consider myself a professional baker. It's a little too technical for me. I have friends who are MUCH more suited for formalized baking than I (Ben, I'm looking at you). I'm more a "fly by the seat of his pants chocolatier". In my opinion, the Crème Fraîche Cupcakes didn't come into their own until I conceptualized them as chocolates instead of cakes.

So the cake has, and continues to be, a simple vehicle with which to stuff a yummy filling, some rich chocolate ganache, and some interesting toppings into a little edible package. But that doesn't mean I should just take the cake for granted, right? Well my chocolate cupcakes have been great, but the white and yellow ones have been a bit dense (here comes the confession). Embarrassingly, I didn't know how best to solve this until I realized that the formula I settled on used both baking powder and baking soda in the chocolate cake, but only baking powder in the white/yellow. I just figured it was the alkalinity of the cacao that made the difference in one, but not the other. After all, I'm not a food scientist!

Well on a whim, Monday I added that baking soda to the yellow cake formula and... Voila! light and airy cake in yellow form... just like the chocolate ones. I am, officially, an idiot. I should have done this a month ago.

Crème Fraîche Cupcakes, now lighter and airier! Just don't throw them at me for not doing this sooner.

Both cupcakes this week are with Marzipan, a confectionery paste made from ground almonds and cooked sugar. You usually find it shaped into decorative fruits or animals. I finally made some from scratch this week (it's been on my personal agenda for some time), but mine is thinner than normal from the addition of Disarrono, an almond liqueur. And how can that be bad?

Another new pantry ingredient of mine is Chicory, a root that is baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive particularly in New Orleans. The first cupcake mentioned here has a subtle earthy flavor that is reminiscent of nut-flavored coffees.

Enjoy!

Marzipan Chicory-Butter-crème fraîche cake+toasted marzipan filling+dark chocolate ganache glaze+chicory & crushed coffee bean.

Cherry Marzipan-White-crème fraîche cake+tart cherry filling+dark chocolate ganache glaze+toasted marzipan.
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