Kiwi Vanilla Cupcakes With Kiwi Buttercream Frosting Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners (I do NOT recommend using silicone liners). 2. Peel the 3 kiwis you will need for the cupcakes and frosting, and mash them well using a fork, trying to break up large chunks. See the consistency of the mashed kiwi below for reference. If your kiwi is not soft enough to mash with a fork, puree it in a food processor or blender. You will use 1/3 cup of the mashed kiwi for the cupcakes, and the remainder can be set aside for the frosting. 3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt for the cupcake base. In another small bowl, mix together the milk, vanilla, and the 1/3 cup mashed kiwi. 4. In a large bowl, cream the 1 stick of butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, then add sugar and continue beating until fluffy. Turn down the speed to medium and blend in egg and egg whites until just blended. 5. Turn mixer to low speed and add half the flour mixer, mixing briefly until just blended. Then add the milk and kiwi mixture, blend briefly until just combined. Finally add remaining half of the flour mixture, scrape down sides of bowl, and finish mixing just until blended. 6. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups, and bake for 22-25 minutes until tops are golden and just dry to the touch, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (If you so happen to be using silicone muffin cup liners, you may need to add an extra 10-15 minutes of bake time on top of this.) Remove from oven and cool thoroughly before frosting. If using silicone liners, remove them as soon as the cupcakes have cooled just enough to handle. 7. Make the frosting: Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add approx 3-5 tbsp of mashed kiwi to the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, and blend well. You can always add more kiwi but you can't take it back once it's in there. Just make sure the mixture is still light and fluffy and doesn't become watery. Now add vanilla and confectioner's sugar, and blend thoroughly. Stop to taste the frosting, making note of the degree of sour versus sweet. The final step is to add the salt and mix well, and taste again. The frosting flavor should really round out and come together at the end, without being too sweet or too sour. You won't taste the salt, but it will balance out the kiwi and the sugar so that the uniqueness of the kiwi flavor shines through. I swear the frosting tastes so addictive and refreshing, like a perfectly ripe kiwi, mmm! These cupcakes are best the day of.

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line standard cupcake pans with 36 cupcake liners.
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Set the bowl aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the sugar and margarine with the whisk attachment, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. In a small bowl or cup, combine the water and egg replacer and stir to dissolve the egg replacer. Add the egg replacer to the sugar and mix until combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl. In a small bowl, combine the soy milk and vanilla and set aside. Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients and the soy milk, alternating between the 2, ending with the soy milk.
• Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter and bake until a toothpick inserted into each cupcake comes out clean 19 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely.
• For the curd: In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together the kiwi puree and sugar. Heat on medium-high until the mixture begins to bubble around the edges. In a small bowl, mix the water and cornstarch into a slurry. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the puree while whisking. Cook for 2 more minutes while stirring. Let cool completely. Put the cooled kiwi curd into a piping bag and cut 1/4 inch off the tip.
• For the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the shortening, margarine, and lecithin until completely combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to ensure that all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Add the strawberry puree and mix until incorporated. Scrape the bottom of the bowl. On low speed, slowly add the sugar a little at a time. Add the lemon juice and rum and mix to combine. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and mix on medium-high speed until all the ingredients are combined and the frosting is fluffy, about 2 minutes. Put the frosting into a pastry bag and cut 1/2 inch off the tip.
• For the shooters: Remove the tops and cores from each strawberry. Set the tops aside in a bowl. Measure the rum into a measuring cup with a spout. Pour a teaspoon of rum into the empty cores of each strawberry. Pipe a teaspoon of strawberry frosting on top of each rum-filled strawberry and place the leafy green strawberry tops back on each strawberry.
• To assemble: With a plastic drinking straw or a small paring knife, make holes in the center of each cupcake. Squeeze the kiwi curd in the center of each cupcake until filled but not overflowing, about 1 tablespoon per cupcake. Pipe a dollop of strawberry frosting onto each cupcake and garnish with a strawberry rum shooter.