Key Lime Cupcakes

Yummy-oh!

I've been in the mood for all things citrus-y and sour lately. Must be passed on from my hubby's current obsession with clementines! We've been eating them by the handfuls!

And so, I was thinking of making cupcakes that day when I chanced upon this key lime recipe from Bon Appetit. It looked pretty simple, and all I needed was to get myself some key limes - which i love! :D Whenever I have hokkien mee I must spray it with a good dose of lime juice before tucking in. Same with mee siam. But of course I don't use key limes for them. The ones I use in Singapore have yellow centers, as opposed to the ones shown below.

Each lime packs quite a punch!

By the way, this cupcake recipe calls for buttermilk, which I don't have. The good news is, buttermilk can be easily (oh so simply!) made at home using normal milk and white vinegar. All you have to do is put one tablespoon of vinegar in one cup of milk and let it sit for 10 minutes. You'll notice the change in texture and there you have it - buttermilk! Save yourself from running to the store and getting a huge packet - the bulk of it which won't be needed for this recipe!

Just a note, I didn't use the cream cheese frosting from Bon Appetit's recipe. Instead, I used normal butter cream frosting, and added the juice of one lime and some lime zest, to taste. Also, I followed the recipe pretty closely and felt that it was pretty sweet. I wished the cake was more sour so I topped mine off with a lime wedge for that added punch! :)

Key Lime Cupcakes (from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients for Cupcakes

1 cup all purpose flour 
3/4 cup self-rising flour 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 
1 1/4 cup sugar 
2 large eggs 
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel 
1/4 teaspoon neon-green food coloring 
3/4 cup buttermilk

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting  

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature 
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk both flours in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.

For the frosting, beat all the ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.

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Delicious Pear Tart

Delicious pear tart studded with cloves.

Thanksgiving is coming! Although we don't celebrate it in Singapore, it's fun to be part of the festivities here in America. Just yesterday, my hubby and I drove past this house that had a HUGE inflatable cartoon turkey sitting on their lawn! It was so cute! Love how everyone's all psyched up for this meaningful season.

So yes, this recipe probably comes in handy for Thanksgiving and the one just around the corner (my favorite) Christmas! This tart only took me less than half an hour to make, if you don't count the baking time, which is another reason to give it a try!

I've never made a tart before, but I had some lovely, fresh pears with me and according to the classic Italian cookbook I own (which you would be familiar with if you've been following my blog), this is such a simple recipe that "only an active campaign of sabotage could ruin it". And that's my cue, to attempt my first tart with an easy recipe. The result? I passed them to my hubby's friends who wolfed them down happily. Not a single slice was left! :)

The best pears to use for this recipe are the Bosc or the Anjou variety. But if you are not picky, or are in the mood for experimenting, feel free to substitute with other pears.

A Farm Wife's Fresh Pear Tart (from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan)

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 cup granulated sugar
Salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 pounds of fresh pears
A 9-inch round cake pan
Butter for greasing the pan and dotting the cake
1/2 cup dry, unflavored bread crumbs
Optional: 1 dozen cloves

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Add the sugar and a tiny pinch salt, and continue to beat. Add the flour, mixing it in thoroughly to produce a compact cake batter.

3. Peel the pears, cut them lengthwise in two, scoop out the seeds and core, then cut them into thin slices about 1 inch wide. Add them to the batter in the bowl, distributing them evenly.

4. Smear the pan generously with butter, sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs, then turn the pan over and give it a sharp rap against the counter to shake loose excess crumbs.

5. Put the batter into the pan, leveling it off with the back of a spoon or a spatula. Make numerous small hollows on the top with a fingertip and fill them with little bits of butter. Stud with the optional cloves, distributing them at random, but apart. Place the pan in the upper third of the preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes, or until the top has become lightly colored.

6. While it is still lukewarm, carefully loosen the tart from the bottom of the pan, lift it with spatulas, and transfer to a platter. It is very nice served while still a little warm, or at room temperature.

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How To Use A Pomegranate

Superfruit!

It is hard to ignore this exotic fruit with its lovely crimson exterior that resembles a cross between a peach and an apple. I love how the blood-red kernels adorn the interior of the fruit, like a display of precious rubies hidden in a cave. And these bright "rubies" are not just pretty, they are packed with a hefty dose of vitamins and antioxidents!

But enough of hearing me wax lyrical about one of my favorite fruits. If you are like me in the past, not too sure how to open or use it, let the mystery be solved today!

If you are choosing a pomegranate at a farmer's market or supermarket, try to find one that is deep red in colour and feels relatively heavy . It should also have a shiny exterior, as if it has been waxed, and a soft (not mushy) skin. Avoid picking pomegranates that has cracks on its skin cos they tend to spoil quickly.

Now that we've got that settled, there are two popular ways of eating it raw: by picking the seeds or extracting its juice. If you are wearing your favorite white shirt, I'd suggest you to protect it with a napkin or apron, or better yet, wear something else altogether cos this vibrant fruit has a knack for shooting off red juice that might stain your beloved shirt.

To open the fruit, simply cut the fruit into quarters using a knife and pick the seeds out with your fingers. You just need to be careful about the juice that may spray out when you accidentally burst the kernels. But hey, just like eating mangosteen, half the fun is the mess of prying open the fruit for some finger-licking goodness! :) Just don't go overboard and end up looking like you just butchered a small rabbit.

Alternatively, you can also separate the seeds from the skin by pulling it at the side (like how you would pull apart an orange from its skin).

To extract its juice, simply blend the pomegranate seeds in a blender and strain its juice through a cheese cloth or muslin.

One of my other favorite way of using pomegranate is as a salad dressing or a glaze over meats. Below is a simple recipe to make your own pomegranate molasses.

Pomegranate Molasses

Ingredients
4 cups of pomegranate juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or to taste)

Simmer your pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice over medium heat on a large saucepan for about an hour, or until the mixture becomes a thick syrup. Dissolve more sugar into it if you want the syrup to be sweeter. When done, cool the pomegranate molasses before storing it in the refrigerator. Tweet