Fresh Cranberry Orange Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting Food

CRANBERRY-ORANGE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, and coat the liners and the top of the tin with cooking spray.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, clove and salt together in a medium bowl. Beat the sugar and eggs in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. While continuing to beat, gradually pour in the butter, then beat in the orange zest. Adjust the speed to medium-low, and add half the flour mixture. Add the milk, then the remaining flour mixture, taking care not to overmix the batter. It will be thin, like pancake batter; transfer it to a liquid measuring cup to make filling the muffin cups easier.
• Divide the batter evenly among the cups of the prepared muffin tin. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. (The cupcakes can be baked a day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.)
• For the frosting: Bring the cranberries, granulated sugar, orange juice and ginger to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves, the cranberries burst and the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Set aside 1/3 cup for garnish.
• Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in the confectioners' sugar. Add the cooled cranberry mixture, and beat until completely incorporated.
• Divide the frosting evenly among the cupcakes, and use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to swirl. Garnish each with a dollop of reserved cranberry sauce and a piece of orange zest.

CRANBERRY STUFFED CUPCAKES WITH CRANBERRY CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with 15 cupcake liners, spacing them out evenly between the two pans.
• Sift together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl, then lightly stir in the salt and set aside. Combine the heavy cream and 1/2 cup corn in a food processor and puree until smooth, being careful not to overblend so the cream doesn't turn into butter. Add the sour cream and blend just to combine, then set aside.
• Cream together the butter, coconut oil and granulated sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides occasionally with a rubber spatula to make sure everything is incorporated evenly, until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer to medium-low and add the dry mixture and corn puree mixture in 3 alternating additions, then fold in the remaining 1/2 cup corn kernels with a rubber spatula. Using an ice cream scoop, distribute the batter evenly among the cupcake liners.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pans and continue to bake until the cupcakes are thinking about starting to turn brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs on it, 6 to 10 minutes more. If the cupcakes need more time, continue to bake and check them frequently (like every 30 to 45 seconds). Let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the buttercream: If desired, press the cranberry sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of the cranberry skins, which will yield a smoother buttercream. This step is not necessary, though. Beat together the cranberry sauce, butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla and continue beating until combined. Beat in the heavy cream. Transfer to a piping bag.
• To assemble: Use an apple corer to extract the centers of the cupcakes. Transfer the thick cranberry sauce to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag with the corner snipped off, then pipe it into the centers of the cupcakes. Pipe a blob of frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with sliced cranberries and rosemary sprigs. Enjoy! These are best enjoyed within a day or two.

FRESH CRANBERRY ORANGE CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• In a small saucepan bring the sugar and water to a boil and dissolve the sugar completely. Let the syrup rest for 5 minutes to cool it, then pour it into a bowl with the cranberries. Let the syrup cool to room temperature, then cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator overnight.
• Drain the cranberries and shake them out a bit to make sure you only have a thin coating of the syrup on them. Spread out the superfine sugar on a plate and roll the cranberries in the sugar. Test out the rolling with just a couple at first. If the coating seems gloppy or thick, shake out the cranberries some more or pat them dry with a paper towel.
• Transfer the cranberries to a tray lined with wax paper and let them dry for 1-2 hours. Once they are ready the sugar will have formed a stable crust.
• Preheat oven to 350F. Set out a standard sized 12 well muffin tin and fill the wells with cupcake liners.
• Using a food processor or a knife, roughly chop the cranberries until you have 1 1/2 cups of chopped cranberries.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a small bowl rub the sugar and the orange zest together until the sugar is fragrant. Using a stand mixer with the flat beater on medium speed, cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and add the eggs one at a time, scraping after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat in.
• Reduce the speed to low and add the dry ingredients. Beat until just mixed together with a little flour still showing. Take the bowl of the mixer off the stand, add the cranberries, and fold them in with a silicone spatula.
• Divide the batter among the 12 wells in the tin. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until the cupcakes are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Let them rest for 2-3 minutes, then carefully take them out of the muffin tin and let them cool on a cooling rack. Can be made up to 2 days ahead.
• Using a hand mixer, whip the cream cheese and butter on high until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix in. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix on low until combined, then increase the speed to high and beat together until smooth.
• Pipe or spread frosting over the tops of each cupcake. If you wish, sprinkle a bit of red sanding sugar over to decorate. (Another good idea would be to use themed sprinkles depending on the occasion.) If you made the sugared cranberries, top each cupcake with 2 or 3 of them.

