Easter Cake Bake 2007 - White Nectarine Cupcake with Blueberry Curd Filling and White Nectarine Blueberry Curd Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Easter People.

I was always going to bake Easter themed cupcakes, but as A Slice of Cherry Pie is hosting an Easter Cake Bake, I am submitting these cupcakes for the Easter themed cake baking round up.

So enjoys them. And say goodbye to Minhnie Minko (the chicken) until next year.

I've been a little bit unmotivated at work this week. Unfortunately it flowed into the baking. I was not happy at all with these cupcakes. Read on for the reason why.

Continuing on from the Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes I baked a couple of weeks ago, I decided to pair the blueberries with peach. There is a fabulous Peach and Blueberry Cupcake recipe from Cupcake Bakeshop. But I wanted to something same same but different.

Mum buys yellow peaches and nectarines as well as white peaches and nectarines each week. The white peaches and nectarines don't seem to go as quickly as their yellow relatives. That is probably due to the fact the Dad and I have a more sour palette. We like to eat our peaches and nectarines dipped in salt.

White nectarines are white fleshed (obviously) and juicy. They are a lot sweeter than yellow nectarines due to a higher sugar ratio than yellow nectarines.

I decided that I would use white nectarines in a cupcake with blueberries. There was no fear that there would be none left when it came round to baking them in my baking schedule. If you want to see another white nectarine cupcake recipe, head over to Vanilla Garlic. Garrett unveiled his white nectarine and rhubarb cupcake before I had a chance to even bake mine!

So I had white nectarines and blueberries. What should I do cupcake wise? How about a white nectarine pound cake cupcake and blueberry curd as filling.


Here is the recipe for the White Nectarine Cupcake.

White Nectarine Cupcake

3 cups plain [all-purpose] flour,
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
250g / 1 cup / 2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 medium size white nectarines, finely diced

1. Macerate * the diced white nectarine with a tablespoon of sugar for half an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 180 (350).
3. Line 2 12 capacity muffin trays with cupcake liners.
4. Combine sifter flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
5. In a separate large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.
7 Beginning with the flour mixture, add alternately with the sour cream to the creamed egg mixture, ending with the flour.
8. Gently fold in the macerated nectarines.
9 Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake liners.
10. Bake about 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

* I posted an explanation about maceration here.

Makes 24.

Once the cupcakes were completely cooled, I filled them with the blueberry curd I made. The blueberry curd was sooooooooooooo good. I then frosted the cupcakes with white nectarine cream cheese frosting. I put the cream cheese frosting and the blueberry curd in the piping bag.












The Verdict? Ok. So I knew I wanted to make a pound cake cupcake. But poor HnK got the "Ï'm not happy" tirade.

It wasn't so much the taste, ok it was a little of the taste that I was worried about. But I was not happy with the cupcakes nekkid. Now I know you can console yourself knowing that frosting will hide any imperfections, but I think cupcakes should look as good nekkid as dressed with frosting.

I don't know why, and perhaps it has been due to the fact that I have baked spongey cupcakes, but the pound cake surprised me as well. I know, I know. Hello. Pound. Cake.

Apparently, according to the Retired Lieutenant General, I am too harsh on myself. The cupcakes were a hit. The blueberry curd (berri-mazing) was paired well with the heavier pound cake texture of the cupcake.

I got a text message later in the day from my old manager with -

The cupcakes were fantastic dude.

And just cause I am a little tricky dicky, I put some lychee liqueur in the pound cake batter. And to make the white nectarine cream cheese, I set aside a couple of tablespoons of the diced white nectarine and pureed it with some lychee liqueur.

Stay tuned as I have a busy baking and cooking schedule over Easter as I am making a number of things for Jez and Lindas' engagement party.