Manhattan Cinderella - Cupcake Recipes

Those look so goooooood. I love baking so I'm definitely going to give them a try sometime.

Yum!  You're too good to us!  I can't wait to try some of these.  I love chocolate ganache!

If you're interested, I've got a really great recipe for orange cake that could easily be made into cupcakes, as well as a killer chocolate cake/cupcake recipe. 

In the meantime, here's a quick and easy recipe for individual cheesecakes:

1 - stick margarine
3 - 3 oz. pkgs of cream cheese
1/2 - cup sugar
2 - eggs, beaten
1 - teaspoon vanilla
1- cup sour cream
5 - tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cream margarine and cream cheese together until well blended.  Add 1/2 cup sugar and eggs.  Do not overbeat.  Pour into a muffin or cupcake pan lined with paper cups.  Bake 20 minutes at 350 F.  Remove from the oven; let stand 15 minutes.  Mix sour cream and 5 Tbsp. sugar and vanilla.  Spoon on top of each cheesecake.  Bake 4-5 minutes longer.  Chill.  Make a day ahead and, before serving, top with fruit (such as sliced fresh strawberries or blueberries or sliced kiwi) or a canned fruit pie filling (like cherry or strawberry). 

These recipes are a bit time-consuming and tedious but soooo worth it! 

Anna's Swedish Butter Cake (Orange variation) slightly modified from Susan Purdy's A Piece of Cake
 
2 cups (8.5 oz. or 240 g) + 2 TBSP sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup lightly salted butter (not margarine) [2 sticks, 230 g], at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (10.5 oz., 300 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (or substitute good quality commercial orange juice, like Tropicana with pulp)
1 tsp pure orange extract
Grated zest of 1 1/2 oranges
 
Preheat oven to 350F.  Spread solid shortening on bottom and sides of pan(s) [1 9" tube pan w 6 1/2 cup capacity or two 9" round pans or one 8" square pan 2" deep] and dust evenly with flour.  Tap out excess flour.  [To modify for cupcakes, use cupcake papers and no greasing or flouring needed.]
 
Sift together flour baking powder, and salt onto a piece of waxed paper.  Set aside.
 
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and well blended.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
 
Alternately add the dry ingredients and orange juice, beating after each addition, beginning and ending with dry.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Stir in orange zest and pure orange extract.
 
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan(s) and smooth it slightly toward the outer edges of the pan.  Bake 55-60 minutes if using the tube pan, 30-35 minutes for round layers or square pan or until the cake top is golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Don't underbake.  [Not sure how long to bake for cupcakes.  I'd guess to start with 15 minutes and check periodically after that.]
 
Cool the cake in pan(s) on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.  Run a spatula or knife around the sides of cake and turn it out onto a rack or plate.  [Or remove cupcake papers from the tin and let cool completely before frosting.]  When completely cool, sift on confectioner's sugar or frost with the optional frosting.
 
Orange Buttercream Frosting  (based on a recipe from The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum)
 
6 large egg yolks
1 cup (7 oz. weight, 200 g) sugar
1/2 cup (4 oz. weight, 118 g) water
2 cups (1 lb., 454 g) unsalted butter (must be softened)
2-4 TBSP (1-2 oz. weight, 28-56 g) Grand Marnier liqueur
1 TBSP grated orange zest
 
Have a greased 1 cup heatproof glass measure near the stove.
 
In a bowl, beat the yolks with an electric mixer until light in color.  Meanwhile, combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan (preferably one with a non-stick lining if available) and heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup is boiling.  Stop stirring and boil to the soft-ball stage (238 degrees F).  Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking.
 
If using an electric hand mixer, beat the syrup into the yolks in a steady stream.  Don't allow the syrup to fall on the beaters, or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl.  If using a stand mixer, pour a small amount of the syrup over the yolks with the mixer turned off.  Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds.  Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup.  Beat at high speed for 5 seconds.  Continue with the remaining syrup.  For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure.  Continue beating until completely cool. 
 
Gradually, beat in the butter and the Grand Marnier.  If it appears to be curdling or getting grainy at any point, don't give up.  Keep beating the butter in, and it will gradually return to the proper consistency.  Stir in the orange zest by hand.  Place in an airtight bowl.  Bring to room temperature before using.  Rebeat if necessary to restore texture.  Do not rebeat chilled buttercream until it has reached room temperature throughout, or it may curdle.  [This is kind of a pain in the neck to make but is so very good!]

I've done a couple of wedding cakes, and this recipe is a favorite.  Chocolate cake recipe will follow.

1/2 cup + 3 TBSP cocoa (Dutch-processed preferred)
1 cup boiling water
3 large eggs
2 1/4 tsp vanilla (good quality bourbon vanilla preferred)
2 1/4 cups + 2 TBSP sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup softened (but not melted), unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the cocoa and the boiling water together until smooth.  Let cool to room temperature.
2. In another bowl, lightly mix together the eggs, 1/4 of the cocoa mixture, and the vanilla.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients and stir together (or mix on low for 30 secs.) to blend.  Add the butter and remaining cocoa mixture.  Mix on low speed just until everything is moistened.  Increase to medium speed (high speed if using a hand mixer) and beat for 1 1/2 minutes.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.
4. Gradually add the egg mixture in 3 parts, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.
5. Pour the batter into prepared cake pans or cupcake tins lined with paper.  If using 9" cake pans, fill them about half full and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.  (Obviously, bake for a shorter time for cupcakes.  Watch for tops of cupcakes to spring back when touched lightly.)
6. Ice with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (see below) or just a dusting of powdered sugar.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

3 1/3  3-ounce bars (total of 10 ounces) of bittersweet chocolate
2 cups (1 lb.) of softened (but not melted), unsalted butter
4 large egg whites (about 1/2 liquid cup -- whites only)
1 cup sugar

1. Break the chocolate up into squares and heat over a double boiler until the chocolate begins to melt, or place the squares in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds.  Stir and heat in 20 second increments, stirring after each, just until the chocolate begins to melt. 
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage (soft peaks form when the beaters are raised).  Gradually beat in the sugar until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly.
4. Beat in the butter one tablespoon at a time.  If the mixture appears to be curdling, increase the speed a little and beat until it is smooth before adding more butter. 
5. Add the melted and cooled chocolate all at once and beat it in thoroughly.

May be stored in an airtight bowl in the refrigerator.  If using it out of the refrigerator, let it come completely to room temperature before attempting to beat it to prevent curdling and "weeping".