Pear Cupcakes With Chocolate Frosting

I love making cupcakes. They’re so cute and fun to decorate. And cleanup is so easy because you line the pan with colorful little papers.

Nigella Lawson has the easiest cupcake recipe that makes a dozen yummy basic vanilla cakes. But for some reason, I always seem to be out of vanilla when I need it. So, I usually substitute something else. Nigella’s recipe calls for 1-2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract. Sometimes, I substitute almond extract because it has the most beautiful scent and subtle flavor. I’ve also tried various liqueurs like raspberry framboise or strawberry. Experiment.

Today, I used a tablespoon of pear liqueur and added one real pear, chopped into tiny cubes.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup very soft unsalted butter
7 tablespoons of granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of pear liqueur (Nigella calls for 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract)
3-4 tablespoons of whole milk
1 organic pear, peeled and chopped into tiny cubes

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cupcake tray with a dozen decorative cupcake papers. Peel the pear and chop into tiny cubes. Think of the size you want to encounter in a cupcake. They may look small on your cutting board but they will seem much larger in your tiny cakes.

Put all of the ingredients except the milk and fresh pear into a food processor. Pulse until the dry ingredients start to blend with the wet. Then put full on for a few seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides. Put full on again until well blended. Then add 3-4 tablespoons of milk a little at a time. This will make a nice smooth scoopable batter. You don’t want it too wet and runny.

Carefully remove the mixing blade. Then fold in the chopped pear. Spoon into the cupcake papers. I like my cupcakes to rise above the top of the paper so I fill them 3/4 of the way. The recipe should make one dozen.

Cook in the oven 10-15 minutes or until golden. Poke a cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cupcakes are done. Remove from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then remove and place on a cooling rack.

When they are completely cool, swirl on some dark chocolate frosting. Use the frosting to cover up any bumps, cracks or inconsistencies in the top of the cake.

Enjoy with a strong cup of black tea. I made Scottish Breakfast and it perfectly complemented the pear cupcakes.

Music to bake by: Buddha Opera Bar

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