Guest Post by Amy Wolff, creator of FingerSweets
I’m on a flavor quest…a cupcake flavor quest to be specific. Cupcakes, in my book, are a pure delight.
Some food trend experts have declared that cupcakes are out of fashion. Based on the reviews and awards I’ve received I assure you that the word on the street is this: cupcakes still rule. I’m dedicated to keeping the cupcake spirit alive. And right now that spirit is fine spirits creating subtle exotic flavors for the adorable mini cupcake.
My cupcake flavor quest has allowed me to cross paths with many interesting and knowledgeable people. Take my recent interest in Distillery No. 209’s distiller, Arne Hillesland. This interaction led me to creating the exclusive Distillery No. 209 Spiced Gin Mini Cupcake. I wanted to develop a pairing that compliments the infused gin flavors yet have the mini cupcake be delightful and different on its own.
The Gin Cupcake is Born
Gin is a flavored vodka. The flavors of juniper berries, bergamot peel, cardamom, coriander, and cinnamon are only a few in the gin but are the driving force of flavors in Distillery No. 209’s Spiced Gin Cupcake. The process of developing this cupcake took four test batches.
- Batch #1 had a very strong juniper berry flavor making it a single note.
- Batch #2 was on its way to something unique however it tasted too similar to my Bergamot Orange Spice cupcake.
- Batch #3 was all wrong as I tried only to use bergamot peel and juniper berry.
- Batch #4 was similar to batch #2 except I swapped out the cinnamon and replaced it with coriander. Aha! Distillery No. 209 Spiced Gin Mini Cupcake is born!
How to Make a Gin Cupcake
The recipe’s success starts with the spices. I go to spice stores that sell in bulk. I enjoy smelling the varieties, can purchase in small amounts for testing and can choose my spices to be whole or already ground. I prefer using whole spices and grinding them. There are many options for grinding your own spices. I use a mortar and pestle. A mortar and pestle create a courser grind which are fine for your batter but you need something more fine for your frosting.
Layered Flavors
Spiced Gin Cupcake was a layered taste of flavors. The base flavors are earl gray tea, juniper berry, and bergamot peel. The secondary flavors are cardamom and coriander with a tertiary flavor of cinnamon. The cinnamon was used only in the decoration to give a sweetness to the first bite. I also used Distillery No. 209 Gin in the batter and frosting. While the alcohol burns off in the baking process you capture the gin’s bite in the frosting. The result of this pairing was the combination of smooth and sweetness with a spicy but subtle alcoholic zing.
Tips.
I started with a basic base vanilla recipe. From here I blend the various combinations listed above. These mixtures are combined directly into the batter. It’s important for the frosting to mimic some of the flavors found in the cupcake. The goal is to achieve what I call a cyclical taste of flavors with no separation of flavors in the mouth. The only exception is that sweet cinnamon punch you initially get when biting into the cupcake.
If you enjoy the idea of the Distillery #209 Spiced Gin Mini Cupcake then come see what other delicious concoctions I’ve created at http://www.fingersweets.blogspot.com .
April 12, 2011 at 12:49 am
What a lovely and sweet treat. The best recipes always take a little bit of work. Thank you so much for sharing with me tonight. Cupcakes always make me smile! I hope you have a great day tomorrow full of hope and love.
April 12, 2011 at 11:16 am
Smiles for all…especially you right now! Amy Wolff, creator of FingerSweets pours her creativity and energy into her cupcake creations and they are fabulous. Small works of flavor art.
April 12, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Freakin’ awesome! I love any time someone uses beer, wine or spirits in a dish. There is an art here that too few of us embrace!
Jason
April 13, 2011 at 7:02 am
Cool isn’t it? Glad you like it. Amy Wolff mentioned she was in the process of developing this cupcake after I wrote about the coriandor Spice Chat on Twitter. So glad she was happy to share and document the experience. I certainly enjoy tasting that art!
April 13, 2011 at 3:18 pm
Love how she walked us through her experimenting! And her cupcakes look amazing 🙂
April 14, 2011 at 7:55 am
This is the best! And just as I’m looking forward to warmer weather with gin & tonics. The experimenting part is really cool. Distillery No. 209? I’ll look for it. Two cocktail/spice posts in a row–fun stuff!
April 14, 2011 at 11:17 am
@everyone – thank you so much for the comments, it’s really nice to hear the feedback and see the interest you have in my creations.
@Spice Sherpa – thanks again for the opportunity, such a great collaboration of interests.
@Slow Food Dude Distillery No. 209 is carried at BevMo of K&L (here in SF). Where are you located and I can try and see if the Distillery has a listing of where they are in your area?
April 14, 2011 at 11:33 am
@FingerSweets – you are more than welcome. The thank you is on me! I really look forward to seeing what new amazing concoctions you develop.
April 14, 2011 at 1:36 pm
Your devotion to finding a true gin cupcake is inspiring! And we all benefit from your efforts. Thanks for the great recipe! Theresa
June 1, 2011 at 10:20 pm
What fun this was to read. I’m not much of a baker (prefer cooking – requires less exacting measurements and no sugar :-)) but learned something in your tip to mimic cake and icing ingredients. I’ll pass this on to my sister who is a baker (but can’t cook – go figure).
This isn’t entirely related to spices (although somewhat because I grow dill, basil, parsley, garlic, sage, thyme and shallots here) but hope Karen and/or some of her readers can help me out. One of the things I’m trying to do this year is provide recipes to clients for in-season produce. Could go with spice availability too. Does anyone know of a good place to find delicious vegetable (and fruit) combination treats that allow you to specify what item(s) you’d like to include (turnips, odd varieties of squash, Swiss chard, kale, beets and sage as a spice are some examples of what people seem confused about what to do with)? Thanks so much!