Peach Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

Sometimes, I am so determined to try a new recipe that I ignore the fact that I am missing some of the ingredients or some of the recommended kitchen appliances.  There’s a little voice inside my head that chirps, “Must try this recipe. Now!  Make this now! Right NOW!  Why aren’t you walking towards your kitchen yet?”  I’m a bit stubborn in this regard.  Once I’ve decided to make a recipe, there’s little that can stop me – even if I have to substitute about half of the ingredients.  I know I should go out and buy whatever it is that I’m missing.  But more often than not, I try to make do with what I have on hand.  Sometimes the results are disastrous.  And sometimes – like with these cupcakes – the result is a pretty tasty concoction. 

 

This recipe came together through a combination of curiosity, nostalgia, and a bit of forced creativity.  Recently, I had seen two intriguing cupcake recipes: Ginger Peach Cupcakes from Dessert for Two and Mini Blackberry Vanilla Cupcakes from Tutti Dolci.  Don’t those both sound delectable?  Most of the cupcakes I’ve eaten throughout my life have been fairly standard flavors: chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, carrot cake, etc.  I also haven’t had many adventurous frostings.  Certainly nothing as interesting or inventive as peach-flavored cupcakes or a berry-infused buttercream.  My curiosity was piqued.  I knew I wanted to make a batch of cupcakes, but couldn’t decide between those two recipes.  Then I remembered a favorite dessert from my younger days: Raspberry Peach Sorbet from Baskin Robbins.  I haven’t had this sorbet in years, and I’m not certain that flavor is even still available.  I recall enjoying the balance between sweet peaches and tart raspberries.   I imagined that the combination would be just as divine in a cupcake.  Laura from Tutti Dolci had even suggested in her post that raspberries could work in place of blackberries, so I had a feeling the substitution would work well.  I set out to bake a Peach Cupcake with Raspberry Buttercream by combining these two recipes. 

I made a few modifications and adaptations, primarily based on what I did and didn’t have in my kitchen.
 

 

This is what I had in my kitchen:

• Donut peaches.  These are saucer-shaped peaches with white flesh.  They are typically smaller than conventional peaches, and, in our experience, less sweet.  We receive a handful of these every August from our CSA
• About 3 lbs. of butter
• A gallon of maple syrup

This is what was missing from my kitchen:

• A microwave
• Ginger
• Brown sugar (I know…how could I allow myself to run out of brown sugar?!)

Christina's recipe on Dessert for Two involves making a peach puree in the microwave.  Clever and simple, right?  We don’t have a microwave, so I figured that I could achieve the same effect by boiling my peaches for a few minutes.  I had been planning to boil them to remove the skin, anyway, so this didn’t complicate the recipe at all. 

I used two donut peaches, which weighed a combined 4 ounces.  The Ginger-Peach Cucpake recipe from Dessert for Two calls for a small, 4-ounce peach.   However, donut peaches have much smaller pits than conventional peaches.  My peaches probably yielded more pulp, per ounce, than conventional peaches would have.  To compensate for this, I withheld a bit more of the peach pulp than the original recipe instructed. 

In addition, our donut peaches were less sweet than conventional peaches.  (I think the opposite is supposed to be true, so maybe our peaches weren't quite ripe.  Who knows).  To boost the sweetness, I swapped a tablespoon of maple syrup for some of the canola oil from the original recipe.  As I mentioned above, I was all out of brown sugar.  I think the maple syrup helped to add some of the deeper notes that brown sugar would have provided.  Finally, I used cinnamon rather than ginger in my recipe.  The resulting cupcakes were quite rich, with a dense, buttery crumb -- similar to a pound cake.  The puree makes these incredibly moist and adds a subtle peach flavor.  If you're looking for a more pronounced peach flavor, I bet that you could create a peach reduction from the puree, and mix this reduction into the cupcake batter.  I haven't tried this, so experiment at your own risk!

The only part of this recipe that’s a little labor intensive is the raspberry buttercream.  You’ll puree raspberries in the food processor (I like this one for small jobs), then strain the puree to remove the seeds.  Finally, you’ll simmer the puree until it has thickened and reduced.  After it’s cooled, you’re ready to whip up your buttercream.  But trust me, this frosting is absolutely worth the extra effort.  It’s a delicate and sophisticated frosting that manages to provide a surprisingly intense raspberry flavor.    

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that is makes just four cupcakes.  That’s the perfect amount for our little household.  My husband and I both love desserts.  And, we both have zero willpower.  Can you imagine if we had two dozen of these sitting around?  We’d be eating these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  If you happen to eat one of these for breakfast, I won't judge you.  After all, these cupcakes contain peach and raspberry puree.  That means they're just like a smoothie, right?

 

 

 

Peach Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream

 

(Click here for a printable recipe)

Ingredients
 
For the peach cupcakes:

• 1 small peach or two donut peaches (total weight should be 4 ounces)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 egg
• ½ cup flour
• ¼ tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• Small pinch of cinnamon

For the raspberry buttercream:

• ½ cup raspberries
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• ½ c + 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

For the peach cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line a muffin or cupcake tin with four liners.  Bring a small pot of water to boil.  Add peaches and boil for 4-5 minutes.  Remove from water with tongs.  Peel peach skin and remove pit.  Add 1 tsp. sugar and mash with a fork.  Alternatively, you can puree in a mini-food processor.  Your puree will be pulpy.  I didn’t mind having a little texture in my cupcake, but if this bothers you, the mixture can be strained.                                                                                                                
2. If you used a conventional peach, withhold 1 Tbsp. of puree.  If you used donut peaches, withhold an extra tablespoon of puree.  We're not going to use that peach puree in this recipe, so make yourself a Bellini!  
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a small-medium sized bowl.  Add in maple syrup, egg, and peach puree and beat until frothy. 
4. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Carefully stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. 
5. Bake for 21-23 minutes.  Tops of cupcakes should feel spongy to the touch. 

For the raspberry buttercream:

1. Puree raspberries in blender.  Strain through sieve to remove seeds.  Pour strained mixture into a small saucepan.  Heat to boiling over medium heat, and simmer for approximately 5 minutes – maybe less – to reduce puree.  You want to have a scant tablespoon of your raspberry reduction.
2. Cream butter and powdered sugar together.  Once combined, add in raspberry puree and whip until smooth and fluffy.  Transfer to piping bag and pipe over cupcakes (I used a size 2A tip)

Yield: 4 cupcakes

(Click here for a printable recipe)

 

These cupcakes are best eaten fresh so that the cupcake will be moist and the buttercream will be fluffy.  However, if you need to store them, this is the method I use:  Arrange frosted cupcakes on a plate and place –unwrapped – in refrigerator.  After 1 hour, wrap plate tightly with plastic wrap.  The buttercream will have hardened enough that it will not be damaged by the plastic wrap.  Bring to room temperature before serving.