The topic of "gack" foods came up recently. I don't really have a strong aversion to any particular foods, nothing that I feel strongly enough to label as a "gack" food. Not to say I love everything, that's hardly the case. I have a huge list of condiments I would never willingly seek out. Mayo is at the top of the list. I was raised to be polite, so I navigate around a lot of foods and its manageable most days, we have choices. And given the choice I'm very much a purist, preferring my salads and sandwiches naked. Bagels too. However, I collect condiments like an 8 year old boy collects baseball cards. Have a hot-dog at my house, I've got 14 mustards to offer. I'll take mine plain, thank you. And a salad, yep, I've got 20+ bottles of dressing. Again, I prefer plain or something simple and homemade. And don't get me started on ice cream toppings. My refrigerator runneth over.
What's this got to do with this week's cupcake? A friend gave me a jar of Orange Ginger Marmalade from her vacation to St. Thomas. It seemed rather exotic for everyday use so I tucked it away on the pantry shelf. Actually, I don't have much history with marmalade. Sure I've used it to top Thumbprint cookies at Christmas and in an occasional marinade. Day to day, given a choice between orange marmalade and strawberry preserves, I'd go strawberry. Toast and PBJ for me, are friends with the strawberry (truth be told, I prefer my toast with butter and my PBJ, sans the "J" but twist my arm and I go strawberry every time.)
The Orange Ginger Marmalade flavor combo intrigued me so I worked it into this week's cupcake. I wanted the Marmalade to be the star, after all it had traveled all away from St. Thomas. I went for a triple play, mixing it into the batter, brushing melted marmalade on the tops of baked cupcakes and adding it to the buttercream frosting for the finishing touch. These cupcakes are not for anyone undecided about orange flavor. Very orange-y, moist with a hint a of ginger, a little zing, almost as an after thought. And they become even tastier on day two.
To the standard yellow cupcake recipe, add 1/3 cup marmalade to the batter. Melt 2 T marmalade on the stove top and brush on cupcakes after they've cooled about 10 minutes. And add 3 T marmalade into your favorite buttercream. I also added the zest of a lemon to give the buttercream a little more flavor.
What's this got to do with this week's cupcake? A friend gave me a jar of Orange Ginger Marmalade from her vacation to St. Thomas. It seemed rather exotic for everyday use so I tucked it away on the pantry shelf. Actually, I don't have much history with marmalade. Sure I've used it to top Thumbprint cookies at Christmas and in an occasional marinade. Day to day, given a choice between orange marmalade and strawberry preserves, I'd go strawberry. Toast and PBJ for me, are friends with the strawberry (truth be told, I prefer my toast with butter and my PBJ, sans the "J" but twist my arm and I go strawberry every time.)
The Orange Ginger Marmalade flavor combo intrigued me so I worked it into this week's cupcake. I wanted the Marmalade to be the star, after all it had traveled all away from St. Thomas. I went for a triple play, mixing it into the batter, brushing melted marmalade on the tops of baked cupcakes and adding it to the buttercream frosting for the finishing touch. These cupcakes are not for anyone undecided about orange flavor. Very orange-y, moist with a hint a of ginger, a little zing, almost as an after thought. And they become even tastier on day two.
To the standard yellow cupcake recipe, add 1/3 cup marmalade to the batter. Melt 2 T marmalade on the stove top and brush on cupcakes after they've cooled about 10 minutes. And add 3 T marmalade into your favorite buttercream. I also added the zest of a lemon to give the buttercream a little more flavor.
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