ORANGE CRANBERRY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Cupcakes:
• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and orange zest over low heat until hot (but not boiling); cool to lukewarm, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, add the egg and egg whites one at a time, and beat until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add half the flour mixture, then the milk mixture, then the remaining flour mixture, beating until just blended after each addition. In a small bowl, toss the cranberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold the cranberries into the batter.
• Divide the batter evenly among the liners and bake until the tops are just dry to the touch (some may be slightly golden on the sides before this happens) and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 17 to 19 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting with orange frosting.
• To bake as a cake:
• Butter two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper cut to fit, and butter the parchment. Flour the pans, coating the bottom and sides of each pan, then tap out the excess flour. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake until the tops are dry to the touch, the sides of the cake start to pull away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (for generally the same amount of time as in the cupcake recipe). Let cool on a wire rack, then remove each cake from its pan, discard the parchment paper, and set one cake layer on a cake round, frosting turntable, or the final serving platter. Frost the top of that cake layer with the frosting, stack the second layer on top, and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
• To make the orange frosting:
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, and beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium, add the milk, orange zest and juice, and vanilla and beat until fully blended, 1 to 2 minutes, making sure not to incorporate too much air into the frosting.

CRANBERRY CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 3 more minutes. Reduce the speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the sour cream and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.
• Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about22 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle, then gently press the back of a small spoon into the center of each cupcake to make an indentation. Fill each indentation with a few teaspoons of cranberry sauce. Remove the cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting: Beat the butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low; gradually add the remaining 2 cups confectioners' sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium high; beat in the cranberry sauce, vanilla and salt until combined. Spread the frosting on the cupcakes and top with dried cranberries.

CRANBERRY-ORANGE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350ºF. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners, and coat the liners and the top of the tin with cooking spray.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, clove and salt together in a medium bowl. Beat the sugar and eggs in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. While continuing to beat, gradually pour in the butter, then beat in the orange zest. Adjust the speed to medium-low, and add half the flour mixture. Add the milk, then the remaining flour mixture, taking care not to overmix the batter. It will be thin, like pancake batter; transfer it to a liquid measuring cup to make filling the muffin cups easier.
• Divide the batter evenly among the cups of the prepared muffin tin. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. (The cupcakes can be baked a day ahead and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.)
• Bring the cranberries, granulated sugar, orange juice and ginger to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves, the cranberries burst and the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Set aside 1/3 cup for garnish.
• Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in the confectioners' sugar. Add the cooled cranberry mixture, and beat until completely incorporated.
• Divide the frosting evenly among the cupcakes, and use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to swirl. Garnish each with a dollop of reserved cranberry sauce and a piece of orange zest.

CRANBERRY ORANGE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Combine the 1 cup of sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. If the water gets too hot and starts to boil, remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then add the cranberries. (You don't want the cranberries to burst, which is why you don't want the water too hot.) Pour the simple syrup and cranberries into a bowl and cover. Refrigerate overnight.
• Drain the cranberries. Place the superfine sugar in a shallow bowl and add the cranberries. Shake to coat the cranberries with the sugar. Transfer to a surface lined with waxed paper and allow to dry for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 14 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• In the bowl of a mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions. Beat in the orange zest.
• In a liquid measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and the orange extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter and beat until combined. Follow that with 1/2 of the buttermilk. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the remaining buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture, beating to combine between each addition. Fold the cranberries into the batter.
• Fill each of the prepared cups about 2/3 full of the batter. Bake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
• Beat the butter in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until completely combined. Beat in the orange zest. Add in the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Beat in the cranberries.***
• Pipe the frosting on top of the cooled cupcakes. Top each cupcake with several sugared cranberries.

FRESH CRANBERRY-ORANGE SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine orange juice, cranberry juice, and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
• Stir in 1/2 of the cranberries, pear, orange zest, vanilla extract, star anise, and salt, and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining cranberries and cook, stirring often, until cranberries start to burst and mixture starts to thicken, about 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Stir in orange marmalade and set aside. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.