It’s officially August and school starts in just a few weeks. I’m trying not to think about that but it’s also kind of the only thing I can think of. I’ve been very productive these past few weeks in terms of getting recipes done. I’ve started testing September and it looks like it’s gonna be a good month of recipes.
In terms of what to expect for August, there’s going to be a good mix of recipes. I think I already sort of talked about this, but the first few recipes are going to be fun, light, summery recipes. After that, we’ll start slowly drifting towards cozy treats because Fall is almost here!
But let’s talk about this recipe. I came up with it a year or two ago, but I couldn’t make it because I couldn’t find passionfruit nectar. But now, my grocery store carries it so I could start testing. Now in general, I don’t like fruit desserts all that much, but this recipe is different, perfectly balanced with sweet and tart fruit.
Describe These Cupcakes to Me
Taste: The cupcake itself is the perfect balance between sweet and tart. The batter is loaded with lemon and vanilla, which complements the subtle fruity notes in the passionfruit curd. The blackberry frosting on top adds the perfect amount of sweetness to cut through the tart lemon and passionfruit.
Texture: The cupcakes are perfectly fluffy and soft, while the curd in the center adds the perfect amount of moisture without making the cupcakes too heavy. The frosting adds a little levity to the cupcake and helps to tie together all of the textures.
Ease: These cupcakes are of medium difficulty. I wouldn’t classify any of the steps as technically difficult, but there are certainly more steps than some cupcakes might have. I recommend making the curd the day before, to make the process go a little faster. I also find that the passionfruit flavor is a little stronger if you let the curd chill overnight. The batter is fairy simple as is the frosting, so if you give yourself enough time to get everything done, this recipe really isn’t too challenging.
The Passionfruit Curd
Passionfruit makes for a perfect curd flavor because it’s a little tart just like lemon. Because of that, this curd tastes very similar to a classic lemon curd, but it’s less sharp and has lighter fruity notes. It’s actually more simple than it may seem, and gets all of it’s flavor from reduced concentrated passionfruit juice. It sets up to the perfect consistency to fill these delicate cupcakes and ties together the citrus in the cupcakes and the sweet blackberry frosting.
The Lemon Cupcakes
These cupcakes are very simple, classic cupcakes that taste perfect with the curd and blackberry frosting. They’re pretty strong on the lemon flavor which helps ensure the cupcakes aren’t too sweet. The batter might look a little split as you make it because of how much lemon is in the batter, but don’t worry because these cupcakes always come out perfectly soft and fluffy, but with enough structure to hold up the curd and frosting.
The Blackberry Frosting
This blackberry frosting is so simple, but so delicious. It starts with a classic frosting base, which uses a mix of butter and shortening. Butter gives the frosting excellent flavor, while shortening gives the frosting the perfect structure for piping. The addition of seedless blackberry jam gives the frosting a delicate blackberry flavor without making it too sweet, and it gives it a gorgeous pink color!
Lemon Cupcakes with Passionfruit Curd and Blackberry Frosting
Ingredients
Method
- In a small saucepan set over medium high heat, bring the passionfruit nectar to a boil. Once boiling, turn the temperature down to medium low and simmer until the nectar has reduced to ⅓ cup. This will take around 30-40 minutes. Let the reduced nectar come to room temperature before using in the curd.
- Fill the bottom pan in a double boiler with 1-2 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and bring the water to a simmer.
- In the top pan of the double boiler, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, ⅓ cup reduced passionfruit nectar, and salt. Place on top of the simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, for 10 minutes. The curd should lighten in color and thicken as it cooks. To be precise, the curd should read around 160℉ on an instant read thermometer. Remove the top pan from the simmering water and whisk in the butter. The heat from the curd should be enough to melt the butter. Once the butter is completely melted, pour the curd into a glass jar or bowl and place a piece of cling wrap on top so that it's touching the surface of the curd. Chill the curd for 2 hours while we make the cupcakes.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 12 count muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using either a hand or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed until fluffy and combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. It may look a little curdled, that's ok!
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, along with the lemon zest, and mix on low speed until almost combined. With the mixer still running on low speed, slowly stream in the whole milk and lemon juice. The batter may look a tiny bit curdled, this is just because of the lemon and won't be a problem once you bake the cupcakes.
- Fill the liners ⅔ of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the cupcakes bounce back when lightly poked, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely in the tin set over a wire cooling rack.
- Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, fill them with the passionfruit curd. Watch the video in the above blog post to get a visual on how this process works. Using a sharp knife, cut a circle into the center of the cooled cupcakes to create a pocket a little over 1 inch deep. The piece you remove will be cone shaped, so cut off the pointed end but keep the round "hat". Spoon a loaded teaspoon of the curd into the hole to fill to the top, and top with the round part you cut out to seal the hole. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
- In a large mixing bowl using either a hand or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the butter and shortening on high speed for 4 minutes. It should be creamy and lightened in color. Add the confectioners sugar, blackberry jam, vanilla, and salt and mix on low speed for 30 seconds until combined, then turn the speed up to medium high and whip for around 1 minute. The frosting should be thick and creamy.
- Fill a large piping bag fitted with a star tip (I used Wilton 1M) with the frosting. Pipe the frosting in a swirl on top of the cupcakes.
- Cupcakes keep for up to 4 days sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator.