Grapefruit Cupcakes with sliced almonds

So I'm still on the cupcake kick, developing new flavors to put into our cupcake case at work.  This recipe was something I assembled early this past winter when I was bringing home 2-4 whole grapefruit a few members removed from their CSA boxes, weekly.  While I adore the juice, I'm not much of a grapefruit eater.  We have a fairly cozy kitchen and soon the amount of citrus was becoming rather daunting, so it became a mission to incorporate grapefruit into some recipes.

I've always enjoyed lemon poppyseed muffins, so even though I'd never seen grapefruit cake it only seemed logical to substitute one citrus fruit for another.  I was completely out of milk alternatives, so I made a quick run to the grocery around the corner (I had seen the So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt there, so I figured they would likely have the milk as well).  Evidently the conventional grocery chain was circulating through the So Delicious Coconut Milk products at the time because the milk and the yogurt were completely absent, however, their Coconut Kefir had made it's debut on the shelf.  I found this odd but I really didn't have another choice, and fortunately the Kefir turned out incredibly well!

I haven't baked with anything else since.  I haven't really experimented with anything else either (baking is a relatively new adventure for me and I don't keep milk alternatives on hand) so I'm sure your favorite non dairy milk would suffice, but this worked out well for me so I'll pass on the tip.  As per Sunshine's suggestion I chose kiwi as a topping.  I made what I can only describe as a jam, but I felt the kiwi taste just didn't shine through.  I prefer the flavor and texture of fresh fruit over preserves anyhow.  I might try the almond glaze covered with sliced or crumbled almonds, or anything else someone might suggest... so get on that?  Here's my recipe:

Makes 12 cupcakes

Dry Ingredients:

      1 1/2 cups flour

      1 t baking powder

      1/2 t baking soda

      1/4 t salt

Wet Ingredients

      1 cup sugar
      1/2 c oil

      1T + 1t ruby red grapefruit zest

      2 T grapefruit pulp (from citrus juicer)

      1/4 c applesauce

      1/2 c fresh ruby red grapefruit juice

      1/2 So Delicious Coconut Milk Kefir

Preheat over to 350* F

   1. Sift together dry ingredients

   2. Combine wet ingredients and beat with a handmixer until emulsified and a light texture has formed.

   3. Add dry ingredients in 3 batches, making sure each batch mostly incorporated before adding the next.

   4. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full

   5. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the cake comes out clean.

   6. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

   7. Spread a thin layer of almond milk glaze, cover with sliced almonds and drizzle a touch more almond milk glaze.

To make the almond milk glaze -

Whisk to combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar into 1T Almond Milk, add more liquid or sugar until desired texture is reached (thin enough for it to drizzle off a spoon but thick enough so it won’t just slide off the fruit/almonds).

Curried Pineapple Cupcakes

I've come to the realization that keeping up with a blog takes a lot of motivation that I'm frankly unable to muster often enough in order to contribute regularly.  I rarely find the time to sit down between creating recipes and write, not to mention plan a fancy little photoshoot in our perpetually cluttered household.  This post is different, for me anyhow.  This entry in my gastro-journal will have the sorts of pictures you'll see in most of the food blogs that seem to be crowding bandwiths nationwide.  If you Google, Yahoo, or Bing "cupcake blog" you will literally come across hundreds of Betty Crockers and Sarah Lees sporting their own recipes, or rather recipes that they've altered slightly from another blog.  I kid you not when I say I've followed the paper trail from a recipe I came across in blog that referenced back through 5 subsequent blogs to the original posted creation, which was probably pulled without credit from a periodical that rarely requires referencing in this day and age.

I'm definitely guilty of  heisting recipes from wayward blogs and outdated cookbooks procured from my local thrift store, making my alterations and taking credit thereafter, but something tells me this is how it's always been.  Prior to recent technological history how did networking in the foodie community really go down?  There was a time when recipe trading involved more tedious bookkeeping, more secrecy, and more integrity in some regard.  Sharing your best recipe with a neighbor or a friend implied quite a bit of confidence on the recipients part.  How often nowadays, while attending a potluck or dinner party, do you hear someone say, beaming with pride that their contribution to the meal is a secret family recipe? 

Food blogging lacks the romance of traditional recipe trading, but I think it's generated more inspiration for my peers to get back to our roots culinarily and agriculturally.  Whether it's due to financial hardship, concern for our future generations, or just the hip new trend, I have to say it's exciting.  My sense of creativity in the kitchen I imagine is more reminiscent of previous generations than most people my age despite the absence of stained old recipe cards.

Earlier I mentioned that I was guilty of hijacking recipes from outdated cookbooks, but this one happens to come from a more recent publication.  If you're vegan, or just interested in baking you've most likely come across Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  I own a handful of Isa's cookbooks and I have to admit that I find her style a little kitschy; but could just stem from my distaste for punkabetties.  In any case, her cupcake book is probably that for which she gets the most praise, and for good reason.  Maybe I just failed at my attempt to execute her Pineapple Right Side Up cakes, but I felt they needed some amendments.  In this way I think can relate to those homemakers whose beloved secret recipes were probably generated in a similar manner: gathering together the aspects from one or more recipes they found pleasing, removing those they didn't, adding their own flare and customizing the final product to suit their own taste and that of the ones they choose to share their creation.

Anyhow, enough with the nostalgic sentiments, and onto the goods:

PINEAPPLE CURRY CUPCAKES w/ GINGER COCONUT BUTTERCREAM

makes 12 cupcakes

Dry:

1 1/4c AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp curry powder

Wet:

1 1/4c crushed pineapple in it’s own juice

1/3c canola oil

2/3c evaporated cane sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350*

1. Sift dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl.
2. Puree wet ingredients (set 1/4c crushed pineapple aside to mix in later) in a food processor until a lighter texture is reached
3. Make a crater in the dry ingredients, add the pureed wet ingredients and mix as little as possible with a spatula until combined.  Then mix in the reserved pineapple
4. Fill cupcake liners approximately 2/3 full.
5. Bake for 23-25 minutes.
6. Cupcakes need to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before being moved to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Top with a dollop of Ginger Buttercream and dust with more ground ginger.

Ginger Buttercream

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 cup coconut cream (see note)

1 tbsp ground ginger

1. Add coconut cream to mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer on low,briefly
2. Sift sugar and ginger into bowl.
3. Mix together at medium speed just until combined

Adjust sugar and ginger according to your taste, but mix as briefly as possible.  The coconut cream will become runny if beaten too long.

*to make coconut cream put one can of full fat coconut milk in refrigerator and store for a few days (I've heard overnight is fine, but I kept mine in for almost a week).  The fat solids will separate from the liquid and should have the texture of butter.  The fat solids will be your coconut cream, and you can scoop them out of the can with ease.