IC:E - Passion - CranOrange Meringue Cupcakes

Passion should make you feel warm and toasty on the outside - but soft and gooey on the inside. It should be sweet, but with a bit of a tang. Just like these cupcakes!


These made a great addition to our Waitangi Day picnic - if nothing else, they were a fabulous homage to the dessert all Kiwis like to claim credit for, the Pavlova! Let me tell you, they did not last long - they were all gone before dinner was even finished (or even finished cooking for that matter) - and their gluten free-ness wasn't noticeable (except for the coeliac of course!). Highly recommended!

This is my first IC:E - Passion entry. As usual, a shout out to the wonderful prize sponsors:

• The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
• Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
• Bella Cupcake Couture
• Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
• The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne
• Beautiful Baking Liners by Vestli House
• Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Bakery & Cupcakey Supply

These were originally going to be Blood Orange Meringue Cupcakes - but when the shops didn't have any blood oranges and I ran out of orange juice, they morphed into...

CranOrange Meringue Cupcakes

For the Vanilla Custard Cupcakes:
You will need:
3/4 cup self-rising gluen free flour
5/8 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
250g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 egg white
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

12 cup muffin tin
Electric beaters
mixing bowl
patty pans
wooden spoon + spatula
measuring jug + spoons

1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Line 12-cup muffin tins with patty pans.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before adding filling and meringue.

For the CranOrange filling: (from p85 of AWW Little Pies and Cakes)

You will need:
1/2 C caster sugar
2 Tbsp cornflour (White Wings brand is gluten free!)
1/3 C Orange juice
1/3 C cranberry juice
2 Tbsp water
zest 1 orange
75 g butter, chopped
2 egg yolks

small saucepan
measuring cup + spoons
wooden spoon
whisk

1. Combine sugar and cornflour in a small saucepan. Gradually stir in juice and water until smooth.
2. Cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. NOTE: if horrible looking lumps of cornflour start to form, don't panic - just use the whisk!
3. Reduce heat; simmer while stirring for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat and stir in zest, butter and egg yolks in that order.
   
5. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.
   

For the meringue:

You will need:
2 egg whites
1/2 C sugar

clean mixing bowl
electric beaters

1. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
2. Slowly add the sugar, beating all the while until dissolved.
3. Continue to beat until soft peaks form.

To assemble:

You will need:
Meringue mix
CranOrange filling
Cooled cupcakes

Sharp knife
piping bag
brulee gun (if you don't have one don't worry - you can use a blowtorch or just heat the oven up to the highest temperature and bake for 3 minutes to brown!)

1. Using a small sharp knife, cut a 2cm-deep x 3cm-wide round from the top of each cooked cake.
2. Fill the hole with CranOrange filling.
3. Allow to cool and set for 15 minutes.
4. Pipe on meringue mix.
5. Brulee the top of the meringue with brulee gun. NOTE: keep the brulee gun away from the edge of the patty cases or they may catch alight! The easiest way is to sit the cupcake on a level surface and aim the gun from the side with the flame parallel to the surface - things are less likely to burn that way. Remember, you want a toasty brown, not charcoal black meringue!