Another off the list! I love figs and apples, but combined together in a cupcake? Seems unusual but I was dying to test this flavour pairing out. Moist vanilla bean buttermilk cupcakes were filled with a fresh apple-fig compote, buried in the batter before baking. While the cupcakes were cooling, I got to work on the frosting – a satiny, light and not-too-sweet swiss meringue buttercream flecked with tiny specks of Madagascar vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. Apart from my absolute favourite cream cheese frosting, this sure is one of my most loved cupcake frosting of all time. It delivers a luscious and silky mouthfeel that’s most importantly, stable enough to hold up in our sweltering heat and humid weather. No doubt this takes quite abit of work to make (from the meringue to the seemingly endless process of whipping it where it turns from a soupy, curdled mess to a billowy cloud of frosting), but the efforts are always worth it. Finally, the frosted cupcakes were garnished with a little slice of dried fig and a spiced caramel drizzle.
Despite being one of the most complicated, multi-component cupcakes I’ve done so far (cupcake base, fruit compote filling, frosting and caramel drizzle), I was surprised that it didn’t take as much time as anticipated. Here you go, another original cupcake creation – the Fig & Apple. I’m super excited the share this recipe. Do try it for yourself and let me know what you think!
Fig & Apple Cupcakes + Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting
16 Thursday Aug 2012